For me, when I get books I often get the cheaper paperback option, give it a read.
Then if I really liked this book, I’ll donate it to a charity shop or in my social circle and purchase the hardcover version.
The only gripe I have with hardcover though is some books come with that sleeve cover around it, you know the one, bit fidgety to use when reading.
Paperback I like if there’s a book I am mildly interested in and I’ll just go “whatever” I’ll keep it as part a collection.
Paperbacks = cheap as chips but aren’t as protected as hardcover, easy to fill up your collection or shelf with, might sell it if i want the luxurious version of that book. this is for me.
Hardcover = More luxurious as it provides proper protection to the pages and outer area of the book, Often comes with items as part of a collectors set. Usually I get the same book if I really enjoy it to add as a gem of my shelf.
What are your tastes? Same as me or do you lean more heavily to one or the other?
Honestly, there is a subtle but distinct difference between hardback and hardcover.
A hardback book has the cover fully designed with graphics, as it is meant to be seen.
A hardcover has a minimalist cover, without any designs since the dust jacket is what is visually flashy and attractive and is meant to be seen.
Otherwise, the two are structurally identical, only with the hardcover having an extra protective layer in the dust jacket.
That’s interesting, if true.
However, I’ve never seen that distinction mentioned anywhere. After you mentioned it, I looked it up on my own and none of the search results I found mentioned that distinction.
What I did find was that at most they are merely examples of British English (hardback) vs American English (Hardcover), though that was only in one source, so take even that with a grain of salt.
Unless you have a reputable source to back up your claim, as far as I’m concerned, this is either dialectal differences at best or someone (not necessarily you) making up a distinction merely to feel superior to others at worst.