My first poll!
I really don’t like the mass market style, since I’ve been spoiled by the larger trade version, and tend to avoid them, unless I can’t find the book in my preferred format. And it’s rare for me to listen to an audiobook; I prefer having the book in my hands and find that most of the time, I can’t concentrate on the audio version. Once in a while, I’ll get one that I’ve already read for Mike and I to listen to if we’re going on a long drive.
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I usually read whatever I can buy the cheapest or whatever I find at the library.
My hubby and daug can’t stand to read with the book jackets on, but they don’t bother me. I do like a nice looking book.
There’s almost nothing as much fun as looking at the newest hardcover arrivals at the library…a close second is a trade paperback. Now that I’m driving an hour a day, I’m learning to listen to audio, but it has to be fairly mindless fiction, or nonfiction that’s not too hard to follow. Driving can be pretty distracting.
I went with trade paperback too, for many of the same reasons. I tend not to need durability, since I don’t reread books, and I discovered that if all I bought were trade paperbacks, they line up so very nicely on the bookshelf. When I do have a hardcover, I will put the jacket in a safe place while I’m reading, and put it back on when I’m done and it goes back on the shelf.
I am most definitely a trade paperback girl. I like the ease of carrying them in a purse or book bag, they’re comfy to hold, and they’re pretty.
Fun survey! I prefer trade paperbacks, too. They’re easier (than a hardcover) to read in bed and the mass market type IS too small. I tried audio books a few times, but don’t have a long enough commute to make them worthwhile.They ARE great for road trips, however; Rod and I enjoy listening to Bill Bryson while on the road. I love the artwork on trade paperbacks, too. They just seem so pleasing to the eye.
I wonder if there’s a gender thing going on here
. I like the smaller ones that will fit into the back pocket of jeans/slacks. Until manbags are more widely accepted, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
I voted for trade paperback, but it was really a toss-up between that and mass market. But then, I realized I only like the mass market because of the price and the smell. Trade paperbacks look more grown up and I like they way smell, too, so really, the only drawback is that they cost more than the mass market. How sad is it that I base my book preference on smell?
I’m also a trade paperback kinda girl. They are just easier to carry.
An interesting thing to point out. There was this second hand bookstore, that has since closed, and I used to go there all the time. One of the times I was talking about how I wish this trade copy of a book had been there when I bought my mass, and it surprised the owners. They said that the majority of their female customers prefer mass. They said it was something about the closeness and experience with a littler book. Made me wonder if it was older woman, because most people I know prefer bigger books.
It was interesting that most of those who commented on this blog were for trade paper back books. My first book that I had published was a trade paper back, For the Love of Joy, by Publish America. It was a small book but they over priced it and that hurt the sales. They didn’t edit it well and I was emarrassed by it. [I now have my own editor] I believe that the trade books are more expensive to produce. I went to a different publisher and told them that I wanted my next book, Mercy Triumphs, to be produced for the mass market. I also had something to say about the price.
Hardcovers for me.
The longevity of them, and the quality of the high-end ones (e.g. Franklin Library) really draws me.
Trades second, for the reasons already mentioned.
First time visitor to your blog and just had to leave a comment!
I much prefer trade paperbacks – they are nice to hold and the print is easy on the eyes, not to mention they are so much cheaper than hardcovers. I don’t have anything against hardcovers, except the price and the fact that they are expensive to mail ( a bookcrossing woe!)
Lovely blog, I will have to visit again!
I prefer MM because with MM books, not only are they cheaper, but they’re easier to carry around. I find HBs to be cumbersome when you’re trying to read in bed or when you want to carry them in your purse, book bag, etc. Trades…I just don’t like trades for some reason but I will buy them occasionally.
While for aesthetics I prefer the trade paperbacks, mass market are cheaper and need less space. Certainly important considerations for a bookmaniac with limited space and a guy who wants some room, too.
The price influences me most when I purchase a book.
Since I’m a collector and I almost always only buy books that I plan to keep indefinitely, I prefer hardcovers and I cover the dust jackets in protective covers of their own. I do own quite a few trade paperbacks and find them much easier to carry to and from the office but I don’t go out of my way to buy them. Heck, these days books are discounted to the degree that I sometimes find the hardcover edition of a book to be selling for less than the trade paperback edition even in the same bookstore.
BTW, this is my first stop here and I like what I see…nice blog.
I tend to find that the form factor of a trade paperback is just easier for the variety of places and times I might want to read in. And the lesser cover price certainly doesn’t hurt!
Trade Paperback’s are my pick.
Mass have too tiny of print, hardbacks too heavy and bulky, audio…no, I like to hear the characters in my own “voice”
~Rebecca
I used to buy paperbacks, but I re-read my books so many times they get thrashed. So now I only buy hardbacks, or trade paperbacks. I also like that most of the books on my shelves are similar heights; mm paperbacks are too short. It’s an aesthetic thing.
I’m not a fan of paperbacks. The spine cracks, pages fall out, etc.