Reply #10: it's a question of values, I suppose.... [View All]

[mike_c]

I value the object as much as I value it's contents, often quite a bit more. I'm the sort of person who nearly always buys the $30.00 hardcover edition rather than the $8.00 trade paperback edition, even when the content is mass produced entertainment literature, e.g. beach novels. Having tried it both ways, I much prefer the physical craft that well-made books represent, irrespective of the contents. Lots of people "wait for the paperback edition"-- I do just the opposite whenever possible, and if I see a trade paperback that interests me in a book store I'm more likely to look for a hardback edition online or elsewhere than I am to buy the less expensive paperback immediately.

So I disagree with you in a sense-- the text IS important, of course. It's the book's reason for existing. But I find "what the text is displayed on" just as important.