Sunday 17 May 2015

Paperbacks VS Hardbacks.

Sunday 17 May 2015

I've had this post sitting in my drafts for a good few months so I decided that it was probably time for me to go back and actually write it - after all, you can't read it if it never get's posted. I'm also jamming to High School Musical so if my thoughts seem a little jumpy it's because I took a break to dance around.

Paperbacks have always been my poison for a number of reasons. I know there a few people out there who solely read hardbacks but I've never been that type of person - and, of course, as someone who has 3 hardbacks to 197 paperbacks, I thought it'd be appropriate for me to write a paperback vs. hardback post. Obviously.

Paperbacks: 

Paperbacks are generally a whole lot cheaper than hardbacks and I'm not made of money. Seriously, when it comes to spending £8 or £13-£17 on a book with exactly the same content I think I know what I'm going to choose. I know that the higher price is because of manufacturing and the materials etc but I'm just not willing to fork out a whole £5 extra for something that is exactly the same as the cheaper version. #sorrynotsorry.

I have chicken arms. I don't work out and I definitely don't lift weights so when it comes to the heftiness of a hardback, it certainly lives up to it's name. Paperbacks, as a general rule, are easier to read - they're lighter, I'm not constantly worried about ruining the dust jacket and I don't get that annoying crease in my hands. I can read a paperback in one sitting but if I'm reading a hardback I have to keep taking breaks just so that my arms don't get ridiculously tired. It's honestly a nightmare.

Limited space is prevalent and it's real. I can't be buying hardbacks that take up double the space that a paperback does. I simply can't. I hardly have enough space for the amount of paperbacks that I have as it is. When I'm not around my books are like 'WE'RE BREAKING FREE' and it's not a fun time when I have to go around and put them back into place.

Hardbacks: 

There is the argument that hardbacks are nicer to look at, and this I agree with. Somewhat. With their equal height and pristine dust jackets they can look absolutely beautiful on a shelf. I'm a huge fan of neat bookshelves and my paperback filled shelf is just not neat, it has character, but it's not neat. You win this time hardbacks. What time is it? Hardbacks.

Paperbacks have one shot, one chance to get it right, it's now or never. But hardbacks, oh hardbacks, they have the book cover UNDER the dust jacket, they have the inside flaps, they have it all. Naked hardbacks are glorious, they are wondrous, they are fabulous, they are everything. I could go into my favourite naked hardbacks but we'd be here forever and there are only so many High School Musical references I can make until it gets old.

If you're a hardcore paperback collector like me then you'll know the pain of waiting for a book long after it's release. Switch to hardbacks and you'll never have to know that pain again - I promise you. This is the biggest advantage of hardbacks, honestly. I'd waste all of that money and space to never have to wait for a paperback release ever again. You can bet on it.

Despite my bias I love ALL books. So I challenge you to stand up with your books and sing it with me now 'Once we know, that we are, we're all stars, and we see that, we're all in this together' please and thank you.

8 comments :

  1. I blame all the pretty pictures of hardcovers for making me buy them. Backlist hardcovers are really cheap here, so I'm willing to splurge on those, but I only buy hardcovers if I really love the series. If I'm just trying the book out, I buy the paperback.

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    1. That's a good system! If a hardback is cheap/I'm desperate for the book/It's only being released in hardback then I'll get it but if there's another option then I'll go for that.

      Thanks for leaving your thoughts, Shannelle!

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  2. Like you, I go with the cheap option whenever I can and I like the feeling of paperbacks more. It's easier to hold, but hardbacks definitely look more gorgeous on the shelves (and sometimes their hidden design under the jacket <3) The only time I go with a hardback is when I know for a 100% I will love it or when I just don't have the patience to wait for the paperback release.

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    1. Hardbacks can be so heavy and hard to read sometimes. Blech.

      Thanks for stopping by, Mel! <3

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  3. Ohh yeah I definitely get the weight thing. My hardback of Heir of Fire is a BEAST when I compare it to the paperbacks of the first two books. It’s kind of scary O_O

    Ultimately I made the switch to hardbacks because NEED NEW RELEASES ASAP, but the more I’m aware of all those new releases, the more my bank account is crying. I’ve had to be pretty stringent sometimes, and choose which ones I can wait for and which ones I can’t. So when books are released straight to paperback, like some HarperTeen books (Czukas and West!), I have to do a happy dance in the aisles!

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    1. When I saw that amazon had All The Bright Places (released a week earlier) in paperback I nearly cried I was so happy hahahaha.

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  4. I CAN NEVER CHOOSE! Paperbacks are cheaper, and easier to carry and easier to read... but hardbacks LOOK beautiful. And you never know, they might help my fitness regime! As long as we can agree that physical books are better than ebooks, that's fine by me!
    Beth x
    www.thequietpeople.com

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    1. We can for sure agree on that one ;) x

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