Why hardcover is hard

I'm still slogging my way through Late Nights on Air and I don't know why, but this book just hasn't grabbed my attention the way I hoped it would. I can handle books that move a little slowly or that spend time developing characters and showing character interaction. In fact, I appreciate a well-written book that does this, and Late Nights is one of them. But it just isn't grabbing me.

Wait...scratch that "I don't know why" bit from the last paragraph...I have a pretty good idea why I'm not getting into this book as readily as most and it has nothing to do with how it's written; as petty as this might sound, it is the format of the book that is holding me back. My copy of Late Nights on Air is hardcover. Generally, I don't do hardcover. (For the record, the book was a Christmas gift from my mother and I did request the title, knowing if I received it, it would be in hardcover. So I guess I did bring this on myself.)

Don't get me wrong - I can appreciate the beauty of a hardcover book, complete with dust jacket. And with the various finishing techniques that are used on the jackets and covers, hardcover books are often very pretty to look at. One recent book of note is The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, which has a sturdy cover with a die-cut shark and no dust jacket. Even though I have not yet bought this book, I may have to buy the hardcover version just because it's so damn cool.

Cool or not, I just find hardcovers awkward to read. I like to read in bed and holding up a hardcover is tedious and sometimes more effort that it's worth, particularly when I'm tired. But since I like to read before going to bed, I'm more likely to grab my latest issue of The Hockey News than Late Nights. And hardcover books can be heavier, meaning carrying them with me to read on transit or in a coffee shop is (literally) a bit of a pain.

My preferred format is trade paperback and I will often wait for books to be published in this format before buying them. Okay, trade paperbacks tend to be the same size as the hardcover version, but the spine is softer so it's easier to hold the book open and they are a bit lighter so it's easier for me to transport them and the covers (sans dust jacket, which I always remove anyways) can be just as neat as the hardcover predecessor.

But I've already got Late Nights on Air in hardcover and I've already begun reading it, so I will soldier on and finish. It just might take me a bit longer than I'd like.