Hardcover VS Paperback

[Biodegradable]

 

This one's for all my fellow Doomworld bookworms. I wish to ask all of you a question that's been floating around in my head for a while: When you lot engage with literature in the physical sense, how do you prefer your book? For me personally, I've always preferred the good ol' reliable paperback. The first and foremost reason being that they're simply easier to hold in my hands for long stretches of time. Instead of being heavy and cumbersome, they're light and soft and there's no flimsy dust jacket getting in the way, making my fingers slip about or just being a nuisance when I'm trying to read. Secondly, they're much easier to pack! Need to head off somewhere and want to bring some reading material? Just stash a couple of small paperbacks away in your suitcase and you're golden. Thirdly, paperbacks are much less expensive and considering you're mostly paying for the pleasure of reading the words inside the book itself, I'm much less bothered by the cover so I'm not all that fussed if the hardcover's cover design is much flashier than the paperback's.

 

Mind you, it does have its drawbacks. Now I take very good care of my books, but paperbacks do damage a lot more easily. Tiny frayed edges and wrinkled spines are a simple consequence of use and travel, so I've had to accept them as the simple reality one must accept with a paperback, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me at least a little. I guess I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't COMPLETELY unbothered by the hardcover's tendency to get the much more interesting cover design compared to its paperback counterpart. You look at the cover designs for the same book in both versions and the hardcover tends to always have something cooler or stylish. And yet, aside from them being a little bit more sturdy and having cooler cover designs, the paperback still wins out for me.

 

But what about the rest of you? Are you a fellow paperback enthusiast like myself or will you sing the virtues of the hardcover in vigorous defense and put me in my place? Hell, maybe you're one of those... ergh... Kindle readers I used to see on the train, flicking away pages on a tablet or some sort and want to tell us dinosaurs off for not evolving with you!

 

Please, discuss and indulge me. :^)

[DNSKILL5]

I like both but prefer paperback usually for novels because they often take up less room than hardcovers, but if it is a graphic novel or something along those lines I do prefer hardcover because it’s easier to keep the pages open in my experience. I have a lot of both though because most of the time there wasn’t much choice involved. If I had to choose just one and space wasn’t a concern it would be hardcovers though, but many of the books I own are out of print so there’s little chance to get many of them in hardcover. 
 

While I do a lot of reading on smartphones and monitors reading wikis, forums, etc… I can’t really get into reading books and novels that way. Idk why, but it just feels awkward as hell for me. The only exception is for school books because 9/10 I didn’t actually need to read them entirely and didn’t want to have a bunch of books that would become useless within a year stuck on my shelf. I also don’t mind reading comics this way either, but do prefer the physical thing, but I am not going to spend a load of money on the old comics when I can just use a subscription and get all of the comics on my phone.

Edited April 27, 2023 by CAM-7EA

[Gez]

I prefer hardcover. Stronger, sturdier, doesn't open itself up automatically, and deters certain people I know from breaking the book's spine to keep it open.

[Bridgeburner56]

Ultimately I prefer hardcover, they hold at the current page a lot easier than paperback and have greater survivability. But the price is usually off-puttingly high so paperback is what I mostly own.

[Murdoch]

I am pro books of all forms but there's no denying the appeal of a beautiful hardback with great artwork and/or some embossing. One of my favourites is my complete collection of Shakespeare complete with epic cover art and gold edging. Now this is a book.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Murdoch

[Biodegradable]

9 minutes ago, CAM-7EA said:

I have a lot of both though because most of the time there wasn’t much choice involved. If I had to choose just one and space wasn’t a concern it would be hardcovers though, but many of the books I own are out of print so there’s little chance to get many of them in hardcover. 

 

That's an excellent point I forgot about, Cam, sometimes the option simply isn't there. I've had to settle for a hardcover version of a book I wanted in paperback a fair few times now. Given how much cheaper paperbacks are to produce, you'd think they'd be the easier version to obtain!

[Insaneprophet]

Ive got to agree with Bio on just about every one of his points. And I reiterate that dust jackets are the bane of my own existence. Over 20 yrs ago I decided to just completely remove them and leave them on the shelf as soon as I start reading a hard cover. That though has somehow led to more than half the hard covers in my library missing thier dust jackets in the end. No, maybe my previous experimentation using the dust jackets as book marks may have played a part in them becoming lost... oh who cares, f*** hard covers. Ive learned to accept that my wife and I, read, reread, and punish books so much that an occasional re-purchase will be in order and paperback is the only cost effective route for us.

 

Edit. But I have zero problem buying a hard cover if its the next in the series Im reading and half price books doesnt have it in paperback. 😃

Edited April 27, 2023 by Insaneprophet

[smeghammer]

Both I think.

 

For example, we have all the Terry Pratchett (several times...) and a shelf with all the hardback editions, mostly with the Josh Kirby artwork, which just looks cool; and paperback editions which are smaller/lighter, and easy for bog-reading. Essentially, if they get - er - foxed, it's not a problem. I do have a huge collection of pulp paperback scifi I collected back in the day, mostly from charity shops as well.

 

Things like large format text/reference books, generally better in hard cover, for durability.  As noted above though, these can be really expensive.

 

>>> EDIT <<<

Also - prompted by @Murdoch's comment above - there is most definitely something to be said for a beautiful book. I got hold of a reproduction first edition (translated) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with the 19th century font face and the original illustrations. Hard cover of course.

Edited April 27, 2023 by smeghammer

[DNSKILL5]

To sort of elaborate further, I do think ultimately it really does depend on the type of book for me. Novels like I said I do agree with Bio on why paperback is preferred, because it’s the sort of book you may read just about anywhere… but books that are much more image heavy I do find work better as hardcovers, the type of books you may not hold in your hands but leave open on a desk for long periods of time. I do have some paperbacks that are thick enough that they almost feel like hardcovers themselves, too.

 

Also, hardcovers absolutely have drawbacks. Not only are they cumbersome to hold in various positions (I don’t think they’d lend themselves well to reading outside or on a beach chair for example), the cool covers mentioned are usually very delicate and tear easily, and if that doesn’t do them in they also tend to deteriorate as time goes on. I have a HUGE hard cover book about the US Civil War (it’s also long since out of print), and it had an amazing artwork that spanned both sides of the book that showed a battle and you could see the POV of each side of the war, one for each side of the book with them clashing in the center. Well, that lovely art has long since deteriorated and now it looks like a really huge book you’d find in an old library. Still, I could not imagine a book of that size being in paperback without it being in multiple parts. It is such a huge book!

[RDETalus]

I read most things on digital first. If the book is really good, then I will order a hard cover copy.

 

This saves a lot of space; I like to read a lot but not all things I read are worth taking up physical space.

 

Sometimes I will convert a softcover into a hardcover by creating a case binding and gluing it over the paperback.

[Murdoch]

1 hour ago, smeghammer said:

Also - prompted by @Murdoch's comment above - there is most definitely something to be said for a beautiful book. I got hold of a reproduction first edition (translated) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with the 19th century font face and the original illustrations. Hard cover of course.

 

Nice one. Yes, books can be works of art as well as repositories of knowledge and stories. And hardbacks do that best.

[Biodegradable]

3 hours ago, RDETalus said:

Sometimes I will convert a softcover into a hardcover by creating a case binding and gluing it over the paperback.

 

That's an interesting little hobby you've got there, fam. Would you care to share a pic of one of these handmade conversions?

[vyruss]

Hard for me to qualify a "best" physical structure for a book, as that which imparts knowledge is worth more than its physical structure.  I can go with hard/soft cover or digital, so long as whatever I'm reading gives me the feeling of reading a book instead of continuing to stare at my computer screens - having to lay it down on a desk or to hold it in my hands to gain its contents.

[xavrua]

Have to go with Hardcover on this one. Mind you, I do own a lot of paperback as well but hardcovers just hit different. I like how they don't flop around after you've opened them and they are much more satisfying to hold as well at least in my opinion. ALSO, you can get special edition books that are hardcover only like the page edges are covered in a unique ink or patterns. It's really cool.

[Murdoch]

1 hour ago, Biodegradable said:

 

That's an interesting little hobby you've got there, fam. Would you care to share a pic of one of these handmade conversions?

 

I second this request.

[HavoX]

Paperback is cheaper, but the covers do come off if you're not careful with them..

[RDETalus]

3 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

Would you care to share a pic of one of these handmade conversions?

 

This is the only picture I have on hand: Coated fabric bookcloth with laser engraved spine text. Spine text is filled with gold paint. I made this to replace the destroyed paperback on a nice book I found at a used bookstore.

Case binding is a very simple process, it's three pieces of thick cardboard and your choice of bookcloth. Measuring everything correctly is the only hard part. Hardcovers have critical dimensions that must be followed to allow them to open and close properly.

 

The bookcloth can be leather, fabric, decorative paper, etc... I've made some hardcovers out of movie posters and art prints as well. Although if you use poster paper, you have to glue some thick cardstock to the back of the poster paper where the spine bends because poster paper by itself isn't strong enough to resist tearing when you're opening and closing the book constantly.

 

It's not a perfect conversion process though because hardcovers and paperbacks have fundamentally different methods of gluing their spine / pages together. So your paperback converted into hardcover won't open quite the same as a real hardcover.

 

 

 

I recommend watching this video if you're interested in making your own:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by RDETalus

[Andrea Rovenski]

hard cover any day, always worth the price

[rita remton]

if there is a choice between hardcover and paperback, i prefer hardcover, then wrap the covers with a clear plastic book-wrapper for extra protection.

[Bugslide]

If I want a really nice version of a book, hardcover all the way. Typically I go for paperback though, since I find them more convenient.

[netcurse2000]

Digital. Dinosaurs are doomed.

[volleyvalley]

Hardcover every time. It's always worth to pay the extra price.

[Jacek Bourne]

Hardcover. They both look better and are more durable. The increased price isn’t a bother to me because I don’t get new books often.

[Bri0che]

Yey, a literature discussion, i'm in :)

 

I don't have any particular preference… As always with everything, both have their cons and pros. Well, if I had a gun to the head and had no choice but respond I would maybe take hardcover, for one only reason : hardcovered books have a ancient charm.

And, I don't know why but, I expect an hardcovered book to deliver some "words of wisdom". This mean absolutely nothing of cours, but I believe they have an unique contrast compared to modern books. Here is maybe a comparison of french books I have from paperback (left) vs hardover (right) (the Jules Verne's title is "Les Cinq Cents Millions de la Bégum") :

 

(not qualitative photography I'm sorry, I don't have a good phone xd)

 

 

Hardcover is prettier, but in practice paperback is more convenient for today's mobility.

[Stroggman]

After reading thru this post I am inclined to go with a good ol hardcover

[MrHellstorm17]

Books became so expensive nowadays... I had to switch to e-books from torrents

[LadyMistDragon]

Paperback because my poor body can't take no heaviness.(:

[ICID]

Paperback. Portability is key and I actually kinda like how they look when they get all worn out and fucked up. I like how anyone can tell just by looking at my copy of e.g.. Naked Singularity that it has been well-read and well-loved.

 

That said I've got a couple of large 500+ page paperbacks that I really wish were hardbacks, trying to support that much weight with just one hand (when you're not around the middle of the book) is ridiculous.

[HorseJockey]

13 hours ago, Gez said:

breaking the book's spine to keep it open.

This! My friend does this, grabs both sides of the book and bends it open, you hear the slow crack as a fresh crease runs down the spine and I burst into tears lol. I don't know why I'm so particular about my books staying in good condition, they are meant for reading. I have a copy of Diary by Chuck Palahuniuk that I have read so many times the cover is worn from my fingers, but all my other books have library covers on them. One of my favorites is an out of print copy of The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende. The type face is in green when in the real world and red when in fantastica. The other two hard covers I have that I rarely ever touch are a copy of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass both from 1923, I have newer copies that I read because I'm afraid those will just turn to dust if I over handle them.

[Geniraul]

I remember couple of paperback books that opened themselves up when I was putting them on a table. Once they touched the table, there were maybe about 80 pages bent in each book 😅 That alone is already a valuable enough reason for me to prefer hardcover books.

 

P. S.

 

Quote

they touched the table, there

 

5 words in a row which all begin with the "t" letter, I did not expect that, but I am quite impressed 😅