Welcome. I hope others who value these neglected classics will find the board and want to discuss these books as well.

I have discovered there are few publishing houses that I respect their editorial choices and find they have interests similar to my own. Virago Modern Classics (which has a wonderful and lively group) and New York Review Books. I may not adore every title but I always find the novels and children's books they choose interesting and worth reading.

I've been buying NYRB Classics (and the Children's Collection) for about five years. The first one I bought was The Anatomy of Melancholy by Burton, and I was hooked, thinking that any modern imprint that would dare to reissue that glorious monster was worth supporting. I found my guess to be correct; NYRB's choices are eclectic, intelligent and shrewd. The imprint is noticeably influenced by certain editorial biases (it is NYRB, after all, leftists always welcome!), but those are usually rendered nugatory by the quality of the books themselves.

Eventually I acquired the entire backlist, and I now pre-order every NYRB Classics volume. I've read about 50 of them so far. Some I'm rather sure I'll never read, like A Book of Mediterranean Food. But the full 200+ volumes lined up on one bookcase looks pretty cool!

While I cannot claim to be collecting them, I too have noticed that NYRB seems to have higher standards than most and always gravitate to them at the book store.

My most recent NYRB read was Corrigan by Caroline Blackwood.

Message edited by its author, Jun 9, 2008, 4:39pm.

Wow, I was hoping others would join me. I just wasn't sure how quickly. I only have about thirty of the titles about evenly split between the children's classics (of which The Little Bookroom is my favorite) and the classics.

I was just thick enough it took me a while to figure out that a number of my favorite books were from the same publisher and then to start looking for their titles.

I think A Month in the Country was my first volume. I have an incredible fondness for An African in Greenland which I have tried to force on a number of people because Kpomassie has such a unique voice.

Other than The Anatomy of Melancholy, some of my favorite NYRB reads have been Mawrdew Czgowchwz, the afore-mentioned A Month in the Country and Alfred and Guinevere by James Schuyler. Patrick Leigh Fermor I had come to love before NYRB started reprinting his books, but NYRB has done a real service to literature by bringing him and Richard Hughes back into print.

Oh dear jfclark. I am almost finished with A Time of Gifts and I sent my mom A Time to Keep Silence He is a lovely lovely writer.

I also notice they are publishing Tove Jansson's books for grown ups. I had to order my copies of The Summer Book and A Winter Book from England before they were published here.

Oh and I have long been interested in Anatomy of Melancholy I have to move that up my list.

Edited because the touchstones are still not working.

Message edited by its author, Jun 9, 2008, 4:38pm.

I don't know that "life changing" is the right descriptor for A Time of Gifts and its sequel Between the Woods and the Water (by Fermor), but they are two of my absolute favorite books, and when I first read them they truly changed the way I approach literature. For the better, of course!

Thanks, Maren, for setting up this group! Good idea! I just read one of the NYRB Classics new releases, Tove Jansson's The Summer Book. I've posted my (sort-of) review of it here. The only other NYRB book I currently own is Alexander Berkman's Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist (!), but I have a long wish list that includes Sylvia Townsend Warner's Mr. Fortune's Maggot and books by J.G. Farrell. I really enjoyed his The Siege of Krishnapur.

Thanks for setting up the group, Maren! While I don't think that I necessarily collect NYRB books, I went on a spree and bought twenty just the other day, so I am definitely accumulating NYRB Classics. I have read a couple of theirs that aren't to my taste, so I don't find them as reliable as, for example, Virago or Persephone, but I recognize the thought they put into what they publish. I can't go in blind and buy every book, but I can find many real treasures on their list.

I am happy to join the group, even though I only own three of them (so far): Seduction and Betrayal: Women and Literature by Elizabeth Hardwick, Seven Men by Max Beerbohm, and Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny by Papa by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
I must say that, even if I did not purchase the books because they were NYRB, I was quickly captivated by the elegance of the edition, and I will acquire more.
Is there a complete list of all their publications to date?

aluvalibri, I just went to their website and there is a complete downloadable list on the right hand column of the page. There is also a suggest a title tab which I find promising although I have not yet suggested something. Maybe a good place to lobby for a reprint of The Brontes Went to Woolworths since Virago isn't reprinting it yet- just for the general public good.

http://www.nybooks.com/nyrb/

I agree christiguc, there are titles I will pick up and put back if the subject doesn't suit me but they always merit a read of the back cover. I am just happy there is another publisher in the trenches finding interesting things.

Rob I am off to read your review as I adored The Summer Book. Edited to add, you captured the quality of the book Rob, it is like water present and shifting away all the time.

Message edited by its author, Jun 9, 2008, 6:26pm.

Marensr - hallo and thank you for setting up the site and it will be challenging to find some of the titles. I was not aware that NYRB actually published books.

It great to see quite a few VMC authors on their list of publications including Christina Stead with Letty Fox: Her Luck.

Welcome mrspenny, I am glad to see you here. There is a bit of cross over with VMC which is why I thought people might be interested especially if a title has been tricky to find.

I just checked the copy of Mr. Fortune's Maggot that I bought last week, and it is a NYRB edition! So begins the collection. ;)

Marensr, I like your idea of lobbying for a reprint of The Brontes went to Woolworths.

While I don't collect NYRB publications, I do have a number of them, including Siege of Krishnapur and Anatomy of Melancholy. They periodically send me notices of new publications (probably since I'm a subscriber). Very nice works!

Oh, I also have The Troubles by J. G. Farrell.

I think their collection has to be more eclectic because their base of readers is so much more diverse.

#I've often thought about what determines the NYRB Classics publication choices. The choices seem to me to reflect the individual tastes of (several) different editors rather than to be geared to specific reader audiences. For instance, there are a number of books exploring gay themes or by gay authors; there's a Russian strain; a noir strain (Simenon, Sciascia); an early-to-mid-20th century leftist strain (Trilling, Edmund Wilson, Slessinger); and a few others. Those are the types of thematic links that to me betray editorial bias/predilection, as opposed to market research.

There are, of course, a few real oddballs. All told, the breadth of the collection demonstrates a lot more intellectual diversity than the magazine does.

I like the idea of lobbying for "The Bronte's went to Woolworths", too. Just wanted to make sure every saw there is a link to recommend out-of-print title reprints on the first page of the NYRB website:

http://www.nybooks.com/nyrb/recommend

Done.

And done again! I also put in a plug to add LT on their list of favourite places. (Also mentioned our new group!!)

I've loved these editions for years! Excellent idea, Marensr, for creating this group. I have The Furies by Janet Hobhouse (one of my very favourites having read it 3 times), The Dud Avacado, Black Sun by Geoffrey Wolff and Manservant and Maidservant. After browsing their list, I see even more wonderful titles!

Marise, are you familiar with the bio of Cariline Blackwood titled A Dangerous Muse? It's a good one!

Hi to all of you. Thanks for the invite to join the group. Please do not feel inhibited by my being a fly on your wall. Criticize or compliment all you want!

I'm glad that so many of you have found Tove Jansson's Summer Book. We'll most likely be publishing some of her other books for adults in the future.

Hi sarajill, Thank you for joining us. Some of you may not yet realize but sarajill is an editor for NYRB. I hope you don't mind that we may be organizing a group effort to get you to publish The Brontes Went to Woolworths.

I will always be happy to see more works by Tove Jansson she deserves a wider world audience.

>21 Welcome, sarajill. I hope you join in our discussions.

I am embarrassed to say that I only recently learned that Tove Jansson wrote books for adults, but happy to know that I can get at least one of them through NYRB! My boys loved the Moomintroll books when they were younger.

>20 bleu, I haven't read the bio of Caroline Blackwood, must add it to my wishlist!

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2008, 3:41pm.

Snobbery, I guess, but I like the David Park NYRB cover for Cassandra at the Wedding better than the chick-lit Virago cover. Another book for my NYRB wishlist!

You're right, Rob, I like it better, too. In fact, I really don't like the chick lit type covers that so many books seem to have right now. Think how dated they will look in a few years, too.

Sarajill: Welcome! I'm glad to see that the last batch of forthcoming 2008 NYRB releases are up on the web site. They'd been listed on Amazon for a couple of months, and, since I'm obsessive about such things, I'd already pre-ordered them, but nice to see the descriptions finally! Especially nice to see the firm revisit some old areas of interest, such as the Napoloenic era.

I also note that a few 2009 releases are already listed on Amazon, including a couple by Peter Handke and School for Love by Olivia Manning.

And how exciting that James Thurber's The 13 Clocks is available this summer. I wish I could buy copies for everyone I know! My wife and I actually read it out loud to each other on our honeymoon. From time to time, when she's feeling lethargic and unproductive, she'll say, "I'm such a blob of glup." To which I respond, "The oyster is a blob of glup, but a woman is a woman."

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2008, 10:14pm.

sarajill also writes alot of what has become my favorite publisher blog.

And I've been a Tove Jansson fan ever since the day my best friend dragged her mother into the Barbie section of a toy store, leaving me alone in the small area they had for children's books, where I found Moominsummer Madness! I've been an addict ever since!

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2008, 9:42pm.

#24 The cover of the original Virago edition contained a detail from "L'Infante Egaree" by Marion Adnams and is very stark and beautiful. The modern covers cannot compare with them.

Message edited by its author, Jun 11, 2008, 1:22am.

So true, mrspenny!

mrspenny, I think I have the original Virago, and I like the cover.
Welcome sarajill! I hope you will enjoy yourself here with us.
:-))

Re the Cassandra at the Wedding cover—the book is actually dedicated to David Park, who painted that painting. Dorothy's Baker's children put me in touch with David Park's children, who shared some memories of their parents' hanging out together. Both groups of kids were pretty great.

I hadn't seen the new Virago edition, and though I'm clearly biased, I must say that it's awful, embarrassing really! If you don't offend easily, check out this Radar spoof of the chick-litization of some classic books (including The Diary of Ann Frank). Hilarious.

Message edited by its author, Jun 11, 2008, 9:12am.

welcome sarajill -

the site re chick-lit is amusing but I suppose the argument can be put forward that if the cover design encourages young women to read literature then it has served its purpose notwithstanding some of the ghastly designs.

Message edited by its author, Jun 11, 2008, 9:48am.

28 southernbooklady, I love the Moomin books. I found them as an adult but they made me feel like I was reading them for the first time as a child. They simply don't get the recognition they deserve in the states. I mentioned it in a Virago thread but I think an author that can write well for both children and adults doesn't condescend to either group.

Book covers, oh dear. I really do have a prejudice against the chick lit style covers. Radar spoof is not far off. It reminds me a bit of the mild furor that was created when the American movie cover for film adaptation of Persuasion was released with models rather than the actors in a sort of romance cover pose. Horrid.

...an author that can write well for both children and adults doesn't condescend to either group.

Maren, yes! I think this is true of Rumer Godden as well, whose An Episode of the Sparrows is published by NYRB. I wonder if NYRB would reprint any other of her books (some of which, like her marvelous The Greengage Summer and The Diddakoi, are only available on Amazon as British imports).

That's funny Rob. My mom is sending me In this House of Brede so I am soon to be reading some Godden. This is her exchange because I sent her Frost in May and A Time to Keep Silence.

Now I will have to pick up An Episode of Sparrows as well.

I have a feeling we will be using that recommend titles button on the NYRB site frequently when we get going.

This group is a great idea! I've recently become obsessed with NYRB Classics - found a lot of good authors I'd never heard of Haven't read that many so far, but the TBR list increased substantially. I also just ordered a batch from the website, including The Summer Book. One of the books I bought was by Sciascia and NYRB has several by him. Has anyone read any of his works? What did you think?

#37> DieFledermaus, I read a few od Sciascia's books in my younger days. In Italy he was famous for the anti-mafia positions he took in his books. He is an excellent writer, with a language I would define 'unadorned and concise' but very effective. I hope the English translation does him justice.

I'm so glad I found this group because I'm a big NYRB fan, although not a collector per se. First discovered them when I bought A Time of Gifts and From the Woods to the Water after reading a profile of Patrick Leigh Fermor in "The New Yorker" and have been avidly reading them ever since (some of my favorites are listed in the Favorite NYRB thread).

If you get on their mailing list (from the web site), you will get announcements of new titles AND discount offerings!

37 DieFledermaus, Sciascia's titles have often been on my possible purchase list but have been edged out by other titles. I would love to here what you think of his work.

38 rebeccanyc, I am glad you joined us.

Hi, rebeccanyc, glad to see you here.

Thanks, I love NYRB books -- wish I'd thought of the idea of a group myself!

>35, 36 -- I was just entering books the other day and pulled up all my Rumer Goddens I haven't read in years, plus a 3 book anthology found a a thrift store last week. It contains An Episode of Sparrows, The Greengage Summer, and The Battle of the Villa Fiorita. I love her children's books also -- all the doll stories! One I don't own is In This House of Brede, though I remember enjoying it.

One I'm dying to read but haven't run across is Cromartie v. the God Shiva acting through the government of India.

Message edited by its author, Jun 18, 2008, 2:20pm.

#35, #36 How interesting that you mention Rumer Godden. I was just considering nominating The Greengage Summer for Virago. I have a Folio edition (don't groan people). It's quite well-done and includes introductory essays by one of the young actresses in the movie version as well as by one of Godden's children? nieces? I forget which now. The essays are almost aas fascinating as the book. One book that I like (although I wouldn't put it in the literature with a capital "L") is Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge. The novel is charming, dated, and probably wouldn't pass the responsible feminist reading test, but I still enjoy it. The book is an unabashed romance, but a gentle one. I first discovered it at my grandmother's house when I was a little girl. I read voraciously then as now. I remember feeling as if I had discovered treasure, since my grandmother''s library consisted in the main of scholarly (and dry) theological texts. Occasionally, I run into others, who say with an air of surprise, "Oh, you know that book too? I love it." A movie version of the book exists - your typical 1940's sentimental romance with Lana Turner. Interestingly, one of the songs from the movie has been recorded by Miles Davis and others.

Urania1, I am also fond of Green Dolphin Street, and Elizabeth Goudge in general. She is another who successfully crosses the line between adult fiction and children's fiction.

Message edited by its author, Jun 18, 2008, 10:13pm.

OK! It seems Green Dolphin Street goes on the wish list too.....sigh......;-)

Oh aluvalibri, we're both in the same boat. So many books, such a short time to read them all.

P.S. Did you get my e-mail?

Urania1, just in case you aren't aware and may want to join, there is a Folio editions group right here on LT. I even think a number of people in this group belong to it! ;-)

I quite like Rumer Godden. Read her frequently while a mere lass because she wrote about both ballet (my personal avocation at the time) and nuns (the life path chosen by a large number of my female relations). Sometimes even in tandem! Later I liked her because of the Powell-Pressburger connection. I don't think she's an especially good match for NYRB though. Virago or Persephone is more like it (it's her essential conservatism, her distrust of what is new, radical or unproved, not her gender or the gender of her main characters that makes me think she's somehow fundamentally wrong for the NYRB imprint).

Message edited by its author, Jun 19, 2008, 1:24am.

Marietherese,

I'd have to agree with you about the NYRB comment. I think she would fit better in Virago or Persephone. NYRB tends more to "Literature." I would say the same for Goudge and Green Dolphin Street although I encourage everyone to listen to Miles Davis rendition of On Green Dolphin Street

urania1, yesterday, upon your suggestion, I looked for (and found) an old copy of Green Dolphin Street, with a lovely old-fashioned dust jacket.
:-))

Oh how wonderful. I have an old copy but no dust-jacket. Let me know how you like it.

This week I received The Dud Avacado and A Way of Life, Like Any Other from a dear LT friend!! (Thank you, you know who you are!!!) It is tough to choose which to read first, but what a wonderful dilemma!

eta: that makes my total NYRBs 9, far behind most of you, I'm afraid, but only the beginning I hope.

Message edited by its author, Jun 21, 2008, 3:21pm.

Yesterday, at the library sale, I found As a Man Grows Older by Italo Svevo, an Italian classic, in perfect condition!

P.S. Touchstones, once again, DO NOT WORK!!!!!
ARGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My sister-in-law collects hardback Elizabeth Goudge novels. She has almost all of them now except The Golden Skylark.

She understands my Virago and Persephone obsessions!

Message edited by its author, Jun 21, 2008, 8:13pm.

aluvalibri, how funny! Today I saw a book by Italo Svevo at my local used bookstore. I almost bought it but didn't because I knew nothing about the writer.

Message edited by its author, Jun 21, 2008, 8:27pm.

urania1, Italo Svevo is a great writer. He was contemporary and great friend of James Joyce. In fact, Joyce lived and taught English in Trieste, Svevo's hometown, for many years.
The Italian title of As a Man Grows Older is Senilita`. His other very famous book is La Coscienza di Zeno.
I think you should go back and buy it. Tomorrow I shall go back to the library sale, and if I see something I think you might be interested in, I shall get it for you. I was actually on the lookout for a copy of House of Liars by Elsa Morante, one of my favourite books, but no luck!

aluvalibri - thank you for the information regarding Italian authors - it is most informative.

You are very welcome, my dear friend.
Unfortunately, I am not up to date with the most recent authors. The few things I have read are not really to my taste, with rare exceptions.
One of these exceptions is Andrea Camilleri, both with his 'Commissario Montalbano' series and with his other books, most of which, alas, have not been translated into English yet. A pity, as they are excellent, original, and very entertaining.
Another book I really enjoyed, when I read it a few years ago, is Q by Luther Blissett. The author is not a person but a group of people who adopted a nom de plume to write fiction. Q is a historical novel, very well written and researched.

I'm a bit late to join, but I just got my first New York Review Books: Paris Stories by Mavis Gallant. I also looked at the site and saw several more overlaps that I have in my collection, though by a different publisher: Memoirs of Montparnasse by John Glassco, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, and Book of Mediterranean Food by Elizabeth David. I saw several more that I would like to get...thanks for the introduction!

I've recently finished Raymond Queneau's Witch Grass and it's one of the most engaging books I've read this year. Queneau is often considered the father of French Postmodernism (or at least a seminal figure) and this novel is one of his best: involving, intriguing and funny!

BookCulture, an independent book store in NYC that I frequent, is having another NYRB sale, both in the store and online.

Thanks for the heads-up rebecca, though it was a bit hard not to get carried away - a lot of ones that I wanted on sale.

I got an e-mail that NYRB is having a 40% off winter sale on selected titles. Unfortunately, I already own a lot of the books that are on sale.

NYRB says that Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss is "forthcoming". Does anybody know when? I want it and haven't been able to find it anywhere. :( (Patience is a constant battle for me).

Georg Letham:Physician and Murderer is also on my TB list - its being published by Archipelago Books. The release date has been put back until early 2010, but you can already read an excerpt from the book on the site: www.archipelagobooks.org

In the meantime, try the two Ernst Weiss titles available from Pushkin Press, if you haven't got them already, Franziska and Jarmila.

The first batch of 2010 NYRB Classics releases has been "announced" (i.e., Amazon has the titles, covers and release dates):

Wish Her Safe at Homes--Stephen Benatar
Skylark--Dezso Kosztolanyi
Mechanization Takes Command: A Contribution to Anonymous History--Sigfried Giedion
The Wedding of Zein--Tayeb Salih
Clandestine in Chile--Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Original Letters from India--Eliza Fay
Poets in a Landscape--Gilbert Highet

This is a typically eclectic batch. I find it nice to see that NYRB continues to release books on poets and poetry (i.e., the Highet volume).

If previous release patterns hold up, the next batch (with release dates in late spring-summer 2010) will be "announced" in the fall.

I posted this in another thread, but I'm very excited about several of the NYRBs that are scheduled for later this year, including a new collection by Mavis Gallant and a new novel by Vassily Grossman.

Question: I recently picked up a Pushkin Press edition of Stefan Zweig's novellas that includes "The Royal Game." How does NYRB's Chess Story differ from "The Royal Game?" Assuming they are the same story, how does Chess Story justify a volume all its own? Does anybody know?

This may be old news to some of you but I just noticed that NYRB is having a 25% off all Classic sale through November 30.

Ursula K. Le Guin gave Tove Jansson's True Deceiver a really amazing review in the Guardian today. It's wonderful when someone else can articulate much better than you would ever be able to, the magic of a book:

"The unfolding of their story through vivid contrast and interplay of truthfulness and deceit, purity and complexity, ice and thaw, winter and spring, makes the most beautiful and satisfying novel I have read this year."