What is the difference between hardback and paperback books

While comparing paperback vs hardcover, this difference seems obvious. In most cases, paperbacks are cheaper than hardcovers. It is possible under some situations like when the publisher of the book has printed way too many hardcover books and are not selling as expected, or when hardcover and paperback are printed by two different publishers and the cost for the hardcover publisher was somehow less than the paperback publisher, or even maybe when they are in different editions or in different languages.

But this is very rare and we have hardcover books more expensive due to its high production cost. Hardcover books have a comparatively high quality of paper.

They mostly use acid-free papers which address the problem of preserving the paper from damaging. Furthermore, their pages are thicker and have a premium look. The font is also bigger in hardcover books which makes it easier for the eyes to read. On the other hand, paperback books are made of lesser quality paper like newsprint paper that is easily damaged. Hardcover books have a hard and thick protective cover and that is why they are termed as hardcover. Apart from that, they may also have a soft dust jacket.

This dust jacket, as the name suggests, protects the book from dust and keeps the thick cover clean. But paperback books only have soft covers without any dust jacket.

Since the hardcover books have thicker pages and covers, they tend to be heavy. On the other hand, the pages and covers of paperback books are mostly thinner and so these books are lighter. And for this reason, paperback books are easy to hold and comfortable to read while hardbacks can be uncomfortable to handle as it becomes difficult to hold it for a long time without straining your hands.

The first edition or the first release of a book is usually done in hardcover and then the paperbacks are published. Once the hardcover version of the book is released, it can even take more than a year or two for the paperback version to get published.

One of the major advantages of hardcover books over paperback is its durability. Paperback books can easily get damaged if not handled properly. The corners of the book get bent, pages get warped and in many cases, they even come out, the spine of the book gets broken, or even the covers are torn.

But with hardcovers, these vulnerabilities are highly minimized. Its hard protective cover and thick pages can even resist rough handling to great extent. Another difference between hardcover and paperback books can be seen in their sizes.

They come with different standard sizes. Hardcovers are generally larger and their sizes do not vary much with respect to other books. Categories: Reading and Education.

You have probably also have wondered what the difference is between the two. Well, besides the price. Hardcover copies of a book can be over double the price of the paperback alternative. What You'll Learn. Hardcovers usually come with a dust-jacket over the main cover.

These dust jackets are those paper-things that you always see on hardcovers, but they can also be leather too on more expensive books. Publishers design a hardcover to protect the book for the long-term. Consumer price preference in price is also important considering the rise in ebook sales, which cannibalized hardcover sales in the last quarter of , according to Bowker.

That said, there are many reasons a consumer might prefer a hardcover book, including durability, style, and longevity.

Genre is one of the biggest indicators for format. Penguin released a beautiful set of hardcover editions for people looking for that classic aesthetic that only hardcover brings. Traditionally, fiction comes out first in hardcover and later in paperback. This is changing due to the economic climate, and to stay competitive many fiction titles, especially from newer authors, are coming out in paperback to entice readers with a lower price point.

Topics with rapidly changing information, like health, technology, science, and politics, are usually released in paperback or ebook formats, so that new editions can be released and consumed more quickly. On higher-end books, you may see several pages group, like small notebooks in the main books check on the picture Notebooks are made with a seam collecting all pages And then all the small books are glued to the cover in order to keep everything together inside the book.

You may also note flexibility differences between two paperback books For example, American books are generally more flexible than English books. The book size can also depend on the book content For example, literary novels and fictions books have different sizes.

If you need a few examples of paperback books you can find on Amazon or any other seller , here are a few ones:. For a hardcover book, the backs of the notebooks are sewn together. Then they add a hard cover: the binding. The hardcover book is harder, and also more expensive.