My internal voice has had a workout...

[greek_jester]

A true fan of ANY book settles for no less than hardcover.

I am a true fan of several authors (my favourite ones have been replaced at least once after they fell apart from re-reading*) but the only author that I've deliberately bought hardcovers for was Terry Pratchett (I just couldn't wait!)

I have storage issues (not enough places to keep them) and back issues (hardcovers are heavy) so 99% of the time I only pick up paperbacks. Discovering I could download e-books on my smartphone was a godsend.

*I actually got one particular author to sign my dying paperback before I bought a replacement copy. No, it's not worth anything to anyone other than me, but it made the author happy that I loved the book that much!

[XCashier]

Be that as it may, I am incapable of walking out of a bookstore (or library) with any fewer than 4 books. My "to read" stack is getting a bit ridiculous, lol.

Oh, believe me, I'm a total bibliophile, too. Every time we go up to Portland, I have to stop at Powell's City of Books (Five floors of new and used books; I could spend all day there!) I also have a huge to-read pile of books, as well as old favorites I reread time and time again.

But if you worked there, you'd have to shelve and re-shelve books constantly, deal with thoughtless idiots who leave torn, stained and sticky books that you then have to dispose of, retrieve the Kama Sutra from the children's section for the fiftieth time, etc. So yeah, it does get irritating, and probably more so for someone who loves books and hates to see them mistreated.

[Seanette]

Paperbacks are also easier on problem wrists, due to being lighter.

[Monterey Jack]

A true fan of ANY book settles for no less than hardcover.

Hardcovers are awfully difficult to lug around, especially for those (like me) who get most of their reading done on break at work, or on public transportation (or waiting for public transportation). I prefer paperbacks, myself.

[jedimaster91]

I actually get annoyed when customers say, 'I could never work here, I'd spend all my paycheck on books!" or "I bet you spend all your pay on books!" I know they don't mean anything by it, but it makes me feel like they think my job is just a hobby, and sure, it's fun but I don't do it for fun. I get these things called bills I have to pay.

I can only speak for myself, but I don't think any job is a hobby. I just have poor impulse control when it comes to things I enjoy. Like books. And back in high school when my only bill was gas for the car, I likely would have spent most if not all of my paycheck on books if I worked there. I'd been known to go in to a bookstore, see that I'd missed several books of a series I was reading, and buy all of them in one go. And decide to start another series because, hey why not, and buy all of those books as well. Especially once I discovered manga. A crack addiction might have been cheaper. >.>

[Estil]

A true fan of ANY book settles for no less than hardcover. That is just crazy that someone bothered to go to a midnight release deal and actually hope to save a few pennies for some cheap paperback version :P

[AnaKhouri]

I actually get annoyed when customers say, 'I could never work here, I'd spend all my paycheck on books!" or "I bet you spend all your pay on books!" I know they don't mean anything by it, but it makes me feel like they think my job is just a hobby, and sure, it's fun but I don't do it for fun. I get these things called bills I have to pay. In my head it seems like they think no one would have a serious career selling books. I've worked for the same company 14 years and some of my co-workers have been selling books for more than 20 years.

[Ophbalance]

I only knew because she lives here and it was all over the news .

[Bardmaiden]

My best friend works at RiverRocks and they had a midnight launch for the orange book, which apparently went very well if quietly. She (like myself) has a book habit and with her discount still manages to spend too much on books

[EricKei]

Heh. Well -- most of us in this thread could probably be described as "bibliophiles" -- those who really like books ^_^ A "bibliomaniac" (like the character I mentioned) would be someone who is psychologically addicted to books (I'm sure there are plenty of people here who can give a better definition than I can). In the case of Yomiko, her home is basically wall-to-wall books (and several inches on the floor), and the notion of ever NOT having books within arm's reach is (apparently) genuinely disturbing for her.

That coat of hers? Always has several pockets with books in them, and several other pockets filled with paper so that she always has "ammo" to use for her powers. As in, enough to make a giant paper airplane (a working one, mind you) capable of flying a human or two across long distances...And it's tougher than an actual airplane

[Mini Mammoth]

I had to set myself a book allowance each month otherwise it got a bit silly, especially with employee discount.

At the moment I have one wall covered in floor-to-ceiling shelves, one long shelf across another wall (full as soon as it went up), a small bookcase (also full), several 2 ft tall piles on top of that of books and a half dozen bags of books on the floor. These are actual books, this doesn't count the basket of proofs I have on the floor too. I'm getting a bit worried I'm going to turn into Gollum since the books are starting to block out the light.

This doesn't count the eReader I have with several hundred books and documents on it (mostly doc's) and my tablet, which is where I try to buy and stash comics since space is clearly such an issue. I have bought some books in both eBook and physical format though just because I love the author, love the conveniency of having the book always with me and am more than happy to pay for the author's work twice for the pleasure.

I never leave the house without a book of some sort, electronic or paper. I believe this all qualifies me as being firmly in 'bibliomaniac' or 'bloody nutter' territory .

Yeah Eric, that was my face the first time I ever set foot in a Barnes and Noble All these books (even if they are taxed) and such a different variety from the UK stores! Picked up a couple of what the bookseller told me were some classic US reads that I'd never heard of before and one or two books on US history, just for a change

[EricKei]

This is reminding me entirely too much of the "Read or Die" OAV -- an anime about a bibliomaniac with Magneto-class kinetic control over paper (much better than it sounds). The pic below pretty much sums up the checkout process (The character's name is "Yomiko Readman" -- figuratively, "Read-child Reader/Readman"). I know that look in her eyes...

Not that I'm any better. When I lived in a town where the big-name bookstores have full-sized locations, I could spend inordinate amounts of time trolling through the $10-and-under racks of discontinued hardbacks and coffee table books. The only thing that kept me under control on those runs was physics -- I couldn't buy more than I could actually carry

[KellyHabersham]

I'll definitely have to buy this book if I want to read it anytime soon - my library system only ordered 14 copies, they're all still on "In-Process" status, and there's 86 hold requests already.

[jedimaster91]

You have no idea how many fabric store customers say the same thing about my store. "I'd spend my entire paycheck on fabric / yarn / scrapbooking!" Trust me, you wouldn't. You get tired of the sight of the merchandise rather quickly. Especially when the store's been trashed by hordes of thoughtless customers and you have to tidy up for the millionth time.

Be that as it may, I am incapable of walking out of a bookstore (or library) with any fewer than 4 books. My "to read" stack is getting a bit ridiculous, lol. I love discount bookstores because you get more books for less money. We don't need to discuss how much I spent the last time I went to 50% book land. Granted some of it was for gifts, but I bought a fair amount for myself. Now if only work would ease up a bit so I could get around to reading.

[pudddykat]

At first I drew a blank then I scrolled down and it finally clicked. I saw it on the news sites I peruse. Like others I peruse the news to be sure the world is still somewhat standing but avoid over exposure for sanity's sake. I enjoyed your well spun yarn. I get not knowing paperbacks come out a year after the hardback but still kind of a "duh" question.