I just ordered ~ received #4

After recommendations from Quicksilver etc. (thanks!), I just received the John Wyndham set.

Nice bindings printed back and front and with appropriately shimmering titles printed on the bright spines.

Good size for reading and the colour illustrations by Patrick Leger are very '50's' and add to the text.

The FS have used a slightly textured paper and it works very well, especially for the illustrations.

The whole package looks like something from the era in which they were written and bodes well for any SF titles they may be planning.

Started 'The Day of the Triffids' - first time I have read it for over 35 years.

> 1

Glad you are pleased Celtic.

FS do classic science fiction very well. Also reccomended is the stunning the HG Wells box set which is well worth hunting down on the second hand market. The set contains The Time Machine/Dr Moreau, War of the Worlds and the Invisible Man.

I'm pleased with this set, too. I just finished reading them all; specially enjoyed The Chrysalids; I suspect that the first time I read it I had no idea where Labrador was.

>2 Quicksilver66:

I saw that HG Wells set the other day and fell in love.

The fact i already have a few HG Wells collections in clothbound volumes and that it was priced at £70 are the only reasons I didn't snap it up.

>4 LipstickAndAviators:

Likewise, I have the LEC edition of The Invisible Man and the 2-volume LEC The Time Machine/War of the Worlds in a wonderful design with Joe Mugnaini's inimitable illustrations (one of my very favorite books), so I couldn't buy the entire set when all I really wanted was The Island of Dr. Moreau. I wish these were available as individual volumes.

>5 Django6924:

The Invisible Man was the first LEC I bought.

I wonder if I'd buy anything if you sign it, add artwork and put a slipcase on it.

Just received The Song of Roland. A beautiful book in all regards--from the binding to the illustrations to the weight in hand. I recommend it to anyone contemplating it.

#7

Ha, coincidence--I was just about to post about buying my first LEC yesterday--The Song of Roland! I would love the FS one too. (Greed, greed, greed...)

For twenty dollars it seems a bargain--came without a slipcase, just a little rubbed on the edges, but what a beautiful book!

I just bought Leonardo da Vinci by Kenneth Clark, and Richard Fortey's Life from Ebay, at the great cost of 10p per volume (plus postage which came to a total of £13.00). Not bad though for two large volumes. Life was still shrink-wrapped!!!!

And I am back into the list of members - took Folio a while to sort out all the "I move to the States, now what we do with the membership" issue but it was finally resolved and I managed to renew with the Aubrey-Maturin novels. Add to that Enigma: The Battle for the Code, SOE and The Deceivers (http://www.foliosociety.com/book/TDV/) and I am a member again.

Add to that the John Wyndham set I managed to get from ebay the other day and I think I am back to my old ways of buying too many books at the same time.

PS: Now it is time to wait for all of them to arrive of course.

Overthemoon's photos pushed me over the edge on Wyndham. I love my battered old matching Penguins (I bought same editions several times since reading The Midwich Cuckoos as a kid), but these look just too gorgeous to miss.

After placing my order on New Year's Eve, 2010, and seeing it marked "Delivered" on the website January 18, 2011, my Royal Mail bag arrived today containing The Master and Margarita, The Golem, and As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. The first and the last are new to me (of course I've heard about TMAM), so I'm looking forward to making their acquaintance. As I enjoyed the old Masterpiece Theater version of Cider with Rosie so much, I will probably tackle the Laurie Lee book first.

The 2 coasters are splendid.

>11 LolaWalser: thank you Lola, I wonder if FS will ever give me a commission? !
>12 Django6924: Django, I'm sure you'll like As I Walked Out..., all Laurie Lee's books are good. I missed out on Cider with Rosie, and haven't yet found a reasonably priced second-hand version.

>12 Django6924:

Robert, I hope you like your books. I ordered The Master and Margarita and The Golem as well. I received my order yesterday containing the aforementioned two books and:

The Cambridge History of the Cold War
I was really looking forward the most to this 3 vol. collection. Disappointingly, the books have purple book covers as I thought that the binding was purple cloth or buckram which would certainly have been more pleasing. I mean these volumes aren't cheap so I would have welcomed such an approach. Now I will have to get some book cover protection. In addition to that I was a bit surprised by the size - they are smaller ca 1 cm smaller than The Master and Margarita in height. I thought they would be larger but I am so relieved that Cambridge choose this size. I much prefer it. They are a lot more easier to handle. I really do not like oversized research volumes that are too bulky to handle. All in all I am pleased.

Gandhi: An Autobiography
This has to be FS most beautiful volume as of yet, although I have not seen the others but I am really impressed with this one. I really like Nick Morley's block illustrations and the illustration on the front of the book is mesmerizing. I love the textured binding on the book, it is quite different and a departure than the rest of the FS books but it is striking and an intelligible choice as Gandhi used to weave his clothes - the binding is in perfect harmony with the title of the book. You will have to experience the book for yourself but will not be disappointed.

I also got Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Easy & Not-So-Easy Pieces, and Relativity. I am just waiting for John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington to be delivered.

I'm up to eight coasters.

>13 overthemoon:

overthemoon, it's my understanding that this book is the second volume of a trilogy (Cider with Rosie being the first), and A Moment of War is the concluding volume--are you familiar with the latter? Should this be an expected Folio publication one day?

>14 ironjaw:

Thanks Faisel--let me know what you think of the writing on the Cold War history. I'm really tempted to get this, but I've heard mixed reactions to it's objectivity.

>16 Django6924: you are right, the third volume is A Moment of War, but I haven't read that one, I thought the third of the trilogy was A Rose for Winter, in which he returns to Andalusia 15 years after the Civil War. I have also read I can't stay long, which is a collection of short travel pieces, and Two Women, a portrait of his wife and daughter, with black and white photos (the touchstone doesn't work for this one). I hope FS does publish A Moment of War as it will fill a gap for me ;-)

Love my copies of The Master and Margarita and The Golem. I've only got 6 coasters.

> 12, 18

I have just finished reading The Golem. An amazing book, deeply strange and mysterious but thoroughly enjoyable. My advice when reading it is not to try and understand it to much but just to go along with the ride.

Quite to my surprise, as publication was scheduled for March, this morning I received Five Days in London: the last book of my renewal order. I seem to be the only enthusiast around who ordered this, so here's my 2 cents in info/promotion.

The edition is a relatively humble Folio production: no bling, sensible green cloth, grey slipcase and a generous amount of black&white photographs. Most of them quite rare, at least one of them deserves further discussion

To date, and to my taste, contemporary history published by FS has been a bit thin..(i.e Shirer's history of the third Reich while no Joachim Fest -too German for the core membership?-). Readability and all, I guess. Well, Lukacs is an antipopulist, tocquevillean historian, with a penchant for cultural pessimism. So in his American intellectual environment, this makes him something of a crank. Though, he has a nose for the elements of chance, as well as the human factors that affect the course of history. AND is great at writing and narrative. So here is the catch: just 5 days but a full Weltaanschaung to go with. "How a political rogue and his gang saved our a****". Close to the pace of a thriller.

> 20

Great critique, Pkjbl\K** (sorry, my spelling's atrocious!). In fact, you're not alone in ordering this book. I also got mine a few days ago and now I can't wait to read it. I have quite a lot of Churchill-related books and this is a great addition.

thanks for the kind words, boldface ( BTW bless your luck my own lifetime struggle are long sentences and syntax..-") and correctors are not there yet) .. The book is a bit of a "cinderella" but it deserves the attention of devotees when it appears on the website.

(I'm not accepting bribes to promote further publications, mole, but an early reviewers copy now and then, would be just fine, thanks)

>22 P3p3_Pr4ts: OK, glad you mentioned it. I'll take all those £100 notes back out of the free copy of Faerie Queen I was just about to ship to you.

Oops.

I am Spartacus! (That should bluff 'em)

Just received The Greek Tragedies and I must say I'm really pleased with them. It could be said they've played fairly safe with the binding and use of classic artworks but sooner that than some of the more off the wall illustrations they've been indulging in recently (Count Belasarius anyone?). They're a nice, comfortable to handle size and easy to read. Only half way through Ajax at the moment (they only arrived this morning) but, given their age, the translations seem to be holding up well (although I would have liked to see the Tony Harrison Oresteia - fond memories of the Peter Hall production 30 years ago!). Not cheap but the 20% off helped plus some vouchers for introducing a friend which got the cost down considerably.
Whilst on things classical - anybody out there got Plutarch's lives? What do you think of it?

I am definitely going to order the Centipede Press edition of The Golem which includes artwork by Wenske (never before published), and is signed by both Wenske and John Clute.

http://www.centipedepress.com/gothics/thegolem.html

As for Wyndham, that does look like a great set. It is slightly pricey, although you do get 3 books, including the classic Day of the Triffids. The latter has been printed by EP and is rather inexpensive, so that is another consideration.

> 20 I have ordered Five Days. I am glad that your review is positive. I am eagerly awaiting its delivery, I will try to put iy out of my mind and then be surprised by its delivery. Actually I am quite good at that.

Prompted by Folio's "reminder", yesterday I ordered the remaining two books required to fulfill my four book commitment. I chose the Collected Stories of Gogol and The Master & Margarita. I've never read either, but am looking forward to them very much given all the favorable commentary I've seen in this forum.

I was debating between these and several other titles, but the illustration examples really sold me on these two. Black & white etchings like those in The Golem are not to my taste, which knocked that one out of the running even though the story sounds good. I still want to read it, but doubt I'll shell out for the FS edition. Binding design & illustrations are becoming more important to me as prices continue to climb and I must be more selective with my purchases.

> 26 I hope I have not created too high expectations.. I don't think I have. BTW some wartime Betjeman is included in Sat 25 (>23 justjim: wait!, WAIT!)
>27 SaxonWarlord: Me too, woodcuts are not my thing . kept me away from FS LOTR :-(

Just received Cider with Rosie, bought on ebay, it looks delightful, such a nice size, and is in pristine condition, seems as if it has never been opened.

My renewal books showed up today, packed as good as always, in the Royal mail bags (first time I see them) - the boxes inside the bags were somewhat beaten up and had dents all over them but the packaging material had been enough and I don't have even one of the 8 slopcases damaged.
Meanwhile the Wyndham also arrived earlier this week (why such a light-colored slipcase -- I can see it getting dirty pretty fast once I start pulling it and moving it around... even if it is now new and still wrapped)).

Today I received Medieval Civilisation and it is absolutely gorgeous!
Oh, the smell of that fresh Abbey Wove paper is intoxicating!
Lots and lots of maps and great glossy color plates.
The sides are Modigliani paper and not cloth as I thought they would be, but equally nice. Smooth and colorful. The black leather spine and green slipcase go great together. This is a really sharp folio of the same high caliber as the Myths & Legends series.
I got rid of my old Barnes & Noble edition when I ordered this one and it is truly a quantum leap upgrade. I highly recommend it, especially if your interest in history is only moderate and you just want a one volume survey of the Middle Ages. If you want the viewpoints of multiple historians on this period and have the room/cash, then the FS five volume Story of the Middle Ages is also beautiful.

Saxon, could you please quote for us the original title of Medieval civilisation? Le Goff has several similar titles and to make matters worse, the UK and US editions often differ. Thanks!

>32 SaxonWarlord:

Is this http://www.librarything.com/work/14645 or is it a shorter work or a different one (the only reason I had not bought it yet is that I really want to know which one it is -- I have this one in Bulgarian and I really like it)

Lola, the original title was La Civilisation de l'Occident medieval published by B. Arthaud in Paris in 1964.
The FS edition follows the text of the 2007 Blackwell Publishing edition first published in English in 1988.
Translation by Julia Barrow.
There is a new forward by the author dated Nov. 2010 and an introduction by Umberto Eco.

Annie, the one in your link is the same book. That is the Barnes & Noble edition I traded up for this FS version.

>35 SaxonWarlord:

Thanks :) Going into the list of things I really want to buy...

Thank you very much. Don't have it, now want it!

At the end of the current Folio questionnaire, they ask for suggestions. One of mine was that they should indicate clearly on the website which edition, etc., they are publishing. Here is a case in point.

>38 boldface:

The survey also asked how the website could be improved.............................

I just received Walden from a 2nd hand bookseller (spending a paltry 40 dollars on it) and have to say that I am a little disappointed. The book itself is gorgeous with the typical silk boards and leather spine with the decorated slipcase a la the Dante books, and the photographs are very fitting to the volume and fold out. That being said, the book is not as big, and at the expensive price of almost 200 dollars, I feel like you don't see the bang for your buck on this volume. Not sure if this is the Folio inflation everyone is talking about or perhaps the cost of the rights to the photography, but I don't think this is worth it (at least for the 200 dollars, when the dante volumes are larger and in the 150 range).

I ordered a deluge of books a couple of weeks ago, but haven't received them yet. I've been aquiring second-hand Folios for a few years now, but this is my first order as a member. That said, I got to pick up one of those AMAZING intro offers, and settled on the Empires of the Ancient Near East/Empires of Early Latin America offering, all seven volumes of it. That was actually what I really wanted in the first place, so it was like Christmas getting it for twenty or thirty dollars. And it came with a beautiful Oxford compact dictionary and thesaurus set, which was great, because I really needed a dictionary and thesaurus. But I'm sure I'm salting a few people's wounds (those who missed out on the intro offers) regarding that glorious purchase (or at very least preaching to the choir), now, so with apologies I digress:

For the commitment proper, I just purchased everything in one go, since it's tax return season (which was a great exscuse for me, but ask my boyfriend how HE feels about it). I picked up The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Realm of the Unreal, The Master and Margarita, and Lord of the Flies. There were others I would have short-listed, but those turned out being the only four offerings I currently have any real interest in. The others I considered fell short on the illustrations side of things, which is becoming increasingly important to me as I shell out vast amounts of money in book-land. A lot of the illustrations of some of the darker books at Folio are bizzarely 'naive' (to use someone else on this forum's word) and a little annoying (to use my own). Dorian Gray, anybody? Or how about the Du Maurier short story collection? I can see how these might tick somebody else's boxes, but in my own humble opinion, I find them really...disappointing. And I sure did love that green carnation blocked on Dorian Gray's cover, so it was a pity to put that on my 'not interested' side of the table...

I need to put myself on a Folio ban for the next few months, and maybe even until renewal, but if I know myself there will be a few second-hand purchases along the way. Currently the late 1950's Vathek is beckoning me forth, which will probably, despite my 'resolution,' end up on my shelf by week's end...

>I need to put myself on a Folio ban for the next few months

Good luck...

>41 veilofisis:, 42

Yeah, you're going to need it. Especially with the Spring and Summer Sales looming :)

Welcome to the group (of enablers), veilofisis, and kiss your bank account goodbye!

>41 veilofisis:

Yes, I feel the same way about Dorian Gray. After a bit of debate I also decided against Sir Gawain for the same reason. Dracula is the one that really annoys me--why did the illustrator feel the need to use the trite Lugosi Dracula for her model? In the book the count is old and has--if I recall--a mustache. I really want that to be a forgivable flaw, but in my book it isn't.

That said, a lot of the illustrations are marvellous. Peter Suart, the Balbusso sisters, Harry Brockway...

>43 beatlemoon: Oh crap. I do so love the mixed blessing of a looming sale and a bank account barely hanging on to cash set aside for trifling luxuries like rent, fresh produce, and running water...thanks for the welcome, in other words. :D

>44 menteith: He looks like an old, withered rat in the book! (Well, at least in the beginning, I suppose.) Lugosi is a beauty, to be sure, but not my flavor as far as the undead go; and although not being cliche is a cliche these days, I do so prefer a nasty, balding, stank vampire with yellow teeth and pus running down his cheek to a pale waif with Sophia Loren's eyebrows and a dab of lip rouge...but like you said, there are so many beautiful illustrations to veil the annoyances. Sam Weber's work on Lord of the Flies is...breathtaking...I've never even read it, but those pictures sold me in a minute...

Just received The Master & Margarita and Collected Stories of Gogol.
Both are very nice, though I do worry about all the gilt on the buckram covers flaking off over time.

The Peter Suart illustrations in both are fantastic. I think he would be well suited to illustrate other FS gothic, mystery, or ghost story titles.

Both of these look so enticing, I don't know which to start reading first.
Any suggestions?

> 46

The Master and Margarita.

>46 SaxonWarlord:
Start with Gogol - when it starts sounding a bit too heavy, move to Bulgakov and then back to Gogol :)

I say go with The Master and Margarita, its a wonderful book.

>46 SaxonWarlord:

A fair amount of my copy of M & M has already flaked off. I took it out of the slipcase the first time and wondered who had poured glitter on it. Oh well, it's not a bad effect in my opinion.

Start with Master & Margarita. It will put you in the mood to go backward and check out Bulgakov's predecessor.

And yes, I love Suart. He absolutely must illustrate a Folio version of Dead Souls.

I just finally got a copy of Folio 60

I'm trying to work out if I'm happy or sad. I think the day you get Folio 60 is the day you realise you're not just a casual reader anymore...

> 51

It's indispensable. A great source of information compiled very well indeed by Mr. Nash.

I have to say, after seeing it I just had to have it. I wasn't too excited about it before, since you can usually find out most info online, but it's a stunning book in itself and very well done. The index section is very impressive too!

This morning I finally succumbed and renewed my membership with The Great Game, Crusader Castles, All Quiet on the Western Front and Just So Stories.

Yesterday I received a second-hand book ordered via Abebooks; it smells like it's spent a year stored in a chest of Lapsang Souchong tea. Horrible. I'm heading over to Book Care and Repair now, to find out how to make it smell like a book again!

Just received Kafka's Amerika, The Trial, The Castle and Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected all of them in deep black slipcases... it's a bit funereal lot.

>55 drasvola:

Sounds great! How are they in person? My copy of The Trial should arrive any day now...

> 56

In the order above, the translators are Michael Hoffman, Idris Parry and Mark Harman. All three books are illustrated by Bill Bragg and I like them, but don't take my word for this because I've found that many devotees do not share my tastes in graphic art. The volumes handle and open beautifully, perfect size, not very heavy. The paper is Abbey Wove paper and the binding is full paper with covers in which, as above, green, brown and dark gray predominate. The typeface is very easy and comfortable to read.

As to the Dahl compendium, it is a larger, heavier volume with a garish red and yellow cover. The illustrations by Helen Smithson are 13, bright and schematic, a bit cartoony.
The typeface is smallish. I guess the value comes from the stories themselves. I haven't read any Dahl, so it was a step toward discovery that I took.

>57 drasvola: Do you think the paper in Tales of the Unexpected seems a bit thin? I quite like the bright cover, but on opening the book my first impression was disappointment with the paper.

As you say, though, it is already a larger and heavier volume than many, so perhaps a lighter weight of paper was chosen as it meant it didn't have to be published as more than one volume.

> 58

You are right, Ooshie. The paper is thinner than the one used in the Kafka books. But the book being thicker and the page larger I guess it would have been uncomfortable to hold in your hand. Started reading Kiss Kiss. I'm sure something horrible is going to happen...

> 57, 58

I like the Dahl volume. It is quite garish but entirely appropriate for the book. The design has something of an art noveau feel about it and I love the snakeskin feel the the cover. Paper is thin and the text small - but it is a big book covering a lot of ground.

> 60

The snakeskin feel of the cover is a nice touch. I agree.

>60 Quicksilver66:, 61

I am very pleased that FS decided to publish the volume, and I like both the feel and design of the cover. And I do appreciate the the weight of the paper would have been necessary to make the volume comfortable to read. It's just that the feel of the paper every time I turn the page of a Folio volume is one of my greatest pleasures, and that will be diminished rather this time around.

> 62

Actually, the print shows faintly through the page...

>62 Ooshie:

I had been trying to ignore that!

< 63

Uhg...I hate that, actually I think one of my first posts in this group was in regards to transparent paper and if it was used in alot of FS editions.

Succumbed to advertising - bought The Rose by Jennifer Potter, even though it is not a Folio, and First Love 'cos I am a sucker for Russian lit.

I've just ordered The Lantern Bearers to go with The Eagle of the Ninth and The Silver Branch. Having read the trilogy to my children twenty or so years ago, I'm looking forward to reading them again.

Oh... thank you boldface, I've just found it on the website and it looks beautiful, and Rosemary Sutcliffe is one of my favourite writers, and of course I already have the first two FS editions so I want it very much...

But I'm about to begin packing up my books in preparation for moving back to Australia this year, and just this morning I banned myself from buying any more books before I go. I really meant to stick to it too! I suppose as it's quite small I could sneak it in - and apparently when I go back to Australia it will cost twice as much!! So the sensible thing is to buy it now. Right?

The sensible thing to do would be to not tell the FS that you are moving to Australia at all! If you keep your account in Scotland it would probably be cheaper to buy at UK prices and have somebody else ship them to you in Australia. Sad but true.

I've received the first box of renewal books and will be going thru them for a while, but I can definitely state that the 5 books-Beowulf, Song of Roland, Nursery Rhymes, First Love, and Secret Language of Churches and Cathedrals- arrived well-packed and wrapped and undamaged in a flattish carton in a bag, so thanks Folio for the professional shipping! Next, Humboldt and Wyndham, c'mon, baby, bring 'em on home to me.

69: I wasn't so sure having the books shipped privately would be cheaper, as I was slightly burned two weeks ago when I sent a parcel weighing just over 2kg to Australia. Even by the cheapest, slowest, seamail route - it still cost £45. The parcel contained just two ordinary trade hardbacks.

I've just done a quick comparison using the Desert War Trilogy as an example: the UK price is £79.95 + £5.95 postage, which today is the equivalent of $135.00. The price on the Australian FS site is $215.00 + $25.50 postage. If it cost £45.00 to forward on to Australia (and very likely it would be more) the total cost to me would be $206.00, compared to $240.50 to order from the FS direct. $34.50 doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount to pay to avoid causing some poor friend or relative the hassle of hauling large, heavy boxes of boxes of books to the post office, or avoiding the bank transfer fees incurred while reimpursing them for the postage money.

It seems that in practical terms, buying FS books when you live in Australia just costs more. I expect that once I move back I won't buy any at all.

> 71

From what I've gathered over the last two years (and this is a very touchy issue) your best bet is to find someone in Singapore to order the books for you. Singapore pays UK prices. I have no idea how expensive it is to reship from there to Australia. There may be other combinations, but our expert on this question doesn't post here anymore, quite unfortunately.

Or move to Singapore :)

Okay just kidding, I know how difficult it is for members who buy from the FS that live in Australia.

However, for our Australian members relocation is not an option and should not be either. I don't understand any valid reason for the inflated prices.

I'm aware it's a contentious issue and it's certainly not my intention to restart the debate (it caused the "atmosphere" in this forum to become so unpleasant that I stayed away for nearly 6 months). But thank you for your comments. Singapore is certainly a possibility! In fact all books in Australia are very expensive to buy new, not just Folios. I'm looking forward to the sunshine, fruit that tastes like fruit and beaches where it's warm enough to swim.... but I will miss UK book-shopping so very, very much.

At least, if you buy from FS and something goes wrong en route, they will foot the bill for putting it right!

>74 belemnite:

belemnite, you might consider California where we have two out of three of your attractions--plus good book shopping!

>76 Django6924: Let's all relocate to California!!

Pure bliss would be for me to live in a warmer climate, speak English, sway among operas, theaters, museums, libraries and enjoying a good cup of Kusmi tea. I never really liked the Danish language nor do I like to read it.

Faisel, I grew up in the Midwest where the winters can be bitter, and my work often takes me to cold climates, and I have to say that I could give up the operas, theaters, museums, libraries (except my own), and even Kusmi tea to live where it was always warm.

>76 Django6924:

Django, I'm quite sure that California has sunshine and beaches (at least, that's what the movies imply!) so do you mean to tell me that California has no fruit? That's a very serious deficiency. Also, I should perhaps have mentioned that Australia also contains my immediate family, and after more than four years, I'm quite looking forward to seeing them as well.

>78 Django6924:

How interesting Robert. I for one was of the opinion that you were brought up in California. I had such an idea to live where it was always warm so I moved to Costa de Blanca in Spain near Alicante but it did not work out.

>79 belemnite:
Beaches, yes. Water that's warm enough to swim in? Not warm enough for me! Lots of fruit, though--strawberries, oranges and kumquats are in season and the apricots on my tree will be ready in another 3 weeks.

>80 ironjaw:
Sorry that Spain came a cropper--although I heard that parts of Spain can also be very cold in the winter. The older I get, the more I long to live in Hawaii!

>79 belemnite: beaches here are usually not warm enough to swim in comfortably. As for sunshine...well let's just say it's one out of the three - for half the year. Oddly, in addition to raining in the winter, there have been a lot of ominous clouds even in the summer. Although it could be a different story in southern Cali, as opposed to more up north, where I am. They get more sun.

I must admit Robert that is a good way to live your life - ahh Hawaii, I can only dream about it yet one day I will visit it.

See, I'm the other way around. Warm places are often tropical, and I don't cope very well with humidity. But I love autumn when the leaves fall off the trees, and snuggling up in coats and scarves and gloves and woolly hats (things I never owned in Australia!), and frosty mornings when everything is glittery and sugary, and sitting in the house watching snow fall outside (this works best when I don't have to walk to work early next morning).

On a different topic - I've just noticed that I can now track my FS parcel online! It's been 15 months since I last ordered from them, so perhaps this has been available for a while and I'm just very late to the party. But now, instead of checking the FS site and wondering what "pending" means - I have known it to indicate everything from "still at the warehouse" to "arrived last week" - I can torture myself in real time. For instance, I know that the parcel containing my renewal books arrived at the depot in town 3 and a half hours ago, and they haven't brought it to me yet...

>76 Django6924: On the other hand California is onew the brink of going bankrupt...California is the American example of Ireland and I would rather live in Ireland than California. Oh well.

>85 Barton:

Having only spent 4 weeks in Ireland, I may not be knowledgeable enough to see the similarities...but I don't!

And though Ireland is mighty fine and the people wonderful, since I prefer warmth and sun to chilly and damp, and wine to tepid beer, I still prefer to live in California--despite the financial problems. Purely personal taste.

Today in Ireland it's 20 degrees Celcius and the beer here is never tepid, alays cold ! at least it was in the bar in my local Golf Club about an hour ago :-)

>87 N11284:

I've heard Hell does freeze over, sometimes, but such is not the usual state of affairs!

>88 Django6924: Aye, but it's like heaven out on the links on a warm Spring day, with or without the suds, and especially when one leaves work early to play...like yesterday!

It's cold, extremely windy - the patio wooden cheers and table blew away this morning - and rainy, 7 degrees Celsius or 45 Fahrenheit. Anyone interested in coming by Copenhagen :)

Oh the wind in Copenhagen can be really annoying, its so damn cold, I remember when I lived there. Allthough I live on the coast in Norway as well so its not like I am not used to it.

I like Scandinavian weather though, its nice to have 4 seasons of weather in a year, and often it is very cosy to sit inside during the fall and winter, and not to forget the long bright summer nights awww its lovely I would miss it so much being away.

I lived in California for one year - I couldn't stand the climate. As Erkeengel said, four seasons is the correct number. Now I live in South Dakota, of all places.

Does South Dakota really have four seasons? I've never been to any of the midwest states along the Canadian border, but I always imagine them cold :)

However, I agree with those who say four is the perfect number of seasons! It's one of the many things I love about New Jersey. Variety is the spice of life and there's nothing quite like those first days when the weather changes. The first day you leave the jacket home and open the sunroof in the car; the first day you have to bundle up in a sweater; the first snowfall; the first trip to the beach. When those days happen, it's been just long enough that it all feels new and refreshing.

In fact, I hear it's going to be in the high 70's and sunny here on Monday...I can't wait!! Hello springtime!

Between South Dakota and Canada there is a forlorn place known as North Dakota. That said, the winters are indeed a bit too long up in these climes, but the summers are magnificent. Better than Jersey I dare say - though I've never lived there, I lived many years in the great state of New York, and I expect there'some similarity.

My wife and I honeymooned in Scotland, so that tells you what my feeling is for the warmth. How I am going to survive in Texas for the next three years is beyond me.
I have also lived in California and unfortunately, disliked it on many accounts. Too expensive, too intrusive of government, and often materialistic people, though I will give it points for weather.

>95 chase.donaldson:

chase, you missed another negative, probably the biggest one: too many people; for which reason I feel very happy that so many posters here extol the virtues of having 4 seasons. As I said, give me Hawaii (the southwest side of the islands at that).

(And chase, it can be very cold in Texas in the winter: I remember freezing in Texas Memorial Stadium watching the Longhorns play the Tigers.)

Maybe it's my mediterranean blood, but California is a perfect climate for me. I live on the central coast, on a tiny peninsula famous for it's Steinbeck associations. The weather rarely tips eighty degrees or drops below forty, you can grow just about anything to eat within a twenty or thirty mile radius, there's a big cultural diversity in said radius, and the ocean is a stone's throw away. There's certainly not four seasons here (we basicaly have spring and autumn), but there's enough variance to keep the plate interesting and the activities from getting too repetitious. It also keeps my books from getting stressed out by large jumps in temperature or humidity. That said, four seasons sounds charming to me...but then, I don't have to live it, and I think snow and a wardrobe of coats, and summer-clothes could all get old really quick for my taste.

I will say our government in California is a bit of a joke, and we can certainly be quite materialistic (but then, this is a Folio Society forum, so I should say I'm in relatively similar company, or we'd all be buying Penguin classics when we wanted to read something). And no one can argue that the cost of living here is ridiculous in comparison to just about anywhere. For me, though, the pros outweigh the cons. If Egypt ever shapes up, I may move back to the country of my ancestors, but until then...California suits me just fine.

Living in Nortrhern Ontario I know the splenders of a four season climate. I also know the beauty of a -20 cross country ski trip with a chickadee song as my natural soundtrack.

California is not what some of you think is, I live 50 miles East of Los Angelus and it is 48 deg. F right now. Last week it was 89 deg. the week before frost killed all the blooms on my peach trees. Not the warm clime you wish for.

Freezing is relative. Remember, I'm from Chicago and went to school in Minnesota. Texas freezing doesn't require a coat or jacket, but a mere medium sweater. We from Chicago have a real chip on our shoulder about the winter; I believe Axelrod gave DC a good ribbing that first winter Obama was in the White House about what wimps DCers are when it comes to cold and snow.

I ordered The Lantern Bearers this morning. I already have 350 other books to ship home, so one more isn't going to make much difference.

>94 coynedj:

Hahaha, see? As far as my brain is concerned, ANY Dakota is far enough north to count as being "on the Canadian border". :)

Yes, Jersey summers are similar to New York. I find them largely enjoyable, excepting the two weeks or so of oppressive humidity that seem to hit around late July/early August. But there's always the shore to escape to; sea breezes go a long way to easing the discomfort.

All Californians know that Northern California is the real California ;-) --perfect weather, perfect scenery. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range are tough to beat.

>93 beatlemoon: - Oh yes. Although I don't think it gets as cold in SD as it does in ND or even MN. I live in the SE corner and many times we miss the bad storms and blizzards that they get in the Western part of the state and the tornadic weather that Nebraska sees in the Spring and summer.

>94 coynedj: - Where in SD?

>103 menteith:

Perhaps all Californians who live north of Santa Cruz think so. The scenery is very nice, but the weather too cold for my tastes. That said, the diversity of California is one of its attractions. If you can't find the right combination of climate and culture in one place in the state, you can surely find it in another.

>105 Django6924:

Heartily agreed.

>91 WinterGloaming: I would love to have NORMAL four seasons here but they just intermixed and confuses me. We had sunny warm weather couple of weeks ago and I thought this is so great, finally spring is here then the day after it snows heavily! What happened I thought to myself, then the next day it starts raining and seems like it is back to autumn and now the last couple of days it is extremely windy like there is a storm on its way.

>98 Barton: - "I also know the beauty of a -20 cross country ski trip with a chickadee song as my natural soundtrack." Now that's living!

>104 spacmann: - Got a new job and am transitioning to Sioux Falls. Where are you? SE corner sounds like Yankton?

California weather? I have a guide printed for my law students who intern in the USA. It has a special San Francisco warning. I head the page with the apocryphal Mark Twain quotation: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Not one of them ever believes me - and they all have to buy warm clothing when they get there. Law Professor 1 - Students 0.

To someone used to the Mediterranean, and especially the balmy beauties and comfort of that sea-sized swimming pool known as the Adriatic, it's a huge pity about beautiful Californian beaches. I'd go to the seaside in San Diego and envy the seals with sick passion as they cavorted in the open water... Too cold! Too rough! Too sharky!

It's funny how in ten years in the US I managed to swim in the ocean exactly once, somewhere on Long Island--and we had to check the tide charts first! And the water didn't taste like MY sea... and the air didn't smell of pine resin and honeysuckle and lemons...

All that blue on the map, unswimmable.

Lola:

The images and the smell of the sea are so evocative, yes (I'll take a beach for one day a year and that's enough), but give me the mountains any time. And, by the way, I would never live in the tropics or in an island (size does matter)...

Size does matter, and I live on a pretty darn big island!

Then again, don't we all?

I wouldn't mind spending a season hiking in Swiss mountains and I'd love to do the same in Norway, but eventually I must have sea. Islands--well, as long as you're allowed to leave them occasionally... :) My uncle has his main residence on the biggest Adriatic island, Krk. It is big enough to support his (disgusting, IMO!) hunting habit.

Haven't lived in the tropics, but I spent a good chunk of my lifetime in the subtropics... humidity didn't kill me, although it tried its best. Otherwise, one does get used easily to the "summer-clothing only" lifestyle. Well. Except there's cockroaches. There's ALWAYS cockroaches...

>Yes. Wow. A fellow FS devotee in SD! Word of caution - I haven't found too many Folio Society books in SD so far - a few in Omaha. Easton press can be found, but they are usually overpriced.

> 113

Totally agree with your stand on hunting!

> 112

Yes you do! Considered a continent. And you are quite right, physically and metaphorically.

>114 spacmann: - Between your house and mine, we probably have 90% of the Folio books in the state. I still spend a lot of time in the Twin Cities, where they still can be found.

I received the new Sayers set yesterday. A really nice set, I like the cover look and colour. The inside is the same design as the previous Sayers set.

Just received The Name of the Rose. Unfortunately it seems to have been knocked around a bit--not major damage, but noticeable. I guess they will probably tell me to just keep this copy and send a new one? That seems to be what has happened for others on the forum.

This is another case where the website doesn't do the book justice. I think Folio would do well to put up pictures of their books with an actual background, instead of the pictures in a white vacuum that most volumes get. The "vacuum" pictures never do justice to the tome in question.

>119 menteith:

That is so unfortunate menteith! I was looking at the name of the rose myself. I am thinking about making another order for the free set but I am still undecided which books to get.

'>120 ironjaw:

It's a beauty, and I'd recommend it.

I guess today just isn't my day! About an hour after posting 119 I received Great Expectations and The Monk in another shipment (I had to go to the post office for the first because they couldn't deliver it earlier in the week). Anyway, I opened the package and Great Expectations was not in plastic wrap. Has this happened to anyone before? I didn't think it was a big deal, but after trying for a bit to remove the book carefully from the very tight slipcase, I found that the leather was scuffed in a couple places and that at the joint (?) where the cloth overlapped the leather, the cloth was torn back slightly along the top edge. There was also a crease in the end paper, as if it had been folded and then applied. Ugh. I've had good luck until this point receiving my books in good condition, but I guess these things happen.

> 121

I'm pretty sure that Folio Society will stand up to the excellent customer service that they have always had. Don't worry...

>122 drasvola:

Yes, in my experience they have been great, and the majority of my books arrive without flaw.

> 121

The Dickens volumes seem to be prone to these problems. I ordered quite a few volumes in the sale last year and three were damaged in a way similar to the damage you describe. They also came without shrink-wrap. FS replaced them. I think the Dickens stock is now old and low which is why less than perfect copies are coming up.

I would certainly contact FS and see if they can find some better copies for you.

Renewal shipment part 2 arrived damaged last week, when I cut the tape across the top of the box the sides fell down flat, like a 3 Stooges gag, revealing loosely wrapped books with not much bubble stuff and no filler. Alotta bouncin' around inside the carton. Books and slipcases with crushed and bent corners. Very gracious membership secretary very helpful for replacements. First box perfect-post#70- I wish I understood.

>125 olepuppy:

I always hold my breath a bit when I get a package until I have a chance to look all the books over. I'm a bit obsessive.

Post 70...Roland and Beowulf. Gorgeous books. Two of my favorite recent additions.

I received my Beowulf sometime with a slight crushed slipcase corner - it's noticeable but I decided not to call the FS. I work many hours and it's a pain to go to the post office to get the books when you don't have a car.

I've already received notice that they are sending out replacement volumes for both books. The lady was prompt in replying and apologetic. I'm not sure what I'll do with the copies I already have--I might just use them as reading copies that I can carry with me and abuse.

yay, I just won two ebay bids, one for Tarka the Otter and one for a Westvaco, Listen! the Wind. There is a great batch of cheap FS books on ebay but they come from a smoker's home and I really don't fancy them. At least the seller is honest about it.

I received an advice slip today telling me that The Lantern Bearers is "out of stock - 1 to follow". No mention of when they expect it to be despatched though. So, more waiting :-(

I also received an advice slip that The Lantern Bearers is out of stock. I find this odd as it is a new, just announced title. It's not even listed as a bestseller on the website. I wonder if there was an unexpected printing or binding delay, or if FS really did run out of stock.

The same thing happened to me. It IS strange, because I ordered almost immediately it came out.

I thought I must have been unlucky and just missed out, but maybe something did go wrong with the whole batch. What I found strangest was that there was no explanation or revised despatch date. By the time I opened the letter it was too late in the evening to call FS customer service, but I will do so on Tuesday.

I got the same message too - seems there's a lot of us waiting!

Most probably it is a printing delay. It can't be out of stock so quickly.

I have just won my first Fairy Book on ebay (Green) for a very nice sum and still freshly wrapped, plus I also won a copy of The Normans to add to my collection. :)

>133 belemnite:

I got the same notice when I ordered the new Sayers set (I ordered the first day it appeared on the website), but the books still shipped fairly quickly, only a few days later than usual.

I'm considering ordering this set, will definitely order The Lantern Bearers, thinking about ordering the other two, but would want to get them all together since the first two preceed The Lantern Bearers in sequence. Any opinions? I've read that the first two are less complex as adult reads.

Spent the arvo in Fremantle searching the Elizabeth Secound hand bookshops (there are three in Freo) and came home with a stack of books.

The Hittites
The Persians
The Baylonians
(The slipcases are a little worse for ware but have done their job and protected the books.)

Legends of the Ring
Legends ot the Grail
(these are immaculate, and I am a very happy camper)

With a haul like that, you have every reason to be a happy camper!

I just picked up four used volumes: two still in the original shrink wrap - Celtic Myths & Legends and The Rosetta Stone, the other two look to have never been read - The Golden Fleece and The Mycenaeans.

I've also made a used purchase. I picked up the six-volume Complete Novels of Ann Radcliffe set, which I've been lusting after for literally years. It's waiting for me in San Francisco, and I'm making the two-hour drive up there essentially just to get it...

Just received my sale order with Five Days in London, May 1940, Frost Selected Poems, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Selfish Gene and the free set The History of England: From the Accession of James II.

Five Days in London had a slight bent corner, not really noticeable, which has caused a small 5 mm tear inside the slipcase which I assume when the book was first slided in. I had to use a sharpe knife to cut away the excess cardboard inside the slipcase. It is not visable from the outside so I am not going to complain.

The slipcase for the Hitchiker's Guide in the inside has gone up where the coloured paper ends around the mouth or entry of the slipcase and needs either glue or some adhesive tape.

I have actually become aware that the last couple of slipcases of the new books this year lately exhibit poor construction in which I mean that it seems that the assembly of the slipcase has been rushed. Not much glue or pressure has been put on the essential sides of the entry of the slipcase. I am not complaing. It is a small matter that can be quickly rectified.

> 142

You are so lucky, Faisel! I'm still waiting for my Spring Sale order...

>143 drasvola:

Haha, Antonio. Yes, I am lucky but my credit card isn't :)

P.S: I have also ordered The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire with Desolation Island and the The Mauritius Command. More books on their way and I am running out of space. Most of the recent purchased books are still in their shipping boxes until I get a new larger bookshelf.

Faisel: Do post a picture of your new bookshelf and arrangement, please, to add to the Folio decor. Let's see if you fall with the "cluttered" camp or with the "aseptic" look. I love that discussion...

Antionio, will do indeed! I can already tell you that I am a fan of a non-cluttered lifestyle. Just to quote Mies van der Rohe: Less, is more

My first Folio from eBay arrived today: Oscar Wilde - Salomé (1957). In finer fettle than some of the Folios I've rescued from Oxfam...

> 147

I got my copy early this month! A fantastic edition bound in blue silk, beautifully printed...

Show, don't just tell!

>149 LolaWalser:
I'm sorry, but I don't have a camera! I've added the book to my catalogue, and there are a few thumbnails of the FS edition, including a "montage" which gives the binding, plus one of Frank Martin's engravings - so you can have a look there.

Here's the cover... more to come.

>151 drasvola: I posted the engravings from this somewhere here but can't remember where; is there a separate thread for Salome? I love that cover, it changes so much with the light.

Edit: oh I found it, there is just one photo in this set with Trilby and the Snark
https://picasaweb.google.com/barbara.jpm/TrilbySnarkSalome?feat=directlink

I love that edition of Salome; it's one of my favorite works ever. I mean it: EVER.

That said, I always feel that the Beardsley illustrations are almost part of the text. Without them, I feel the play suffers, and without the play, I feel the illustrations themselves suffer. They're inextricably linked in my brain....

That fabric, by the by, would make GORGEOUS wallpaper, wouldn't it???

Three examples of the illustrations. I'm confident that I'm not spoiling anything for anyone in this group. The ending is so very well placed!

Antonio, I love those engravings by Frank Martin

You may remember, Faisel, that Martin did the illustrations for Lazarillo de Tormes.

Salome looks gorgeous, I like the brocade cover. I already have my eye on the Heritage Press version, so I really shouldn't be coveting the FS edition as well.

My copy of the 1969 Decameron arrived today. I actually like the lighter colour of the sunned spines better than the original shade of the leather.

These gorgeous pictures of Salome have sent me straight to Abebooks to find my own copy (which is now on its way to me from a bookshop in Bath). I can't wait to see the cover in real life.

>158 belemnite: Okay, so it was you who snatched up that copy from Bath and West Books ;)

I e-mailed the bookseller for some pictures and when I got the e-mail, 2 min. later she sent me an e-mail saying the book was sold :(

Yes, that was me. Sorry to have disappointed you! I was attracted by the description which said the book contained a cutting from the Folio Magazine, but I didn't ask for any additional information or photos so I hope it's not glued in or anything daft like that.

No worries, I ended up getting another copy. Please do share a scanning of that magazine cutting.

I will do that, once it arrives. For some reason that I can't immediately recall to mind, we have a public holiday tomorrow, which means an extra day's delay for all the books that are on their way to me :-(

>154 drasvola: Nice edition of Salome. Very tempting to get a copy to keep my Heritage Press copy company.

Just picked up a copy of Myths & Legends of India for my 100th Folio Society purchase.

Over the past couple of days, I've had several packages arrive. Hawthorne's A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys came first, followed by The Secret Life of Trees, and then Lord of the Rings, my set from the Spring Sale showed up. Funny how timing works out, as the first 2 were from separate used-book sellers, and all were ordered on different days. Its been really fun having a new package in come each day, but that's it until my June books arrive.

I'm very happy with all 3. I've been wanting the Secret of Life of Trees for a while and its quite lovely. What surprises me is how much I like the illustrations for Lord of the Rings. The cover design is quite stunning, but on the website, the illustrations seemed a bit so-so. Seeing them in the book definitely changes my opinion. Now I just need to get the Hobbit to match! (might have to wait for the summer sale though)

> 163

Yes, it is. Used-book sellers must be wondering what's behind the sudden interest in it... Salomé, by the way, was the FS 1957 presentation volume.

Received my replacement copy of Great Expectations. It still wasn't in perfect condition but I decided what I found fell under nitpicking, so I am keeping it. It's an attractive volume but somehow seems to lack something...perhaps marbled endpapers? It doesn't wow me or compel me to spend time with it.

>166 menteith:

' It doesn't wow me or compel me to spend time with it.'

That's the perfect way of describing an (until now) indescribable feeling I've had about certain books. That really sums it up.

Folio's current Conrad series is kind of like that for me.

(Edited for poor adjective choice!)

>167 veilofisis:

I see what you're saying about the Conrad series. Luckily I am more often wowed than not. Beowulf and Roland are just a couple that have really done it for me. Those are probably my top two purchases this year. Fabulous productions.

I just received the Sayers Mysteries Collection and I'm very pleased with it. Even more, it fits perfectly in the space I left for between the Sayers Crime Collection and the Sherlock Holmes Complete Collection of Short Stories on my new shelves.



The only complaint I have is that the set box is printed on one side, with the other being blank. It's not a big deal, but the Crime Collection box set is printed on both sides.

The Lantern Bearers arrived first thing this morning :-)

Mine too!

Do you know when The Lantern Bearers was shipped? It took The Sayers Mysteries Collection three weeks to arrive here and I would like to know how much longer I will probably need to wait.

It was despatched on the 26th (Tuesday).

When I got home from work today I found that Salome had been delivered as well, far sooner than I was expecting. Getting a book from Somerset to the north of Scotland in less than 48 from when I placed the order online is impressive! The book is beautiful and in great condition for being 54 years old (no fading of the cover or rubbing of the gilt titling on the spine). The slipcase has not fared quite so well but it is present, whole and has done its job. As the sun was shining in Scotland today I took the book outside for a few minutes and admired the way the cover shifted through green and blue depending on which way the light hit it.

For ironjaw (and anyone else who is interested), the article enclosed in the book is entitled "Adventures with Salomé in Egypt" and appears to be from a 1977 issue of Folio magazine (so some of you might have already seen it). I have photographed it in order to share but decided to check with the Society before posting a link. They are having a 4-day weekend though, so I probably won't hear back until Tuesday.

> 174

Admirable postal service! Reading an article on the LRB, dark clouds are in the horizon for it unfortunately.

I'm so glad that you are happy with this book. The play is also quite good! Hope you'll be able to post the Folio note you found.

Both my Sayers sets arrived within days of each other (Wed for the older one and Fri for the newer one). And all the non-yet-Folio-published novels and the stories also managed to arrive in the meantime so I am planning a long stretch of Sayers read/reread :)

yesterday I received three separate parcels, e-bay purchases: Tarka the Otter (such a bargain, in pristine condition, came ensconced within four layers of bubble wrap); The Sun King and his Loves (in yellowing fragile glassine wrapper which tore as soon as I put the book on the shelf) and a non-FS, Masquerade, which has been in the news recently; I remember my parents telling me about it many years ago, and I bought several other Kit Williams books but never came across that one. I'm glad to have the Sun King as it was a presentation volume I gave to my Dad and was never able to recuperate after he died.

Some months ago there was an intensive discussion on this thread:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/50899#2151657

regarding the Penguin Fitzgerald hardback editions with really attractive designs for dustcovers. I have received two of them, The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night, and they are indeed very nice designs. An interesting detail is that a strip of the back flap of the dust cover can be separated to be used as a book mark. Good idea but I'd hate to do it.

Problems with Touchstones...

A bit off-topic for this thread, but to keep the posts together: I had an email from FS this afternoon giving permission to post the article from their magazine (see post #174 above).

http://flickr.com/gp/62346795@N02/TVytz4/

(I haven't used Flickr before, so if anyone can't access the pictures let me know and I will try to fix it. I know the quality of the photos isn't great, so I hope they're legible!)

> 179

Many thanks for posting this story, belemnite. It adds an interesting and quirky twist to the book's background. No wonder its previous owner kept a copy.

Added: Also interesting to read about the out-of-print book requests on the last page...

> 179

Thank you for posting that, and don't worry - it was perfectly legible.

Yesterday I received my latest FS books, bought from AbeBooks for what I consider an absolute steal. The Iliad (1996) & The Odysssey (1998), both books in excellent condition and apparently unread. Total price including P&P €52. Best bargain ever I think !

Well, I couldn't hold off until my June books arrive. Just picked up Vanity Fair, Once and Future King, and a lovely copy of the Rubaiyat (not FS) from one of my favourite used bookstores. All in fine condition and at reasonable prices.

#179
That's a great story, belemnite! I found it quite legible, thanks.

Got my copy of the "Folio 60" a few days ago. I have not opened it yet and since I am low on funds I probably shouldn`t either. Though I assume that my fundness for lists and in this case my list of books to purchase will tie me over in the end. At least browsing it and putting up a list is cheap fun as opposed to what might follow at a later stage.

Also got my order from the sale, "The anatomy of melancholy", "The monk", "The consolation of philosophy" and "The origins of the second world war" all in good condition as well.

And I'm back again... Went into another amazing used bookstore near me to kill time and spotted a copy of the Silmarillion with a binding to match my Lord of the Rings recently received from the sale. It was a reasonable price, especially considering that it is out of print, and I've only seen very expensive prices on Abebooks and ebay. Also picked up a as-new copy of At the Back of the North Wind and the FS 1970 edition of the Rubaiyat, as the store has a 30% off when you buy 3 or more.
Now I just need to figure out how to get the books on to my already overfull shelves.

I just received my Brown Fairy Book & it is beautiful! The box arrived inside a huge bag labeled "Royal Mail Great Britain" with customs tags on it. I've never had a FS book arrive like that, but it has been awhile since I ordered one directly from FS. (I'm in the U.S.)

I have just come home to find the green fairy book on my door step, well packaged and still wrapped in its plastic. One of the best wins I have had yet on ebay. It is beautiful.

I also received on monday, 'The Norman's and 'Great Philosophers Of The Ancient World'. Both in excellent condition, only slight damage to the slipcase of 'The Normans'.

Today I received:

Mrs Dalloway
First Love
The Mask of Dimitrios

all at 20% off, and as my sale books:

The Last of the Mohicans
The Selfish Gene

with The Natural History of Selborne as my free volume, along with the paperweight.

They are all lovely volumes, and The Natural History of Selborne is outstanding; I can't believe I got it free after buying only two books!

Thank you very much, Folio Society, I am (still) one very pleased customer :)

I picked up The Voyce of the World for like a billion percent off, which was nice, as I'd had it on my list for awhile. At $25 American, including shipping, it was a no-brainer.

On the used front, I won an auction for The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James at a price considerably cheaper than what they're going for on Abe and Amazon (again, I'm glad for the deal). I also managed to find a reasonably-priced Coleridge volume (the Folio Poets one) on Abe.

It's been a good 48 hours for both books and pocketbooks. :)

I found E. Nesbit's Adventures of the Five Children over the weekend. I enjoyed her stories immensely when I was younger, so have been on the look out for the FS editions of her work for a while. Unfortunately, after that I came across the Chronicles of Narnia set I possibly want even more than E. Nesbit at another bookstore, and had to pass on it because of my prior purchase. (A twisted form of Murphy's Law applied to books, perhaps?)

I'm also waiting on the earlier Sayers set and Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy from ebay. I've been strangely productive on the FS front this month. :D

>191 sakayume:

I saw that Narnia set in a bookshop on Charing Cross Road. I really wanted it before but after looking at it a bit it failed to meet my expectations and definitely didn't justify the £150 pricetag they had for it. I do love Narnia and would love a nice set though.

I'd quite like to pick up the Nesbit sets too but they always seem to be outprioritised by other things.

>190 veilofisis:

How did you get the Browne cheap? I know it was cheap in the winter sale but I haven't seen anythignt aht heavily discounted for a while now? I have it myself and am yet to get beyond the introductions.

I'm just about to order me some Fairy Books, The Silver Branch & The Lantern Bearers and The Metamorphosis to complete my Kafka and Sutcliff sets :)

>192 LipstickAndAviators:

It was 67% off in the Spring sale. Maybe it's just because I'm in the US?

>193 veilofisis:

The spring sale is just the set sale here? I picked it up for a similar price back in the winter one though :)

In other news, what the heck are you doing up at this time?

>194 LipstickAndAviators:

'In other news, what the heck are you doing up at this time?'

Oh, story of my life. I'm either waking up at 6 AM or going to sleep at 7AM...tonight seems to be the latter...

And I thought I was the only one who said 'in other news'!

>192 LipstickAndAviators:: The Narnia set I saw was asking A$150, incidentally. (Seems like a nice round number for booksellers. :P) Better than £150, but still a bit much for me. I too am looking for a nice edition to replace my old, much-read paperback set, so hopefully a better priced set will pop up somewhere down the road.

The Nesbit set resembles the Narnia set quite a bit, actually, in my opinion. I was surprised at the relatively small size of the books as compared to the majority of FS single volumes. But I've been wanting a nice edition of the Nesbit books for awhile, and quite like the b&w illustrations in the FS edition.

The illustrations were my biggest disappointment with the Narnia set. Just simple childish (I appreciate they are children's books) b&w line drawings. Narnia has such vivid and imaginative imagery you could really go to town on the illustration and come up with somethign very special if you chose the right artist and I feel they missed the boat on that with the Folio set. The bindings and slipcase are nice though. A$150 still seems a lot to me too, I think I would pay around £50 and in richer months might think about going up to around £80 but I can't say it's really worth £100+ to me. I have very similar feelings about the Gormenghast set, which could have been great. Hopefully both are reissued and the artwork redone.

I've yet to check out the Nesbit art but I did notice the size in the member's room. At this point with my shelves oveflowing a smaller size is probably a plus!

The b&w line drawings of the Narnia set sound like what is in the Nesbit. I feel it's alright with the Nesbit stories, perhaps because the Nesbit books are more obviously children's books, though I'm inclined to agree with you about the Narnia set (and wouldn't want to pay more than £50+ either). And I'm disappointed to hear about the illustrations for Gormenghast, which was on my wishlist but now I'm not so sure...

Ultimately for me, the binding (and printing) is most important, as long as there are illustrations of some sort, since there aren't many available options for titles like Nesbit. :)

I hope Narnia and Gormenghast get the opportunity to be reissued with new artwork too. The 2005 Wind in the Willows was truly beautiful, if only Narnia could get similar treatment!

The Gormenghast illustrations are quite different tot he Nesbit and the Narnia but (if memory serves correctly) still b&w and not at all to my tastes (I also dislike the design on the bindings). The whole thing looks a bit of a mess in my opinion, it looks like a much older Folio than it actually is in terms of quality and design.

The 05 Wind in The Willows is probably still my favourite Folio book, despite the fact I got it for free and it was one of my first Folios :) Everything about it works so well! If they coudl do more like that I'd be very happy.

(Apologies for going some off topic)

Another second-hand book: The Unbearable Bassington, published 1978 with drawings by Osbert Lancaster. A little sunned on the spine but otherwise in perfect condition. It even includes the postcard offering " A free Folio book for every member you introduce" with a tear-off bookmark along the top.

The design is in series with the Saki short stories published two years earlier.

Just received First Love, it is beautiful, with gold slipcase and gold endpapers. The postman delivered it to the wrong place - a bookshop six doors down from my office! Fortunately I'm well known there ;-)

The new Utopia came today, and although I had doubts about the design when I saw the pictures online and in the printed catalog, I find the book itself quite pleasing. The colors of the front and back cover seem to 'pop' a little more in the promotional materials, whereas on the actual book they have a subtle fading (perhaps it's just the matte paper on which the design is printed) which is very nice. The book is nicely sized to hold easily in one hand. I might even be willing to take this one out of the house to read on the daily commute.

I just ordered The Black Tulip, my first new Folio in 7 months. The half-price renewal was too tempting to resist. Oh Summer sale, where are you? :-)

Received today my second Spring Sale order. The free set was The Story of the Renaissance, and what a fine set it is! I'm really looking forward to some quiet, enjoyable reading. Fascinating volumes. The fifth one, on Travel and Discovery in the Renaissance, looks a definite favourite.

>204 drasvola:

That sounds wonderful, Antonio. Nothing beats, the satisfaction of receiving new books and some quite enjoyable reading. I hope that the organic cucmber scare is not causing too much discomfert in Spain compared the over-hyped news headings of the "Invasion of the Killer Organic Cumcumbers" here in Northern Europe

Ha, ha, I'm sorry for cucumber sandwich lovers (The Importance of Being Earnest). I dislike cucumbers because they upset my stomach... As the summer approaches, a scare of some type always looms in the horizon... Will let you know more about my new books as the reading progresses.

I've also looked at Shakespeare's Sonnets and it is a wonderful edition with fantastic illustrations.

Talk about perfect timing. Yesterday most of my FS sale order arrived (minus The Lantern Bearers which is out of stock) and on last night’s news they confirmed that the post office could strike Thursday night. To make it even better last week both of my Dracula editions (Four Corners and Penguin Classics) arrived from the Book Depository. Yay! I think this is the fastest I’ve ever received a Folio order—it was placed on May 16 so it took exactly two weeks to get here.

So on to the books. As usual all are in perfect condition, well wrapped in two boxes (which boxes my cats loved).

Count Belisarius – Picked this one up because it was one of Graves’s works that I’m not familiar with. Liked his Claudius books so I thought I’d give this one a try. Still not sure about the illustrations but they do look better “in person” than on the website.

Moonfleet – Another new author for me but I couldn’t resist smugglers and I love the illustrations.

Pliny – Because it’s a book of correspondence that can be dipped into rather than read cover to cover I might actually finish this one (or at least start it). The illustrations are all photographs of busts of various people.

Musketeers set – I know I’ve read The Three Musketeers way back in my younger days but I didn’t realize the books were that long. The Pisarev illustrations are perfect. This set would look great next to the Sutcliff books but I’m going to have to rearrange a lot of bookshelf to do that.

Sayers set – Yes! More Lord Peter books. I don’t know whether I like the plain covers of this set more than the illustrated ones of the previous set or not. I do think it would have been nicer for the sets to match. Of course that doesn’t really matter right now as I only have Strong Poison from the first set.

As for the two Dracula editions both are lovely and completely different. The Four Corners one is just the book with no extras (intro, etc.) other than the illustrations. The one thing about the illustrations is none of the main characters are depicted, other than one of two girls which I presume are Mina and Lucy. I was hoping there’d at least be one of Dracula as I’m always interested in how others imagine him. There are mostly scenic views with no people, as well as ones of a bat, a wolf, rats, and a spider.

The Penguin Classics Dracula is not illustrated but it has some rather interesting extras: an introduction, a preface, a chronology of Stoker’s life, further reading list, notes on the text, and four appendices—Stoker’s Correspondence with Walt Whitman, Charlotte Stoker’s Account of ‘The Cholera Horror’ in a letter to Bram, Stoker’s Article ‘The Censorship of Fiction’ and Stoker’s Interview with Winston Churchill. Even if I don’t re-read the book anytime soon I’m definitely dipping into the extras. And for those who don’t like introductions because they give too much away this intro has the following subtitle: New readers are advised that this Introduction makes the detail of the plot explicit. Oh, and a ribbon marker to top it off.

The only bad thing about having all these wondrous treasures—I can’t read any of them just yet. I downloaded an e-book from the library last week and vowed I would not read anything else until I finished it. Last time I took out a library book I got sidetracked by Strong Poison and others and never did finish the library book. So I must remain strong and read fast. I’m dying to dip into the Sayers and the Dracula extras.

Re Canada Post, so glad you got your order. When I heard about the strike vote, I was worried because I had not recieved my June books. Based on when the website said they'd been despatched I thought they'd arrive Friday. I'm away at a conference right now, but just recieved a message from my boyfriend that there is a large white bag sitting on the coffee table :D! Yay! So happy that they arrived before the strike! And it's nice to have something to look forward to when I get home.

I received Irish Myths and Legends today. A really beautiful book, beautiful colours, illustrations and the cover design looks much nicer in person than on the website.

Received a new treasure found at a ridiculously low price on ebay: St Peter's Umbrella (1966). I didn't even know I wanted it till Lola Walser (I think) mentioned it somewhere here.

'I didn't even know I wanted it till Lola Walser (I think) mentioned it somewhere here.'

Story of my life! :D

>210 overthemoon:, 211

I haven't read this myself, but am quite aware of it: it was one of Theodore Roosevelt's favorite novels (he often gave copies to friends, and when in Europe paid a visit to Kálmán Mikszáth to compliment him on the work); it was made into a Hungarian silent film in 1917 by the legendary Alexander Korda, who became, with Hitchcock, one of the two most influential figures in British cinema after he migrated to England in the 1920s. I have tried to find a copy of this film for years to no avail, though there are tantalizing hints of its existence..

Yay! For once I managed to be home when the postman arrived! Just received Utopia and Irish Myths and Legends. So glad I'm having a quiet day at home today - can't wait to open these up and flip through them!

I'm so impatient for my own copy of Utopia...

After reading the above messages I have just ordered Utopia. Thankyou my enablers

Just received the Collected Stories of Mark Twain for my birthday. A nice looking set - looking forward to reading them.

I received today my copy of Utopia and the illustrations issue comes up again for discussion. But, first, the things I like: it is a manageable book, easy to read typeface, has marginal notes and endnotes. The slipcase is light green. The edition is the revised Cambridge University text of 2002. It is bound in buckram with paper sides and a design by the illustrator-artist Adam Simpson. There are eight illustrations which are original in concept and design (reminds me of Escher) but which have been printed in my view in a totally inadequate way. The effect is of a glossy, translucent image, hard to focus or define. A pity because the drawings are very attractive. Oh, well...

The two new Patrick O'Brian books came today, The letter of marque and The thirteen-gun salute. Well up to standard. I hadn't noticed before that The thirteen-gun salute is the thirteenth in the series. The shelf is growing nicely, over two-thirds complete.

Received today a second-hand copy, published in 1961, of Richard III (the collection that has the seven quills on the cover). The book is in fine condition. On the title page, inscribed in tiny, feminine script, is the name of its previous owner. I know because the book came with the original invoice made out by the Folio Society on 8th Feb. 1965. I will not divulge the name in case the person is alive. The address is in Reading, Berks.
Interesting enough, also found between the pages are the printed questions for an exam taken on June 21, 1955 (nearly ten years before the FS invoice). Her exam or someone's in the family? It is a University of London, General Certificate of Education Examination, Ordinary Level, in French. Anyone familiar with that examination?

Discoveries such as these are some of the attractive features of buying from a used-book seller.

It would be interesting to see the GCE exam; I sat it in 1964 at O level (two years later at A level) and I think I still have the printed exam questions somewhere.

>219 drasvola:

To my increasing regret, I only know English (and that imperfectly!).

Coincidentally, a nice little haul of second-hand Folios from Reading's Oxfam Bookshop, end of last week:
John Keats (Folio Poets)
Wordsworth (Folio Poets)
Kipling (Folio Poets)
Aeschylus - Oresteia (Fagles translation)
John Betjeman - Selected Poems

Second hand, received Charlotte Bronte's Shirley--which contains some quite stunning illustrations.

Well, this morning around 8 am received FS LE Candide

Received today the present i bought for myself. Night Thoughts. Couldnt resist anylonger after all the comments here and the ogling of the FS site for months.

Afraid to open it just yet because the humidity here in holland is about 90% atm. Im one big ball of sweat.

I saw that the limitation number was 930 though. So if they go chronologically there are 70 left now.

> 220

Here's a scan of the question sheet:

Thank you - the typography seems to be exactly the same as for my exam (but I will have to search for it) and it seems a lot easier, but that's because I've learned a lot more French in the meantime!

Sale edition of The Good Soldier. It's very nice, the website in no way does it justice. At just over 12 quid it's a steal, considering my local bookshop has a variety of mass market paperbacks at equivalent prices.

Looking forward to my other sale items even more now.

Pleased with my sale order, delivered today. Half-a-dozen books, all good value. I like Daniel Haskett's illustrations for As I walked out one midsummer morning. I've put this one on the shelf next to Patrick Leigh Fermor's A time of gifts. I wonder what they would have said to each other, these two young men who set out walking into the brewing storm at about the same time: the well-connected young man from King's School, Canterbury, and the boy from Slad?

I finally received The Lantern Bearers, which I ordered on 5 April!

My sale selection has just arrived:
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
The Great Game

Also bought an immaculate second hand copy of the The Pharaohs for just over £20 - looks a good deal as I browse through it.

I was a little surprised this afternoon when HDNL delivered a parcel containing The Gormenghast Trilogy. I was surprised as I had only ordered this on Sunday via the interewb.

I was quite thrilled to receive The Trumpet Major and A Memoir of Jane Austen second hand from Ardis. These are such simple, beautiful editions!

>231 dfmorgan: I ordered mine the day it went up on the site, and it still hasnn't even been sent! (not that I entirely trust the status on the website)

What a busy week - first a package with the Gormenghast trilogy and The Chronicles of the Dark Ages, and today the Candide LE. I must start moving books around again!

I received the wonderful Agnes Grey from Ardis secondhand.

I received my Candide but not my copy of the Gormenghast Trilogy. That expensive LE shipping cost really results in faster delivery.

Just received The Stones of Venice, Pagans and Christians and The History of the Kings of Britain along with the Summer Sale leather keyring.

Received in good order from FS The Black Tulip, which will be part of my "Dumas Summer/Autumn". This was my renewal offer and I am quite pleased.

Also received secondhand The American Senator. As a Trollope addict, its great to have this in a beautiful edition.

so now I have coming:
Gormenghast trilogy from FS
The Secret Life of Trees from Ardis
AND
the Westvaco Poe I found on e-bay.

>240 overthemoon: -

I already have Gormenghast from several years ago.
You beat me to The Secret Life of Trees.
And I recently picked up numbers 39 and 40 of my Westvaco collection.

Sounds like we have similar tastes.

>241 coynedj: but you have many more westvacos than me ;-) I've had the Penguin classics versions of Gormenghast since the 1970s, read many times over.

I've just been to a Book Fair organised by Oxfam in Derby. Not a huge amount of FS to be found, but I've picked up Egypt Revealed and The Grand Tour, each for £5.99 and in good condition.

I just went to the Post Office to collect the 2 volume Andersen's Fairy Tales, The Once and Future King and East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Well on my way to completing my children's book wishlist :)

Royal Mail tried to deliver them yesterday but I wasn't home, so this morning I set out to collect three secondhand books from Ardis:
Sakuntala
The Georgics
The Castle of Otranto

And then (Non-Folio) the new Tartarus Press edition of Cold Hand in Mine by Robert Aickman was delivered.

I am not really interested in flowers myself, but I’ve just ordered the plates from The Temple of Flora as a gift for my mother. When she saw the FS flyer and video form the FS homepage, she got quit excited about the prints. I guess she might even frame a few of the plates to hang them on a wall. Surely not the best way to preserve the prints, but as long as it gives her pleasure I am fine with it.

>246 Stephan68: As long as they are seen and appreciated :)

>246 Stephan68: what a wonderful thought.

>246 Stephan68:

I would have loved to have been able to do that for my mom--and she would have loved it too.

And don't have any qualms about having the plates hanging on the wall--at least they weren't cut out of a complete book. When I worked at the LA County Natural History Museum bookshop many years ago, we sold plates from a copy of Temple of Flora that had been dismembered for this purpose (not by the museum!) Many prints sold in 2nd hand bookshops and art galleries are from cannibalized books. I've seen Doré, Icart, and hand colored engravings from a 19th century history of Cook's voyages over the years--all taken from books.

I believe this is what is known as maximizing one's profit.

>247 lxanderl:, 248, 249 Thanks for the kind comments!

> 249 My mom used to joke that she would like to cut out a few illustrations from my Roberts volumes. She would of course never touch the books since she knows what they mean to me.
Cannibalizing books to sell prints separately is a sad practice and I wonder how many priceless volumes have been lost in that way.

I have just received A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. Great volume, nicely produced. But my first copy was defective and had 4 blank pages inserted. Of course the FS replaced it with no quibbles. Apparently there were some production issues with this title so anyone else that has it might want to double check their copies.

Thanks for the warning - when I get home in a few days I'll have to check my copy!

>251 Quicksilver66:
Thanks for that.
Mine checks out OK

Received a week ago yesterday (I love it when the Big White Bag arrives just before a weekend):

Pagans & Christians set
The Wind in the Willows

I haven't really looked at Pagans & Christians. It takes up more space so it had to go right on the shelf and out of the way. This was one that's been on my wish list since it came out so it was nice to get it on sale.

The Wind in the Willows is something I've never read but it was such a good price in the sale that I decided to add it to my collection of children's books. And I am so glad I did. FS has introduced me to a lot of new books/authors and this one is one of the best ones yet. The book is beautiful, so much so that it's gone almost to the head of the reading pile, right up there with the five or six other books I'm working on. I was so impressed that I've even ordered another copy as a Christmas gift for the two kids that live next door to Dad. Their parents keep an eye on Dad and watch the house when he's away so we try to get the kids something every year as a thank you. And this book will be perfect! Thanks, FS.

Well; I resisted, and resisted, and resisted ... then gave in (gracefully, of course). And ordered, from the Summer Sale:

Birdsong
Germinal
The Human Factor
Lost Illusions
Midnight's Children
Greenmantle
Roxana
Stories (John Buchan)
A Dance to the Music of Time: Spring
A Dance to the Music of Time: Summer
A Dance to the Music of Time: Autumn
A Dance to the Music of Time: Winter
The Mandarins

But, hey, that's what 10 monthly payments are for, right? :) I haven't read any of them before, and can't wait for my parcel to arrive!

Having gone a bit crazy with the spring sale, I've been a bit more restrained with the summer sale. I only ordered one book, The Celts, which I just received today. It will be interesting to see how it compares to some of the other "Ancient Empires" titles. Some of the reviews on LT mention that it is very dry. Likely won't get to it in the near future due to other TBR books at the pile.

> 255 - Impressive haul. Almost picked up Lost Illusions, but am trying to exercise some restraint.

> 244 - Congrats on finding all the books you've been looking for. Did you find a FS East of the Sun, or did you go with the Calla Edition?

To follow up on my earlier post (246) I’d like to mention that my mum received the plates from The Temple of Flora, and she is beside herself with joy. She even received the FS key ring, which was sent in a separate mailing. I didn’t have a chance to take a look at the plates myself yet, but my mum says that they are the most beautiful prints she ever handled and she was full of praise for the vibrant colours. I would say this was my most satisfying FS purchase this year.

Stephan68 how lovely that you gifted those plates to your mother, they are truly spectacular but she will now have the impossible task of determining which of them to have framed.

>259 Texaco: Thanks Texaco! Apparently my mother has already decided on the place to hang two or three of them and she mentions something of changing them seasonally, so I guess all of them will at display for some time.

I just received Ovid's The Art of Love and am very happy with it. The cover is attractive and restrained, and makes me think of the Heritage Press. The illustrations are among my favorite that I have encountered in my time with Folio. They are quite racy, but are colorful, explosive, and beautiful. Highly recommended, especially considering that it is now 50% off.

Received my second copy of Wind in the Willows yesterday. As this one is going to be a Christmas gift I was hesitating over whether or not to remove the shrink wrap and check it out but after reading comments on other threads about finding defects years after receiving the books I thought it best not to take a chance. So off came the shrink wrap and for the first time I checked over every page of a book. And it is in perfect condition.

Two problems (?) however.

One: I think all the other books I'm reading will have to wait because now I need to finish this one (sorry Ms Sayers/Lord Peter, I know Whose Body is half finished but it can't be helped).

Two: How am I ever going to wait for Christmas to give the gift to the children? Especially since I'm going to be visiting Dad in September and they're right next door. I used to do this all the time with my nephew--I'd find a gift that was absolutely perfect then give it to him before the birthday/Christmas/whatever and have to buy another gift when the event came up. Must remain strong. Must not pack the book. Must wait for Christmas. Arrgh!

I just ordered the Pink Fairy Book from a seller on ABE. I'm really excited, been looking for this at a reason price ($90 CD including shipping)!

> 263 Congrats! Funny - I was just discussing in the "First Folios" thread, how the Pink Fairy Book was the first folio I bought. It was also from a secondhand bookstore and I got it for same price. Anyway, good find!

Folioised a tattered paperback copy of Lord Jim .. A sound edition but underwhelmed.. Francis Mosley has his fans here. but woodcuts linocuts are not my thing..(and its darkness and roughness are stressed by a very white paper..)

If a nicer edition was available I might upgrade..But had I paid full price as part of the membership commitment, then it would have been this rare case of me returning a book.

I do like the spine of the Conrad series, anyway.. dark blue with silverblocking: Conrad..Well, they nailed that

>265 P3p3_Pr4ts:

I agree entirely about the Conrad, I've got almost the complete set that Fiolio did now and they look great on the shelf with the matching spines. The linocuts are not my thing at all though, but since I picked each volume up for ~£10 I think it was worth the money for a nicer set.

Personally I just finally gave in and ordered the fine editions of the Kelmscott Chaucer and Walden since I thought it was the last day of the sale. Not sure where I'll put them though. Also picked up The History of Western Music to go with the Science and philosophy volumes, despite membrs here claiming it wasn't too readable. Always a sucker for a matching set :(

Sale edition of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and non-sale Periodic Table arrived, to go with earlier sale purchases of Schindler's Ark, The Right Stuff and Age of Innocence.

I'm particularly pleased with the Keneally and the Levi - in fact, I don't see how they could be improved upon. I think Folio have got Le Carré just right as well, and of course I'm now locked into buying the remaining volumes of the trilogy at some point. Am agnostic about the Wharton illustrations.

One of the best parts of getting a number of Folios in close proximity (I always find anyway) is comparing the distinctive fonts they use in each volume. I get the sense they are much more adventurous in this regard then formerly.

> 267

Regarding the Woodson illustrations I have to say that I really like them. Done basically in a ligne claire style, the images are forceful and neatly stated. No fuzzing as to their meaning or pretentiousness. As always, aesthetics do not mean the same to everybody. BTW, isn't it just FS policy to get members to collect all books in a set? It has stopped me from purchasing the famous Fairy books.

>268 drasvola:
You're right, they are forceful, and although I haven't read the novel yet I feel they are suited well to Wharton's milieu. I expect my neutral view will become a positive one once I get to the book.

As to set-policies...well, possibly there is something sinister and subliminal going on. Exhibit A is, as you said, the Fairy books, and Exhibit B must be the Patrick O'Brien set. I'm relieved that my regular meditation and other mental gymnastics have given me the strength to resist these series; I can live with a trilogy I think.

I've been adding to my Anthony Trollope Folio library and received in the mail today a lovely edition of Mr. Scarborough's Family. As I took the book out of the slipcase, I noticed the remains of a spider's nest located along the top of the page block. Perhaps its former inhabitant heard of the fierce hurricane approaching my coast and evacuated promptly? Regardless, I am enjoying my Trollope library immensely.

> 270

Unfortunately, slipcases make ideal homes for spiders and it's surprising how they can get into even tight ones. They seem to favour/favor the top shelves in the Shed and periodically I have to carry out a purge. So far, I'm glad to say, they haven't done any lasting damage.

Congratulations on the acquisition of Mr Scarborough's Family. The Folio editions are indeed lovely, although I don't have any of them myself, as I subscribed to the parallel Trollope Society editions. These, have the same textual setting, but lack Folio's commissioned illustrations. I find Trollope a great antidote to Dickens and vice versa.

I hope you weather the storm, acidneutral. Batten down the hatches!

I wish I'd never read that about the spiders!

Me too :(

Eek! And me!

And me. For some reason (perhaps because I know a good portion of our board is British) I am reminded of the giant house spiders I encountered when I spent six months in Aberdeenshire. As an American who had experience with the grotesque insects of Florida, I was astounded to learn that civilized and balmy Britain had such creatures!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_house_spider

Our problem here are redback and huntsman spiders

They are not that much of a problem, you squish the redbacks (who for some reason love anything man made for homes - so check under the loo lid if you visit down under. lol) and the huntsmen unless they are crawling on your face, leave them alone, they make good house guest eating the bugs, just like the daddy longlegs.

I saw a Floridian huntsman once. It ruined my entire day. I know they're harmless, but wow! So big and so ugly. Not sure if they are as big as the Australian hunstman or not though.

I wish I hadn't read that about the spiders. :( Now I'll be compulsively checking my slipcased books, especially those with the slipcased turned inside. Ugh.

After posting about the spider's, I received today from Folio Upward and Onward in the Garden. Now I'm anticipating all the spiders one would find in that garden! Having lived through the horror of the tarantulas in California, I think I am ok with the house spiders I find here on the other side of the U.S. Well, maybe.

ARGH. I just had to come somewhere to rant and since it isn't important enough to warrant a thread I'm putting it here.

I've been watching a set of Folio Narnia books on Ebay all week, they just ended and I distracted myself and forgot to bid right at the very end. They went for £16.99!!! It's criminal. I'm trying to talk myself out of being annoyed by reminding myself I don't love the illustrations...

Maybe it's time to get one of those 'auction sniping' programs a lot of folks on here hate? That'd solve this kind of heartache.

Anyway back on topic I DID manage to win a Kipling Short Stories set (the multiple voulme one in the red bindings) and a copy of The Apocrypha.

Love your spiders, they eat silverfish (who love paper and glue).

> 281
Liam,
I feel your pain! While I was not the person who snatched these out from under you (I am quite happy with the EP version of this series), I have actually been sitting at my computer with the auction window open and somehow managed to get too distracted to remember it was going on. I cannot tell you how often this happens. Usually, the books go for more than I would care to spend and so I assuage myself that I wouldn't have won anyway, but in those times some asshole gets a real bargain....LOL

The one comforting thing to remember is that just because it went for £16.99 doesn't mean you would have got it for the next highest bid. The winning bidder may have put in £100 as his top bid and you may not have been able to topple him/her at the very end anyway :-) I am trying to comfort you here....

>282 Texaco:

This is the very reason I allow spiders to live near my doors :)

>281 LipstickAndAviators:

In such cases I would just bid with the maximum I would pay and let the dice fall as chance will have it. If it is not enough, at you least you tried.

I just got Adventure Stories from the Strand off ebay yesterday - one of those bets where I put a low maximum and did not expect to win... and somehow did win at the end.

OH GOODY

Sitting here reading the latest gos just now and got a knock on the door, "parcel dilivery".

My renewal offer here already, they must have been sitting at the aussie depo to get here so quickly.

Ok, ripped off plastic because I can, lol. Very happy with the renewal offer lovely well made books mostly to do with history which I like. My King James Bible and The Phoenicians are still pending, so may be a longer wait for them. I did recieve one of my picks the Children's Bible stories.

Also found another parcel sitting on my doorstep from ardis books, no 2 of icelandic sagas. Some very naughty person has opened my package and was fortunatly not interested enough in it to steal it or destroy it. May they be smotted on the spot for no taste in publications and for being extremely rude for opening my mail the blighters.

(I live on a main road, and this has happened several times before and fortunately who ever is doing it isnt interest in books and dosn't destroy them when they dont find what they want. I will need to get a camera or something to be able to catch them out.)

I have recently received Under Milk Wood and The Isle of Voices and Other Stories. I found out that there is also a classic radio recording of Dylan Thomas' work available from the BBC featuring among others Richard Burton. This is going to be a busy Autumn...

Just received 2 Trollope titles in the mail: La Vendee and The Fixed Period. I believe even the lesser of Trollope's work is worth the Folio treatment.

The postman brought me Folio editions of Trollope's The Claverings , Linda Tressel and John Caldigate. I've been a Trollope fan ever since reading Can You Forgive Her? a decade ago. Though I am not close to reading all of his 47 novels, I am enjoying replacing my well love Oxford University Press paperbacks with these lovely Folio volumes. What a discovery these editions are for me! I really need to slow down, though.

I just got my first order from FS, in California, in an astounding 11 days from when I placed the order. I received the Fairy Book intro offer, all of which are beautiful (except that one had a slightly damaged slip case, this is in another thread though). I also received the The Wind in the Willows (also very well done and rivaling my love of the Lang fairy books) and The Adventures of the Five Children. I'm looking forward to taking the time to read them all.

>290 exodus5139: lucky you, I have been waiting for nearly a month for my four books and my intro offer.......

What a joy and pleasure it is to receive and handle a well made book! After a long time considering the purchase, I finally decided to order the Folio Society LE of Moby-Dick and I received it today. My copy is # 1125. It is indeed a beautiful book. The binding is gorgeous in its black leather and wonderful white and silver design of the whale on the cover. The smell of the printed pages overwhelms the reader. The text block is perfectly set on the page. Rockwell Kent's illustrations (from the 1930 Lakeside Press edition) are captivating. The book opens so easily and is not at all heavy for its thickness and size.

A companion volume with a commentary by Harold Beaver joins this edition presented in a deep black solander box. Total bliss.

>292 drasvola: I don't understand how this book has not sold out. I think it is a fantastic edition and would like to see more LEs like it. I find the cover particularly stunning.

>292 drasvola: Antonio,

I am so happy that you decided to purchase the FS LE Moby Dick. It was my first purchase after I joined with the fairy tales introduction offer. For the price this is truly the most beautiful and well made LE I have seen. I can't imagine why this has not sold out. Sometimes I want to buy another copy for for myself.

> 293

I agree completely. It's a great buy and find it difficult to understand why it hasn't sold out, as other devotees has also mentioned. I had kept it in the back burner for a while because I knew it was slow in being purchased. But I'm so happy to have finally decided to get it!

You guys are tempting me to renew with Moby Dick. I don't actually own a copy of the book at all though, and it seems a little odd to jump from a book I've never read a word of to buying an LE. It does seem to be a great edition though.

> 294

Faisel, I was considering this purchase for a while. It's great to know that you share the appreciation for this edition. I can't get my hands away from it. Gorgeous!

> 296

You won't be sorry! That's my opinion...

>297 drasvola:

Antonio, I am happy that we both share the same enthusiasm and appreciation for this edition. Definitely the best production and edition from the FS. I actually sent them an email after I bought this applauding them for this edition.

>296 LipstickAndAviators:

If you have the possibility to buy any LE or at least one LE then this should be it.

It seems they do not sale very quickly, I received #1120 one month ago.
I agree it a beautiful book in a nice box, though I find the spine to be rather weak with a very thin leather, so the gutter may easily split.
Anyway a good book for a fair price.

A lot of enabling going on here! If I hadn't already got it, it would be tumbling into my basket now, pdq. I understand your excitement, Antonio. There are some books which tick all the boxes. This is one of them. The only problem is stopping yourself holding it up, smelling it, asking other people to look at it long enough to actually read it.

And it's shiny! :)

> 301

Ahh, yes, Jonathan, but a great part of the fun goes into the preliminaries...

I thank God every day (besides checking the FS site) that it's not sold out yet.
Have to wait till December and in the meantime gather funds, and then in January, hopefully,
I can order it too.

I love my copy as well but they did print quite a few copies for a limited edition.

300 posts is probably the advisable limit for a thread. If no one objects, I shall start the continuation with a # 5.

Continued in:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/123654

Congratulations Antonio!!

This edition of MD is masterful in every way (kudos to the production team!!) and I too cannot believe it has not sold out.