How Do You Take Yours?

Paperback? Trade Paperback? Hardcover? eBook? Audio Book?

This question is prompted by this impassioned article in support of the endangered hardcover. My first thought is of course, that I am not particularly concerned with the fate of the hardcover, I wouldn't be particularly sad to see it go. Of course, this has to do with reading style, and I understand that publishers have determined that all of these different formats appeal to different people, the markets are just different. They make judgements about whether a book will sell in paperback or trade paperback. Sometimes they determine it will sell well in both, so they release it in both at the same time. What they don't do that with is hardcover, and that's why I don't like them. I'm not a hardcover reader, I like to carry at least one book around with me at all times, because, as far as reading is concerned, the day is full of moments (there would be a link here to a Penny Arcade comic, but their archives are down). Hardcovers are too big for this. If you have the time, it could be really nice to curl up in an armchair with a good hardcover, but I do my reading when I can, which is usually on the go.

Also, if you really love a book, it has a high chance of surviving longer in your library than if it is a paperback. So I do see the benefits. What I don't see is why those of us who don't typically want to read a book in hardcover have to wait until the publisher decides that the market for the hardcover has slowed down before they release the book in other formats. Wait. I do see. It's because it costs more. This is why I enjoyed Damien Walter's post about hardcovers or, as he calls them, hardbacks. I like the idea of an independent company publishing attractive hardcover volumes. I've purchased a few books in hardcover that I initially had in paperback because I loved them and wanted to have them for a long time.

On the other hand, I don't want to pay hardcover price because there's a new hot book out there that I'm curious to read, and it's only available in hardcover. What I do then is decide to wait until the book comes out in paperback, then as often as not, I forget about the book. Goodreads helps with that. I find it very useful to be able to keep a 'to read' list. It's made me less likely to forget those books I wanted to remember, and more likely to be truly aware of the Sisyphean task that is reading everything I want to read.