The Hard Sell...

Are all books released first as hard-back only, then a few months down the line, paper-back?

I like reading, but only when it's filling in gaps when there's nothing else or a very limited amount of activities that can be carried out. For example on the bus in the traffic waiting to get across the Forth Road Bridge when it is have way converting to a non-toll entity. I can't just sit in the house a read.

So buying a hardback book generally involves lugging it around in a bag a like to keep light, a situation I think I've managed to avoid all but once or twice in my life.

This does however mean that when a new book comes out that I fancy, I generally have to wait a few months for the paperback bretheren to arrive.