When it comes to physical prints of books, some people hold a preference for whether they read from a paperback print or a more durable hardcover version. Some people couldn’t care less.
But why do we sometimes lean towards one or the other? And what are the advantages and drawbacks of either format?
Paperback
Given that they can be produced and shipped for less money than their hardcover counterparts, it decreases the cost for readers and makes them a go-to option for many of us. Generally speaking, a brand new paperback print can be bought in stores for around £5-10 (depending on the book), whereas hardcovers are often well in.
On top of being cheap, paperback books are typically smaller, both in dimensions and thickness. This makes them easier to take on the go, and the lack of a firm and durable cover means that they aren’t quite as heavy or bulky when placed in a bag. It also means you can typically fit more onto your bookshelf.
Even if they can be bent, creased, or suffer a cracked spine, paperbacks aren’t just disintegrating at your every touch. Yes, they are easier to soak, stain, and warp — but they aren’t that fragile in reality. When stored correctly and handled with care, a ten or twenty-year-old paperback book can still look almost as good as new (except for some slight discolouring of the actual pages and an inevitable hint of wear).
Lastly, a paperback is perfectly suitable. It may not feel as might as a hardcover, not look as impressive when lined up on a shelf, but it’s a more than appropriate way to enjoy literature. They are efficient in almost every sense of the word, arguably making them more eco-friendly throughout the manufacture, shipping, and recycling process than their more durable cousin.
Hardcover
They might not win the war when it comes to price and affordability, but they do win it with regard to quality. Hardcovers may not be designed for throwing around, but they withstand a good chunk more than a paperback typically would. Their firm cover ensures that pages are hard to bend, and can easily be flattened back out by pressing down the cover and giving it some time.
Quality also shines through in an aesthetic sense. Not only do we associate thick and heavy books with an image of sophistication, but many hardcovers have beautiful, old-fashioned designs that simply aren’t on paperbacks. Hardcovers can feature nice engravings, bigger artwork, and can usually relegate the book’s author and title to the spine of the work (allowing the front and back of the cover to remain much more aesthetically pleasing). Paperbacks rarely do this, and when it comes to details they can feature, you’ll be lucky if the covers are sometimes embossed or have a unique shape like Klara and the Sun‘s Faber & Faber paperback.
Material is another factor, as not every hardcover is made the same, but still remain more diverse than paperbacks. The thickness of the wood can vary, but that’s not what I’m getting at. Paperbacks are just paper, often given a coating of sorts to make the outside easier to clean and remain that bit more resistant against the elements — but it’s still just paper when you touch it. Hardcovers can simply be painted hard wood, woven in cloth, or (in some fancy cases) be shielded by another material like leather or metal. It was also common for them to include an attached fabric bookmark for your convenience, but that seems to have died out as time has gone on.
The last main point in their favour comes down to editions. Hardcovers were once the norm, that’s just how books came before we got the cheap and cheerful paperback. So many debuting works only release in paperback at first, or the hardcover is relegated to being a pre-order or limited exclusive. In such cases, these hardcover editions often contain extra details and value through author signatures, forewords, afterwords, samples and snippets of other work, or unique artwork and other exclusive things not included in the commercial paperback.
On that note, as a bonus point, you also have to consider that hardcovers usually hold their value a lot more. In fact, they can go up in value across decades and decades, especially if you have a rare or hard to find edition. I own a rare copy of Pride & Prejudice — one I’ll never read or care about, but I sit with the knowledge that I could sell it for £60-100 simply because it’s a particularly limited hardcover version. I also have a cheaper hardcover version from the 1970s, which maybe goes for £15 at best — the going rate for most hardcovers. But yes, with the right amount of care and obscurity, your hardcovers can easily explode in resell value when compared to the flimsy and not-so-rare paperbacks.
I hope this has given you something to think about when you next go book shopping. Think about what you value as a reader, your comfort, and what you want from a book. If you’re the sort to give books away when you finish them, then stick to the paperback; those who hold onto them for the rest of time should consider the much tougher and attractive hardcover.
Personally, I lean more towards paperbacks, for almost every reason. They’re cheaper, so that makes it easier to obtain more books on the same budget; they are easier to locate second-hand; their light and flexible design is more comfortable for a range of positions and feels more ergonomic to me; I can fit more into my bookshelf; their sizes are a lot more uniform than hardcovers; and I’m just not as fond as fiddling around with a sturdy cover whenever I’m trying to flick pages.
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