Hardback or soft cover ?

[dejolane]

I myself prefer hardback. It may be a big book but at least you got the hard cover to control. With a soft cover it bends and gets torn alot. :wink2:

dejolane

[Sundrop]

Hardback for me, as well. I like the feel of the weight of the book in my hand. :)

[blunthead]

I myself prefer hardback. It may be a big book but at least you got the hard cover to control. With a soft cover it bends and gets torn alot. :wink2:

dejolaneI prefer hardcover books because I like the way they feel in my hands and they're harder for dogs to eat.

[PatInTheHat]

I prefer hardcover books because I like the way they feel in my hands and they're harder for dogs to eat.
Better for the teeth & gums too I'd reckon:y:

[GNTLGNT]

...definitely hardback...my reading light clips on and holds a whole bunch better...on paperbacks, it just smacks me in da pie-hole...

[Todash]

Hardback. I check out paperback books from the library sometimes, but I won't buy them. The size is inconvenient to hold and they won't stay open on their own. There are exceptions, though. I have some nonfiction books that are bigger softbacks (I wouldn't exactly call them paperbacks), and they're made with heavier paper, and those are fine. But I've never seen a fiction book in that format.

[Spideyman]

Hardback- the feel and weight makes it just right.

[kingzeppelin]

Hardback for me as well.
It didn't start that way but having discovered SK, and become a Constant Reader, I did not want to wait for any new novel published to appear in paper-back.

[JellybeanJay]

I prefer hardbacks but paperbacks are way better for fitting in my purse :laugh:

[Debbie913]

I prefer hardback books, but paperback books are easier to carry around. I have one of each for many of my SK books. :)

[ChristineB]

Hardbacks for my collection since those are usually the 1/1, ebooks for reading. :)

[blunthead]

I prefer hardbacks but paperbacks are way better for fitting in my purse :laugh:
Mine too!

[Shasta]

It depends on the book, for me. I love taking baths and I much prefer a soft cover. If it's going to be carried around with me, soft. If it's something I really care about, hard. If it's a large book, I actually prefer soft because hard cover makes my arms very tired while reading in bed. And I tend to hit myself in the face with the corners a lot. (No, I have no clue how.) So it really just depends.

But I do know I'll take a real book, hard or soft, over an e-reader any day.

[Todash]

It depends on the book, for me. I love taking baths and I much prefer a soft cover. If it's going to be carried around with me, soft. If it's something I really care about, hard. If it's a large book, I actually prefer soft because hard cover makes my arms very tired while reading in bed. And I tend to hit myself in the face with the corners a lot. (No, I have no clue how.) So it really just depends.

But I do know I'll take a real book, hard or soft, over an e-reader any day.

I love my Kindle! I worried at first that I wouldn't like it, but after a while you just don't even think about it. The story unfolds in your head just the same either way, and it's way more comfortable to use than a standard-size paperback. However, I wouldn't even THINK about using it while taking a bath. The risks are too great.

[GNTLGNT]

If it's something I really care about, hard.

...*laughs uncontrollably*...sorry, it's obvious my sense of humor stopped in third grade...

[Todash]

...*laughs uncontrollably*...sorry, it's obvious my sense of humor stopped in third grade...

You are something special.

[GNTLGNT]

You are something special.

...Yeah, I'm somethin'...unprintable....

[Silhouette86]

I have always been a huge fan of the paperback. With a hardcover it just seems too big and blocky of a thing. It's hard to explain, really. I think part of it has to do with the fact that I can put more paperbacks in a bookshelf than a hardcover, and there will always be to me something indefinably neat about paperbacks. The only thing that can bug me about tiny.paperbacks is that sometimes the printing of the words can be so tiny.

[blunthead]

...*laughs uncontrollably*...sorry, it's obvious my sense of humor stopped in third grade...Ya beat me to it.

[blunthead]

...I tend to hit myself in the face with the corners a lot...:rofl: ...sorry. :down:

[Daniel Lee Severn]

Paperbacks, they are easier to carry along with you and give you more room to stock-pile more books, lol.

[Shasta]

I love my Kindle! I worried at first that I wouldn't like it, but after a while you just don't even think about it. The story unfolds in your head just the same either way, and it's way more comfortable to use than a standard-size paperback. However, I wouldn't even THINK about using it while taking a bath. The risks are too great.

I absolutely just cannot get into it. There's not much more that I love than a physical book and the e-readers just don't do it to me. The feel of the pages, the smell - it's just not the same.

[unclelouie]

Pros and Cons of both..

Hard Cover Pros:
More durable than paperbacks
More attratctive to the eye, especially with a book jacket

Hard Cover Cons:
Harder to travel with (heavier than paperbacks and harder to pack away)
More expensive (harder to find them used and in stores that trade)
They hurt worse when someone throws one at your head

Paperback Pros:
Easier to buy used. Cheaper
You can fold the covers back while reading
Easier to travel with


Paperback Cons:
The binding can eventually come... unbinded (see an original pressing of "The Bachman Books" for a great example of this)
The cover can rip easier
Hard to hold the front cover open when starting an extremely long novel (ie The Stand, DT VII, et al).

[Mary19]

I like soft covers so I can pass them on to other people, I need hard covers of books that are special to me. The Ereader is most comfortable to hold but I don't feel like my money is well spent on electronic books.

[Shoesalesman]

Paperbacks are easier to manipulate, but I absolutely *love* reading old tattered hardcovers. The smell of old paper & binding... the thicker pulp of the pages... HEAVEN! When I finally picked up The Shining, I searched for an old hardcover instead of a new paperback for those reasons. If I'm reading an old hardcover... I um, smell the pages every few chapters.
Is that so wrong? :lfacepalm:

[AchtungBaby]

I like both - a book is a book, no matter the format!

[mustangclaire]

As i've got older, i've "treated myself" to more hardbacks. When a new SK one comes out that is.

[jacobtlong]

Paperbacks for me. I only shell out the dough for a hardcover if a) I really like the artwork or b) It's a limited edition of a book I probably won't see available in any other format for years or maybe never again.

But honestly paperbacks are just cheaper and that's why I prefer them.

[TheInterloper]

What was the point of asking, hardback of course. I buy a paperback it gets torn in a couple days and I get pis#%

[Kati33]

I'm a paperback fan. But, I do own a fair amount of hardbacks and won't turn one down if I find it for the right price. :) I also enjoy my Kindle. I'm planning to re-read UTD here soon and I'll likely chose to read my ebook version vs. the hardcover I just bought (for $5- woohoo deal!) due to the weight of the hardcover.

And I too love the smell of books. My husband shakes his head and walks away when we walk into a bookstore and I immediately pick up a book and smell it. Weirds him out for some reason.

[TheEllimist]

I prefer hardcover books for my personal collection. They just look soooo much better on the shelf. A bookcase full of tattered and worn paperbacks just isn't appealing to me. However, I do prefer paperbacks from time to time. For Example, I bought Under the Dome on the day it was released and the gargantuan size made it difficult to read for long periods of time and am really glad that I read The Stand(extended & revised edit.) in paperback, but my mission is to acquire the entire SK universe in hardcover.

[Blues_Ken]

Hardback all the way. I loathe the fact that some of SK's works are only available as ebooks.

[The Nameless]

It depends on a few things for me.

I don't like damaging books, but I don't mind having damaged books (my IT is probably one reread away from falling apart) - I have a few paperbacks in new condition, that when I get around to reading I will end up creasing the spine and scuffing the front cover. When I buy them used though, I like the edges to be tanned, the spine creased, a slight curve to it, smelling of old wood etc.

In terms of ease of use, hard backs extra weight and hard edges digging in cramp up my hands after a while, I find paperbacks easier to hold. However, when I read in bed, I lay on my side, head on pillow. Hardback is more convenient for this - early in the book I can just lift up the front cover and it gives a good stiff backing to the pages, then on the right hand page, I can stand the book open on the bed and reverse the proccess towards the end of the book. In the middle I just stand it up for both pages.

The introduction of the eReader adds another element, I was unsure how much I would use it at first, but I use it alot (mine is a kobo - cheaper than the kindle, does the same job, and allows more formats, same reason I will never own an iPhone/iPad).

Right now, I am reading The Stand (Uncut), and funnily enough I bought a paperback copy, my Uncle bought me a hardback, and I have an eBook version. I use the paperback downstairs, the hardback upstairs and the ebook when I go out. I try to stop reading at new chapters to make it easier to switch formats.

Because they both have good and bad points, I will generally go for the cheapest one. My SK collection is made up mostly of paperbacks, I have about 47, only 5 or 6 are hardback. If I had the money, I would buy them all new in hardback just for aesthetics.

[fljoe0]

Hardbacks for the books I want to keep. But I do think from a comfort standpoint, my favorite format is the trade paperback (not the small mass market ones). I like the lighter weight and flexible covers. Some of the mass market paperbacks are ok but do you ever get one where the copy goes to close to the center and you have to practically break the spine to read the book? Another thing I hate in the mass market paperbacks that happens occasionally is small type. A small book with small type is not a pleasant reading experience.

I do like reading on the kindle but for my favorites, I want to have a hard copy. I keep my eye on the kindle daily deal for the $1.99 specials. I like picking up kindle versions of my favorite books that I already have in hard cover that I plan on reading again someday. Under The Dome was a $1.99 kindle book a few months ago, so I got that one. When I read it again, it will be on the kindle.

[Lina]

I like hardbacks, because usually they are easier to read, but unfortunately it is impossible to find a book in English here in hardback, so I have to like soft cover ;-D Anyway, the most important thing is for a book to be good.

[king family fan]

I get both. Paperback for reading and my collection is hardcovers.

[starkblast19]

I'll go with Hardbacks they look better on a bookshelf and are sturdier, although sometimes the bigger ones make my poor old arms and wrist ache and they make a hell of a noise when you drop them while nodding off reading into wee hours.