WLP Wants To Know – Hard Covers
February 6, 2010 in WLP Wants To Know
Hard Covers. You know you love them, okay fine not so much. They are not portable, you can’t stuff em in your pocket or in your purse. You can’t read them in the bathtub and one handed reading is out of the question. Did I forget to mention the price? Yes, we all love HC’s.
I told an author last weekend, who wasn’t too happy with my views on the Amazon/Macmillan deal that I paid $28.99 CDN for one of her HC’s before seeing it months later in the bargin bin for $7.99 CDN. Her response: “My book was never that much!” Umm sorry Mrs., yes yes it was…In Canada. After she realized that I was from Canada and had in fact paid that, I kid you not she stopped talking to me. Another HC off my list of to buys.
There are only few books I will pay for in Hard Cover: Kim Harrison, J.R. Ward, Charlaine Harris and Suzanne Collin’s YA series. I have decided those are the only HC books I will buy this year unless something amazing comes out, that everyone is talking about. I can’t pay over $25.00 for a book that will come out months later in Paperback, I can wait thank you very much.
I want to know:
Do you buy Hard Covers?
Who do you HAVE to have when it comes out, even if it’s in Hard Cover?
What is the most you are willing to pay for a Hard Cover?
Do you like to have books in Hard Cover?
I used to feel the same way you do, about the hard covers, only buying them right away from certain authors. I no longer buy hard covers though at all because I try to stick to my ebooks. I will buy them if they are signed or I am going to get a book signed. My Outlander paperback is tore to hell and back and its signed…I wish I could get it resigned in softcover but I doubt I’ll ever get to meet her again.
I think the most I’ll pay is 30$ and only if its J.R. Ward or Kresley Cole.
If I had an e-reader, that makes much more sense. I only get HC’s signed AFTER i’ve read them! lol
I can think of four books coming out this year that I’ll buy in hardcover (one of which I already have.) Even then, I usually use coupons or other means to get some more savings off the cover price. I like having new release books when they come out but for the most part hardcover prices are ridiculous.
What books would those be? lol
I prefer paperback over HC but if I don’t want to wait a year to get my hand son the book I’ll buy it in HC. But I’ll never pay more then 15$
I buy all of my books at bookdepository.com and scored many HC at 50% off.
I totally forgot about Book Depo, in regards to HC’s! You just saved me money! LOL
I DO NOT buy hardcovers, I prefer to bend the book spine and lay down when I read. I have a Sony Ereader (which I adore) and use that if the book isn’t out in paperback. I won’t pay more than $20 for a book since I can get all of my ebooks for $10.
Eep. Bent Spines?!?! ACK! I hate bent spines, I’m weird that way.
I like to fold my books back when I read, so I can see one page at a time! All of my books are worn in
That is why I love my Ereader so much, its one page!
lmfao! I have only cracked a few spines, again I’m weird! lol
I am sure I am just as weird! The HC always end up destroyed, I am rough with my books…they fall a lot…
My list is much like yours. Authors I truly collect I like to have in hardcover and am willing to pay HC price and with online ordering discounts that is rarely full price. I am willing to pay a premium especially for limited numbered editions such as the recent Angelic from Kelley Armstrong at Subterranean Press. There is reading and then there is collecting
Only the rarest of paperbacks ever accumulate any value.
I JUST heard about Angelic last week and missed that bus damn it!
Wait, Kelley Armstrong has a new series? Oooh I am on that one now! I am still working on Covet by J.R. Ward!
No no, not a new series:
http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/aAngelic.htm
You can still get the trade, just not the limited edition version!
Funny you posted this. I have a post planned about hardbacks. I do not like to buy them, but as someone mentioned earlier, sometines I can’t wait. I check the library first. Usually I can wait for the PB.
All depends on the book and the feedback surrounding it.
I’ll buy HC if I just can’t wait. Some examples: Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, JR Ward, Richelle Mead. I love when authors “break out” and are successful enough to do HC, because I wish them success, but my wallet hates it!
Exactly!
I’ll go full price hardcover for Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, or Christopher Moore, but for the most part I wait for paperback. I do like the heft of a hardback, and the way the pages fall… but my favorite thing about them is finding them on sale for under ten bucks.
If the price goes over thirty dollars, I grit my teeth and wait it out anyway. Even though it drives me nuts.
I forgot to add Christopher Moore to that list, even if I still haven’t gotten around to reading the last HC of his I bought! >.<
It’s very rare that I buy a HC and if I do, it’s only Nora Roberts and I feel that I can’t wait for the paperback. Other than that, I wait. I refuse to pay $25+ for a book.
I only buy a hardcover if I am absolutely certain I will have the opportunity to get it signed. Needless to say, I’ve only bought 2. Why should we spend so much just to get a h”hard to handle” paper weight (lol, sorry that was not nice”. I prefer to hold out for the paperbacks, they are just more reasonable.
lol!
The ONLY hard cover author I am buying now is J.R.Ward – The Black Dagger Brotherhood books are the only ones I absolutely can NOT wait for to come out in paperback before buying.
I’m with you on that one!
I buy them when it’s an author or series I adore and want on my shelf. I don’t shelf paperbacks, even though I have a gazillion. Well, they do have a shelf, just not a pretty one
Paperbacks are pretty, just depends on which ones you buy :p
You crazy Candians always causing trouble! LOL
I don’t buy HC unless I love the series or author. The only HC I have are from Kim Harrison and Patricia Briggs. And I only bought them because the last books in the series came out in HC instead of PB and I just couldn’t wait to get them. My budget only has wiggle room for me to get a couple books a month so that HC book that I do get, I make sure it will be worth it.
LOL I am the trouble maker, usually unintentionally too!
I’m the same, I’d rather get 3 paperbacks then 1 hard cover
I dunno, I dig on hardcovers because they’re really easy to read and can take more of a beating. Going cover to cover in one sitting on a paperback isn’t hard on my eyes; my vision’s still 20/20ish. With ebooks I get a little tired reading them on a laptop but not too bad. I spend most of the day reading off a computer screen anyway. The larger fonts in HCs still make things easier though. Plus they’re more aesthetically pleasing to look at on a bookshelf than a paperback. Lend a bit of faux class to what would otherwise just look like a fire hazard.
Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Terry Pratchett, and Laruell K. Hamilton are the ones I have to have as soon as they come out. If I have the cash to spare I’ll pick up the HC, if not I’ll pick it up later when it’s in the used books section for paperback or less price. By then I’ll probably have already read it twice without having paid anything for it though.
Now that could mean I’m getting our nice librarian to order them in. It could also mean I’ve nudged a friend/partner in literary appreciation into buying it and borrowed his copy. It could also mean I decided to hoist the Jolly Roger and start slitting throats. It doesn’t really matter which of the above I decided to do though. None of them transfer any money from my pocket to the pockets of the publisher or author. It’s a crying shame really since the paperback (not trade paperback, mind you. those things annoy me.) being out at the same time or an ebook at half or less the price of a paperback would have netted them at least a little of my cash.
*snort* I don’t do the library for a few reasons. And only one of my friends buys some of the same books I do, and she reads slow slow slow. So I usually am the book buyer out of the two.
Hard covers are nice to look at but so are trades. If the books going to end up in the bargin bin in 2-4 months, I’m going to try and hold out.
It is a class system for sure, not all of us want or can afford to spend $100.00 on 3-4 books.
Well, obviously I don’t buy hard covers LOL. Infact I only own about 6-10 total (some Harry Potter and Twilight series I couldn’t wait for) and I got those before I got my Kindle. It just isn’t as comfortable to read with and I don’t have a bookshelf of things to show off, so they hold no value for me. Besides that I refuse to buy them on principle – all books should be releases in multiple formats on the same day. I hate that “if you are willing to pay $$$ you can have it first” mentality – its lame and its representative of an outdated publishing policy.
Exactly. Offer me what I want, when I want it, at a price I’m willing to pay and we can happily exchange goods for money. Fail to do that and you are the one costing yourself a sale, not anyone else.
And this is why I love you Tiff! AMEN!
I love hardcovers. I think i’m in the vast minority here (as in many other subjects I’ve discovered lately, lol) in my preference. I’ve actually replaced a lot of my old paperback copies of books that I loved with hardcovers lately and given my paperbacks to the library. (Most recent replacements were the Harry Potter books.) I love the feel of a hardcover book. I have no problems holding them or reading them comfortably. I love the way they look on my bookshelf. I’m a stickler for matching all the books in a series. There are lots of books I love that will never be in hard cover in regular stores, so those I don’t mind buying in paperback. (Although mailorder book clubs like Doubleday, which I belong to, will sometimes have their own hardcover editions of otherwise paperback only books.) And I have discount cards for all my local bookstores, so even though I can’t afford to buy every book I want right away, I’ll get a little off when I finally do buy. Authors/Series that I buy immediately in hardcover are J R Ward’s BDB (I own the first 6 in paperback, and will be replacing them ASAP), Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries (finally in mass hardcover), Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments / Infernal Devices, Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series. There are so many other books that I wish released in hardcover so I wouldn’t have to buy the paperback first, knowing that if a hardcover becomes available i’ll just replace it. Authors like Yasmine Galenorn, Jeaniene Frost, Richelle Mead’s Georgina Kincaid series, and many others. I don’t have a lot of money, but having a nice, lasting version of the books I love is money well spent in my opinion. I have a few ebooks… about 10-15 or so. Books that I want to read but can’t find in the store right away. Most all of these will eventually end up on my shelf as well.
You are not the only one… I thought I was, LOL… But I do the same thing, I love having my books in HC, and if they first come out in PB, I will most likely replace it later
But if 4 books come out in hard cover all at once, do you buy them all?
I couldn’t afford to buy them all at once, i’d get one a paycheck until I had the ones I wanted.
Oh… and with my discount cards, I generally end up paying between $15-$25 for my hardcovers. Hardcovers I order through my online bookclub are usually $12-20, but they don’t always have every book I want.
Yes, it’s cheaper to buy them online with a discount card but they’re still expensive!
Yes, definitely… but like I said… well worth it to me.
She did stop talking to you after that?? Wow!
As for the HC, I like buying my books HC. I do not like how high the prices are, but I am OCD (x10000) when it comes to my book collection. So, even if I have to wait to buy them, I do so happily. Yes, I sound completely Nuts, but HC are easier to read because my eyes get tired with tiny font, and ebooks are a no- go for the same reason. Also, they last longer, PB are easier to get damaged, and I hate it when my books have a scratch or something like that [did I mention how OCD I am when it comes to that?] Of course, sadly not all books come on HC; I still get them, but I treat them with utmost care… =P
I do understand what you mean, and I wished I were more conscious about the money [like you], and that I did not mind much the looks… But I do, maybe because I want my own library… Who knows? Maybe I am just mental. *grin* But I love my books in HC, it is such a pleasurable experience to look at them everyday in my book corner. You might call it inspiring *wink*
Though what surprises me about this post is the first part… I am still like- WOW… I do not know why it is so striking, I guess I am OD’ing =P
Waiting I can see, cause here it takes maybe 3 months before the hard cover hits the bargin bin!
three months? WOW~ With that you can save up to buy I dunno how many books!
But I do get what you mean =) Though sometimes, waiting can be exasperating/maddening when you really want that book- LOL
rarely buy hardcover’s. They aren’t as easy as paperbacks, but occasionally the cover art alone is worth the extra money, or I really can’t wait.
Very true
In my Urban Fantasy collection I have 225 books 35 of those are hard covers.
All of Kim Harrison’s. The rest of the hard covers are book club editions or used.
Other books: Buy Steven King in hard cover.
I’m going to have to count how many I have in hard cover now! lol
I have about 3 authors that I follow religiously and absolutely refuse to wait for the PB ed. to buy the book. I try to get them on a pre-sale at Amazon since it’s usually about half price. I prefer not to pay more than 24$ though!
Which authors?
Holy crap lady almost $30.00 for a book?! Question why was the author even contacting you about HC prices? That seems weird to me.
Now that I have an ereader I probably will buy via Kindle vs HC. I prefer paperbacks b/c it’s cheaper then shelling out the big bucks for a book you are not even sure if you’ll like it.
I’ll email you about the author
Wow. Up to $30 for a hard cover? That makes for a cheap HC where I’m from. In Oz, we pay that for a trade paperback. You’re looking at upwards of $40 for a HC, which is why I REFUSE to purchase any. (Except for the kiddies version of the Harry Potter books, which were usually cheaper at KMart than the books stores. At $20-25, they were still a bit expensive for a children’s novel.)
When you fork out on average $18-21 for a paperback you get over the idea of ever owning a HC. I won’t even buy them from authors I adore like Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, Ilona Andrews and Kelly Armstrong. The price is simply too prohibitive.
I succumb to book OCDness when it comes to cover art though – I try to make sure all the novels in a series have the same themed cover art, for example, US vs UK cover, as opposed to book format.
OMG thats insane. Can’t you buy from The Book Depository? Soooo much cheaper!
I’ve only recently discovered the Book Depository deliver free to Oz so, yes, I’ll be checking them out from now on. There goes my budget!
On the downside, is currency conversion which is nowhere near as bad as it used to be but is subject to change.
I hate HC books! The only ones I have are 2nd hand and then when I see them somewhere cheap in SC I get them and give away my HC (or swap with my Mum).
I am from Australia too and the HC prises are horrific, so even if I did like them I would not buy them
I hate the HC. As you said, can’t stick them in you purse, can’t read them one handed, hate to have to keep up with the dust covers, and they are just too expensive (this could be 3 MM paperbacks). Most HC’s I read are second hand. I am NOT paying the price for a HC. I can wait for the MM paperback which brings up another thing I have noticed. When the heck, did authors decide that the oversized paperback is the way to go, especially new authors. I’m not going to shuck out the $25 for a HC and I’m not spending $15 for that large size (I mean heck this is 2 MM paperbacks). What is this ? fast food where everything is super-sized. There are many new authors that I would have loved to check out their books but as long as they go with the super size, I will wait for that used one or if its really that good a book, the reprint , which is usually MM paperback.
to have to keep up with the dust covers, and they are just too expensive (this could be 3 MM paperbacks). Most HC’s I read are second hand. I am NOT paying the price for a