BTT: Format

All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why?

I would rather have hardcovers in my library. In fact, when I buy used books online I usually opt for the hardback. I don't mind if the dust cover is missing or in poor shape I just prefer hardbacks and here is why.

• They usually have better cover designs. I have two copies of some books because I find the hardback cover more appealing and will pass on the paperback to friends.

• The paperback usually get bent up, the spines creased, or pages torn due to a soft cover. I'm hard on my books.

• I don't like paperbacks that have the Oprah's Book Club label, or other reading group label on them. Hardbacks usually don't have these labels. Nor do I want the "Reading Guide Inside" label. I'm not interested in these. I also don't like paperbacks with movie themed covers. I don't want the movie, I want the book. I think by having a movie scene as a cover it cheapens the book. I also don't want friends thinking I just read the book because it was a movie. People forget that it was a book first.
  

• Yes, the price is different however if I want a book badly enough I'll read it at the library and wait to purchase a used hardcover copy. I'm usually a year behind in my reading anyway so price usually isn't an issue.
  

• Storage? We have more books than the rest of the people on our block. Some people have televisions in their living room, we have a library. They surround us. Hardcovers don't take up more room that paperbacks when you have as many books as we do. I think we will always make room for books. We also try to weed through them every so often. In fact we did this over the weekend.