Malazan Empire: Bantam vs. Tor MMPB and reading order questions - Malazan Empire

Hi everyone!

I am just at the very beginning of my Malazan journey but I have 2 questions I'd like to get out of the way beforehand and I would really appreciate some help (:

1. Which Mass Market Paperbacks are "better" - in terms of quality and how easy they are to read? I currently own the TOR (USA) MMPB for Garden of the Moon, but it's reeeeally small and I hate to break spines but I am afraid I'd have to do so witht his one in order to read it comfortably. Are the Bantam ones better in these regards? And do both editions books match in height for both Eriksons and Esslemonts books? (:

2. Is following the suggested reading order recommended for brand new readers (of the Malazan series)? Or rather - is there a possibility of it taking away any of the magic of the individual series? As in, jumping from one author and one set of characters to another? (:

I am looking forward to your answers and thanks in advance!

This post has been edited by SasnLou: 02 April 2016 - 11:17 AM