Do You Like Your Books Hard or Soft?

Some readers prefer hardcover books. Most seem to prefer soft, at least in my experience.

Actually, softcover books come in two sizes – trade paperback, which is approximately the same size as a hardcover, but without the hard cover; and, mass market paperback, which is the usual and smaller format for genre fiction (mysteries, science fiction, romance, etc.)

Most readers seem to prefer the trade paperback size, both for fiction and nonfiction books. It is easier to read the words on the page, especially close to the in-ner margin, than a mass market paperback, and it is easier to hold open with one hand than either a hardcover or a mass market paperback. And, it’s almost half the price of a hardcover book.

Trade paperbacks are generally in the $14-16 price range, holding pretty steady over the past few years. The price of hardcover books, however, continues to escalate, with most now above $25 and an increasing number over $30. These prices are difficult to defend, since a trade paperback book is the same size as its hardcover counterpart. The price shouldn’t double just because the publisher adds a hard cover and a dust jacket to the same printed pages.

But that (how books are priced) is a topic for a future column.

As a bookseller, my life would be much easier if all books were published only in the trade paperback size. All our bookshelves would have the same spacing, since they would only have to accommodate one size book.

But, that would be pretty boring. I actually like the variety of shapes and sizes of books, not to mention the plethora of cover art and colors. Upon walking into a bookstore, one almost immediately experiences a wonderful form of sensory overload. With so many shapes, sizes and colors displayed, just where does one begin?

And, just to be clear, I’m not against hardcover books – they look great on a bookshelf and generally age better than softcover books. There is always the just-published bestseller that is a must-have, even in hardcover; or, the newest book by a favorite author and waiting a whole year for the paperback version to come out is out of the question.

I just have a hard time defending the $27.99 price tag of the newest James Patterson book, a book that he didn’t really write all by himself. Or most of the hard-cover books listed on the New York Times bestseller list. But as I said, I’ll discuss these issues in more detail some other time.

In the meantime, it really doesn’t matter what format you prefer. It’s whatever makes you feel good while reading it. It may be a hardcover, with its sturdy cover and brightly colored dust jacket; it may be the trade paperback you are reading for your book club; or, it may be the broken-spine, dog-eared mass market paperback that you can stuff into your purse or pocket. It’s all good.