Hardcover--Looks nicer and stays in better quality for longer.

Hard cover books are stronger and they look great!
However, it's still depend on the prize. T^T

hard cover but only cos they last longer.. i like soft cover books better but they're too flimsy & breakable... so i try to get hard covers...

It depends on the story of the book.

(Seeing book)(it 's the right word?)

e.g. Illustration book , art book

I prefer hardcover.
Because of last longer than softcover ,if you want to open and read it often.

(Reading book)
e.g. fiction, novels

I prefer softcover.
Because of a lot of pages and information ,and you can take it anywhere you want.
It 's light weight.

I really like to keep my books in a good shape... I really hate torn pages/covers, all written up, dirty etc... Thus, hard covers are easier to handle; they're difficult to get bent or torn...

i prefer hard cover because i hate when i lend out a book and i get it and the person had folded the cover all the way back so it was touching the back of the book. Book abuse should be a crime.

I voted 'depends on the price' because generally the contents of the book is the most important, but hardcover books are good because it lasts longer, especially useful in the hands of a spack like me! However, I wouldn't say I 'refer' it to soft cover books, because soft cover books are generally cheaper and portable, great for trashy novels I wouldn't even normally admit to reading

There's a much more classic feel to a hardcover book to me, I enjoy the feel of it more.

Hardcover is best, but I'll take a cheap softcover for novels (more portable, etc). For my old Victorian engravers, though, like Gustave Doré? Hardcover, and no later than 1930 or so. (the reproduction in modern works, frankly, sucks)

On a side note, I remember this one book that I ended up buying because I couldn't get over how good it felt to hold. It was incredibly soft and flexible, but the spine wasn't broken or anything. While I was reading it, I kept getting distracted by the flexibility of the book.

Oh, and I prefer hard covers that have an illustration on the actual cover, so I can take the jacket off (if it has one) and still enjoy the cover art.

If I was buying something to keep I might go for hardcover, but then I take really good care of my books, so I can have soft cover and be just fine.