Booklr Questions – Hardbacks or paperbacks?
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Hardbacks or paperbacks?
Both hardback and paperback books have their pros and cons, and I like having both in my library. When it comes to buying books, I tend toward the cheapest option. I scour discount and used book stores, getting many of my reads for as little as a dollar.
The one type of book I try to stay away from now are the mass market paperbacks. I don’t buy many of those anymore – though I do have some – because the size is just seems awkward after reading so many of the larger trade paperbacks.
The only books that I feel need to be hardback are art and reference books – so they will hold up to more wear and tear from constant use. I do also love leather-bound books, so when I come across a book I love in a special leather-bound edition, I’m likely to purchase it.
And then there are concerns about series – I don’t generally care if I purchase books in a series in hardback or paperback, just that they are all the same.
What types of books are in your library?
I do prefer hardbacks for cookbooks, because I buy my cookbooks selectively, to — USE, and I want them to last. I have online pals in the Amazon UK cooking forum who have literally hundreds of cookbooks. I have niether the budget nor the space for that, and I bet they haven’t made more than one recipe apiece from all those–if that. I also like hardbacks for certain special books, reference books or books I re-read a lot.
Leather, well in Spain it’s hard to get real leather, even if that’s what you paid for! I have a “bonded leather” Bible that is…well, it’s not leather. I saw a leather-bound Shakespeare but they wanted 300 Euros for it. Yeah right.
Like you I used to trawl the second hand bookshops for cheap reads, but this hot dry climate is death on cheap paper! It turns dry and brittle. Nowadays I have my ebook readers–yes selection is a lot more limited but I can put a thousand books on one SD card. Thank goodness for Gutenberg and other freebie sources.
I could see where the hot dry weather would be a problem for second-hand book shopping. Like you, most of my leather-bound books aren’t real leather, but they are still beautiful and hold up well.
I don’t use eReaders. I spend enough time in front of a screen! If it is a book about Indiana or something that is a useful book, then I have the hardcover. If it is just something for fun, then it’s paperback.
I have a ton of cookbooks but I do use them all. I am one of those strange people that also likes to just READ cookbooks! Ha! 🙂 I greatly downsized what I had because I don’t really do collections. Now, it’s the stuff that I read and use or that my husband uses.
For second-hand books, I know some REALLY good shops! Definitely head to Batesville. I will be writing about that one soon. People have gotten lost in her shop!
That sounds like my kind of book shop! I’ll be looking forward to the review.