If you found out that after this year, no more hardcover books will ever be published again, what hardcovers would you buy while you still have the chance?

None. Hardcovers look great on a bookshelf, but are completely impractical for actually reading. They’re too big, too stiff, too easily damaged, etc.

I could live without buying any more hardbacks as long as I could download anything I wanted.

The Stand. I would love to have an old hardcover from the first printing of the book.

We could still buy paperbacks, right?

I’m a huge reader and total bibliophile. The only reason I’d care is that the price of Quality Paperbacks (aka Trade Paperbacks, depending on which store you go to) would likely go up. Then I’d probably have to wait for the book to come out in Mass Market paperback.

Even when I worked at a school library, I found it better to buy paperbacks, except when the book was new and hot. Lots of books are just trendy and by the time paperback has worn out, the interest in the book has too. If I really needed to have a hardback in a library to make the book last longer, we librarians could get out the old fashioned book binders that we used to all have.

I only ever buy paperbacks and my hardcover books were all gifts anyways. I read sitting, standing, sprawled on my bed, on the couch recliiner, on my side, etc and I’m constantly shifting positions. Hardcovers suck for that.

Mark Twain’s books would be first on my list along with various books on art and nature :)

They’re impractical, but I’d buy some classics, some nature books, some art books and to top it off, some cook books!

I love the old antique hardbacks and have a modest collection of them. Aside of that the modern ones do not hold as much appeal to me and I would not go out of my way to purchase any.

I think I’d use my whole paycheck buying up all the classics
I hope the world doesnt take a spin like that. I can’t imagine snuggling up with a kindle before I go to bed or taking my kindle to read at the beach.

Yesterday I was at the park, reading, and suddenly it started raining. The water ruined my $7.99 paperback, which really wasn’t that big of deal, but I kept thinking what would have happened if I owned a kindle/ipad. That’s hundreds of dollars down the drain just from a little water damage.

I don’t know if anyone noticed, but paperbacks tend to be made with high-acid paper which turns brown within a couple years, and are glued to their covers with glue that becomes brittle. I have hardbacks from as far back as the 1820’s that are in better shape than some of my 1980 paperbacks. Their acid-free pages are sewn together and will no doubt outlive the paperbacks you buy 20 years from now.

I already own all of Mark Twain’s works and an excellent dictionary in hardcover, so I’m good there. I’m a dedicated Stephen King fan and generally buy all of his books in hardcover (if I have the money), so I’d probably want to fill in the holes in my collection (paperbacks bought when I didn’t have the money). Kipling’s Just So Stories. Even though I’m an atheist, I’d like to own a nice bible… so add that to the list. Other than those few, I think I already own all the books that matter to me in hardcover. It would make me very, very sad not to be able to purchase future books that come to mean something to me in my preferred binding.

Hey @augustlan, I bought a hardcover bible just for the amazing illustrations by Barry Moser. You can read about it here if you’re interested:
http://www.rmichelson.com/artist_pages/moser/Bible.htm
It was only about $10 in like-new condition from Amazon and I got my money’s worth in about the first 5 minutes. It’s a lovely and amazing work.

@GeorgeGee Ooh, pretty! Thanks for the tip. The art factor is a big part of the reason I’d like to own one.

The latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Pride and Prejudice