The perils of judging a book by its hard cover

‘A hardback will outlive you, your shelving system and possibly western civilisation.’ Photograph: Dmytro Skrypnykov/Getty Images

I read Larry Ryan’s piece with interest and some sympathy (The hill I will die on: Heavy, awkward and incredibly expensive – we don’t need hardback books, 6 May). I agree that hardbacks are now becoming prohibitively expensive. I took a passing interest in a new hardback recently but my interest passed quickly when I saw that it was priced at £35.

It is also true that hardbacks are awkward to read, other than at a desk, and make poor travelling companions. They can look attractive, but a pleasingly serious effort is put into the design of paperback covers these days.