The people who are in line in front of me at the library for Bone Crossed (the newest Mercy Thompson book) need to read faster, dammit. (If it'd been straight to paperback, like the first three, I'd have already bought it. Hardback = good for author, annoying for fans who prefer paperback.)
I'm thinking about trying Nora Roberts - I love her as J.D. Robb, and I'm in the mood for intelligent fluffiness lately. However, I have no idea where to start - there is a LOT of Nora Roberts out there, and googling for reading guides hasn't gotten much of anywhere. Recommendations?
Just curious, why do you prefer paperback? I've taken a liking to having hardcover copies -- they feel sturdier, even if they're a little more expensive.
though some oversized ones, not as much--I really like the smaller hardback format I can get some older used books in. that made me happier than any of {current large hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback}.
...for all I know, it may be the cheap, 1947-equivalent to the modern mass market paperback that I've got an affinity for, but it's been a convenient size book ever since I was growing up with Danny Dunn and Hardy Boys books, and Heinlein later, and all manner of other things in older used books as an adult... wish it was more common these days; few publishers use it for anything but specialty items anymore.
Can't speak for her Joyceness, but personally, paperbacks are cheaper, take up less space, more portable, easier to hold when reading (especially in bed or on public transportation), and don't have the damn dust jacket to get all mangly.
Everything Ginger said. And hardbacks versus pocket-sized paperbacks are a lot more expensive. The book in question is $24.95 list, and 16.47 on Amazon. I can expect to pay 7.99 when it comes out in pocketbook (and I will, the day it's released). Most of the stuff I read, I can't get in small hardback form. And if I'm going to read books in that size, trade PB is my preferred form factor.
I mostly don't buy books I don't intend to re-read or shove at other people, (unless they're cheap at the used bookstore and on the "I should read that" list); thus, the portability and mailability of the book are prime concerns. :)
I know how you feel. I like the fact that Kat Richardson is doing well enough to have her books in hardcover, but I have the first two in trade paper, and I don't want to break the set, and (I feel so guilty about this) I like her a lot, but not enough to buy her in hardcover at this point.
I know that guilt. But really, I can't love anyone well enough to pay $25 for a book right now. Not when I can get 3 paperbacks for that price when they get to paperback.
Definitely Blood Brothers and its sequels (last trilogy she released), I enjoyed that series immensely. The Garden series (Black Rose, etc.) was also quite good. I also liked the Key series (Key of Knowledge, etc.)
Stay away from the latest single book/standalone releases - Northern Lights and Tribute (readable but meh, so many other great books out there, why waste the time on these two?). Whatever one with the firefighter that is really bad rehash of Iris Johansen that I can't think of the title nor find on Amazon. And I would ignore anything she published originally with Silhouette (basically pre-1992ish).
Pretty much anything she cared enough to write a trilogy around is decent if not good. She's best with series, I think, as Robb shows. (The exception proving the rule would be the trilogy starting with Morrigan's Cross. God what a horrible book. No one I know made it through it.) I know she has a quartet coming out soon on wedding planners that seems interesting, but that's all I know about it. Older standalones (like The Villa or Three Fates, which are excellent) are generally good, but I haven't liked the ones in the last couple of years.
And amen on Bone Crossed.. I'm waiting, I'm waiting, but I'm actually trading out my hardcovers on PBS for paperbacks. Just so much easier to store and carry.
though some oversized ones, not as much--I really like the smaller hardback format I can get some older used books in. that made me happier than any of {current large hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback}.
...for all I know, it may be the cheap, 1947-equivalent to the modern mass market paperback that I've got an affinity for, but it's been a convenient size book ever since I was growing up with Danny Dunn and Hardy Boys books, and Heinlein later, and all manner of other things in older used books as an adult... wish it was more common these days; few publishers use it for anything but specialty items anymore.
peace, my friend,
--me
I mostly don't buy books I don't intend to re-read or shove at other people, (unless they're cheap at the used bookstore and on the "I should read that" list); thus, the portability and mailability of the book are prime concerns. :)
Edited at 2009-04-30 09:40 pm (UTC)
I wonder how much authors make on PBs versus HBs.
Stay away from the latest single book/standalone releases - Northern Lights and Tribute (readable but meh, so many other great books out there, why waste the time on these two?). Whatever one with the firefighter that is really bad rehash of Iris Johansen that I can't think of the title nor find on Amazon. And I would ignore anything she published originally with Silhouette (basically pre-1992ish).
Pretty much anything she cared enough to write a trilogy around is decent if not good. She's best with series, I think, as Robb shows. (The exception proving the rule would be the trilogy starting with Morrigan's Cross. God what a horrible book. No one I know made it through it.) I know she has a quartet coming out soon on wedding planners that seems interesting, but that's all I know about it. Older standalones (like The Villa or Three Fates, which are excellent) are generally good, but I haven't liked the ones in the last couple of years.
And amen on Bone Crossed.. I'm waiting, I'm waiting, but I'm actually trading out my hardcovers on PBS for paperbacks. Just so much easier to store and carry.