Two questions on books

[Soubriquet]

Do you prefer hardback or softback? Do you wait for the softback if only the hardback is available or are you desperate to read so get the hardback anyway?

And don’t you hate when an author does a series of books, they all have a certain style cover, then the last two suddenly change and they don’t match anymore

Kindle readers not welcome here

I much prefer paperbacks. Much comfier for cosying up in bed. I had to wait months to read The Sun Sister because I have the whole set in paperback and didn't want to mess it up.

I must admit to loving my kindle too but I tend to read free books on there and get a lot of books from charity shops, markets etc

Paperback, but if I am desperate to read it on release I'll get the hardback. I am a cheap person though, so I only ever do that for books I am really desperately keen to read.

And yes, non matching covers is bad and wrong. I have the first eight Arkady Renko novels, all bought second hand, and every one of them is of a totally different cover style. Different shapes and sizes too! But DH says it would be insane to buy all 8 again just to have the covers match (he is wrong).

Same as PP - I generally prefer paperbacks as they are easier to read in bed, cart about etc, and take up less space on the shelf, but if I really want to read something I will buy it in hardback . This usually means I have the first three or four books of a series in paperback and the later ones in hardback, which should be the other way around as the later ones are usually not as good.
On the other hand I am very hardwearing on paperbacks and have read quite a few into tatters, so if I really like a book I like to have it in hardback.
I bought the latest Strike book in hardback but it's quite annoying - I can't read it in the bath, or lying down!

I prefer paperback but have bought hardbacks.

I’m glad it isn’t just me

Dh moans when I won’t let him buy me a book in hardback when I’ve been waiting ages for it to come out so sometimes I have to relent and I have hardbacks at the end of some series

And I really hate not having matching covers.

There’s a book coming out in early January which is part of a series I’ve been collecting for a while. All the older books have been re released with a new cover so I’m desperately hoping the new book has the old style cover not the new style

1.Signed version
2.Paperback
3.Hardback

1. Kindle edition

Depending on how desperate I am to read it and whether I’m likely to keep it. I aim for the same style but I’d choose a signed one over same style.

I prefer paperbacks but for my favourite authors I pre order the hardback because I can't wait. If the styling is different it doesn't bother me because my bookshelves are a mismatch anyway so it would fit somewhere.

I hate hardbacks but have bought a couple in the last 6 months because I didnt want to wait.
I'll only read a hardback in bed because they're too heave to lug about and this annoys me!

I also have a kindle that I couldn't live without 😁

All the older books have been re released with a new cover so I’m desperately hoping the new book has the old style cover not the new style

The new book will have the new cover. That's why they've re-released the series (rejacketed). Sorry!

The best you could hope for - if it was a REALLY big name author - is that they'll release a 'classic style' edition for set-completists in a limited run, and therefore be able to charge a premium for it...

Nooooooo!!!! Why do you do this to me Squirrels

Paperback. But I have recently bought a couple of hardbacks because I couldn’t wait to read them!

Hardbacks and those extra-large format paperbacks are too heavy for me to hold, so I wait for the 'normal' paperbacks. I wouldn't mind hardbacks if they were the same size as paperbacks, like the Tom Gates books.

I hate new books with inconsistent covers, too.

Paperbacks. I really struggle with hardbacks little hands so usually I'll try to get hold of a paperback version. Is it common for books to be released in hardback first & paperback at a later date? That's weird!

I assumed there wouldn't be a paperback version of Troubled Blood so I downloaded the Kindle app & read it that way. I'd prefer paperback but I found it less migraine inducing than I thought I would, once I'd turned the brightness on my phone right down & set it to sepia!

What keeps me awake at night is the random sizes of books.

I think there should be, say 10 or 11 sizes, along the lines of the ISO paper sizes A3. A4, A5 etc (but not those actual sizes, trying to read book that was sized A0 in bed would be a tad annoying)

If the EU could have introduced this one thing I would have voted against Brexit instead of being at home sorting my books into descending size order - again.

I always wonder why the release hardbacks before paperbacks but I think it’s because hardbacks cost more and they hope people are willing to spend more to get that new book as quick as possible

Paperback because it's easier / more comfortable to hold.

I really hate it when the publishers change cover designs. We have a collection and the last few look rubbish next to them.

Honestly, it depends on the book, but I tend to buy mostly hardbacks for DH from the bestsellers list because then I know he won’t have read them yet.
Must admit, I never pay much attention to the covers on books I buy. I just buy what I fancy reading. My bookcases are roughly grouped in subject order, about 80% in hardback as I‘m looking at them. I have bought books for DS in a series if he’s interested in them.

DH has some old Penguin paperbacks, one lot in orange that fill one mini bookcase and another lot in a green cover in another bookcase.

That’s probably the extent of any matching covers we have.

Always paperback. I try to forget about the books I want until the paperback is released.

This thread has reminded me about the new Lissa Evans being out now in hard back only!... taps fingers impatiently...

I have three old paperbacks from the 80's/90's. They are fat and stubby and one has embossed gold titles. A Stephen King, Watership Down and a Rosamund Pilcher. I need to replace them as they are taking up too much room with their girth!

I much prefer paperbacks. Hardbacks are uncomfortable to hold, and I dislike dustjackets. I sometimes get given hardbacks for birthday/Christmas, and tend to remove the dustjacket while I’m reading the book (I don’t throw them away though; that would be very wrong. I put them back on to shelve the book).

I have a mix of hardbacks and paperbacks. I read a lot and really don’t mind between the two, although I’m another that takes the dust jacket off to read (but back on to make a bookmark!).

I had a kindle but hated it, I love having a physical book in my hands and on my shelves. It’s now not had a software update in so long it’s obsolete and I honestly couldn’t care less!

Another thought - has anyone bought books (especially paperbacks) in the US? I’m always amazed by how much more floppy / flimsy they are - both softer covers and thinner paper I think. I can always tell which my US buys are just by picking them up and flicking through the pages!

@VintageStitchers

Honestly, it depends on the book, but I tend to buy mostly hardbacks for DH from the bestsellers list because then I know he won’t have read them yet. Must admit, I never pay much attention to the covers on books I buy. I just buy what I fancy reading. My bookcases are roughly grouped in subject order, about 80% in hardback as I‘m looking at them. I have bought books for DS in a series if he’s interested in them.

DH has some old Penguin paperbacks, one lot in orange that fill one mini bookcase and another lot in a green cover in another bookcase.

That’s probably the extent of any matching covers we have.

I’m collecting the green penguins. Even they annoy me as the title/numbers change direction

@Soubriquet

I always wonder why the release hardbacks before paperbacks but I think it’s because hardbacks cost more and they hope people are willing to spend more to get that new book as quick as possible

At the risk of enraging you rather than enlightening, Soub, you’re totally right. It’s basically the book world equivalent of films on cinema release then general release 6 months later.

Cinema release = most profits.
Download/streaming/Blu-ray/DVD = most popular

The profit margin on a £16.99 RRP hardback is much, much more than twice that of a £7.99 paperback. You’ll sell less hardbacks than paperbacks, though, so overall the paperbacks should make you more money. So release first in a fancy HB edition, with all the hype, and sell some but not loads at a high value to committed fans and people who buy to collect, and libraries etc. Then 4-8 months later, release in paperback and sell loads at a lower profit to all the people (like you, and the vast majority) who prefer a paperback.

Newspapers only really review hardbacks, so if you want the hype, and to build buzz, you need a staggered release. That book ‘everyone’ was talking about a couple months ago - ooh, there it is on Amazon for pre-order on the paperback. Bargain, don’t mind if I do...

Extra wrinkle is ebooks, which publishers often sell at insane discounts (like 99p when the hardback is £20) in order to build buzz again - it creates Amazon reviews and ratings and ‘word of mouth’ so they’ll (hopefully) sell even more of the paperback in due course...

Hardbacks, hardbacks always hardbacks. If I have a paperback and really enjoyed it, I'll replace it in hardback.

Depends on the book. I prefer paperback because the are easier to hold and read, but I'm a bit weird about having editions that aren't the ones I first read iyswim. This also means a lot of my series of books don't match and I'm never sure whether having matching covers but not my original copies is worse than non matching covers that are my originals.

A lot of my Enid Blytons are hardback (Dean &Sons publishers), but they were mostly charity shop/car boot sale buys so some are the 60s covers, some are 70s and some are 80s. Even a couple of 90s. They don't match which makes me sad, but the earlier editions have less books in the series so I couldn't collect them all unless I get the newer covers which are my least fav.

I have Harry Potter in the original covers, a mix of paper and hard back.
I'm also collecting the hardback house editions - chose hardback because I preferred the design only for the next ones to be the opposite way round

I read my copy of Ballet Shoes to death, but couldn't find a copy that matched mine anywhere :(. I didn't want a shitty sparkly pink cover, but eventually they bought out a new hardback version which I have accepted as better than nothing.

Sometimes it's quite stressful being me