[Pap Renvela]

I'd wish they'd package it like Kings of War: a hardcover that includes fluff along with a smaller softcover that is just the rule, no fluff.

But mostly I stay away from the stories because like the rules they're often inconsistent... a character n the story doing something that mechanically can't be done in the rules.

[All4BigGuns]

I enjoy the fiction.  The grenade adept dwarf was a favorite.

I would if the sourcebooks weren't so oversaturated with it.

[MijRai]

Eh, I'm not going to diss the presence of the fiction because they aren't doing the mechanics right.  They've got plenty of word-count to avoid travesties like Street Grimoire. 

[All4BigGuns]

Eh, I'm not going to diss the presence of the fiction because they aren't doing the mechanics right.  They've got plenty of word-count to avoid travesties like Street Grimoire.

It's just less enjoyable when there's an overload of it. It's to the point where when I go through a new book it's like "Oh, more stories. Meh."

Fewer people may buy the dedicated "fluffy" books, but that's because they're only that useful either for GMs or people who REALLY want to see what the 'official' storyline is. That's still plenty of people, especially when you add in the fact that having most of those bits in their own books makes those sources useful across many editions.

[Reaver]

For the most part, I enjoy the stories in the nooks. Some more then others....

I think they add a nice little backdrop for the world and give you an insight into how some see the SR setting. Just wish they were a little better organized. A matrix story before the matrix section, etc.

[Fabe]

 The fluff/stories is why I keep buying books even though I don't get to play nearly as much as I would like to. A recent favorite of mine is "Decade" from Run Faster . A good story that gives a nic example of how someone can go from corp suit to shadowruner

[Shadowjack]

My abosulte favorite, and I wish I knew he wrote this, was the Occult Investigator writeup in SR5 Core. Something about the writing really grabbed me. I'm also very fond of the story about the shadowrunner turned body guard for one of the famous singers, the name escapes me unfortunately. But it made me laugh out loud multiple times, genius stuff.

[Zweiblumen]

I really like the stories at the beginning of the chapters.

I do not own any of the hard-cover books.  I'm 100% PDF from RPGdrivethru, and reading the books on my tablet I don't have any problems with the formatting.

[Lorebane24]

Don't forget about "My Brother's Keeper" at the beginning of Chrome Flesh.  Probably my favorite piece of fiction from any book in any edition.

[Rift_0f_Bladz]

The black page chapter stories are nice. Some of the extra shoved elsewhere, not so much.

[Herr Brackhaus]

The black page chapter stories are nice. Some of the extra shoved elsewhere, not so much.

100% agreed. The mixing of fiction and rules in dedicated rules chapters aggravates me somewhat, especially when the fiction is somewhat facetious. Some examples (emphasis mine).

Bad example:

Concealed quick-draw holster (accessory): What more do you want a holster to do? You get to reduce the Concealability modifier of your weapon by 1 while the threshold to quick-draw a holstered weapon drops by 1. It won’t fire the thing for you, though, so buckle down and do it yourself. The holster does not take any slots in your weapon. Please excuse our compulsion to point out fairly obvious stuff like that.

Good example: Run & Gun pages 84 through 86 has fiction for armor accessories in plain text, and all of the rules without any fiction in the red boxes.

Bad example: Pretty much every piece of gear in Stolen Souls. Vague or non-existent rules, but lots of fluff that doesn't really hint at function.

Good example: The new weapon mount modifications in Rigger 5.0, page 163; no fuss, no muss, just rules.