• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

Hardback or paperback?

Hardback or Paperback?

  • Hardback

    Votes: 9 39.1%

  • Paperback

    Votes: 14 60.9%
  • Total voters
    23
W

Wabbit

New Member
The subject of hardback or paperback has come up in various postings here, some people say that they prefer hardbacks, some people say they prefer paper backs, and I was wondering what the ratio actually is :)

So what do you all prefer? I, personally, prefer paperbacks. I like paperbacks because they are easy to hold, portable, smell better lol, cost less, and lastly it just looks better to my eye :)

Regards
Wabbit.
 
I definately prefer paperbacks, hardbacks i find just too bulky to read comfortably (and too expensive to buy as well) :)

Phil
 
Paperbacks for novels is a must for me, when you collect books they are smaller/thinner, cost less and are easy to pop in your handbag to read on the tube.
 
YEAH, those protective covers are SO irritating on hardbacks!

Stop... slipping... around... must... keep... book... still........CAN'T

Regards
A boy named Wabbit
 
Oh goody goody. All my life i've gone against the flow, no reason to stop now. Without a doubt... Hardback. I may be a poor man but there's no substitute for the feeling I get from a hardback and for that I'm willing to pay the price.

Bill
 
Hardback as a preference, but Im increasingly disappointed with the quality of some of the bindings. If you're going to spend £16 - £25 + on a book I don't wan't the s**t that was Harry Potter 5 - a paperback in a hardbacks clothing. Rant rant rant.
 
Paperback

It's paperback for me. As others have said, much better for the train and more cost effective.

It's so annoying having to wait about twelve months for new books to come out in paperback. This is particularly the case with books on current affairs that can be dated even before they are published. I'd like to read John Kamphnagh's "Blair's Wars", but its a bit pricey in hardcover and the softback is not out until July.
 
I'm torn. I prefer hardbacks, but they cost sooooooo much. So, I buy the paperback but if I really like the book I often try to replace it with a used hardcover.

I read a lot of genre stuff, too, that never actually makes it to hardcover.
 
Paperbacks - cheaper, lighter to hold, and you don't have to faff around with protecting the cover. The only snag is the time you have to wait for them to come out!
 
Hardcover without a doubt. Paperbacks are cheap and don't do justice to the book. If I buy something, I want it to last.

With paperbacks, I am always hesitant to let my non-bibliophilic friends look them over, as I am ever-afraid that they might abuse it and perhaps hasten the appearance of the little creases along the spine. I am protective of my literature as a mother is protective of her child. I only open my books slightly, just enough so that I can read the words. People always tell me to just open it all the way to "wear it in" but I can never bring myself to do that.

With hardcover books I can rest assured that, disasters excepted, my book will endure any trials that it might have to undertake during its travels with me. The covers won't bend and the spines won't crease, and it will remain in the pristine condition that it was in when I first bought it.
 
Hardback definitely. I have a lot of antique books which I think are great. I have some books from the 1890's. They are in pretty good shape considering they are over 100 years old. Your paperback will be long disintegreated in 100 years.

I think it is great to leave good books around for others to read 50 years from now. I am sure glad someone bought a hardback 100 years ago so I could enjoy these stories too!

--Tim
 
Hard back for sure. I remove the dust jacket and put on a tight, brown paper cover until I finish reading it, This goves me a place to write notes, too.Then I replace the jacket. With paperbacks , I have to break it back in order to read near the binding; now it is not an"excellent" collectable. ---Crusoe---
 
I buy hardback for research. I don't buy paperback. I can't stand the smell of them to be honest. Musty, inky, whatever it is, it makes me sneeze. So, I buy ebooks instead.
 
How is the ebook selection? I haven't looked much into it, don't think I'd lke it much to be honest, feels like there would be something missing. Do you have a special ebook reader? How much do those run?
 
The ebook selection is huge. The nice thing is that you get to discover new authors. Some of the books I've read are better than some paperbacks I've read. A lot of the books are genres that NY won't touch - readers like them, but NY isn't on the same wavelength for some reason. I do have an Ebookman, but you can read on a Palm Pilot, any other PDA, on the monitor, etc. I can put dozens of books on my EBM in less space than a single paperback. I do editing so I mainly read on my computer screen. Did you all know that Piers Anthony is now doing Ebooks? He's with a small press called Mundania. He's a big advocate of ebooks now. YOu just have to be careful where you get your ebooks. Much like big press, there are small press that don't even edit the books, and they are pretty much crap. All of the small press I deal with treat subs exactly like NY does. Tons of editing, galleys, proofs, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top