Thanks for your reply. I wonder if the store recently got "downgraded" from a good Sci-fi/Fantasy store. They recently moved from a building across the street from the local mall into the mall itself. I certainly don't like it as much, it's a lot louder, they have a music store and a bigger coffee shop which makes it more of a teenage hangout than a serious book store.
Regarding hardbacks, I generally buy hardbacks from my favorite authors as soon as they come out, and paperbacks or libraries for the rest. I have a short list of favorite authors, but after Elantris and Mistborn 1, you are definitely on it (along with L.E. Modesitt, Jr. and Michael Flynn). I buy the hardbacks because I'm impatient, I don't want to wait for the paperbacks.