The Quiet Concert: Thoughts for Thursday (9)- Buying Books in a Series

Dec

2013

Thoughts for Thursday (9)- Buying Books in a Series

Welcome to Thoughts for Thursday! This feature is our outlet to talk with you about whatever we currently have on our minds. It might be bookish, it might not! Now for this week's thought:

Buying Books in a Series

So like many I am always buying books. I always have this Hardback vs Soft cover debate in my head. If I start a series in Hardback I feel like I HAVE to finish the series in hardback. I strongly dislike having the series be a mix between Hardback and paperback.

Not to mention I like my favorites to all be in Hardback, not that I usually lend out my hardbacks but I do feel like the book is stronger and can hand multiple reads while still looking super nice. Soft covers, I am WAY hesitant to ever lend it because it is so easy to bend the corners of the cover. But I digress.

Back to buying books in a series… I also will almost never buy book #2 or #3 without owning the first ones in the series. Which I think is pretty standard. I am okay with having book #1 in the series without the rest (typically only happens if I did not end up liking the book). Does anyone have books in a series like book #1 on their kindle and the rest in print? That I try to avoid as well! I like the whole series the same :)

ARCS threw a huge wrench in my system though. I was lucky to get some signed ARCs at BEA but they are paperback. So I want to buy the next book but if I want to complete the series in paperback then I have to wait even longer to buy it. I know I could just buy another copy of the book but I have limited shelf space so having a signed arc and a hardcover of the same book is not really an option for me.

Does anyone else have weird book buying habits? Anything specific to series?

Comments (15)

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Pam@YA Escape · 588 weeks ago

Well, I have to say that series are driving me crazy. I love them because I love getting to know the characters better and if I love the world and the characters, more is better, but at the same time, it's getting exhausting. I was thinking about creating a list of books that I'm in the middle of the series because I think it's about a million. :)

But I digress...

Yes, like you, if I really like a series I want all of them in hardback. I just like hardback books, I like them as decoration, to be honest, they just look so good on shelves (I have a lot of built in bookshelves in my very old house, which is great). And I've always just hated paperbacks. They just don't look good. But what I usually do is buy it first on my Kindle (because I prefer to read on it) and then, if I really love it, I buy it in hardback. Yeah, not the most economical decision. So I treat ARCs the same way. If I have the paperback and then really love it, I'll buy the hardback. But then what to do with the ARC? I should probably just give them away, right? But if they're signed...what a dilemma!
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1 reply · active 587 weeks ago

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Ashley @TQC · 587 weeks ago

They do look SO good on a shelf! I can't wait for us to move, I want my bookshelves to all line up, at the moment they are all over the apartment. It is a dilemma.. signed arcs! *shakes fist*

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littlebookstar 68p · 588 weeks ago

Yes! I am exactly like this. I cannot have a series where the first book is a paperback and then the other books are hardbacks. GRRR. It has to be the same! If I got the first book in a hardback, all of the other books have to be hardbacks. It's just my pet peeve. Also, if I bought the 1st book in my Nook, the rest of the books in the series has to be bought in my Nook. Lol.
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1 reply · active 587 weeks ago

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Ashley @TQC · 587 weeks ago

Yep! That is how I feel about e-books. I just like it all to be the same!

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bookaddictsguide 51p · 588 weeks ago

Yes!!! ARCs totally throw a wrench in the system! I really like hardcovers for my series because they're just so pretty and special! They're much nicer to display and yes, more durable for re-reads :) I get so frustrated having books in a series and NOT having the first book. I still have Through the Ever Night in hardcover since I got it signed at BEA but I still don't have UtNS at ALL because I can only find the paperback in my local bookstores!

1 reply · active 587 weeks ago

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Ashley @TQC · 587 weeks ago

That is actually what sparked the having the second book not the first because I got Through the Ever Night and then had to go out and buy UtNS so they would be together :)

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sarahhawkinsauthor 1p · 588 weeks ago

I love hardback. I love the way hardbacks feel in my hand. I only buy paperback when I have to, such as when I can't find the book in hardback anymore (which is what happened to me with The Jessica Darling series, which is, sadly, a mixture of hardback and paperback). If I have to buy a paperback and later find the hardback version, I'll get rid of my paperback.

Not only do I love hardbacks, but I check the binding. I know most new books that come out don't have really good binding, and I can't help that, but if I'm buying a copy of a classic, I make sure the binding is sewn-in and not glued. Because glue-binded hardbacks do not handle multiple reads well, but sewn-in can last a lifetime. Acid-free paper is also preferable, but hard to come by. I also check under the dust jacket of hardbacks to make sure the actual book cover is pretty, just in case that just jacket gets damaged or lost.

As you can see, I can be picky when it comes to books, so I've started borrowing the books from the library before decided whether or not to own them (it really helps with the shelf space, too!).

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1 reply · active 587 weeks ago

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Ashley @TQC · 587 weeks ago

I never really even thought about binding but it does make sense. One of my new favorite books/books that I think has a cool cover is The Program, under the jacket is it has a design as well!

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flipthatpage 24p · 588 weeks ago

I only ever really read paperbacks, because I'm all about quantity and never really lend my books to anybody :D But like you, I ALWAYS have to have my series books in some uniformity! :)
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1 reply · active 587 weeks ago

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Ashley @TQC · 587 weeks ago

So interesting what people like, first serious paperback lover in the comments! Very cool!

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mel1704 86p · 587 weeks ago

It used to bother me, but now not at all. I prefer paperbacks, but sometimes I found a cheap hardback and I just can't resist buying a bargain ;) And it actually looks quite charming, haha. It adds something quirky to the shelves and I'm starting to like it a lot.

1 reply · active 587 weeks ago

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Ashley @TQC · 587 weeks ago

I can see that. It have a nice quirky unique flair to it!

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Kay · 587 weeks ago

This same issue always stresses me out! I like all my books in a series to match, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. But when I can I always try to get them all in hardback but due to money or timing that doesn't always happen. The worst is when I have one in ebook and the others in actual book format. :/
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jaimelester 53p · 586 weeks ago

I am so much like you! I want Hardbacks in all of my favorites. I have several series that are mixed between my Kindle and Physical books and it stinks. I feel guilty for buying another copy when I already have on though. This, fortunately, only happens if I win a Kindle copy so there aren't too many like that. But the ones that are drive me crazy. And the other thing that drives me bananas is buying a first and second book in a series, or sometimes more, and then the cover gets redesigned. Drives me absolutely up the wall. In those situations, I will try to sale or trade so I can have the same covers. And, like you, having paperback and hardbacks in the same series makes me cringe. Us book loving people, we are a strange folk!

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tempestbooks 21p · 586 weeks ago

Ugh yeah this is definitely a problem I have. Just, in general, I have problems decided about hardcover vs. softcover and whether to even buy books in a series. I have this problem where I like to pretty much only buy books on sale, so if I get the first one in a series, and I read it...I want to read the second one. But then it's like, do I wait until I can get the second book on sale (and hope I can find it in the right format?), or just get it from the library? But if I get it from the library, then should I still buy a copy for my personal collection? And then, if I still want to, I have trouble making myself buy the book because I usually want to spend the money on something I haven't read yet. And then what happens if you get the end of a series that you've bought the books for and don't like the last one? Like, I bought Delirium, Pandemonium, the novella bind-up, and then I disliked Requiem, but have been waiting to buy in paperback, because that's how I started out the series. What am I supposed to DO in this situation?? LOL. Is this just me, though? I feel like maybe I'm just crazy.