Given a choice between a hardcover and paperback book with the same cover design, I will almost always pick the paperback. Paperbacks take up less space in my bags and bookshelves, are much lighter and are much handier when reading. The one drawback they have measured against hardcovers is that their spines crack very easily. Still, I am very determined at preventing cracked spines. At the same time, I don't like squinting into the shadows of a book that is hardly open.