belatedly Booking Through Thursday

I need to catch up a bit with Booking Through Thursday since I've managed to blow off it off the past two weeks.

Format: All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why?

I answered a version of this question as part of Eva's Reading Meme (see this post). If the question is really and truly about format, I have to admit that I have mixed feelings. Some books I'd rather have in hardcover, but generally I like trade paperbacks for everyday reading (I really can't abide mass-markets and those tall mass-markets even more. I hate how easy it is to break their spines).

Heroine: Who is your favorite female lead character? And why?

This is a difficult question for me because whenever I actually set out to pick a favorite character I end up choosing a protagonist of one of my favorite books. That leads me to wonder whether I chose that character because I like him or her in and of his- or herself or simply because he or she happens to play a big part in one of my favorite books. So, I guess my real answer is "I don't know". There are a lot of female characters that I like, but I'm not sure that I'd ever be able to pin down a favorite.