The beloved Royal Mail bag arrived yesterday with the books I ordered from the Spring Sale. Here's a report on what it contained:

Two novels by George Eliot -- "The Mill On the Floss" and "Middlemarch". These are marvelous editions, with buckram spines and lovely crushed-silk sides. Both illustrated with numerous woodcuts, Simon Brett's for "Middlemarch" being the most appealing to me, but all with the appropriate feel, though perhaps a bit stylized for some tastes.

"The Voyce Of the World" -- a collection of the writings of Thomas Browne. Another marvelous edition, this time with buckram spine and beautiful marbled-paper sides. The period engravings that illustrate the book are not as crisply printed as one could have wished -- they're a tad muddy, but serviceable. The color reproduction of a portrait of Browne and his wife used as a frontispiece is very satisfactory. All that aside, this is the best collection of Browne's work currently in print -- at the Summer Sale price it is an incredible bargain.

"Collected Ghost Stories" by M. R. James. This is a real treasure, in cloth covers with a printed design by the illustrator, Francis Mosely. The numerous full-page color illustrations inside are really delightful and superbly evocative. Can't imagine a better edition of these tales.

The Folio tote bag. Very nice, though I would still have preferred an ashtray. I suppose the bag could be used in a pinch as a spittoon.

So do I thank you for confirming that I made the right choice of the Eliot for my free set. Or curse you because now I'm even more anxious to receive my order (which according to the website has shipped).

Voyce of the World was one of my Summer Sale choices, which hasn't shipped so my anxiety level grows but thank you for confirming I made another good choice.

I picked up the Collected Ghost Stories last year so no anxiety there. And yes, it is a beautiful book if I could only find the time to read it. I'm still about two years behind on my to-be-read piles and the way I'm going when I'm ready for retirement in about twenty years it will still be waiting for me.

The Middlemarch is on my list to consider picking up at some point, and I think you've pushed me over the edge, though I will wait for a better price.

Incidentally, that plus Voyce makes you responsible for 2 books in my library.

>1 - Haha, during the Spring Sale I was debating whether to get The Voyce of the World or Collected Ghost Stories. I made the wrong choice, sadly.

And I'm still waiting for that last Spring Sale order to come. I just hope it doesn't choose tomorrow to make its entrance. ;-)

I bought Middlemarch on its own, and then bought the complete novels set, so I have a Middlemarch to spare if you're interested. It's the 1972 edition, introduced by Kingsley Hart with drawings by Robin Jacques.

Here are some pictures:
IMGhttp://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/coynedj/DSC01062.jpg/IMG
IMGhttp://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/coynedj/DSC01063.jpg/IMG
IMGhttp://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/coynedj/DSC01061.jpg/IMG

The lens cap, of course, is only there to hold the page open. I was going to list it on Ebay - let me know if you have any interest.

coynedj: If it doesn't include the lens cap then I'm not really interested.

Just kidding, of course, but I think I'd rather get the newer edition.

Good luck on eBay and thanks.

#3
Do you know the concept of "Pay it forward" with respect to good deeds? Consider this my version of it. I ordered Voyce because of other people's comments so I'm passing it on.

#4
I would be so happy if my books came today or tomorrow. My father had to go home for a funeral so that would be the perfect window (he'll be back Sunday or Monday because he has the nephew's graduation and another doctor's appointment here). Folio Society should really provide a tracking service like Amazon so I know when it's safe to go home.

7: Well, actually, I was talking to Lloydville, though I wasn't clear. I ordered it when I saw his comment saying that we'd all be mad not to!

And now his comments about the Middlemarch....

>7 - I would also be very happy if my books came today. This is the longest thus far an order has taken to make its way into my open arms; I'm constantly listening for cars coming by the house, constantly checking the porch...

I hope both of our orders come when our fathers aren't there! ;-)

#9
Yes, if you're like me you're almost at the point where you will endure the parent's snide remarks just to get your hands on the books. And it's worse knowing that some of them are on their way. I hope our Mole is listening when I say that if I could see on the website when they actually left it would be easier on my nerves (if quite a while ago then I'd know it wouldn't be a long wait, if just recently then I could try to calm myself for a longer wait).

>8 - It was talk here about "Night Thoughts", especially by Django, a fellow Blake fanatic, which got me to order it . The circle of enabling is endless and I'm definitely on the losing side of things at this point.

By the way, they're down to 167 copies remaining. So close to the end . . . so close . . .

>10 - It isn't snide remarks I'm worried about; there's the very real possibility for me that I'd be forbidden to get anymore books. Therein lies my fear.

I was told when my package left, but I don't know how long it should take from when it ships to when it arrives. Therein lies the problem.

Iriesa: To prove that chivalry is not dead, you just have the books shipped to my address. Then we'll smuggle them in when the coast is clear. How's that for enabling?

Irieisa, there is a Goddess and she loves me (sort of)! When I got home from work today there were two big white bags sitting in front of my chair. Hopefully they came after my father left. It was part of my Spring Sale order. I'm hoping the rest of the order shows up tomorrow (cross your fingers for me). It would make my life so much easier. At least the two biggest books came today (Purgatorio and Paradiso). They take up way too much space and have to go to their places on the shelf immediately. Which means I'll be spending the weekend rearranging my bookshelves so they will fit.

And today my Summer Sale orders are all showing as despatched. I'm marking the calendar and making a note of how long they take to get here. That way I'll have an approximate delivery time for future orders.

And the two tote bags that came were just what I was hoping for--roomy, sturdy and so classy with the FS logo on the side. Makes me want to go shopping so I can show them off.

Even my cats were excited about the delivery. I swear they know there are big boxes inside those big white bags and they love to play in boxes. One of the older cats even pawed at the bag as if she wanted me to open it so she could have her new toy.

Ahhh the jealousy that I feel. I'm really hoping that my summer sale order shows tomorrow.

>13 - Seems like something just might go wrong along the way. ;-)

>14 - I get no love, clearly. Nothing for me. I went to check how long the estimated shipping time is; it should be here by now. I ordered on May 30. The site says I should allow up to twenty-five days for delivery. Do I send an email to enquire, or wait longer...? All my previous orders came within about fourteen days, too. I'm worried.

Nonetheless, I wish you well, haniwitch; at least you got part of your order!

>15 - I've got three tote bags so far, with one more on the way (I hope). I have yet to use them at all.

The cardboard is utilised by my cats in a very different way: it functions as a pee-guard. A certain kitty likes to raise his rear on high.

Message edited by its author, Jun 26, 2009, 9:33pm.

It never hurts to inquire Irieisa. I called today to find out the status of my Summer sale order and it was despatched on the 15th. I'm really praying that it will be here tomorrow. Awaiting the shipment is the hardest part of ordering from them. Not only that but the day after I'm already looking for more. It really is an addiction I have. LOL

>18 - All right then, I'll start writing up an email. Thanks!

I've already gotten so much, but naturally, I want more. ;-) Out of curiosity, I was adding up how much it would cost if I got all the Summer Sale books I wanted to get; I stopped before I finished, but the price reached past $900... And that wasn't even including The New Naturalists. That would have shot it up.

Don't feel bad. I'm the same way. Just remember you have a lifetime to purchase them. I struggle with the same. If they are worth having they WILL reprint them. I keep telling myself that I'll win the lottery and be able to tell both EP and FS to send me one of everything. What a day that would be. Also you may want to start dreaming of bookcases http://www.blacklion.com/Parker-House-Furniture/products/dav_library.jpg

>20 - Well, there have to be books that weren't reprinted but were and are worth owning... It would be nice if they reprinted Night Thoughts as a fine rather than limited edition, like they did with The Kelmscott Chaucer. ;-) I doubt it will happen, though.

I've dreamt of bookcases; more importantly I've dreamt of having enough space for said bookcases. With a bed in my room (which I don't sleep in), there isn't a great deal of space... Not to mention the desk and little TV. I'm thinking about how I would move things around to accommodate everything.

I wouldn't count on marking the calendar in order to ensure delivery date. My deliveries have been very erratic. I made 3 orders from the Spring Sale, all within a 2 day period. The first order arrived about 2 weeks later, the 3rd order arrived 2 days later, but the 2nd order arrived 6 weeks later! I have had this type of delivery before

#20 I would replace that TV with a nice little collection of fine spirits and a humidor....

Come, come, Julian! I can see Irieisa now with her books, collection of spirits and a humidor. She is already wise beyond her years but a 14-year-old rouée is a bit much!

>22

Same experience here. My books have taken anywhere from 2-6 weeks to arrive. I figure it has something to do with customs. I mean, who knows what comes through there on any given day? If there's a kerfluffle over something illegal, my books might get shoved to the side. If it's a slow day, my books probably go straight through, no troubles at all.

>24 - Yes, a bit much for me, but all the space the TV in Message 20 takes up could certainly be used for spirits and a humidor, and there would probably be someone to appreciate them, as well. ;-)

Also, I got a response from FS. Essentially, I should wait eleven or so days before worrying. I'm quite satisfied with that (for now!).

>23 - I completely agree about removing the TV. That and they also sell an exquisite desk that matches. Parker House has quite a few nice items and collections to choose from. My dilemma is to save for them I would have to purchase fewer books.

http://www.homegallerystores.com/shop/parker_house/davinci//32_glass_door_cabine...

Half my Spring sale order arrived today!! Walden is beautiful.

My spring order arrived yesterday! I was out all day and all night, so it was rather interesting to come home, happy, buzzed, and pleasantly exhausted, at 1:30 in the morning, to find my big white bag sitting on the porch, bathed in a halo of light. A beautiful way to end a lovely day.

Ironically, here in England, we don't get the big white Royal Mail bag - only a man standing at the door with a brown cardboard box. Still the same treat inside, though!

The white Royal Mail Bag is quite a status symbol in my neighborhood!

I must suggest to our government that Britain can get out of its recession by selling Royal Mail M-bags to Americans... we always knew that the colonials hankered after being reconquered and Royal Mail bags are the way forward.

I do wonder about those bags. In all my orders, I've gotten a bag two or maybe three times. The rest have all been boxes just like the regular folk get.

Message edited by its author, Jun 28, 2009, 6:26pm.

I get boxes within bags.

yes - if you look at the air mail M-bag rate regulations, the contents must be boxed and there is also a maximum weight per box and per bag.

#33
I can't remember when the bags started but all my deliveries since then have come in them.

#35
That would explain why I'm still waiting for half of my Spring Sale order which presumably shipped about the same time as the part I did get.

All of mine have come within Royal Mail bags, without exception.

For the first dozen years I was a member, the books came in boxes--often poorly secured and protected. I suspect they were shipped from a US shipping office, and I frequently had packages arrive that were partially opened. Starting a year or two ago, the boxes arrived in the white bags and they have always arrived in first-class condition. I suspect the change was a reaction to complaints to our friends in Customer Service--our heroes!

yeah I suspect the same thing. I think now the packages come directly from London as opposed to local offices

Yes, I remember the first several boxes coming from the US office, whereas the last year or two they have all come in the Big White Bag direct from the UK.

I feel positively cultured receiving that Royal Mail bag with the crown on it full of beautifully bound books. Must be that US inferiority complex whenever we compare ourselves to Europe -- I can't remember who said it but there is a quote to the effect that "Europe is the hardcover; America is the paperback".

>40 - I'd say that Europe is the attic, America is the basement rec room.

Yes, now all the books are shipped from the UK. I asked Folio and that was the answer I got. I agree with Djano, for the 1st few years of my membership all the books came in just the cardboard packing and then for the last year or so they have switched to the cardboard package within the big white bag. That is, however, no guarantee that the books will arrive in perfect condition. My last order came in the bag and the package but the package within the bag was mangle and the slipcase on G. Greene's Human Factor was crushed and the edges of the Great Cathedrals were bent. So for the next order I've written to ask them to please be extra careful or to separate 2 of the books (Princiipia and History of Africa) into 2 boxes. I was told not to worry they always try to make sure the books are well packed. Let's hope so.

My downstairs neighbor caught up with me yesterday and asked about The Big White Bag. She wanted to know if I had a British boyfriend! She said “I see those big, fancy packages from Britain and I think ‘oh what a lucky girl – she must have a boyfriend sending her gifts!’” I laughed and explained that no, they were only some very fine books.

But a lovely British boyfriend to go with my books…ah, that would be nice. If only.

"But a lovely British boyfriend to go with my books…ah, that would be nice"

What about us Yanks, beatlemoon? Are we chopped liver?

>44 - Can't beat a nice British accent. ;-)

Well, I don't know about Yanks being chopped liver, but I daresay you've never had a Jersey Guido lean out the window of his pimped out Honda, gold chain bouncing against his beater, and yell "Hey baby, you gotta license for that?" at you. Charming, no?

Don't get me wrong, I love my home state, but it can be SO unattractive at times. Add to that a highly embarassing weakness for accents and thus, I find the notion of a British boyfriend lovely.

Of course, you mean a NEW Jersey guy.

There are plenty of low-rent British men, of course, who could be just exactly as charming.

But they would do it with a non-American accent.

I like most accents, too. My wife is Australian, and now my 2-year-old is saying things like, "Warm milk. Mummy says wahhhm, and daddy says Warrrrm."

>47: My dad is Australian but my mum was English, and she told me once that when we were very small my brothers and I would sound more clipped and English when we talked her, and more drawly when we talked to our dad. Still to this day I'm somewhere in between - English people think I'm Australian, while Australians often ask if I'm English! Has your 2-year-old decided how she pronounces "warm" yet?

Wahhhhm.

I don't like Australian or western accents, among others. I favour a lot of European accents, though.

I'm told my voice is rather flat, somewhat monotone. Slightly surprised me.

My wife doesn't like flat, somewhat monotone voices.

>51 - Heheh, I probably wouldn't like my voice much, either. ;-) Luckily for me, I don't have to listen to it much, and when I do, it doesn't sound the same as it does to others.

On the other hand, I'm glad I don't have a squeaky voice. I'd drive myself mad.

I've been told that I have a voice for radio. Or was that a "face" for radio? I don't remember.

>53 - The latter sounds like an insult...

The latter IS an insult :D

I remember being very disappointed once when I saw a picture of a radio broadcaster whose voice I just loved - he had freckles! (Before people with freckles jump on me, I have nothing against them. It's just that he didn't have a freckly voice.)

>49: I'm amusing myself by trying to imagine a kid with a half-Aussie, half-American accent. It's hard to get my head around!

54: Yup, I was kidding around.

Message edited by its author, Jun 29, 2009, 5:16pm.

I just received my final Spring Sale order! And Selborne! So beautiful, so huge, so hard to fit into its slipcase!

I'm still unwrapping them and inspecting to make sure all's well. It's going to take a while, as I've only looked through two out of eighteen. Worse yet, it's horribly warm up in my room. I just hope my sweat doesn't stain the books. ;-)

>55 - Haha, no wonder.

Aw, freckly people get no love?

>56 - I figured on that, but it never hurts to be sure. Well, almost never.

Message edited by its author, Jun 29, 2009, 7:54pm.

>58 I just finished going through my summer sale today. Be prepared for when you get Chaucer. It may take up the remaining space you have in your room. :)

>59 - Selborne was bad enough... I am my own worst enemy.

Sadly, I won't have any bookshelves in time for The Coming of Chaucer (my fear has raised it to capitalised status). I think I can move my bed into the middle of the room for more wall-space, and maybe move my desk and chair around, too... I might be able to line all of my tiny, tiny room with shelves. Tall shelves. Maximising space is important; I don't mind running off for a ladder if necessary. ;-)

My dreams, they seem (almost) within reach...!

My first summer sale order arrived today - 6 days after ordering. I'm impressed! Only, I've had them delivered to work and now I'll have to spend my whole shift knowing that the wonderous box is in the next office and I can't open it...

> 46 - Add to that a highly embarassing weakness for accents and thus, I find the notion of a British boyfriend lovely.

I second that!! :) I suppose we'll just have to make do with British books ....

>62 - Speaking of which, nearly all the people in my overpopulated imagination-land have some kind of European accent, though often its only slight. ;-)

I'm American but I'm convinced I sound better with some sort of vaguely English accent. But I also know I sound terribly affected with it (at least to other Americans), so I only adopt it in private or when tackling a stage role that it's appropriate for.

I also believe I should be living in some lovely Tudor-y English village circa 1955. Alas, reality dictates otherwise. . .

So nice to know I'm not the only one who loves accents! :-)

"I also believe I should be living in some lovely Tudor-y English village circa 1955. Alas, reality dictates otherwise. . ."

Alas, it truly does. Unfortunately while the rest of the world has a sweet notion of England/Britain as an historical blast from the past crammed with examples of winding Tudor streets (and I believe us English/British have that notion too), the people in charge of this 'ancient' country are busy knocking most of it down and disfiguring the rest with the foulest buildings you ever saw.
It's an issue which infuriates me, as you can tell. :-) But I'm afraid those villages now exist mostly in our collective imagination.

I'm from Atlanta in the US, and it's not uncommon for overseas tourists to lament the dearth of plantations. They've read Gone with the Wind and are sad not to find it here.

>67

Amusing, considering the title sequence of the movie specifically says to look for that world only in books, for it is an era that is gone with the wind.

>66 - Imagination works well enough for me! ;-)

Re #67 - If the tourists misbehave enough in Louisiana they can sample plantation life at first hand while they serve five years in Angola plantation. When I visit there, you really could be time warped back to the 1860s as you drive through the fields of convicts (mostly of color too) working the plantation just as they did there 150 years ago.

I tell them to take a tour of CNN. Atlanta has changed.

Another Royal Mail bag arrived today with books I ordered in the Summer Sale -- a bit over two weeks from the order date, which I think is a record for non-LE books, which arrive by a swifter and fancier courier.

Here's a report on what the bag contained -- just some personal reactions that might be of interest to anyone contemplating buying any of these books:

"The Golden Bowl" by Henry James. A handsome cover, handsomer than it looks on the web site -- pleasant and abundant but not inspired illustrations. I was looking for a respectable reading copy of this book and at the Summer Sale price of $18.50, what you might easily pay for a fancy paperback, this was a no-brainer.

"The Eagle Of the Ninth". This has been on my reading list for a while -- I never imagined I'd see it in a fine edition, and this one is quite attractive. I probably wouldn't have bought it at full price but I'm so pleased with it that I'll certainly spring for "The Silver Branch" as well, if this first tale lives up to my expectations. Again, if you want a copy of this title, the Summer Sale price, about what you'd pay for a badly-made unillustrated hardback, is a no-brainer.

"Blackmailers Don't Shoot" - stories by Raymond Chandler. This is a real delight. A striking cover and wonderful plates -- more decorative than illustrative, I'd say . . . slightly abstract designs with a Deco feel. I find them very enjoyable and will certainly look to collect the other volumes in Folio's Chandler series.

"Labyrinths" by Jorge Luis Borges. A bit oddly shaped -- on the tall side -- but so are the stories inside. I don't find it in the least awkward as a reading copy. Another delight, design-wise -- bold, brightly colored, whimsical and eccentric cover and plates, owing something to the style of hand-painted Latin American street signs. Maybe not everybody's idea of the right way to illustrate Borges -- no cobwebs, no shadows, no dust piled up on long-forgotten books -- but they feel just right to me.

"A Nervous Splendor" by Frederick Morton. This replaces a paperback for me, very happily. The plates are well-reproduced, the book is handsome -- again, at the Summer Sale price, a bargain.

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". Splendid. Vigorous, almost cartoon-y illustrations that pay due homage to medieval styles, delicately colored in places -- large format with large print given plenty of room to breathe on the page. A first-rate edition of this poem.

My cup runneth over. My money runneth out.

Ooh, I'm going back and forth on A Nervous Splendor. I've never read it and can't decide.

It's on hold for me at the library for a test run.

(Edited to fix typo.)

Message edited by its author, Jul 2, 2009, 11:00am.

>72 - Haha, I wish you hadn't spoken well of three books I want. And to call one of them a no-brainer!

So tempting, so tempting, but what's forbidden is forbidden. ;-)

A Nervous Splendor is excellent. I bought the original hardcover edition when it came out, so couldn't justify buying the Folio edition (perhaps realizing that I would eventually succumb to the lure of Night Thoughts.

Just when I was starting to bite my carefully manicured fingernails, my parcel arrived! Not the summer sale, but the held-up spring sale - complete with TOTE BAG! I truly belong to the fold!
It did not come in the famous white bag, just a large cardboard box which somehow the postman managed to cram into the downstairs letterbox, mashing up all the corners. I nearly broke my nails prising it out.
Fortunately, the books were carefully cushioned in bubblewrap and look fine (they are still shrinkwrapped; I'm going to peel them and open them slowly and fondly).
There is: Molesworth (much huger than I had imagined); Emil and the Detectives; My Family and Other Animals. The big disappointment is that the Tolstoy set was sold out. But instead, joy and consolation, the Raj Quartet is on its way.
In the same post came the New Sets and Special Editions brochure; I can resist everything in there or have what I want. But with it was a flyer for the History of Paris in Painting, and ever since I set eyes on it I have been curled up in anguish and desire.

Okay, so do I worry or not? Last Friday part of my Spring Sale orders arrived--part of the first order and the entire second order. Today my last order from the Summer Sale showed up. Which means the rest of my Spring Sale order and two orders from the Summer Sale are floating through the postal system. Has anyone else had books show up out of order from their purchase timeline? And how long do I wait before I do start to panic?

Can't comment on the books themselves right now. With my father here I just wanted to get the big white bag and box out of his sight so I quickly grabbed the books and bookmark out of the box and tucked them away in a corner, still shrinkwrapped. I won't even look at them until he's gone to bed. And with him still here maybe I should stop worrying about the books (there's another ten! on the way) and hope they don't come for a while.

I received half my Spring sale order last Saturday, then my Summer Sale order on Monday. I'm still waiting for the second half of my Spring order. I called and they said to give them until the 6th, which would be 21 days after they shipped.

>77 - I'm still waiting for an earlier Summer Sale order; everything else has come, including the orders I placed about five days after the one that isn't here as well as two orders placed on the exact same day. Don't worry just yet. ;-)

I don't know where you live which might effect how long it takes to get a shipment. My Spring Sale order was in 3 parts. The 3rd came first. Two days later came the 1st. BUT the 2nd order took 5 weeks!
I wrote to the Society wondering about it. They said wait a week or so and if it doesn't come, let them know. Fortunately it came soon thereafter. So it is variable. However I've had occasion to inquire about when something was shipped and the Secretary gave me one date, but I later found out that it wasn't shipped until a week later. So one can't rely always on the information that's given.
Incidentally I live in NY

Damn! I just met my new mailman - and he's a stickler for rules. My summer sale order arrived yesterday...but he didn't leave it on the porch the way the old mailman did, because apparently I have to sign for it. I happen to be working at home today so I caught him and gave him the "permission slip" that was left behind so he can just drop the package tomorrow. But when I told him never to worry about it, just leave the bags on the porch for any future orders, he protested that no, he needs a signature. He's like Milton in Office Space! This means I will be tortured with an extra two day wait from now on!

Grrr! And today has been rather awful; I really could have used a big white bag to comfort me a little. :-(

Sorry, beatlemoon, about your day--((((group hug))))

Thanks, Django. Hugs are always appreciated. :-)

beatlemoon, I can completely understand your pain. I only have a P.O. Box because we don't get home delivery in my town. I was late getting to the Post Office on a Saturday and had to wait until Monday afternoon to pick up one of my orders.

Oh, dear. What have I done? The rest of my Spring and Summer Sale books arrived today and I just realized the enormity of it all. With the books that came today and the ones from last week I have a whole extra bookshelf worth and no extra bookshelf to put them on. There will definitely be a major restructuring going on in my house this weekend. Yikes!

On the other hand the books are beautiful and I don’t regret a single purchase. Some quick impressions:

Strong Poison – Small, light-weight, easily tucked into a purse. I love the wrap-around cover illustration and the black and white ones inside which are both full-sized and small end pieces on some chapters. This is my first Sayers mystery and I can hardly wait to read it.

I Capture the Castle – Nice readable type. Black and white illustrations, both full page and smaller ones tucked inside the text. The only other work I know of hers is One Hundred and One Dalmatians (and only through the Disney version) so this should be interesting.

Vanity Fair – It seems much bigger than my late mother’s copy. Good type and sixteen full-page colour illustrations with smaller black and white ones at the end of each of the sixty-seven chapters. I think my mother would have liked this edition.

George Eliot set and Les Liaisons Dangereuses – These are my first silk cover books and they are impressive, especially Les Liaisons with its simple feather design on the front. I love the engravings in the Eliot, not quite sure about the illustrations in Les Liaisons.

Siege and Fall of Troy – Love “children’s” books, their type is always bigger and easier to read—great for these old eyes. The colour illustrations are certainly different. The writing style reminds me of Hawthorne’s Tanglewood Tales and Wonder Book so it will probably share shelf space with them instead of my other Graves books.

Jekyll & Hyde/Weir of Hermiston – Love the type, very easy on the eyes. I didn’t realize Jekyll & Hyde was such a short book; the Weir of Hermiston, which apparently is an unfinished work, is longer. The cover looks much better than it does on the website.

Anne of Green Gables – Bright, beautiful, it even feels good just to hold it. Nice addition to my Canadiana.

Secret History – The illustrations are all mosaics; very different. Skimmed the first few paragraphs and I think I’m going to enjoy this one—that he couldn’t write until all the characters had passed away, just to be on the safe side.

Jane Eyre – Couldn’t resist the fifty percent discount even though I have a perfectly serviceable copy already. I love Simon Brett’s engravings even if the type is a tad smaller than my eyes can handle.

Voyce of the World – This should be interesting. He seems to touch on everything and anything—religion, medicine, even unicorn horns. The illustrations are reproductions from other books in Browne’s library. And the notes are in the side margins rather than at the end of the book—so much easier to follow.

As for the bookmark, it’s very classy. The stem is thin enough that I don’t think it would damage a book but it becomes thicker at the top so the logo part sticks up above the book. If you push it down so the crook is even with the top of the book the thicker part spreads the pages a little more than I like.

>85 - The first two books on your list are in my second Summer Sale order, not yet arrived. Glad to hear good reports on them.

>86 - I received those first two as well; they're certainly nice, though they didn't excite me as much as some of the other books. I think you'll be pleased well enough.

My summer sale order arrived yesterday - and I suspect that our postman (or the post office) has been snitching the big white bags, because like the previous delivery, it came in a large cardboard box with the label that is usually tied to the neck of the bag sellotaped onto the box.

So, apart from the classy bookmark, there was Tom's Midnight Garden, Onwards and Upwards in the Garden, The Rights of Man, and the Voyce of the World which I wouldn't have bought if it hadn't been for all your comments, and it looks fascinating, with beautiful marbling on the covers.

Although I do not expect any big white bag, will you allow me to give my opinion on:

- The Voyce of the World: the Summer Sale discount it was offered at really made me regret having bought it earlier this year (I think at half price in the New Year's Sale). Marbling is indeed beautiful, but what I especially like in this book are the margin notes which give a 17c. flavour. I don't know if the reading of it is so much easy, however... I'll wait for a while before trying it.

- Secret History: I read it recently (thanks to the generosity of the author of the post just over; thanks again overthemoon!) and found it informative about the Byzantian history. The—say—first half is OK, but it just bored me afterwards. This litany of all the crimes attributed by Procope to Justinian and Theodora is rather repetitive after a while.

Edited PS: I use my Royal Mail bags as rubbish bags when I have to carry off small branches in my garden over a large distance. And you?

Message edited by its author, Jul 8, 2009, 4:57am.

>89 - "The Voyce of the World: the Summer Sale discount it was offered at really made me regret having bought it earlier this year (I think at half price in the New Year's Sale). Marbling is indeed beautiful, but what I especially like in this book are the margin notes which give a 17c. flavour. I don't know if the reading of it is so much easy, however... I'll wait for a while before trying it."

I also bought it before the Summer Sale and so have the same regret. I've just dipped into it -- some of it is very easy to read, some of it is thorny, due to Byzantine syntax and complexity of thought . . . but I'd say that all of the prose is extremely beautiful in its way.

Re: those eagerly anticipating reading I Capture the Castle - it's a good, fun, breezy read. Quite fun. And I envy those who have received their boxes - I'm still waiting for mine.

I just received the Raj Quartet in a very battered box, again with the label from the missing bag taped to the top - it has obviously been opened by customs and stuck down again. Fortunately the books were well bubble-wrapped so no damage done. OMG, the quartet is HUGE. There is no space left on my office shelves until I smuggle the previous batch home.

Well, my Royal Mail bag arrived yesterday! It really is a treat to see it on the front porch when I arrive home in the evening.

I dragged it inside and found everything in perfect order. I've only looked at one so far, but I intend to have a good gloat over them tonight.

I got:
Folio 60 (I've wanted that bibliography, but not to the extent of paying the full price; it finally came down to a bargain I couldn't refuse).

The Golden Bowl - I haven't read it in years, and am looking forward to reacquainting myself with Mr. James.

A Nervous Splendor - Like the poster above, I'm replacing a well used paperback with this permanent edition.

The Power and the Glory - A Graham Greene I haven't read yet.

The Body Snatchers and Other Stories - I'm getting quite a collection of RLS thanks to Folio.

I'm sure there's another, and I simply can't remember it at the moment. I wrote a check for this batch, which felt quite old-fashioned, but I've just had it with the games the credit card companies play. Recently, they've started making "foreign transaction" fees on transactions that don't involve foreign currencies. I order my Folio Books from an address in Pennsylvania, and the transaction is in dollars, but because Folio is based in London, the card company adds a fee for a "foreign transaction". So old-fashioned paper checks it is, from now on.

#92 Overthemoon may I ask if the dye on your copy of the Raj Quartet has rubbed off from any of the books?

>92 if I look very hard at The Towers of Silence and the Jewel in the Crown, it seems as if the dye has rubbed slightly round the edges of the back cover and there is some white showing faintly through. But so faintly I would not have noticed if I wasn't looking.

ok thanks for the reply. Mine is fairly noticeable and I was just wondering if others had the same issue as well. They are beautiful books though.

I have some minor rubbing along the edges of the back cover of the Jewel in the Crown. The other volumes are still pristine. Sounds like this may become a common problem for this particular set. It is a beautiful set BTW and I have enjoyed the first two volumes immensely.

yes it's The Jewel in the Crown that has the most dye rubbed off. I haven't read them yet. Too many others waiting in line. Currently finishing off Tom Jones

Another Royal Mail bag arrived today, out here in the desert, with my second order from the Summer Sale. (I was so pleased with the books from my first order that I couldn't resist having another go at the low-hanging fruit.) Here are some thoughts on the bag's contents this time:

"Tom's Midnight Garden". I love the design on the cloth cover but find the interior illustrations merely serviceable -- pleasant but undistinguished. I think I might be a bit disappointed if I'd bought this at full price. At the sale price, however, I think it's yet another genuine bargain.

"Strong Poison". Quite delightful. I love the full-color wrap-around cover and the interior illustrations -- fun, with a period flavor. Excellent edition of this title.

"The Power and the Glory". The design of the cover is powerful and to me very fine -- or should I say glorious? The interior illustrations seem perfect, again with a period flavor and aptly referencing Mexican art of the time. I love this one.

"I Capture the Castle". Another winner for me -- charming cover design and illustrations . . . not all that different in style from those for "Tom's Midnight Garden" but with a little extra flair, at least to my eye.

The arrival of this big white bag was a melancholy occasion for me -- I'm done with ordering from the Folio Society until the next sale or special offer. Feels like the day after Christmas.

Just got another bag yesterday, but I was surprised by the contents.

It was Three Men in a Boat, which I had ordered just after the Gawain had shipped. But I still haven't gotten the Gawain yet!

Now I'm nervous. But I'll wait another week or so before getting nervous enough to make a call about it.

There's hope yet. I was panicking when part of my Summer Sale books came before my Spring Sale ones. The site said the Spring Sale had shipped first and I had received some of them with an invoice listing all as shipped. Then everything that was outstanding showed up on the same day which made for a very hectic weekend entering books on LT (I try to do it is they come in now) and rearranging shelves to accommodate everything (because you never realize how much you've purchased until they're all piled accusingly in the living room).

Ok, haniwitch, I'll remain calm. I only have one outstanding book at the moment, so at least my day won't be more hectic than usual when it comes.

haniwitch, have you received your copy of Night Thoughts yet? I believe we ordered it at about the same time, but I have been out of the country since June 1 and it had not yet arrived when I left. (I won't be back home until the middle of August, so the suspense is killing me!)

Unfortunately mine definitely won't be coming until the November shipping date. I received a letter from FS last week confirming that I would be charged the original price and advising that my copy would ship in November. FYI I placed my order July 1.

P.S. How do you like Regina?

Regina reminds me a lot of my hometown--Independence, MO--except that in July in Missouri it's too hot to wear just shorts and so far in Regina I'm regretting not bringing my fleece and parka!

My big white bag arrived! Then, another one arrived shortly afterwards!!

Okay, Ill try not to drool to much over the keyboard as I type this.

The packing was great. Boxed together in carpets of bubble wrap. My kids have had a field day with the bubble wrap, for what it's worth!

My introductory offer was the The New Oxford History of England: 1689 - 1918 - 5 Volume set and the Chambers Dictionary of World History.

Ironically neither of these volumes are 'Folio' volumes and though they are excellent in their own rights, I couldn't wait to open the next big white bag (my compulsory purchases) to sample my first Folio Society Books, which just happened to be.....

Dracula
The History of Scotland (2 volume set)
Jane Austen's Letters

and a Freebie: Chambers Crossword Dictionary

The Folio editions are just wonderful. Really they are. I wondered if I was doing the right thing and being 'sucked in' to some over priced book club, but now I am satisfied that they are quality products and great value for money.

Listen; I'm not a technical expert on bindings or paper quality, but they look really nice and sumptuous products. The Jane Austen's Letters look like they should be on display in some Laura Ashley window front lying beside a lace covered table and a china tea set! My wife loves it. (I have slowly indoctrinated her into bookishness throughout our marriage).

I gloated over Dracula and teased my eldest daughter with it and dared her to compare her Twilight pulp fiction with my beautifully illustrated edition complete with slipcase.

What can I say about the History of Scotland 2 Volume set? It wouldn't look out of place in any chamber of 'Morair Tagraidh' in Scotland. It really is a classy piece of work.

And who can say no a freebie? The Chambers Crossword Dictionary is a great bedside companion for anyone interested in the English Language, surely.

Slobbering as I am, I have another two big white bags on the way.
I am, however two thirds of the way through a 'huge' book..... "Poor Fellow, My Country" by Xavier Herbert, which I borrowed from the Library.

I am determined to complete this 'challenge', before I make the daunting decision, of which book to read first.

106: I'd be interested to hear a little more about the History of Scotland, I've been eyeing it up for months (Scottish history's become an interest of mine since I've moved here!). How much is there about Scotland in the Middle Ages? Is it absolutely massive?

>107

In Volume 1, there is a chapter, around 110 pages on Medieval Scotland c1100 to 1500 approx.

I just had another flick through these volumes and they are magnificent. They really look the part the way the are presented in the slip case too.

Highly recommended. Great plates inside too.

>107 - If we're talking book-size, it isn't what I'd call massive. If not, then my bad. :-)

My big white bags were opened on Friday. they consisted of:
The Arrow of Gold
Chance
The Duel and Other Tales
The Power and the Glory
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
An Outcast of the Islands
The Rescue
The Rover
A Room with a View
The Secret History
The Secret Sharer and other stories
Travels with My Aunt
Trafalgar: An Eyewitness History
The Trial of the Templars
A Book of Travellers' Tales
Folio Brass Bookmark

All books arrived in perfect condition. Les Liaisons Dangereuses is so beautiful.
The silk binding is amazing, as are the illustrations. They're very naughty. I have enough
to read for a whole year. Happy days

Les Liaisons Dangereuses is so beautiful.
The silk binding is amazing, as are the illustrations. They're very naughty.

...you just set me back 7.95 + shipping..

Message edited by its author, Jul 21, 2009, 1:52am.

>111 - Did that happen because of the "naughty" comment? ;-)

110>...you made me do it! I just picked up a copy of Les Liasions Dangereuses myself! This has been one expensive summer!!

I went immediately to the website and drooled over the luscious cover (and peeked at the illustrations). Thank goodness I have a self-imposed moratorium on reading English translations of French books.

#112: No ;) but I'm a sucker for beautiful/unusual bindings... One of my favourite binding material is still snake leather. I managed to aquire some old book on ebay. Half of them seems to have been bound into parts of the same snake. Depending on how your hand goes over the cover it feels different each time.

There was an eel-leather bound book on sale, but I sadly missed it.

>115 - Snake... EEL? What in the...

Anyway, I love the binding of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, too; the illustrations, not so much. I expect fading, though, considering it's silk. Ah, well. As long as it doesn't fall apart because of it, I think I'm good.

Well, a modest shipment arrived today:

Les Liaisons Dangereuses - love the crushed silk, I know it will fade, so I'm not sure how I'll shelve it; it needs a solander box. As with "Pimpernel", I love Weller's illustrations. They certainly capture the 21st century idea of what the 18th century French uppercrust was like.

The Towers of Trebizond - on my wish list for years, ever since I saw the opening line quoted on the FS website.

King Arthur: History and Legend - looks like a great read to get background before diving in to Monmouth, Mallory, or T.H White.

and, of course, the bookmark. Had a devil of a time forcing the book back into the slipcase with the bookmark in place, though. ;-)

It's the next white bag I'm anxious for. I made the last payment on the centenary Wind in the Willows and immediately ordered the LE Moby Dick and The Natural History of Selborne on installments! Somebody stop me! (as if this crowd would be any help at all)

Os.

>117 - "It's the next white bag I'm anxious for. I made the last payment on the centenary Wind in the Willows and immediately ordered the LE Moby Dick and The Natural History of Selborne on installments! Somebody stop me! (as if this crowd would be any help at all)"

Take a deep breath -- everything is going to be o. k.

#117: I just finished the King Arthur book and I strongly encourage you, if you haven't already, to be familiar with the major works; Monmouth, Malory, and the stories.

>117
Ahh. Sounds like I got it backwards from the intro.
thanks

Os.

I can hardly wait to get my first order - can anyone in the US (especially Texas) comment on how long it usually takes?

I placed my first (joining) order and got:
Darwin set
The Remains of the Day
Slaughterhouse 5
The Human Factor
The Screwtape Letters

Then, a few days later ordered from the sale:
The Devil's Dictionary
Aristocrats
Folio 60
Gawain and the Green Knight

I have gotten so compulsive with my book buying lately.

Thanks

>121
I'm in Texas. Usually long enough that I've forgotten how long. It seems like 3-4 weeks is not unusual, but I know there have been occasions where it was more like 6 weeks. I don't think I've ever received an FS shipment from GB in 2 weeks or less. Plus, if there's a book in your order that is out of stock (but still being printed) at the time you ordered it, they may hold the shipment for a week or more for a complete shipment.

Os.

Picked up today from the Members Room -

Lost City of the Incas
The Life of Herod
Redcoats and Rebels
The Compleet Molesworth

I must admit that I am excited by the Molesworth ! I wonder if anyone outside the UK ever buys this one !

Message edited by its author, Jul 22, 2009, 11:48am.

>123
Tell us Yanks about Molesworth, if you don't mind.

Os.

Sad to say that my Gawain hasn't arrived, though I ordered it on June 22nd and it showed despatched well before Three Men in a Boat (which I've gotten).

The guy at the other end of the phone agreed that it should have been here by now, but asked me to wait a week and a half and call back.

Sigh.

> 124

Where to begin !

Molesworth is a very funny satire on the British public school system. He is not everyone's cup of tea but if you like British humour (Monty Python, etc) chances are you will like Molesworth.

Molesworth boards at a public school (St Custards)and is tyrannised over by the head (GRIMES), matron and other friends and misfits. He lives in a fantasy world where he is a spaceman, Roman orator, etc). He cannot spell and says things like - "as any ful kno". The text is presented as Molesworth's guide to surviving school and is brillliantly illustrated by a very talented cartoonist, Ronald Serle (these are the original drawings not Folio commissioned).

The writer, Geoffrey Willans, previously created St Trinians so that will give you some idea of what you are in for.

You will either love him or hate him but he is quintessentially English.

http://www.foliosociety.com/book/MLW/compleet-molesworth

Message edited by its author, Jul 22, 2009, 12:06pm.

>121 - Recently FS shipments have been making their way from GB to Nevada in 2-3 weeks from the date of the order. This is a new development -- it used to take much longer.

>120

I think that having a grounding in the stories and the themes and writing of the authors would help you retain information better in this fact dense book. He goes through the individual battles quite extensively by speculating where they actually occurred, etc. and being exposed to those aspects of the story earlier, I think, would be advantageous. This is just my view though and I would be curious to get other people's views on this if they have read this book.

>119 and 128

This touches on a common delimma I have related to a classic work and a literary guide to the work. What do you read first? Often, the guide presumes you've read the book, but contains much that would be helpful in understanding the book when reading it. However, many of the best commentaries on classic works are not designed as a page-by-page guide, but cover themes and concepts with citations from anywhere within the book. So, reading the guide along with the book doesn't work either. As best I can tell, you often must read the book, read the guide, and then read the book again.

Os.

>129 - With most books, I don't want to know too much detail about them before reading them -- I want to come to them fresh -- but there are some critics who are very good at getting you excited about reading something you wouldn't have read otherwise . . . Edmund Wilson being a perfect example. He shares his enthusiasm in an almost conversational way, making a case for the book (or sometimes against it) rather than offering a detailed analysis or point-by-point guide.

I only want that kind of analysis or guide if I've already read the book and liked it -- a lot. Sometimes it sends me back to the book, sometimes not.

Then there are studies like Harold Bloom's book on Shakespeare which offer such exciting insights that you feel compelled to read the plays he talks about again, however many times you've read them before. That to me is the best kind of criticism.

I was recently reminded of something he said about "The Merchant Of Venice" -- that Shylock was like a character out of "Death Of A Salesman" who'd somehow wandered into a production of "Kiss Me Kate" . . . which is I think the best summary of that odd play anyone will ever come up with.

>126: What you report on Molesworth makes me water. I was afraid to buy this book because I'm not sufficiently well acquainted with the British public school system. However I love the Monty Python and British humour generally speaking. Do you feel I could love Molesworth and I should try it?

I'm in the middle of my Molesworth and loving it, it's very silly and making me giggle (The Revolt of the Prunes! The Private Life of the Gerund!). The spelling is erratic and punctuation practically non-existent.
Random example:
"If boys are strong you sa gosh grabber it was too bad you made a duck at criket it was dashed bad luck you hapned to make a blind swipe and thereby lost the match. The ball was a googly which had you not closed your eyes tight you mite hav seen. (Tact)
If a boy is weedier than you it is different you sa Look at little baby made a duck little baby couldn't hit a flea. (Get tuough policy).

I wouldn't say you need to know anything about the public school system to appreciate it. Pepys, maybe you could get hold of one volume in paperback and see if you like it, before taking the plunge.

Hi Pepys

You should certainly give him a try. If you are unsure and don't want to splash out on the Folio edition then there is a Penguin Classics (yes - Classics !) paperback for under a tenner.

This may whet your appetite and test your tolerance for Molesworth -

http://www.stcustards.free-online.co.uk/

Oh no! Sorry! Definitely, I can't read that! It's almost as hard to read as Chaucer in the original text. (Giggles while thinking to Chaucer's devotees when they will read that...)

Your excerpt, overthemoon, makes me think that my main request
concerning the FS website is that they include a copy of the first page of each book, so that one can get an idea both of the style and also of the font used.

ETA: BTW, thanks to you both. Quicksilver's post superseded mine. I might have a second thought...

Message edited by its author, Jul 23, 2009, 4:50am.

Re: 129, 130

I think that Os's evaluation of this situation is correct; I think that the books need to be read first, followed by the guide, and again followed by the books. I must say though that unlike works by Shakespeare, Pynchon, Joyce, and other authors where a guide might be required, I think the books in the case of the King Arthur stories can be read and enjoyed on their own without the guide. They are relatively simple stories with themes that were meant to have a moral theme within them which is usually staring you in the face as you read them. The guide in question really is helpful for recognizing the historical context of the works, and also to know the political happenings of those days that contributed to the themes which are quite obvious in the work. Also, once you have a good exposure to the Arthurian legends, the "historical Arthur" discussion really is a fun one, and the speculation is exciting to follow.

I finally recieved my summer sale order and am extremely pleased. It consisted of:

Alices adventures underground
The devils dictionary
Things fall apart
The scarlett letter
Inferno
The art of love
One hundred years of solitude
Les Liaisons Dangereuses

I also placed an order for a copy of the letterpress Twelfth Night.

And yes after rereading some of the old threads I finally took the plunge and ordered a copy of Night Thoughts... I couldnt resist the call of all those Blake illustrations any longer....

>136 - "And yes after rereading some of the old threads I finally took the plunge and ordered a copy of Night Thoughts... I couldnt resist the call of all those Blake illustrations any longer...."

I confidently predict that you won't regret it.

>137 - He may regret not buying it when it was three-hundred dollars cheaper, though. :-)

>138 - But that regret will be balanced by the joy of knowing that he bought it before it got even more expensive.

>139 - But the knowledge you could have gotten something cheaper than you did is a wound that will never heal!

...

Yes, I speak from experience.

>140 - And yet . . . the knowledge that you got something for less than it would have cost you a few months later is a joy that that constantly refreshes the spirit.

>141 - Hm... True. Is this a case of the glass being half full or half empty? (Though I dislike the expression, since either can be used in a negative or positive light depending on intonation and the other words in the sentence.)

>142

The world is so full of a number of things
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.

>138 - 143

the LE Centenary Wind in the Willows originally sold for about $850, then the price went up to about $1150 or so for the last 200 copies. But before they even sold out, it began to appear on the secondary market starting at about $1400 to $1500.

If it's a high-demand LE (which you can quickly learn from watching FS posts) it will probably appreciate in value pretty quickly. Even so, buy what you love and pay what it's worth to you (or less) and no regrets.

Os.

>143 - Ah, we should, but are we?

>144 - Oh, I know, but it's still always upsetting when you buy something that could have been cheaper for you... If only, if only.

>145 - "Ah, we should, but are we?"

Rarely, but, as Mr. Yeats reminds us:

"When such as I cast out remorse
"So great a sweetness flows into the breast
"We must laugh and we must sing,
"We are blest by everything,
"Everything we look upon is blest."

Message edited by its author, Jul 24, 2009, 3:47am.

>146 - Being blest doesn't necessarily mean being happy, though. Odd but true.

One thing I have learned over many years is that most things will always be cheaper than when you bought them. Houses, cars, books--it doesn't matter what, there will come a time when you could always say "if I'd only waited...."

What a cheerless way to spend one's life--instead of enjoying the possession of something you supposedly love.

>147 - On the occasion of his 50th birthday, Bob Dylan was asked if he was happy. "You know," Dylan said, "these are yuppie words, happiness and unhappiness. It's not happiness or unhappiness, it's either blessed or unblessed."

A friend of mine once said, "People say they want to be happy. I've never been happy -- I've never known anyone who was happy. What are they TALKING about?" He was quite serious. He seemed genuinely mystified.

>149

Thanks for the Dylan quote - LOVE it. That will be added to my collection (yes, I collect favorite quotes!)

>150 - Me, too -- I can't help myself.

Another one on the subject of happiness, from George Balanchine -- he used to tell his dancers, "You have to practice being happy."

Anyone who reflects on life, I think, recognises that happiness is a fleeting experience which soon succumbs, as always, to pain, misery and death.

>148 - That's why people subsequently say, "Oh, well." At least, that's what I do, though I always feel that little tinge of regret.

>149 - I'm not sure what to make of that quote. Maybe it's because I'm tired, but I doubt it.

>152 - More fun that way.

"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know"

- E. Hemingway

152: But then, misery and pain can succumb to happiness as well. At least in my life it has. And if one is miserable and in pain, then even death might be sweet release.

149: Happiness is a yuppy word? I'm not sure I get what he means. In fact, I don't even know what he means by blessed or unblessed.

>155 - Guess I'm not the only one who didn't get the quote!

As for death being a sweet release, it's a shame you'd be too dead to enjoy it thereafter, but it wouldn't be bad at least.

The LE of Night Thoughts is already selling for a premium on abebooks.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?bi=0&bx=off&ds=30&pn=f...

Its true I wish I would have bought it (Night Thoughts) earlier, but as they say "live and learn". I am still very happy with the purchase and cannot wait for it to come.

>155

I think Dylan means the notion of happiness as something discrete, measurable, and instant ("at this particular moment are you happy or unhappy?") is a bourgeois fallacy, particularly so because it implies states of being can be ring-fenced and commoditized - also because it confuses pleasure with contentment, and instant gratification (a consumerist or yuppie solution) with spiritual growth.

According to Aristotle you can only judge a man's happiness at the end of his life. The Greeks' idea of happiness as a kind of flourishing (which considers achievements & development ahead of Serotonin) may be equivalent to Dylan's alternative of blessedness.

Thinking about happiness in this other sense, as something not purely internal, is compelling. The alternative, or original, meaning (& Dylan finds it easier to simply abandon the corrupted word for another) is revealed in the rarer usage of "happy" to mean "lucky" (which I guess is "blessed").

Slightly tangential, but I'm thinking of Macbeth - "DONALBAIN: What is amiss? MACBETH: You are, and do not know't".

Or maybe Dylan was just being pretentious...

Or, judging from my admittedly limited experience of his aversion to talking about himself, he was tired of being interviewed and being asked Big Questions.

136: I also have The Devil's Dictionary and Things Fall Apart.

They're both really nice. I only just got Things Fall Apart in this last sale, and I read it as soon as I got it. I LOVE the illustrations.

159: For the sake of brevity, I'm gonna go with pretentious. :-)

>159 - "I think Dylan means the notion of happiness as something discrete, measurable, and instant ('at this particular moment are you happy or unhappy?') is a bourgeois fallacy, particularly so because it implies states of being can be ring-fenced and commoditized - also because it confuses pleasure with contentment, and instant gratification (a consumerist or yuppie solution) with spiritual growth."

That's certainly how I read it. He's contrasting "happiness" as it's generally seen in our culture -- a sort of bovine contentedness -- with joy and the exhilaration of sacrificial effort, always looking towards the next challenge . . . the satisfaction of striving rather the rewards of work.

Dylan is speaking, of course, though obliquely, from a religious perspective -- with sentiments something like these from a hymn by William A. Percy (Walker's adoptive father):

"They cast their nets in Galilee
"Just off the hills of brown;
"Such happy, simple fisherfolk,
"Before the Lord came down.

"Contented, peaceful fishermen,
"Before they ever knew
"The peace of God that filled their hearts
"Brimful, and broke them too.

"Young John who trimmed the flapping sail,
"Homeless in Patmos died.
"Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
"Head-down was crucified.

"The peace of God, it is no peace,
"But strife closed in the sod;
"Yet, brothers, pray for but one thing --
"The marvelous peace of God."

That's where the "blessed or unblessed" part comes in, though of course the idea needn't have a supernatural component -- it could apply to any life dedicated to something above and beyond the self.

>85 Is Jane Eyre slip cased?

>163 - Aren't all Folio books slipcased, unless they're LEs and have the solander box instead?

>164

I do not know, being a relative newcomer to the Society.

If so, this is an amazing revelation to me!

Can anyone confirm, or extract me from this serendipity?

All Folio books are slipcased or come in box sets. The Limited Editions tend to come in solander boxes. The first Folio books back in the 50's had dust jackets but that has long since been discontinued.

>165,166 - Ah, just to clear up one matter - if it isn't a FS book though FS sells it (like the Oxford books), there is a chance it has a slipcase and the chance it does not. Some do, some don't, that's just the way it is for those ones.

All the actual FS volumes (with the exception of some older ones) have slipcases or boxes of some sort.

Message edited by its author, Jul 24, 2009, 7:23pm.

>166, 167

Yippee! (Screaming like a 14 year old scholar)(Though actually a 41 year old English Teacher) :-)

>168 - A fourteen-year-old scholar, you say? What kind of scream is that?!

LesMiserables you may be in trouble for that last comment!! :)

>169, 170

http://www.librarything.com/topic/66967#1333549

*-)

>171 - Hey, but I'm no scholar! ;-)

>172

2. One who attends school or studies with a teacher; a student.

www.thefreedictionary.com/scholar

:-) But I know what you mean..................

>173 - I haven't attended a literal school for at least a year, and I usually study by myself - I have defeated your definition! Victory is mine!

>174

2.One who attends school (or) ........

Whether you are home schooled or traditionally institutionalised, schooled you are!

:-)

>175 - Schooled, yes, but do I ATTEND school? ;-)

Yes. For where you attend to your studies; that is your school :-)

>176 - School is where the attention is . . . even at 59.

All of us seem to be attending St. Folio's School For Wayward Booklovers, though a carpentry school, where we could lean to build bookcases, would probably be of much more use to us.

Message edited by its author, Jul 24, 2009, 9:05pm.

>177 - ... Darn it. I forgot that terms that once had more specific meanings have since expanded.

However... I haven't screamed in a long, long time, so who knows how it would sound? And with that I concede. :-)

>178 - Does that mean school is in my head?

Message edited by its author, Jul 24, 2009, 9:06pm.

> 179 Let's call it a draw :-)

On a more serious note, schooling as always been, I think, for the masses at least, an act rather than a place.

Until recent times in our civilised history as humans beings, the bricks and mortar school did not exist; centres of academia have of course existed - monasteries, the original Pythagorean 'school', but nothing resembling our contemporary notions. And, with the blossoming of the information age, we are rewarded with virtual schooling everywhere, should we desire it.

>180 - A draw it is, then!

Ideally, I agree. "School" the place is necessary in another way (i.e. the all-important degree). I'm not saying the two forms of "school" don't mix, though there are occasions of that, too.

Message edited by its author, Jul 24, 2009, 9:25pm.

>180 - With the exceptions of Latin and Greek, I got most of my important education outside of a classroom, in the school library. If you have a desire to learn, you can get your education anywhere -- if you don't, school won't help you much. Of course, math classes were important -- even highly motivated learners need to be reminded that they're not as smart as they think they are.

>182 And of course, the more you know, the more you know how little you know.

>183 - That's how this damnable "education thing" hooks you.

>182,183,184 - The most influential things school taught me would be that math and I don't mix, most people and I don't mix, and sleeping in class doesn't seem to matter for my grades (I did better than almost everyone else). Now I am much more unmotivated than I once was, thinking and sleeping being among my favourite activities. ;-) Reading is there, too, but...

Back to the big white bag.........

I'm waiting for

Catriona
The Master of Ballantrae
The Diaries
Kidnapped
Folio 60: A Bibliography 1947 - 2006
The First Folio of Shakespeare
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Kelmscott Chaucer
The Voyce of the World
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Woodbrook
The Victorians
The New Oxford History of England: 1075-1461
The First Folio

I have still to figure out when I am going to read them all :-)

>186 - ...

Wow. I may not be one to talk (I'm definitely not, actually), but wow.

I've been away for a few days, so this is a later post related to
>162

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

-John Donne, from Holy Sonnet XIV

Os.

>188 - Great stuff!

In a similar vein, the ending of Eliot's 'Journey of the Magi" (spoken by one of the Three Kings after returning to his Kingdom):

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

Some great poetry here.

I am very intrigued by the Folio poetry anthology that has been mooted by Folio as a new release. I t would be nice to see some Scott there - his poetry is neglected.

Message edited by its author, Jul 28, 2009, 5:08am.

Well four white bags arrived today and there was no sneaking them past the missus as she was the one who collected them from the post office. There was also the small matter of the Kelmscott Chaucer which was in a huge package in its own right. So the game was up! :-)

The Kelmscott itself is a remarkable book. It is huge, weighs a ton and is overwhelmingly easy on the eye for a book sucker like myself.

The Shakespeare facsimile is again another glorious edition. I couldnt resist dipping into Macbeth and having just a wee taste :-)

The Oxford book of Quotations is a book to lose yourself in.

I could go on and on...... but suffice to say just check out >186 above for many of the books that came through today.

I did of course banish Folio 60 to the bin immediately on the recommendations of this site ;-)

>192 - Apparently my replacement Kelmscott has been dispatched. Oh dear.

"The bin"...? You don't mean... the trash can?!

LesMiserables,
Out of curiosity, how long did it take to receive these gems?

>194

Ordered on the 13th July, delivered on the 28th - to Australia. Nice work.

>193

Yip. Get behind me satan!

;-)

My Summer Sale order arrived today :-)
In two plain cardboard boxes. :-(

Os.

That's a pity :-#

I assume that the contents were in nice condition?

All arrived well:

LE Moby Dick
Natural History of Selbourne
The Diaries (Allingham)
Voyce of the World
Devil's Dictionary

The Moby Dick is luscious. I have nearly 500 leatherbound books in my library, from around 1800 to very recent Easton Press and FS editions, but none rival the 'hand' of this leather bound beauty. The typeface is perfect. And I love Rockwell Kent. When I imagine any scene from Moby Dick, it's Kent that paints my imagination.

Os.

I had vowed, in public even, right here, that my second order from the Summer Sale would be my last, but then I got to thinking about "The Pastons", which is down to "last remaining copies", and decided I really couldn't let it get away, especially at the sale price. And while ordering it (stop me if you've heard this before) I decided I might as well throw the Allingham "Diaries" into my shopping cart, too, because it was so cheap and . . . yes, well . . .

At any rate, another big white bag arrived today, with a smaller box than usual inside it, containing the two books, and I must say they are splendid. Nothing breathtaking, but splendid -- handsome, thoughtfully designed editions of books worth having.

"The Pastons" has a cloth cover printed with a design taken from the Devonshire Hunting Tapestries, works roughly contemporary with the Paston family letters, and is illustrated throughout with numerous reproductions of scenes from the tapestries. A perfect and harmonious visual complement to the text.

The Paston family letters are an almost unique historical source for 15th-Century England, because they are so personal and numerous, but they are hard to read, because the language is so archaic, and because they make constant reference to obscure historical incidents.

This edition renders a selection of the letters into language easily comprehensible to a modern reader, paraphrasing when necessary, and links them together with commentary into a narrative of sorts. In short, it's not for scholars, but for the general reader, who wants a intimate look at the age without having to become a specialist in it.

The Allingham "Diaries" is just a good, attractive, cloth-covered edition of the original publication, from 1907, but again with perfectly chosen illustrations -- contemporary photographic portraits of the figures mentioned in the diaries, by the likes of Julia Margaret Cameron.

Many modern histories have a section of illustrations stuck into the middle of the text, but with these Folio editions the illustrations are part of the design of the books and thus part of the reading experience, . It makes all the difference.

I'm glad I broke my vow.

>199 - I'd call your story inspirational, but then I'd have to act upon said inspiration. Can't do that now. Must. Not.

But I agree, the Allingham volume is a nice one. I look forward to actually reading it (though I'm doing that with a lot of books right now, so is this really anything new?). :-)

>200 - "I'd call your story inspirational, but then I'd have to act upon said inspiration. Can't do that now. Must. Not. "

Concentrate on the moving mull. Let your mind go blank. Order "The Pastons". You know you want to -- and it's so cheap, but not for long. The sale ends in eight days. Order it now. Afterwards, you will remember nothing.

>198 - "The Moby Dick is luscious. I have nearly 500 leatherbound books in my library, from around 1800 to very recent Easton Press and FS editions, but none rival the 'hand' of this leather bound beauty. The typeface is perfect. And I love Rockwell Kent. When I imagine any scene from Moby Dick, it's Kent that paints my imagination."

I don't know what it is about the LE "Moby Dick". As beautiful as it is, it doesn't come off as an example of "the bookmaker's art", as an object to be admired, but as a book to be read. Substantial without being unwieldy, "luscious", as you say, without being showy. It's a "reading copy" above all -- but a sublime one.

>201 - I am sorely, sorely tempted; alas, I doubt I'd get to renew if I gave in...

Must... Hold... Out... Just eight days left...!

>202 - Funnily enough, that comes across to me just looking at its product page.

Re #199: As an aside for Stevenson fans, The Pastons is an indispensable background to any future reading of The Black Arrow, a most unjustly neglected work in RLS's oeuvre.

#198, 202
The LE Moby Dick is one of the few books I've considered buying on looks alone. I tried to read it years ago but just couldn't get into it. Luckily common sense has prevailed. I've spent way too much in the last few sales, Night Thoughts is on its way, and another thread mentioned a possible edition of Blake's illustrations to Gray's poems. So there is no way I should be even thinking of a book I have no interest in reading. And yet I do because this one book just looks so . . . right.

Even though I have an edition of Moby Dick with Kent's illustrations, and even though I think they are short of the mark as illustrations (albeit striking as art), I would be tempted to have it were it not for buying Night Thoughts and trying to reconcile my overwhelming desire to get the LE Pepys despite my uncertain job situation in the coming year.

>204 - Good background, too, for Shakespeare's cycle of history plays from "Richard II" to "Richard III" -- the letters begin in the year of Henry V's death and continue past the death of Richard III.

>202

Thats one of the great things about Folio. They never forget that at the end of the day a book is to be read. Even their most beautiful books are above all reading editions.

Arrived in the bag.....

The New Oxford History of England: 1075-1461
(3 volumes to add to the 5 I have already from the intro package)

The Victorians

Woodbrook

A wee free brass bookmark (nothing to do with Wee Free Men)

A wee free book called 'When It Happened' - (good too)

Again the Swiss post office has confiscated my big white bag and left me just with a cardboard box. Inside were The Devil's Dictionary* (small, light, but thick, and it looks great, I'm so glad I fell for it) and Vanity Fair (big, heavy, very thick, lovely). And another bookmark. I am using the first one in Gogol.

*the first thing I looked up was Editor, as that is my job. I was not prepared for more than 1 page of definition! Very accurate! The we no longer have to literally cut and paste up galley proofs, I still spend my days spilling my will along the virtual paper and cutting it off in lengths to suit.

Message edited by its author, Aug 5, 2009, 9:42am.

I have The Pastons and Allingham as well (though I haven't read the Allingham much).

The Pastons is fascinating. The rule of law was sort of unreliable and in flux.

For example, other families, if they had the strength, could come and toss you out of your little castle and move in themselves. Your recourse was to fight back, or find a richer, more powerful sponsor.

This happened to the Pastons.

>211 - I just dipped into "The Pastons" and had to put it away immediately, because it was so fascinating and I've got other books I need to read first. It was a wild and wooly time indeed -- murders, vendettas, lawsuits, imprisonments, excommunication. Very tribal, as you suggest. Makes the Old West in America look positively civilized.

>196,198
I was under the impression that the LEs were packaged and shipped to a different standard than the regular publications.

Ok, I just freaked out. I am hoping this is an error - on My Account section on the Folio website it says that several orders I placed in mid July are "Delivered", however only one of them has come. I e-mailed customer service, but with the time difference I don't know if I will hear from them today. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

Not exactly - I have the opposite issue. I buy a lot of books in the Members Room and they appear on the Account History as "Pending" - one or two correctly say "Delivered". The Accounts History page is a mess and can't be relied on.

But I should certainly contact them and find out.

Thanks Quicksilver. Hopefully they will answer my e-mail soon.

>214 - The status of orders on the account page is often wrong -- I've gotten books delivered that were still listed as "at warehouse". Also, only LEs are shipped (to the States, anyway) with delivery confirmation, so they usually have no way of knowing when or if books have actually been delivered.

Since you placed your orders three weeks ago, that's well within the range of normal delivery times, so I wouldn't worry about them for a couple more weeks at least.

I was interested to read the comments on The Pastons; I bought a second-hand copy a few years ago, having become interested in the period after reading The Daughter of Time, but had to leave it in Australia before I got around to reading it properly. Now I'm feeling tempted to buy a second copy! I really need to get my books shipped over, and soon.

>204: I'd call myself a Stevenson fan, but I've never read The Black Arrow, mainly because the version we had at home was abridged (I really don't like abridged books). For some reason I always imagined it was set during the Civil War (the English one, I mean). I'll definitely have to acquire a copy now. There isn't an FS edition, is there?

>214
My latest were listed as 'delivered' for about a week before they arrived, while the LE Moby Dick was listed as 'in warehouse' the day before it arrived (in Texas), so I don't think the status is terribly up-to-date.

Os

>213

Yes, the LE Moby Dick was packaged with a second cardboard 'cocoon' around it inside the 'plain cardboard box' I mentioned. My disappointment was not that the packaging didn't do the job, but simply the lack of the excitement of the white 'Royal Mail' bag's arrival. However, all was quickly forgotten once I held Moby Dick in my hand.

Os.

Stop! Stop! You are tempting me to buy The Pastons ... and I'm already wavering on A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Do I buy 2 more books now in the sale, or save that money to go toward my renewal??

This group is dangerous; sometimes I'm convinced half of you are in the employ of FS and are just here to tempt the other half of us!

FionaCat.... I know what you mean about this group being dangerous... but I have to say in this case I would buy them now. You can always pay for your renewal in installments.

>221 - ". . . sometimes I'm convinced half of you are in the employ of FS and are just here to tempt the other half of us!"

Not half by any means -- there's just a small cadre of us. We train at a secret location in Nigeria, where we start by capturing and skinning goats, then progress on to the Zen of bibliographic temptation.

And that reminds me -- the Nigerian goatskin binding on "Night Thoughts" has a scent and feel I've encountered with no other book. Truly, it has to be experienced to be believed!

Lloydville you seem to be one of the lucky ones. I had to start by following the goats around with a scoop to clean up after them.

>224 - "Lloydville you seem to be one of the lucky ones. I had to start by following the goats around with a scoop to clean up after them."

But I'm sure you were a better man for it, in the long run.

>221- ". . . sometimes I'm convinced half of you are in the employ of FS and are just here to tempt the other half of us!"

Alas, I too feel guilty when the group psychology pushes me towards yet another purchase of expensive Nigerian leather, but that's no reason to look for scapegoats.

>222 - SirFolio: I have succumbed, and ordered both books. I blame Lloydville and cweller with their fiendish Nigerian goat hunting skills. Now I must be strong when the new prospectus comes .....

>226 "but that's no reason to look for scapegoats."

Don't you mean 'escapedgoats'? ;-)

I just received Purgatorio and Paradiso in the mail today. I can't wait until I have the time to browse through them tonight.

Not quite the same impact I suppose, but the White Bag contained Les Liaisons Dangereuses today. What a wonderful bargain for $15.65. This is another one I will look forward to.

Ok everyone. This may be the stupidest question of the week, but I am among forgiving friends, right? What do you do with the white bag after you remove the wonderful contents? Does it go back to the postman?

I toss mine, after filling it with other stuff I want to throw away.

My daughter loves them for carrying stuff - nothing like a Royal Mail bag for getting comments (at least in the US).

I'm saving mine for a craft project I want to try. I found some patterns awhile back for crochet projects done using plastic bags instead of yarn. I'm thinking of attempting either a doormat or a shopping bag. The Royal Mail bags are a little thicker than the regular plastic bags that the pattern recommends, but I think I can get around that by increasing the hook size.

Same as #232, except I use mine for recyclables.

We used mine for garden leaves etc., but this year the post office removed all the white bags from the boxes.

>236

Scandalous. I'm not sure, but doesn't the bag belong to you?

I don't really know! But the customs have to open it in any case to make sure I'm not having anything illegal smuggled into Switzerland. They stick the label to the box and seal it all up with huge amounts of tape.

>239

'All' mail entering Australia is examined by scanner/xray. They rarely open anything unless it looks overly suspicious.

they have scanners here, too - but maybe someone at the PO has taken a fancy to big white bags.

>240

Yes, perhaps opportunist custom officers or promiscuous male elephants. :-)

;-)

231> This is a great questin...actually I snip mine below the plastic cinch-cord with a pair of scissors so the bag is practically useless after that except to use it for other paper trash. I am not sure what the bag is made of (recycled plastics) but I usually recycle it with my paper waste.

Tom Jones arrived today. One of the cheapest from the sale. Hopefully the content is more illustrious than the exterior: what was it? Never judge a book by its cover!

I bought Tom Jones a year ago or so because I was intrigued that Jonathan Coe (who I admire very much) had chosen it as his desert island companion. However, I have started to read it but have not finished it yet. On the one hand, I am impressed, because it really is one of the first novels and so he is constructring the genre as he writes; on the other hand, it can be very boring at times, especially the servants' dialogues - almost to the point it makes me happy that I have no servant ... It could definitely have benefited from being shortened:)

Ok so I have renewed... now I just have to be patient and wait for the Big white bag to show up... On the way (depending on its release date) is:

Night Thoughts
Walden
Slaughterhouse 5
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The New York Trilogy
The Prince
A little history of the world
The picture of Dorian Gray
Lord of the Flies
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Impossible Journeys
Oxford dictionary of quotations
To kill a mockingbird
The Hobbit
The Cretan runner
The hound of Baskervilles
A Passage to India

And I just itching to pull the trigger once Folio releases Leaves of Grass.

>247 - So... many...

>247
SirFolio takes one big step on the road to becoming KingFolio ;-)

Os.

Just added The Double Helix to the list.

Also added a second copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude to my order. This one is for lending purposes

>249,250,251 - And a number of baby steps thereafter. It won't be long, it won't be long. :-)

KingFolio... it has a nice ring to it... however I have always held the opinion that I dont want to be the king. I want to be the advisor whispering into the kings ear (The real power).

But SirFolio...it's good to be the king. ;-)

Would you not rather be a detective and say "Book em Danno"?

One more to add... Just placed the Pre-order for Leaves of Grass (June Publication)

I never saw Leaves of Grass listed for June. Am I missing something??

Does Leaves of Grass show up after you renew?

Doesn't for me.

I am just about to renew. I will let you know after I have done so. My renewal involves something different than what is offered.

Sorry I should have been more specific. I called them to see when Leaves of Grass would be released and was told June. However you can preorder it now. Its supposed to be a FINE edition and its going for about $150.00

A few white bags arrived, with a few books of course. I must though mention the two Robert louis Stevenson compensiums of Short Stories.....they are exquisite.

from summer sale:

The Deptford Trilogy
Legends of Ancient Rome
Zuleika Dobson
The Varieties of Religious Experience

Deptford is a beautiful book (love the midair snowball). i read the first book. looking forward to the second two.

Zuleika Dobson looks fun. i have no expectations about the book so we'll see...

Message edited by its author, Aug 26, 2009, 2:05pm.

Arrive yesterday (and in a big white bag) from the last moments of the summer sale:

The Golden Bowl
Folio Book of Humorous Anecdotes
Things Fall Apart which had been on my 'to buy' list since it first came out. Got it for $19US!

Disappointed in the cover of the Golden Bowl. Looked better on the website. But, for $19US, I'm not complaining.

Os.

Message edited by its author, Sep 3, 2009, 7:01am.

Not one, not two, but three! Big white bags arrived last evening to my doorstep.
Contents:
- Colour: looks good, feels good, great FS production.
- World Architecture The Masterworks: Not Folio, but outstanding pictures of world landmarks. It awakens my travel bug and I’m already planning to visit some of the ones I have not seen in person before.
- Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Your regular reference volume.
- World’s Heritage: Good Summary of this Unesco program. As everything, maybe it could have been better…
- Folio Diary 2010: First time I see one of these. I’m quite pleased. And these would make great Christmas presents!
- Folio Book of Card Games: Well… OK. I can see a couple of snowy afternoons this Winter with the family around the fireplace learning a couple of new card games.
- Inventions of the Middle Ages: Smaller than I expected, but I like the subject matter and I’ll read it right away.
- The Analects: Two words: LOVE IT.
- A Little History of the World: I don’t know anything about this one, just came as a freebie. Need to spend more time with it.
And Finally:
- The Raj Quartet: Truly a Folio production masterpiece. I have already read this twice; but I had to have it… what are you gonna do?

big white-bagless box arrived: very bashed on one side and stuck all over with yellow customs tape, but everything inside well protected.
I have only unwrapped the Thesiger, Arabian Sands - it is very brown, very nice, with several 4-page inserts of black and white photos with lots of camels (I like camels). Inside the back cover is a little plastic corner with a take-out, fold-out map inserted, of the Empty Quarter. The kind of travel book I love.
I have stashed everything in my office cupboard, and counted all the books I have to smuggle home somehow: 14 (including the Raj Quartet)!
I also received the Prospectus today, and I do have a little twinge of regret when I look at the pics of Colour, but maybe I can get it in a sale, later.

***
oh I just had to have a sneak peek at Venice, too - it is large, heavy and beautiful, but the paper is a bit stiff (Gardapat Kiara) and set in Granjon. I am not familiar with this typeface, it seems like a light version of Times but rather widely spaced. Looking forward to reading it.

I did a count of the Folio books I ordered this autumn and it came to roughly forty some books, more if you count the books within a series. I wonder considering what appaloosaman said in >35 with regards to weight regulations how many Big White Bags will be delivered? Hummm... I mjust might need another book casem or two.

Message edited by its author, Nov 26, 2009, 5:22am.

I've been using the Royal Mail bags for recycling---strong enough for all cans, bottles and paper. Oh, but at what cost were they aquired, and for such noble cause!

Just received my 'UK' order using my 'UK' membership number - and wouldn't you know: this is the first time I have received a Folio Order without the THE BIG WHITE BAG.

>269

7:^(

>269

Mine come in boxes - I've never seen a White bag :)

I got the big blue bag

I picked up three white bags yesterday. According to the postal worker, they are called "M-Bags" and are specifically used to ship books overseas at a special rate.

I got quite a load, but I'm probably most impressed with Possession. It's not necessarily my favorite story among what I received, but it's the best design.

Just got the white bag for the first time (always received the blue bag before) containing Dawkins Unweaving the Rainbow and Dracula

I have recieved six or is it seven white bags in the last week. I have only seen the white bag. Squidblatt thanks for the information abaout the white bag.

Message edited by its author, Jan 21, 2010, 11:39pm.

I came home today a saw that there were another six white bags waiting for me. In actual fact two of the bags were black which is a first. Nevermind that I do seem have enough reading for me for the forseeable future. I do have number of books coming for me in the next six or maybe eight months to keep my anticipation in check. What I have to do no is avoid the Folio Website and to shred Folio mailings as they come; otherwise I may, no make that will, find myself in temptation.

Big Black Bags? Interesting. I finally collected my bag from the post office on Tuesday and it was the same old white it always is. And the very curious postman (as opposed to the mean postman) wanted to know what the bags contain. I guess there are a few other Folio members in my town, so they see the Big White Bags often.

I have always gotten the White Bag. Perhaps there is some secret message being sent via the colors of the bags? "Getting the Black Bag" sounds like a euphemism to me .... were they delivered by a gentlemen with a scythe?

278> I hope not perhaps I can will my books to this group.

Did it ever happen to one of you to get a white bag with an incomplete order inside, although the accompanying slip states that the whole order is included?

This is what happened to me today (after having waited for 2 months...): my 2-vol Shorter OED (my renewal set) is missing, and has been replaced by two decks of playing cards. I guess the SOED is likely to follow in another bag, and I have not yet asked explanations to Folio. If one of you can share a similar experience and tell me I need be patient a few more days, it would relieve me.

The cards are part of the New Year Sale so if you have anything from it in the bag, they should have been there :) No idea where your renewal set is though - traveling maybe:) I am still waiting for any books from the sale to make it home.

>280 Pepys, the same thing happened to me, but the rest of the order showed up within the week. Give it a little time.

I never receive a big white bag. Instead I receive......a Big Brown Box.

The Big Brown Box I received on Monday contained the 4 volumes of Ideas, which I am absolutely delighted with. I have browsed through the four beautiful blue buckram volumes and I think I am going to enjoy it very much - it seems well written, fascinating and lively.

#280 cont'd: I have got at last my Shorter OED, and I am thrilled to see them standing on my table! Two months and a few more days have gone since I placed my order in November, but it was worth to be patient, eventually.
Thank you, Folio. But do not do it again!

> 284

We always forgive Folio for their transgressions.......as soon as the books arrive. I was frustrated with their delay in shipping Ideas to me but as soon as the books arrived all was forgiven and forgotten.

received my latest order today in...a big transparent bag!!!

Hello

Can anyone see the 4 volume set of Chekhov's short stories on the web site? The Folio magazine I received today indicates that if one wants to order it, it can be done on the website but I cannot find it there.

Paul

#287
It's not there and neither is the Epic of Gilgamesh which is also mentioned in the magazine. Probably another example of their technology not keeping up with their intentions. The order the magazine came with is still listed as "at warehouse" on the site while my other order (which I still have not received) has been showing as "despatched" for over a week now.

>288
FS is far better and publishing than running a website. So, of course, the magazine gets sent out long before the website is updated with the info in the mag.

Os.

yeah the magazine got me all excited about the Chekhov...Although the fact that it is not available yet is probably a good thing for my wallet. I just received Mapp and Lucia and the two new O'Brian novels

The simple fact is the Chekhov isn't ready yet; I asked in the Members Room last week and they hadn't received it and weren't sure when it was coming. They did suggest the Wodehouse is due in March.

#290
Mapp and Lucia is part of my "despatched" but not arrived order. Any comments on it, Atheistic, while I'm waiting impatiently?

#291
"Wodehouse is due in March" Oh dear, and here I was hoping Gilgamesh (if it ever shows up on the website) would be my only FS purchase until the temptation of the next sale.

Hi Haniwitch:

The Mapp and Lucia is very nice; they are smaller books (about the size of Blandings if you have that). I think they are very nicely done but nothing extravagant. To me they look nicer as a set than individually. I read those novels years ago and loved them which is why I wanted this set. Let me know what you think of them when they arrive.

Paul

#293
Thanks for the info (I think; now I'm even more impatient for them to get here). I do indeed have the Blandings set and I find the size of the books to be just right. I've never read any Mapp and Lucia but I sampled a few exerpts off the net and they sound like something I will enjoy.

oh don't get me wrong I like them but you know how you can get used to some Folio books being more extravagantly done than others. These books (individually) to me are somewhat understated.

The Big White Bag:

NOW I know what everyone is talking about! Based in the UK, even in the north of Scotland, the books come in boxes. Thanks for posting the picture.

I'd been thinking just the same, for the same reason. Surely you don't get the big white bag treatment if you only order a couple of books?!

Actually, I've gotten it in the US with only 1 book. I love the big white bag.

I was playing with the idea of doin something creative. And beatlemoon had a cool idea, A handbag!
(In my case it would be a messenger-bag) to hang around with the big white bag.
Unfortunately according to info available it takes around one month to DIY..and maybe I'll procrastinate. D-OH!.

Actually, my last order came last week in two transparent bags, just like Atheistic.

#298
Last week I got the Big White Bag with only one book in it (The Secret Garden). It looked so sad slumped in my chair when I got home. The one that came yesterday was much more impressive but then it contained a box with the Mapp and Lucia set and Tom Jones so it stood tall and proud. My nephew loves them--he uses them to carry his camping and hunting gear.

Haniwitch what do you think of the Mapp and Lucia now that you received it?

#303
Haven't really had a chance to check it out. I just took one out of the slipcase long enough to peek at the illustrations. The size is just right for curling up in my chair on a cold night (and they've been really cold this week). I've never read them before (or even knew they existed until FS) but they do look interesting. The bad news--I've been fighting a bad case of computer eyes so I won't be checking them out further for a few days.

>304

I completely agree about the perfect size, and the illustrations here please me despite the fact the artist's work did not seem to me to suit The Towers of Trebizond.

The only issue I have with the set is that the binding on my volumes are so tight, I almost have to fight to keep it open while reading. Has anyone else noticed this problem?

>305 I agree, I just finished The Towers of Trebizond which I loved, but I thought the illustrations were entirely too comical for some of the subject matter.

Personally, I thought her work for the Dorothy Sayers set was very poor. I hate being negative but the illustrations in the set were a big disappointment.

While I know art is a very personal thing, the Dorothy Sayers illustrations look to me like the work of someone learning to draw for the first time. Unsuccessfully.

Having the Big White Bag show up at your home or office ignites child-like feelings of wonderment here in the USA. Seriously, it is the highlight of my year, and I make no apologies for that!

My winter sale Big Brown Box just arrived with (hopefully) the Stevenson inside - I haven't opened it yet.