This topic is currently marked as "dormant"—the last message is more than 90 days old. You can revive it by posting a reply.
1Pellias
1) How do you collect? Are you true to Folio, or are your collection eclectic? Do you have a sort of system?
2) Example: I see some Franklin Library pre 1980 - going pretty cheap online, and they look great to - how are these regarded? (it`s taste, i know) ..
3) Folio, there is no secret that the folio books are just a tiny bit to large for the standard bookshelves, do this bother you?
Just lifting the debate a little off, because i know it`s going to live it`s own life anyways ;)
--
Why do i ask? I`m starting to achieve a great deal of folio`s - and it`s good to ask the veterans (or the sane people - are there any here?) some realityoriented questions
-- My answear: Folio vs something else - then offcourse the environment would look all to different .. the folio books are like colosses - off colour and life - and i read somewhere that "folio books are not for the .. well .. the ocd (obsessive(ly tidy)
Any thoughts - it`s fair to ask before i reach a couple of hundred volumes here - wondering what i have done, and why ;)
Let the discussion gain it`s own life ..
2) Example: I see some Franklin Library pre 1980 - going pretty cheap online, and they look great to - how are these regarded? (it`s taste, i know) ..
3) Folio, there is no secret that the folio books are just a tiny bit to large for the standard bookshelves, do this bother you?
Just lifting the debate a little off, because i know it`s going to live it`s own life anyways ;)
--
Why do i ask? I`m starting to achieve a great deal of folio`s - and it`s good to ask the veterans (or the sane people - are there any here?) some realityoriented questions
-- My answear: Folio vs something else - then offcourse the environment would look all to different .. the folio books are like colosses - off colour and life - and i read somewhere that "folio books are not for the .. well .. the ocd (obsessive(ly tidy)
Any thoughts - it`s fair to ask before i reach a couple of hundred volumes here - wondering what i have done, and why ;)
Let the discussion gain it`s own life ..
2Pellias
My goal is to build a "timeline" library - starting basically with the greeks, then romans, then middleages, renesance etc .. one of folio society`s strenghts is that they produce "books that are not all that well known (to the everyman) - but yet primary sources (Pliny, Polybius, Lucretius, Boethus, Arrian etc ..) - these are off course well known sources to the knower or the student of the classical world
Other companies produces many of these books themselves, so it`s not just folio who has this philosophy? Folio often has a great deal of foreword explaining the classical work - thats god!
Just my 5 cents of wandering off in my own talk ..
Other companies produces many of these books themselves, so it`s not just folio who has this philosophy? Folio often has a great deal of foreword explaining the classical work - thats god!
Just my 5 cents of wandering off in my own talk ..
3sdawson
What is this 'standard bookcase' of which you speak? I am constantly adjusting my shelves to adjust the very wide variety in book sizes.
Anyway, I am eclectic, collecting 1) Fine Press 2) Good Juvenile 3) 1940's and 1950s Sci-Fi, and 4) 20th century early (but cheap) editions of great American authors.
So taking a look at the Fine Press section, this is further divided into
1) Limited Edition Club
2) Folio Society
3) Heritage Press (not all, I prefer LEC editions, but for those that are just out of my price range, or are too good a price to pass up).
3) Easton Press (yes, I do appreciate these books, which take such a large amount of bad talking by many)
4) Imprint Society
5) Story Classics (this started recently)
Each of the above publishers have advantages. Easton press for instance, has printed far more science fiction than any of the other houses. They also have done a lot of signed editions if one likes that. When I was actively collecting the EP classics of Science Fiction (back when they did that), the signed editions showed up at no additional cost every so often, which was a nice bonus. They also print more 20th century American authors than the others, and I enjoy that.
Folio Society produces great books of course, and I generally appreciate their book design, and their selection of authors and books which I was not aware of. I am glad to see their addition of science fiction in recent years. They do a lot of juvenile books as well, and that I also value.
I do admit though, that when I am actively searching for a specific book, my preferred publisher, if I can afford it, is Limited Editions Club. Great design, paper, covers, illustrations, letterpress. Most of their publications were focused on classics of Western Literature.
I put Imprint Society on par with LEC for quality. They produce great books, but alas, not very many of them, and they seemed to focus on Americana, lots of reprints of 19th century explorers and such, but some novels as well. Definitely worth checking out.
Which leaves Heritage Press and Story Classics. Heritage Press productions, especially pre 1969 or whenever they changed ownership, are great and affordable productions, generously sized, mostly letterpress I believe, but others are more knowledgeable than I on that. Even the HP through the 70's were OK, but if I can find an earlier printing, I generally prefer it. If I were 20 years old again, with a small income, I would likely collect nothing but HP books. The Story Classics are also well done, but like Imprint Society, there are not many of them. I Put them somewhere between HP and LEC with respect to quality.
-Shawn
Anyway, I am eclectic, collecting 1) Fine Press 2) Good Juvenile 3) 1940's and 1950s Sci-Fi, and 4) 20th century early (but cheap) editions of great American authors.
So taking a look at the Fine Press section, this is further divided into
1) Limited Edition Club
2) Folio Society
3) Heritage Press (not all, I prefer LEC editions, but for those that are just out of my price range, or are too good a price to pass up).
3) Easton Press (yes, I do appreciate these books, which take such a large amount of bad talking by many)
4) Imprint Society
5) Story Classics (this started recently)
Each of the above publishers have advantages. Easton press for instance, has printed far more science fiction than any of the other houses. They also have done a lot of signed editions if one likes that. When I was actively collecting the EP classics of Science Fiction (back when they did that), the signed editions showed up at no additional cost every so often, which was a nice bonus. They also print more 20th century American authors than the others, and I enjoy that.
Folio Society produces great books of course, and I generally appreciate their book design, and their selection of authors and books which I was not aware of. I am glad to see their addition of science fiction in recent years. They do a lot of juvenile books as well, and that I also value.
I do admit though, that when I am actively searching for a specific book, my preferred publisher, if I can afford it, is Limited Editions Club. Great design, paper, covers, illustrations, letterpress. Most of their publications were focused on classics of Western Literature.
I put Imprint Society on par with LEC for quality. They produce great books, but alas, not very many of them, and they seemed to focus on Americana, lots of reprints of 19th century explorers and such, but some novels as well. Definitely worth checking out.
Which leaves Heritage Press and Story Classics. Heritage Press productions, especially pre 1969 or whenever they changed ownership, are great and affordable productions, generously sized, mostly letterpress I believe, but others are more knowledgeable than I on that. Even the HP through the 70's were OK, but if I can find an earlier printing, I generally prefer it. If I were 20 years old again, with a small income, I would likely collect nothing but HP books. The Story Classics are also well done, but like Imprint Society, there are not many of them. I Put them somewhere between HP and LEC with respect to quality.
-Shawn
4Pellias
Thx Shawn .. i read it closer in the morning (night time here) ..
A little link to enjoy in the meantime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVioeJFiUoU
A little link to enjoy in the meantime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVioeJFiUoU
5Jason461
When collecting fancy books, it about the following criteria (for me):
1. Content
2. Illustrations
3. Spine/Cover
4. Paper/binding
Folio most consistently meets all of those (again, for me). I'm not wild about the style of EP (though we have a few). I also often go after titles from Everyman's and Library of America because they have very comprehensive lists of fiction AND I like how they look on the shelf.
1. Content
2. Illustrations
3. Spine/Cover
4. Paper/binding
Folio most consistently meets all of those (again, for me). I'm not wild about the style of EP (though we have a few). I also often go after titles from Everyman's and Library of America because they have very comprehensive lists of fiction AND I like how they look on the shelf.
6jlallred2000
Folio society books makeup about 30% of the books I buy or own. I buy a lot of books from Oxford, Cambridge and other university presses. I generally buy hardcovers and they will typically run between 50-150$. If I can't get an academic publication in hardcover I wil try to get it on my kindle.
8jroger1
>1 Pellias:
Folio, Franklin, and Easton all have their strengths, weaknesses, and specialties, and I own many of all three. Generally, they look good shelved together, although some of the Folios that are not quarter-bound in leather look a bit out of place. I haven't noticed a difference in height, but perhaps my shelves are a little higher than yours. My advice is to buy the best copies you can afford, taking into account outward appearance, illustrations, print quality, and, where appropriate, the translation. I know that these factors are to a great extent subjective, and different collectors see things differently.
Folio, Franklin, and Easton all have their strengths, weaknesses, and specialties, and I own many of all three. Generally, they look good shelved together, although some of the Folios that are not quarter-bound in leather look a bit out of place. I haven't noticed a difference in height, but perhaps my shelves are a little higher than yours. My advice is to buy the best copies you can afford, taking into account outward appearance, illustrations, print quality, and, where appropriate, the translation. I know that these factors are to a great extent subjective, and different collectors see things differently.
9terebinth
I only have four LEC books: I would love for that to increase, but I expect it will only do so slowly as few titles turn up in the UK and shipping from anywhere else is a large deterrent. Occasionally,, then, I expect I'll either pounce on one of the few LEC books on eBay in Britain or, when there's one I particularly covet, order a fine or near-fine copy from the USA. My one attempt at buying an especially cheap LEC book from America, through Abe, came to grief as the book, clearly enough described as a VG copy of the LEC edition, turned out to be a little Barnes and Noble hardback from 1993. To be fair, that was all I'd paid for.
I mostly turn to the FS for the books they publish that I'm wanting to read. Most of the books I want they'll never publish - 1890s literature in depth, minor 1930s fiction, unpopular modern poetry, the full works of older poets, old sermons and theological works, obscure religious movements, existential philosophy, recent academic titles, etc. - and so Folio books will never dominate my shelves. I often seek out early editions, but more often I don't have to as there are only early editions. Paperbacks are generally a last resort, Easton I find at least equally unappealing for totally different reasons. Much of the time I haven't many publishers to choose among, but with older books at least letterpress printing is assured, and in some categories there's often rag paper, uncut pages, bindings in buckram or morocco or calf leather, occasionally even marbled edges.
I mostly turn to the FS for the books they publish that I'm wanting to read. Most of the books I want they'll never publish - 1890s literature in depth, minor 1930s fiction, unpopular modern poetry, the full works of older poets, old sermons and theological works, obscure religious movements, existential philosophy, recent academic titles, etc. - and so Folio books will never dominate my shelves. I often seek out early editions, but more often I don't have to as there are only early editions. Paperbacks are generally a last resort, Easton I find at least equally unappealing for totally different reasons. Much of the time I haven't many publishers to choose among, but with older books at least letterpress printing is assured, and in some categories there's often rag paper, uncut pages, bindings in buckram or morocco or calf leather, occasionally even marbled edges.
10ironjaw
Paul, I understand your frustration. I have the same problems only to made worse by the fact that I also pay 25% VAT on books and a surcharge of 160 DKK / 16 GBP. And I don't like the ABE surprises so I'm slowly building my. LEC collection.
11gatsby61
I don't have any LECs, quite interesting how there is such passion for them here. May have to look for one to see what the big deal is. I started with EP and I like the look of them collectively in my library but I haven't bought any in the past year. Shifted to FS and just find so much more creativity and beautiful illustrations. Translations are also better for me but I suppose that is very subjective.
12Kainzow
For me,nothing beats Folio.
Books from the Easton Press or Franklin Library have that archaic feel that I don't really like.Conversely the Folio Society has constantly evolved with time; when you pick a Folio book,you can feel that it is not a piece of art,but rather of modern art.For instance,where will you ever see an edition similar to the Folio Society's Lord of the Flies?? The life-like illustrations are mind-blowing and are what caused me to join the FS!!
The Folio Society also pick their artists with care.Look at Angela Barrett,for example.She didn't paint an old-Fashioned,over-pompous Anna Karenina,as is often seen in other editions; instead her 'Anna' is just as beautiful as Tolstoy depicts her in the story.All artists employed by the FS seem to be able catch the essence of the stories and reproduce that in their illustrations; the mood,the theme and the style are all reflected.
I also like how the FS take much care with the spine and fonts to be used on the cover of their books.Whilst writing my comment,In Cold Blood is standing just in front of me,and is a prime example of what I'm trying to say.The font is just the one used on typewriters,hence reminiscing the time when the story was written and the means Capote used to do so.The white letters set on a black background are also a tad creepy,which again is in keeping with the content of the book.On the other hand,the spines and fonts on Easton Press and Franklin Library books are all the same....
They also know what is expected of their books and change their formats accordingly.The giant 'Peter Pan' is a wonder to the eyes for any fan of the story,whilst the little books,The Great Gatsby,Animal Farm and Breakfast at Tiffany's,are treated like novellas and feel very cosy in the hand.
Finally,I appreciate a lot the introductions of the Folio books.Once again,I like how modern they are.You have Michael Dirda introducing The Great Gatsby,Ursula LeGuin Brave New World,and Helen Dunmore Anna Karenina! These highly knowledgeable people's views on these classics are fresh and a delight to read.As a matter of fact,Dunmore and Sutherland's respective introductions of Anna Karenina and The Castle are among the best I've ever read.I also love stumbling upon some 'anomalies',such as Salman Rushdie introducing Folio's Midnight's Children himself!
I think that's it.
Books from the Easton Press or Franklin Library have that archaic feel that I don't really like.Conversely the Folio Society has constantly evolved with time; when you pick a Folio book,you can feel that it is not a piece of art,but rather of modern art.For instance,where will you ever see an edition similar to the Folio Society's Lord of the Flies?? The life-like illustrations are mind-blowing and are what caused me to join the FS!!
The Folio Society also pick their artists with care.Look at Angela Barrett,for example.She didn't paint an old-Fashioned,over-pompous Anna Karenina,as is often seen in other editions; instead her 'Anna' is just as beautiful as Tolstoy depicts her in the story.All artists employed by the FS seem to be able catch the essence of the stories and reproduce that in their illustrations; the mood,the theme and the style are all reflected.
I also like how the FS take much care with the spine and fonts to be used on the cover of their books.Whilst writing my comment,In Cold Blood is standing just in front of me,and is a prime example of what I'm trying to say.The font is just the one used on typewriters,hence reminiscing the time when the story was written and the means Capote used to do so.The white letters set on a black background are also a tad creepy,which again is in keeping with the content of the book.On the other hand,the spines and fonts on Easton Press and Franklin Library books are all the same....
They also know what is expected of their books and change their formats accordingly.The giant 'Peter Pan' is a wonder to the eyes for any fan of the story,whilst the little books,The Great Gatsby,Animal Farm and Breakfast at Tiffany's,are treated like novellas and feel very cosy in the hand.
Finally,I appreciate a lot the introductions of the Folio books.Once again,I like how modern they are.You have Michael Dirda introducing The Great Gatsby,Ursula LeGuin Brave New World,and Helen Dunmore Anna Karenina! These highly knowledgeable people's views on these classics are fresh and a delight to read.As a matter of fact,Dunmore and Sutherland's respective introductions of Anna Karenina and The Castle are among the best I've ever read.I also love stumbling upon some 'anomalies',such as Salman Rushdie introducing Folio's Midnight's Children himself!
I think that's it.
13Pellias
I am so looking forward to 5 years ahead in time. How will my library look like - i will find sections for other books than folio also. Great opinions here, something new, something old, something never change and something always does ..
As Aesop wrote - "slow and steady wins the race" .. can`t say i`m slow, but certainly steady - going almost all in on folio - almost!
SDawson: On the size of folio books just about not fitting in the case - i read it in an article, i used it most as a mather of speak i recon:
http://johnguycollick.com/the-folio-society-and-the-easton-press/
(Funny if this was one of you, i wouldn`t be surprised :))
The ever going debate .. folio books vs (and i think this debate is important - as i believe nobody want to go out on the wrong track in the matter of collecting
Kainzow - you have a great homepage!
As Aesop wrote - "slow and steady wins the race" .. can`t say i`m slow, but certainly steady - going almost all in on folio - almost!
SDawson: On the size of folio books just about not fitting in the case - i read it in an article, i used it most as a mather of speak i recon:
http://johnguycollick.com/the-folio-society-and-the-easton-press/
(Funny if this was one of you, i wouldn`t be surprised :))
The ever going debate .. folio books vs (and i think this debate is important - as i believe nobody want to go out on the wrong track in the matter of collecting
Kainzow - you have a great homepage!
14wongie
When I first started collecting books I was buying anything that somewhat looked nice and it just so happened most were Franklin Library which satisfied my early exceptions; I was easy to impress. When I first bought my first haul of Folios I was won over, despite the lack of leather compared to FL but in exchange they were modern and vibrant bindings that ended up suiting my tastes more.
As my collection of Folios grew I became more entrenched in them for a number of reasons; Folio had more choice while FL were rare to get and even rarer still sealed, and as I bought more Folios the more my bookshelves looked uniform with the same styling which I liked the look of. I still have a small group of a dozen or so FL that I keep separated from my Folio shelves, right next to the gecko vivarium.
I don't intend to purchase from any other publisher save from an exceptional title ie from the Centipede Press. EP doesn't appeal to me, LEC can be too expensive and not much availability in the UK, and Heritage Press offers titles Folio already publish.
As my collection of Folios grew I became more entrenched in them for a number of reasons; Folio had more choice while FL were rare to get and even rarer still sealed, and as I bought more Folios the more my bookshelves looked uniform with the same styling which I liked the look of. I still have a small group of a dozen or so FL that I keep separated from my Folio shelves, right next to the gecko vivarium.
I don't intend to purchase from any other publisher save from an exceptional title ie from the Centipede Press. EP doesn't appeal to me, LEC can be too expensive and not much availability in the UK, and Heritage Press offers titles Folio already publish.
15Pellias
The franklin`s - they go for pretty cheap on e-bay - that`s why i wondered about them (and they look nice for the price) - just the shippment, costs 3 times more than the book itself/the case with LEC also, and most from "over the pond" - but that`s something else, and old news
Easton and Franklin were so much appreciated some few years ago, what happened? And as i own a couple of earlier editions from folio 80`s - 90`s - i can see a huge difference in the volumes - henche the quality have risen a great deal! So bearing the quality we now get from folio books i must say - i would rather pay a little extra for the better quality books
As with most things in life: "To get the most out of your diamonds - let them shine (the best i could come up with now, i`m not that kind of a man) - so with folio and everything else one would prefer - make them the center of attention in the right way, and they will shine - if they don`t, then it`s not always the books there are something wrong with, but the environment, or case if you like - so, how to get the most out of your books, to make it estheticually pleasing for the eye, and mind - is important to. The brain loves to move in organized environments - at least mine does
Easton and Franklin were so much appreciated some few years ago, what happened? And as i own a couple of earlier editions from folio 80`s - 90`s - i can see a huge difference in the volumes - henche the quality have risen a great deal! So bearing the quality we now get from folio books i must say - i would rather pay a little extra for the better quality books
As with most things in life: "To get the most out of your diamonds - let them shine (the best i could come up with now, i`m not that kind of a man) - so with folio and everything else one would prefer - make them the center of attention in the right way, and they will shine - if they don`t, then it`s not always the books there are something wrong with, but the environment, or case if you like - so, how to get the most out of your books, to make it estheticually pleasing for the eye, and mind - is important to. The brain loves to move in organized environments - at least mine does
16Andrew-Constantine
The best publisher by miles in my opinion is Yale. They generally can be trusted to publish handsome non-fiction hardbacks, written by expert authors and usually very well illustrated. Many of their books tend to hold their value surprisingly well.
17ironjaw
I don't think I have any Yale editions; can you recommend some books? I have the Hemingway Letters vol.1 and vol.2 in fine edition in leather. I think Cambridge University Press publishes them.
19terebinth
>16 Andrew-Constantine:,17
I only have a few Yale books: the Illustrated Zuleika Dobson (1985, with Yale sheets in a Folio Society binding with slipcase), two volumes of the current edition of T.S. Eliot's Letters (published in the UK by Faber, but I came by the USA version at a welcome discount), four volumes (of six) of Swinburne's Letters which were jointly published by Yale and the OUP, and a 1961 study of John Davidson. If there are any more they've evaded my cataloguing thus far. There's nothing particularly amiss with any of those, but it hasn't occurred to me that they're to be preferred to the output of other American academic publishers: then, only one of them is a Yale book through and through.
I only have a few Yale books: the Illustrated Zuleika Dobson (1985, with Yale sheets in a Folio Society binding with slipcase), two volumes of the current edition of T.S. Eliot's Letters (published in the UK by Faber, but I came by the USA version at a welcome discount), four volumes (of six) of Swinburne's Letters which were jointly published by Yale and the OUP, and a 1961 study of John Davidson. If there are any more they've evaded my cataloguing thus far. There's nothing particularly amiss with any of those, but it hasn't occurred to me that they're to be preferred to the output of other American academic publishers: then, only one of them is a Yale book through and through.
20terebinth
>18 Pellias:
Hard to generalise about Golden Cockerel, as while its most ambitious fine press books were among the very finest of the twentieth century in design and production the press also produced many quite ordinary (by the standards of the day - still handsomely printed and bound) trade editions at ordinary trade prices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Cockerel_Press gives a summary of the changes the press underwent. The only Golden Cockerel books I have (omitting of course Folio's LE facsimiles) are three quite humble early 1920s books by A. E. Coppard: two collections of short stories and one of poems.
Hard to generalise about Golden Cockerel, as while its most ambitious fine press books were among the very finest of the twentieth century in design and production the press also produced many quite ordinary (by the standards of the day - still handsomely printed and bound) trade editions at ordinary trade prices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Cockerel_Press gives a summary of the changes the press underwent. The only Golden Cockerel books I have (omitting of course Folio's LE facsimiles) are three quite humble early 1920s books by A. E. Coppard: two collections of short stories and one of poems.
23cpg
>1 Pellias: "Are you true to Folio, or are your collection eclectic?"
What's the difference between "collect" and "buy"? How impoverished my library would be if I had bought only those titles that FS has published! As one example out of a thousand, I'm currently reading The Novel: A Biography by Michael Schmidt from Belknap Press. It's a 4 pound book with a cloth cover, sewn binding, high quality paper, and crisp printing. And the contents are even better: Schmidt writes beautifully. He's already cost me a lot of money by persuading me to buy Clarissa and a few other novels, and I'm sure he's not finished with his "salesmanship".
Or, at work, I'm reading through the various volumes of Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming in my free moments. Again, beautiful content with a beautiful physical presence.
The world is too big, and life is too short to wait for FS to publish every book that's worth owning.
What's the difference between "collect" and "buy"? How impoverished my library would be if I had bought only those titles that FS has published! As one example out of a thousand, I'm currently reading The Novel: A Biography by Michael Schmidt from Belknap Press. It's a 4 pound book with a cloth cover, sewn binding, high quality paper, and crisp printing. And the contents are even better: Schmidt writes beautifully. He's already cost me a lot of money by persuading me to buy Clarissa and a few other novels, and I'm sure he's not finished with his "salesmanship".
Or, at work, I'm reading through the various volumes of Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming in my free moments. Again, beautiful content with a beautiful physical presence.
The world is too big, and life is too short to wait for FS to publish every book that's worth owning.
24Pellias
Thats certainly true cpg. The thing with me is that i have not even been member for a year - so, i`m learning fast - need to try, and "fail" - and as i build my library in my livingroom - i need to also be aware of the esthetique .. if not, i could (and would not mind plain paperbacks) - there is often said by collectors "one should not have read every single one boook in the home library - there should be many books waiting to be next in line - and many also for sure - may not even be read (but maybe tried to be) - the world of bookcollecting can be a pricy one - and since there are investments in these books (to own and hold - not to sell (primarily) - i want "the best there is, or as good as/and pleasiing to the eye.
Some time in the future, i will for sure also look over to the world of antiquity books (wrong typo i got assosiations of aquevite) - so, a good start. Remember, i started with barnes and noble leatherbound collection for a llittle over a year ago - try to see my rennesance
The world of litterature, is also "fairly" new (to much worms in my backside to sit and enjoy a large book when i was young - i have so hefty much to read, i now have the time, i have the urge and i have the stillness of heart that one needs to go into the meditative stage of reading, analyzing and categorizing what has become a ... well, i belive i need a exorsist (i dont speak latin yet though)
I love history, if only fiction was the one thing .. then i may not have chosen folio .. maybe ..
Some time in the future, i will for sure also look over to the world of antiquity books (wrong typo i got assosiations of aquevite) - so, a good start. Remember, i started with barnes and noble leatherbound collection for a llittle over a year ago - try to see my rennesance
The world of litterature, is also "fairly" new (to much worms in my backside to sit and enjoy a large book when i was young - i have so hefty much to read, i now have the time, i have the urge and i have the stillness of heart that one needs to go into the meditative stage of reading, analyzing and categorizing what has become a ... well, i belive i need a exorsist (i dont speak latin yet though)
I love history, if only fiction was the one thing .. then i may not have chosen folio .. maybe ..
26Chris_El
While I think highly of my Folio Society (FS) volumes I can't afford to buy only from them and my interests and speed of reading are both greater than what Folio Society publishes.
My most recent book buying expedition was a library book sale where I purchased 43 books for $90. All save two were hardcovers and (sadly) none were FS. That's about my sole snobbery, hardcovers are a must unless a book I think is interesting is only available in softcover. Though, even then, my interest is diminished by the lack of a hardcover edition. The gem of my latest foray was a softcover WWII memoir (only available in softcover) I'd had in my cart on Amazon for months but I found it for a mere $2 at the library book sale and it was autographed by the author.
My most recent book buying expedition was a library book sale where I purchased 43 books for $90. All save two were hardcovers and (sadly) none were FS. That's about my sole snobbery, hardcovers are a must unless a book I think is interesting is only available in softcover. Though, even then, my interest is diminished by the lack of a hardcover edition. The gem of my latest foray was a softcover WWII memoir (only available in softcover) I'd had in my cart on Amazon for months but I found it for a mere $2 at the library book sale and it was autographed by the author.
