I have just ordered / received # 13

Figured it was high time to start a new thread for this topic.

I've just gone ahead and ordered the Winchester Psalter. I decided to hold off on the other three books for now - Man in the High Castle; Strange Defeat; and Wind, Sand, and Stars. I think I can convince myself to wait for these titles to show up in a sale at 30-40% off.

>1 scholasticus:
I look forward to your report on the contents of the partial facsimile (if you get the time to post one)! It would be interesting to see if there is anything in addition to the pictorial cycle as a 'sample' text page, or two, from the manuscript( the calendar, for instance).
I may wait till the last minute on the discount to pull the trigger.

Chekhov: The shooting party - shrinkwrapped

>3 Pellias:
Haha! On a Chekhov spree I see! :p

>2 Firumbras:

I would be very happy to do a review! Hoping I'll receive my copy in advance of the deadline so people can have time to make a considered decision.

>3 Pellias:, >4 Kainzow:

And I've been on a LEC-buying spree as far as the Russian authors are concerned. Also been reading Chekhov on the Kindle and enjoying his stories immensely.

>4 Kainzow: Yup ;) - I believe i am - Tolstoy (2007) - next, sometime ..

>5 scholasticus: I want to try out a LEC someday .. it`s just that i`m on such a flow here with the folio`s (we communicate so well to each other - and i know the codes now, so well - different hunting grounds - maybe someday! - as well as a volume from arion press .. (the sundial) - i really want to save up to that one (but learned it wasn`t slipcased, i think) ... anyway!

*The Chekov stories is seldom - at least sealed, for a good price, so when i found that on ardis (they deliver good prices).. i couldn`t think twice .. that triggered my spree (why did i get that e-mail from Robert Newbury at ardis the other day!)

I just received Wind, Sand, and Stars in the mail. I grabbed a used copy when I was recently given n Amazon gift card. It cost only $8.50 and is in, if not perfect condition, close enough. Essentially, it look only as if it has actually been read once or twice, but otherwise well cared for.

I'm quite happy with it.

The nude for £2.50

Not exactly FS, but given how boldface and ironjaw have been gleefully enabling me these past few weeks regarding Castle Hill Press, it feels appropriate to note the arrival of a parcel from CHP this afternoon containing:

The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
'The Mint' and Later Writings about Service Life
Translating the Bruce Rogers Odyssey

I think I know what I'm doing two weekends from now!

>9 scholasticus: review! Review! How are the bindings? I did not get to the post office today.

My 'perfect' second replacement copy of Mary Beard's Pompeii arrived in the post from FS yesterday after a long wait while they searched for a clean copy (the first two copies had ink smears down one of the pages). They made quite a show about searching hard to ensure that the copy they sent me was pristine and in perfect condition and I checked inside and p173 is indeed clean... but p171 is affected instead, with yet again a large smear of ink down the middle of the whole page. Quite a let-down, but I think I'll just leave it at that; it's looking more and more unlikely that I'll actually end up with an undamaged copy and I'd rather just put an end to the affair rather than just keep plugging away trying to get a copy I'm happy with.

Received my copies of Beloved and Man in the High Castle. Beautiful books! The only quirk is with High Castle in that the illustrations are numerous in the first 70 pages and then you get a 150 page break of nothing but text and then a couple illustrations leading to the end. Its okay but just quirky.

Had a day in Brighton and picked up a pristine copy of Nightmare Abbey for very few notes from the ever-reliable Colin Page (ever-reliable at loosening the purse-strings that is). Also was persuaded to bring home with me an addition to my small Imprint Society collection, Daphnis & Chloe (signed and with aquatints by Felix Hoffman); Washington Irving's Christmas at Bracebridge Hall (the first publication from the Angelica fine Press) and, last but not least, A Typographical Masterpiece, which is a Book Club of California LE documenting the production of the Golden Cockerel edition of The Four Gospels, and which will perfectly complement the Folio facsimile of this work. This book had a small book plate indicating that it was from the private collection of noted typographer Ruari Mclean. The Irving book came from the library of noted bibliophile Alex Bridge.

>13 HuxleyTheCat:

I bet you were purring all the way home!

>14 boldface: Indeed! Although with some regret for the things that I wanted but couldn't justify this time around.

Nightmare Abbey is a classic example of mid-90s Folio: perfect size for holding, beautifully tactile cloth and liberal quantities of woodcuts - just great book design really.

>15 HuxleyTheCat: I quite agree, my favourite type of Folio. Enjoy!

>15 HuxleyTheCat:

I'm rather partial to "old-style" Folio editions. Love woodcuts as illustrations, and I believe I have most of Lynd Ward's work.

Edited (twice) for typo.

>16 cronshaw: Thank you!

>17 drasvola: Me too! And a book like this is rather easier to find a space for than Dune, that's for sure...

I keep meaning to get a copy of Ward's "Six Novels in Woodcuts" so must get around to that. I have several of his contributions for the LEC, and two of my favourite books are his LEC Beowulf, and the Centipede Press Frankenstein.

>17 drasvola: It was precisely because of that older style of cloth binding and woodcut engravings that I snapped up the charming, relatively recent Folio (2008) A Country Child by Alison Uttley, bound in purple cloth with a gilt floral pattern to the front board, and numerous engravings throughout the text by C. F. Tunnicliffe, when I discovered it in a second hand bookshop, a few weeks ago. I had missed its release as I only contracted FAD virus the following year, and my symptoms for the first year or so were moderate and manageable.

> 18

Shout out to Centipede Press.

I assume you will be getting CP's Gods' Man then? Looks like a nice small folio-size volume.
Would be interested to see what the blown up image quality is like. I assume the original was octavo.

>18 HuxleyTheCat:

Centipede Press wants $45 for shipping a $40 book! I won't be getting Gods' Man. I have "Six Novels in Woodcuts," and highly recommend it.

>19 cronshaw:

Yes, the ravages of the FAD virus worsen as time goes by! And there seems to be no known cure ...

I just received the corrected Volume One of From Dawn to Decadence.

> 21

I assume you are in the UK? Trust me, that's subsidized shipping.
I recall spending 60+ to send a book around that weight. I know
many bigger websites/companies heavily subsidize shipping or
force their resellers to offer absurdly low shipping so that has
muddied the real costs...

>18 HuxleyTheCat: The Library of America has a two volume edition of Ward's Six Novels at a very affordable price.

>26 kdweber: Yes, that's the one I intend to get.

I checked those volumes out of the library a while back - they are very well produced.

It is a lovely set, though I'm not such a big fan of LoA in general. The pages are flimsy.

>23 EclecticIndulgence:

I like your philosophical view on life in general!

>25 JustinTChan:

I know it's a large and probably heavy book. Although I have bought from Centipede in the past, shipping costs have become lately a real concern. They have increased very sharply for everybody.

just ordered a four-book haul of FS's recent reprints.

Hibbert, Medici
Yeats bros. Poems & paintings
Hobhouse, Seeds of Change
Wilson, Victorians

I had a look online for second- hand, earlier printings, but anything cheaper than the FS list price seemed in photos to be very tired looking. I also checked for the non - FS original edtions ( where they exist) and decided that FS have outdone themselves in improving on them!
So, I'm happy to support FS in buying direct, and undiscounted. ( Instalment plans ease the pain).

I'm going to postpone buying the Winchester pictorial cycle for a while, discount or no - the omission of the text in favour of a pictures only approach rankles too much with me at the moment!

Toilers Of The Sea. This completes the trilogy for me of Hugo (although The Hunchback Of Notre Dame and Les Miserables are not bound nearly in so fine an edition as an FS LE). After my current book I think I will read Hugo's novels in chronological order.

Tim

Could not resist the latest sale Celebrating Iconic Men in literature. Ordered Fear And Trembling and Thus Spoke Zarathustra both of which had been on my wish list for some time. Got the 25% discount from the sale, plus the 10% for orders over €60 plus a further €20 off for recently completing a member survey; all together giving a total discount of €46.98. Happy Days!

>33 N11284: I too succumbed to the Iconic Men in Literature sale picking up Fear and Trembling as well as The Alexander Trilogy off of my wish list. 25% off plus an additional $20 discount making the purchase tolerably affordable.

>34 kdweber:
>33 N11284:
You two bought two books I've been eyeing for a good while: Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Fear&Trembling!!
But I'm not sure if they're worth it - I'll buy them eventually,but does anybody know if they are really life-changing or something?

>35 Kainzow: both are worth reading if for no other reason they are referenced continually in later literature. F&T is maybe the more immediately approachable of the two.

>35 Kainzow:

Fear and trembling is in my top five folio purchases. The illustrations are amazing. I prefer it to Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

I just bought Brideshead Revisited 2007 reprint shrink wrapped from ebay.

> 36

By "approachable" he means "not written by a lunatic."

>38 JustinTChan: that would be another way to put it yes :)

Have succumbed to the Father's Day sale and have gone in for Hobbes' Leviathan as well as Galilei's Dialogues Concerning the two Chief World Systems.

>40 scholasticus: I tried to reread my copy of Leviathan while my son was studying it in college but it just put me to sleep. My first and only successful reading was when I was forced to read it in college.

>36 BINDINGSTHATLAST:
>37 d-b:
>38 JustinTChan:
Haha.Alright!! I'm very much interested in Fear and Trembling now.
To those who've ordered 1 or 2 books,what do you think about the shipping cost? I tend to buy three books normally so as to dilute the cost.But presently,there's only one or two books I'm very interested in...

>40 scholasticus: I would go in for the Dialogues but I am afraid I would have to re open my Euclid first to enjoy it. Beautiful volume though.

Have ordered:

Hokusai
Wellington Vol 2
Wind, Sand and Stars

Unusual for me to order one, let alone two, non-FS books, but reckon that they do represent good value, especially with the extra £10 off (mostly postage admittedly!).

>41 kdweber:

I'm clearly psychotic then, as I enjoyed reading Hobbes the first time I read Leviathan; I'm quite looking forward to the re-read!

>43 BINDINGSTHATLAST:

Great minds. Have also been considering the Taschen edition of Euclid - still vacillating at present.

>43 BINDINGSTHATLAST: if you want to spend less and still have good production values check out Green Lion Press. Archival paper and Smythe sewn binding, large pages and as little clutter as possible.

Should I buy Tiger in the Smoke?
Folio says it is perhaps one of the greatest detective stories ever written,so I'm really tempted.Adding to that are the superb illustrations.

Edited: I wrote greater instead of greatest.Thanks auto-correct...

I don't know why, but I have a strong feeling that The Alexander Trilogy will be more heavily discounted in a later sale, so I'm holding out -- by which time I might have left Manhattan (new shelves ahoy!)

Just placed an order for Beloved, The Man in the High Castle, Strange Defeat, The Holy Land & Egypt and Nubia and then the Golden Ass LE.

Not a bad haul :)

> 41

That's good to hear. Haven't read it, but from what I've heard, Leviathan and "The Prince" (which I have read) are a big part of what's wrong with the world...

> 42

I think the visible shipping cost is reasonable. Truth is, the actual shipping cost is probably built into the price of the book. Or more likely, they divide out the costs among many books, hoping that one will balance the other.

>50 JustinTChan: how did Machiavelli and Hobbes ruin the world?

>52 BINDINGSTHATLAST:

You beat me to it. This may require an OT thread, depending how this goes, though!

> 52

Wrong forum for it, but I"ll summarize as "realpolitik" and the idea that human nature is just the way it is, so might as well be a douche. Or sorry, if you're a king or El Presidente, you can be a douce. Citizens must aid the ruler in out-douceing other social contracts. I mean...nations.

Ordered Fear and Trembling and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. With the 25% and $20 off orders over $120 I saved $54 :) Also placed an order for Golden Ass. Now I'm really super stoked.

>54 JustinTChan: definitely fit for another post. It could be a super interesting post though. I would love to see that idea flushed out - I am not being a jerk btw I am serious.

I can already see having to open my Thucydides now... :)

>55 JuliusC:

Every time I place an order, it's with 'Fear and Trembling'. "You really are a 'Golden Ass'." Thus Spoke My Wife.

>50 JustinTChan: If we do take this thread to an "OT: Machiavelli & Hobbes", if I claim that Machiavelli was a proto-dark age communist and you claim Hobbes was an Enlightenment fascist, then we both conjugate some Latin poorly how much do you bet we will hear Scholasticus's head go "POP" from our respective cities? :)

>58 BINDINGSTHATLAST:
Love it!

Right...catching up on this thread.

>54 JustinTChan:

Interesting argument. I'd personally argue that Machiavelli's work was meant to challenge the medieval scholastic construct of the world, particularly as per Aquinas and that Leviathan, in many ways, is Hobbes' reinterpretation of the scholastic ideal in order to work with the (still developing) Church of England; in other words, Machiavelli's telling Aquinas that he's wrong, and Hobbes is telling Machiavelli that he's wrong, and that Aquinas, while he has the right idea, is also ultimately wrong in his priorities.

>57 boldface:

Best post of the day!!!!

>58 BINDINGSTHATLAST:

More like give you two a hard time for mangling my lovely Latin, and then repair to the liquor cabinet for some scotch - neat! ;)

>59 wcarter:

Yes, that would be quite the amusing thread! I'd be interested in seeing how BINDINGS works Thucydides into his argument.

>60 scholasticus: easy...role and nature of power and its application in both in times of stability and instability. Its all about Pericles...

>61 BINDINGSTHATLAST:

With you it always comes back to Pericles! ;)

>47 Kainzow: I enjoyed The Tiger in the Smoke, which I read over 20 years ago after most of the other Albert Campion stories (I read them in order and this is the 14th).
My recollection was that it was slightly different from the lighter, earlier Albert Campion stories, with firmer characterisation perhaps, but not as good as Dorothy L Sayers' Peter Wimsey stories (the first set produced by FS are wonderful, but I was disappointed by the plain covers of the second set).
Worth reading, but I preferred the Peter Wimsey stories, which were written/set at about the same time.

>57 boldface:

Hahahaha, you just described my household dynamic!

Best post of the day indeed!

Dug in, and got these besides Rubayyat, Holy Land & Golden Ass

a) THE OXFORD COMPANION TO CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION
b) RISE & FALL OF CLASSICAL GREECE
c) CITIES THAT SHAPED THE ANCIENT WORLD

From the summer supplement!

d) ROGUE MALE - folio discount

Shouldn't the summer sale be on soon? Last year it started on the 17th of June.

I got the catalogue for the summer sale this morning. Haven't checked online.

just received Beloved and The Man in the High Castle, both look great. Plus the Breakfast at Tiffany's notebook which is too nice to use for my scrawly handwriting.

I couldn't resist the temptation and ordered:

Greek Science
Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind
Nineveh and Babylon
Taming the Infinite
Travels with Herodotus

Loving the classical theme.

Just received the Great Gatsby today and singing sands notebook, the book is beautiful and a lovely size to curl up with! Although the colour is somewhat intense it has a surreal feel to it and the illustrations are wonderful! Am loving the singing sands notebook, I actually prefer it to my queen of spades one.

Just a quick question a couple of weeks ago I received the wind and the willows, absolutely stunning in every way! The only thing was that at the top and bottom of the spine where it would touch the slip case the green cloth is quite faded :( I was away on business for a couple of weeks and only opened it last night, I take it that it should not be like that? I noticed that it was a bit loose in the slip case and maybe was sliding up and down and kept bumping the top and bottom of the spine which although not frayed looks less than perfect, any suggestions, would folio send me a new copy do you think?

>71 NiecyG:
Welcome to FSD.
My copy of WitW has very faint rub marks at the top and bottom of the spine that certainly do not concern me.
If you post a photo, FSD members can give a better opinion on any damage.

>71 NiecyG: I read the FS edition of The Great Gatsby last month, and it sat perfectly in the hand.

Many thanks, will do! Although my friend told me I was being too anal, so if rub marks are not uncommon perhaps I should just let it go ;)

I'm back to Mauritius and got to see the books I ordered since the year began.
All books are fine except the two which were in my first order for the year (my birthday is in January,and my parents gave me three books of my choice): Eugene Onegin and 1984.
They have huge bumps on the top corners,and I have had to ask for replacements.I'm rather gutted,because I don't know if the FS will agree to send me replacements.Also,it's a huge shame that they got such bumps because they are really beautiful books.Pff....

I finally placed my first order, perhaps also my only one I do not know yet as there are not that many books that I actually want.

I got:

- Black Sea
- Cicero Orations
- Fermat`s last theorem

The two first volumes have been on my wishlist for quite a while, however the last book I purchased after reading the feedback here and on amazon, it looks like an exciting book.

I did contemplate getting "How we think" by Steven Pinker as I am somewhat interested, but I am not sure it is quite for me.

If I am not mistaken the 10£ discount for purchases over 60£ ends tomorrow so I felt I had to order today.

Kainzow, I know the FS put a time limit on returns (which wasn't the case prior to the changes in the membership system), but I'm sure if you explain the situation (i.e. that you are not based at home year round, so weren't able to check them until now) they will send you replacements. You could probably strengthen your case by saying something like: of the large number I bought direct from the FS, there are only problems with two.

Anyway, good luck!

>77 NYCFaddict:
Good news!
They agreed to send replacements.I really hope I will have the books in excellent condition this time....

Glad to hear it! :)

I have just taken possession of two medieval masterworks: Piers Plowman and Vita Nuova. VN is too small and Piers rather too large, but both are very beautiful books. Photos to come.
FS have outdone themselves here with two parallel-text editions of medieval must-reads. I hope they adopt the same approach for the forthcoming Edda and consider publishing, in the same parallel-text format, other masterworks of medieval European literature in verse - Chretien de Troye's romances would be perfection, as would the Irish Tain or Welsh Mabinogion. Simon Armitage's translation of the English Alliterative Morte Arthure in parallel would be a must-buy also.

I just took delivery of my most recent FS fix - the two Allinghams, A Writer at War, Cuckoo's Nest, Uncle Silas and Age of Wonder - and a liberal helping of bubble wrap; from the looks of it, the Folio Society must have become tired of complaints from customers about books being damaged in transit.

I've never had a FS book damaged while on the way to me, but this time the additional bubble wrap served a most useful purpose - the box had been left outside in the (torrential) rain for a while and was soaked; luckily, the books were as dry as a lecture on new trends in Soviet management.

The poor creature which dropped off the box almost had a heart attack when I told her that there were books inside and that I'd like to inspect them before accepting delivery; luckily, no damage done.

Just received:

Emma
Scott's Last Expedition
Autumn: A Folio Anthology

Rather disappointed that Autumn did not come slipcased, but it is a rather pretty little volume.

Ooh with my next purchase (x-mas indulgence) I'm planning on getting Emma; I loved the gold Pride and Prejudice!

>82 FranklyMyDarling: you'll be able to add Sense and Sensibility to that shortly! I saw the latest in the new Folio Austen series in the dMR this week, with the same decorative gold metallic buckram binding as the others, in a gold slipcase, illustrated this time by Philip Bannister. Other imminent volumes include Agincourt, a large volume well-illustrated with 32 colour plates (plus frontispiece) which should keep Scholasticus happy, bound in three quarters blue cloth with a pictorial blue paper front board; and a new Folio volume of ghost stories, old and modern, fully bound in decorative paper, illustrated suitably ghoulishly by David McConochie who won this year's House of Illustration competition. Our former Nurse A, a ghost story devotee, was involved in selecting the tales. The paper used in the binding of these new volumes appears to my eyes and fingers to be a new type not previously used by Folio, much smoother than previous paper boards I've seen, an almost vinyl feel. These books aren't officially out on display for sale just yet, but Ian behind the dMR desk knows how unwell I am and allowed me a sneek preview.

>84 cronshaw:

Cronshaw, please ask FS to be so kind as to NOT release these books until 17 October at the very earliest. I intend to read my email as sparingly as possible, so I won't mind a five-week reprieve from FSD! ;)

Either way, I'm in for Agincourt, Austen, and the ghost story volume, most likely. And Icelandic Sagas. And the Edda....

>85 scholasticus: I'll ask them to put one of each to one side for you :)

>86 cronshaw:

You're too kind! :) Ask them if they'll offer a 90% discount as well. ;)

You are indeed a wonderful/dangerous source of information! The next Austen I was hoping for, plus Icelandic Sagas not to mention the other six or seven I have my eye on for Christmas means my folio "limited" bimonthly budget is going out the window :)

>88 NiecyG:

Join me in the 'how 'bout a 90% discount voucher code for Xmas' club! ;)

>84 cronshaw: cronshow
Thanks for the news about Sense and sensibility. I don't have a paper copy of it yet so I was looking forward to it but feared that the illustrations might be as disappointing as the ones in Emma (which I didn't buy). Philip Bannister sounds promising.

Seeing as I have just embarked on getting my driving licence is Germany, spiralling costs indicate I might try and bump it up to a 95% discount. Ah well who needs food and festivities as long as I have my folios?

>84 cronshaw: You don't ever start your responses to me with "Frankly my darling...". I feel left out!

That aside, thanks for the news! I am in London next Wednesday, so will definitely have to drop in. Was S&S actually for sale yet? I am really looking forward to picking that one up!

>84 cronshaw:

Woo Hoo. That'll put us half-way through this wonderful Jane Austen set!

>81 odderi: A healthy wrapping of bubble wrap didn't prevent my entire order arriving seriously damaged. Of course, when informed, the FS promptly sent me new copies. Happily, the replacements have all arrived in pristine condition. One obvious advantage for buying directly from the FS.

>94 kdweber: I've purchased approximately 80 volumes directly from the FS, and - knock on wood - not once have I had to have a volume replaced.

I do, however, find all the stories from people who've had to do so very comforting. While in a perfect world, no returns would ever be necessary, the way the FS goes out of their way to get things sorted when something does go wrong is most reassuring.

Should I ever receive a damaged book, there's no doubt in my mind that FS will come to my rescue.

>84 cronshaw:

I'm excited to learn about S&S! Thanks for the update.

>92 Conte_Mosca: Candidly My Precious, it's not yet for sale, or at least it wasn't this week. Who knows, perhaps it may be available as soon as Wednesday next week if you call in and flutter your eyelids a little.

>95 odderi: I had a perfect record with Folio (40 years plus) until this year when I received not one but two damaged books in the same parcel. True to their reputation, replaced with the minimum of fuss. Your mind may safely rest at peace.

This afternoon I placed my first order since the sale in June;

David Roberts' The Holy Land & Egypt and Nubia,
The Hobbit,
Folio 2016 Diary,
Slightly Foxed.

Have had my eye on the Roberts for a long time but being twice the cost of my previous most expensive book I was rather reluctant to take the plunge! Hopefully will have better luck with the condition than with a couple of my previous orders.

Today I took delivery of
The Devil's Dictionary
Little Women - charming prodcution
Pater, Renaissance
A Handmaid's Tale
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Pics to follow.

>99 Paulfozz: I think you'll love the Roberts. I just received my copy and it's great; though, I took a different route and bought it on eBay (still in the original shrinkwrap).

A couple days ago I ordered Toilers of the Sea. Too bad it can't just be teleported to me. I don't want to wait on shipping.

Just unboxed (but shrink-wrap still intact):

Agincourt
A Wizard of Earthsea
The Dam Busters
Age of Gold
The Blue Flower

Out of stock/to follow :

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

And, of course, the Diary and Slightly Foxed.

I have to say the Diary is particularly good this year - very imaginatively illustrated. My favourite at this early stage is the mermaids opposite January 4-10 :)

>103 folio_books: Congrats! I only have The Blue Flower from your haul (I couldn't resist the illustrations), but I'm tempted by The Dam Busters—apart from the fantastic binding design, diagrammatic endpapers and photos, the story itself still feels incredible today.

I agree the diary is fantastic this year.

What do you make of the paper boards for Agincourt? The same covering was used all round for the Ghost Stories binding. It's appears to be a new type of paper which I've not seen Folio use before for their boards, very smooth, almost as if rubber or plastic.

>104 cronshaw: Having now had the opportunity to examine the books more closely I've already decided that The Dam Busters is first on the reading list. An amazing story of genius and raw courage and I'll be starting it later. I must admit I got quite a surprise when I hauled Agincourt out of its cover. The material certainly feels very different. I had to check the production details on the website to convince myself it's not plastic. And Ghost Stories will form part of my next order, which would have been next week if they hadn't delayed publishing News from Nowhere. Now I'm in two minds - should I wait for NFN or place an interim order next week? Decisions, decisions ...

>101 kdweber:

My express shipping order hadn't turned up by Wednesday afternoon (I ordered on Saturday) so I emailed Folio and they said they'd send out another package as it should have arrived by then (very good response!). However, late on Wednesday the first package arrived, after I'd left work, so I only found out this morning.

I opened the package and found that the copy of the Hobbit has a scrape on the spine (removing some of the gold leaf) and one of the Roberts books has a long deep scrape along the side of the slipcase, as though something was dropped on the card. Neither are major faults but the spine damage on The Hobbit is glaringly obvious and any damage to the Roberts is upsetting given its cost. Have emailed folio with photos to explain the issue and suggesting that when the second parcel arrives I would like to exchange the damaged books with the ones from that parcel (hopefully undamaged) before arranging with FS to return it.

Out of all the orders I've placed with Folio I think only one hasn't had issues of some kind. They've been very good (although I never did get an undamaged replacement copy of Mary Beard's Pompeii), but it does makes me think again that if I'm this unlucky with ordering from them that it's not really worth it.

Am I unrealistic in expecting the books I buy from FS not to have any damage?

>106 Paulfozz:
Nothing beats picking up the volumes in person from the dMR, but since moving to the US earlier this year, I received 8 packages with 23 individuals volumes + 2 sets, and not a single book or slipcase had any production, packing, or shipping damage, external or internal.

>105 folio_books: Enjoy Dam Busters and let us know what you think of your Folio version! I was in the dMR this afternoon to collect a modest order (In Parenthesis and Into The Unknown, with Rogue Male instead of Autumn), and I had a look again at Agincourt and Ghost Stories. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what I make of the cloth spine of Agincourt against the quasi-plastic paper front board, it feels an odd combination. I think the same paper used as full binding material for Ghost Stories works better, though I would have preferred a cloth, buckram, or a rougher more natural paper feel myself. But horses for courses, I'm sure many Faddicts will approve, and good on Folio for innovating with new binding materials...

>106 Paulfozz: You've been so exceptionally unlucky Paul that for a minute I was imagining beer-filled bibliophobic postmen in your corner of the dales kicking Folio parcels around for sport. But it very much sounds as though you're describing damage which must have occurred prior to packing.

I think I really have been unlucky, and the damage/faults on all the books I've received have been prior to packing; either printing problems or damage during manufacture. The damage to the slipcase on the Roberts book (which extends something like halfway along the width of the case) and the scuffing to the spine of The Hobbit definitely occurred during production as the plastic wrap in both cases was unmarked.

>106 Paulfozz: I've bought over 200 books directly from the FS. Of these I've had four damaged books (three in one recent order), one damaged LE slipcase and one LE commentary volume bound upside down - all promptly and graciously replaced by the FS. Overseas shipping (I'm in the US) doesn't seem like a big problem to me. You should definitely have the Roberts replaced. For the price FS charges, you deserve a pristine copy. Both of my Roberts' slipcases have had the bottom spine lightly bumped, but then again, I only paid $175 for the set on eBay.

>111 EclecticIndulgence: Thank you! I feel less like I'm being singled out somehow by FS now.

It's probably an exaggeration to say that most of the books I've had have been faulty when I look at my order history; I've ordered about 13 FS books from them and have had issues with about six, though only four were bad enough that I felt I could raise it. I think there were two orders where there were other problems though (this order being delayed and I know there was an issue with an early order but I can't remember what it was; I think they didn't send a book but said they had). I don't like it when things get messy or I have to deal with sorting out damaged products as I get enough of that at work without dealing with it for what should be enjoyable purchases! Am again considering whether it's worth the agro ordering from FS given that each time I end up worrying whether there will be a problem to sort out (and whether it'll be a repeat of the Pompeii saga, which dragged on for a few months and about three damaged replacement copies before I gave up).

My second parcel arrived today (both took two days to arrive; I wonder if this is going to be typical of the express shipping from now on - I may raise that given that I paid extra for express). The books in this second parcel look ok so have swapped out the damaged Hobbit and The Holy Land and am waiting for a reply from FS on what they want me to do with the second parcel.

I'm guessing from past experience that they may not want the damaged books back but there's a sealed copy of the second Roberts book (Egypt and Nubia) and the free Slightly Foxed and Diary which they probably would want back.

One thing I'll say though; I do like the diary.

>110 kdweber: I worked out that in all I've bought about 15 or 16 (if I include a couple of non-folio books) and six have had damage... but if you include the replacement copies of Pompeii that were also damaged it's nine.

In about 50 shipments, one was lost ( or not sent!) and immediately replaced. None of the 160 books was received damaged enough (apart from some acceptable dents at the slipcase) to be replaced...
Am I lucky or blessed?

>114 Maretzo: Or easily pleased...? ;)

Visited the dMR today and treated myself to From Dawn to Decadence. I had looked at this on a previous visit and I was unsure whether I would read, but having now convinced myself that I would, brought it home with me.
Also ordered to be delivered by post Casino Royale (newly arrived this afternoon), Into the Unknown and A Wizard of Earthsea. I am hoping that the A Wizard of Earthsea illustrations will grow on me, as they are a bit muddy, but I love the story. Into the Unknown is copiously and well illustrated, so I had to have this one. Although the cover of Casino Royale is understated, the illustrations seem perfectly suited and it is one of those smaller books that felt perfectly tactile.
I also looked at Lolita, and I may yet get it, although I am repelled by the subject matter of the story (yes, I have not yet read), but I was underwhelmed by this book. A little too small for its thickness, the plain black cover did not impress and the name plate felt as if I would dirty it with handling (I have larger hands).
Was allowed to kindly replace second diary and slightly foxed with Under Milk Wood, which I had not previously looked at, but it will replace my paperback.

Ordered: Casino Royale, Lolita, News From Nowhere, and A Wizard of Earthsea. Just notified by FS that the order is waiting on News From Nowhere.

just received: LP Sonnets and Poems...it's.....beautiful.....

I'm overstating it, but please allow me the satisfaction: I feel like I have the pinnacle of the English language in my hands, in its most beautiful form. The color is awesome and it's weighty and substantial. You did good, FS - you did real good.

I took the opportunity this evening to scan through the pages of my David Roberts set to check for any damage; this second copy of The Holy Land seems fine but one page of Egypt and Nubia has scuffs and a wide gouge in the outer layers of the paper and a number of the pages were slightly stuck together by little glue spots that left tiny rough patches once I'd gently separated the pages, so both volumes had damage (my first copy of The Holy Land had a damaged slipcase). I will have to check the copy in the second parcel at work tomorrow to see if that one is ok; if it is ok then I'll have to advise FS that the only undamaged books in the second parcel (to be re returned to them) are the diary and free copy of Slightly Foxed!

The books are gorgeous, the Roberts set is fantastic, but the delays and damage have once again put something of a dampener on my enjoyment. I just hope that the other copy of Egypt & Nubia is ok.

At the moment I definitely feel that I will not be ordering again; I'm just getting far, far too many damaged books and no matter how good the service it doesn't make up for poor quality control.

Folio

The Story of the Middle Ages (5 vol)

Not Folio
Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold (Paperback) By (author) C. S. Lewis

The Fellowship (Hardback) By (author) Philip Zaleski, By (author) Carol Zaleski

The Oxford Inklings: Lewis, Tolkien and Their Circle By (author) Colin Duriez

Piers Plowman, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: WITH Sir Gawain and the Green Knight AND Pearl (Hardback)

>121 EclecticIndulgence:
Is Sally still at the FS?
I've noticed that all my recent emails were being replied by someone else.

>119 Paulfozz: I am so sorry for you, as it does seem as though you have been unusually unlucky. That said, I'll admit I also seem to be having trouble lately with minor glitches in quality control. Hopefully it is only temporary and will improve. Nevertheless, I was surprised when a recently purchased Poems of Thomas Gray LE arrived with scuff marks on the interior of the solander of box. I didn't bother contacting them for this, as the book itself was fine, but I couldn't help thinking what an obvious flaw it was, and how easy it would have been for them to substitute my box with a new one. It makes you think either they are not very attentive in inspecting their final products, or whoever is doing it doesn't really care very much and considers some minor flaws acceptable.

Similarly, in my autumn purchases, my Uncle Silas has just arrived with a slight dent to the upper corner of the spine. This defect clearly preceded shipping, as the slip case was not damaged. It is not a serious blemish, and I am trying to learn to live with it; I recognise I am a perfectionist, and need to be more relaxed about such things. But it does make you feel frustrated when you end up getting the short end of the stick, as it were, with the particular copy they chose to send you.

I hope the replacement books they send you are as perfect and beautiful as they ought to be.

>123 RHalley63: When a company charges premium prices for premium products, there's nothing unreasonable about expecting the goods to be in perfect condition.

I have just received (ordered late on Friday!):
Into the Unknown: Tales from the Great Explorers
A Wizard of Earthsea
Casino Royale
Under Milk Wood
and Slightly Foxed
All appear in perfect condition (well wrapped - thanks Bronwyn), but I shall leave opening until Christmas.

>119 Paulfozz:
>123 RHalley63:

I suspect the books arrive pre-packed, if not shrink-wrapped, by the binder/printer. Still no excuse, of course.

>127 boldface: Yes, that's true. And in honesty, I find it impossible to say a negative word against them, as their customer service in rectifying any defective shipments is always beyond reproach. They are blessed with the loveliest people working for them, and so long as this remains the case, the occasional glitch doesn't niggle too much. At least to me.

Received a small box of delights containing - only - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (which looks lovely). Wondering about the rest of my order, are they now sending out books individually?

>122 Kainzow: Sally was still there as of last week. I spoke with her on the phone. Lovely lady.

>108 cronshaw: I'm pretty much done with Dam Busters now. It's a splendid edition (of course) but even if it wasn't a Folio it would still be an engrossing read. Proper heroes.

Today I received my latest consignment - order no. 2 from the Christmas catalogue:

In Parenthesis (ah, now I see!)
The Folio Book of Ghost Stories
Seven Gothic Tales
Hide and Seek
And, swapped for the diary and Slightly Foxed :
The Wannsee Conference (not at all bad for the price!)

I agree entirely about Ghost Stories - the new paper boards work better as a wraparound than the slightly jarring effect of cloth v "plastic" on Agincourt. Can I just ask, does anyone else's copy have what I can only describe as spots (resembling random splashes) on the back board? I don't know if it's part of the artist's design or whether I should report it as faulted. (I'm as confused as someone reading Tristram Shandy for the first time). The question of spots aside, the illustrations are wonderfully evocative and deservedly award-winning.

Order no 3 (no more until after Christmas!) will be next week, when "News From Nowhere" is due (according to the website).

>129 overthemoon:

Depending on what your other orders are, either they had to split the order because there was no space for that one or the rest are still not back from the printer or anything in between :)

>131 folio_books: Regarding Ghost Stories, yes, mine has some faint spots on the back that I assumed were part of the design. Trying to make it look atmospheric and interesting and all that. They seemed apt as far as I could tell; do yours look intentional, or do you actually have splotches that seem out of place?

>132 AnnieMod: according to my account on the website they were all despatched on the same day.

>134 overthemoon:
Folio's order tracking system is notoriously bad. I remember receiving an order the same day it went to 'despatched' status. Unless Royal Mail brought a Concorde into service to deliver my order, I'm pretty sure the status update was very far from real time.

If I look at my latest order, all individual volumes are 'despatched', yet the overall order status is 'items pending'. The books probably are despatched by now, just saying that there seems to be a lot of imprecision and manual messing around in their system(s).

Which books are you missing? News from Nowhere is not ready to be shipped yet, and some other titles, like Into the Unknown were not available for shipping at the time they appeared on the website, so they might have shipped whatever they had on hand.

I believe Casino Royale is also not shipping (at least my copy didn't).

>134 overthemoon: missing: Ghost Stories, Icelandic Sagas, Wizard of Earthsea, Diary, Slightly Foxed and A Story as sharp as a knife.

Trying to be patient...

>136 kdweber: I received my copy of Casino Royal by post on Tuesday (UK), but they were only delivered to the dMR last Friday, so yours may now be in transit.

>134 overthemoon:

So multiple boxes most likely. Don't worry - they will show up :) They seem to be filling one box and then whatever does not fit, goes into a second one. Last time I had 2 books in one box and 7 (I think) in the other. :)

maybe it's a question of weight...

>136 kdweber:, >138 CarltonC:

I received my Casino Royale yesterday, the date was a bit smudged, but it looks like it may have been entrusted to the Royal Mail Monday, Oct. 26th.

A nice little volume, the cover having an almost metallic look to it, and a nicely illustrated slipcase to boot.

I'll enjoy this one with a helping of fine Scotch on the side tonight. Can't wait.

>133 RHalley63: Thanks for this. You are absolutely right, they are meant to be part of the design. I rang Folio just to check. Someone's artistic expression is entirely wasted on me - I still think they looked like I splashed coffee on the cover.

>138 CarltonC: I must have just missed the delivery date. In any case, the website now says dispatched, I guess they decided not to wait until News From Nowhere is available. Bought four books and will end up with three deliveries. Thank goodness for capped shipping.

>119 Paulfozz:

I had a resolution to the order problems; Folio took about 5 days to respond to my emails but said they are refunding my express shipping cost and looking closer at the new DX courier they are using (both parcels I received were delayed). They told me that if I'm happy with the books from the second parcel (I've checked through them page by page and other than a little flake of black missing from the picture of Smaug on The Hobbit's cover they look fine) then they are happy for me to keep them and dispose of the damaged books how I see fit. I checked and they don't want the second free copies of Slighty Foxed or the diary back.

Customer service came through as usual but I still think that I will not be ordering again, I've just had too much poor luck with damaged books and it really takes all the joy from what should be a big treat to myself. I mentioned that in my emails. I think I'll request for them to remove me from their email and postal lists as I don't really want them to keep sending me emails and brochures through the post now.

>145 Paulfozz:
You have been extraordinarily unlucky compared to the majority of FS customers.
You must admit, that once you have received perfect books, they are very desirable.
Stay with the FS and try them again, otherwise you will be denying yourself the joy of some of the best produced books available.
Just think, if you leave the FS you will ruin the perfect run of FAD sufferers who have until now been incurable. ;-)

>146 wcarter: But I DID try them again; after a few months break after the previous problems this order was my "I'll give them another go", but all THREE of the books I paid for had damage. I do really like their books but I just don't seem to have much luck with quality control and it's just not worth it. When I'm spending the time waiting for the order fretting over what's going to go wrong this time rather than getting excited about the booky goodies to come you realise that rather than a treat you're just giving yourself opportunities for worry and disappointment.

The books, when they are not damaged, are gorgeous (I love the David Roberts set) but the process of getting there has spoiled the experience totally for me and I just don't want to keep going through the same aggravation.

I've emailed FS to explain all this and asked them to take me off their mailing lists.

>145 Paulfozz: They've been "looking closer" at DX for months now. Not close enough, apparently. I had multiple problems with express orders and it cost Folio dearly. They were very strongly advising against express delivery after my experiences. Sine then I've stuck with standard and it's averaged 3/4 days, which I can easily live with. I thought I had problems with Folio (though this year has been the only time) but the scale of yours dwarfs mine. Shame you had to leave but I can understand why.

>148 folio_books: Thanks folio_books. Interesting that I'm not the only one having problems with delivery; that they've been looking at DX for months suggests it's an issue they are not going to resolve anytime soon. My previous orders weren't delayed but I don't know who delivered them.

I had to show the books and photos to friends to check that I wasn't being overly picky with quality (I am fairly demanding when buying new books; much less so with secondhand) when others here were saying they'd never had any issues at all with damage. I think that the comparison with standard fare books is telling; I've not had any issues with damage with those yet I buy far more standard books.

I'll still be looking at secondhand folios, but with little space for more books it's probably fortuitous that my purchasing will be somewhat curtailed.

>150 EclecticIndulgence: congrats, Chris, they're all great books. The illustrations for Things Fall Apart are wonderful, and the Byzantium set is particularly handsome, a fascinating history. Enjoy!

>150 EclecticIndulgence: I bought Roman Revolution secondhand half a year back in a `very good` - very used condition, not my best buy, but were desperate to get it .. might want to update this one time - to used for my taste. Hope Folio reprints it - as for the Byzantium set, on my wishlist for a long time, waiting for the right one to show up

>146 wcarter:
>147 Paulfozz:

Folio replied to my email about removing me from their mailing list; they've done so, apologised again and thankfully they also said that I was not being picky about details; that had been a concern when others hadn't had the problems with damage that I have. They also asked that I get in touch if there's anything they can do... I don't see how there is since I received damaged books even when they said they'd carefully inspected replacements before sending them to me (and the replacements were still suffering from obviously faulty printing).

I'm not quite a new hand with folio wcarter as I've bought quite a lot secondhand over the last few years, but this year was my introduction to buying new copies directly from the society. Although mostly secondhand copies I have just shy of 100 Folio volumes (I hadn't realised it was so many until I counted just now!).

From time to time I'll still be buying secondhand folios; I'm not forsaking folio completely, I just will not buying from the society themselves. I don't mind so much a little wear in a cheap secondhand copy of a book (the light wear on my copy of Gods, Graves and Scholars was fine considering it was only £12), it's damage in a new book that I find jarring, especially one costing £225.

The postman actually rang twice today, dropping off a couple of FS books - Into the Unknown and Dam Busters.

Incidentally, LT claims I now have 100 books published by the FS on my shelves; I guess the occasion calls for a cup of coffee to celebrate.

Edit: And now DHL stopped by, bringing 'Lehrbuch der Navigation für die Kriegs- u. Handelsmarine' (Guide to navigation for the navy & merchant navy), two volumes, 1943. They will be most useful as I am refreshing my celestial navigation skills. (I also have a somewhat more contemporary guide, however, celestial navigation can safely be described as a mature technology, and the Lehrbuch... is a very thorough and good guide)

Hurray, my big order just arrived, and now I understand why the Wolves of Willoughby Chase arrived separately - the delivery note says Sorry out of stock, one to follow - in fact it reached me a week earlier than the others.
The FS edition of Slightly Foxed is much nicer and more compact than the version I already own (Souvenir Press, 1989). And the diary is lovely - it seems smaller than last year though it's exactly the same size. I'm glad they have gone back to the old format with the space for each day right across the page, and the week numbers, and no longer the whole month in the corner of every week - everything I complained about last year.

I notice a change in slipcases: those for the Ghost Stories and Wizard of Earthsea seem sturdier than before, with thicker cardboard at top and bottom, and a curving inset on the sides making for easier extraction.

>156 overthemoon: I noticed the curving inset on the slipcase of the Wizard of Earthsea (I am waiting for Christmas, so will find out then whether it makes for easier extraction), but I had just thought that this was a design variation as I only received one new volume with this feature (and so did not consider commenting). Unless someone knows otherwise we will have to wait and see whether more slipcases are issued with curving insets. The people at FS may be trialling it - in which case I hope they continue the approach with future (hopefully) volumes of Earthsea.

>156 overthemoon: Perhaps they could find a spare one to put A Memoir of Jane Austen in (grrr, yes I am still annoyed!)

>153 Paulfozz: If you still hang out on here you will know about sales etc, and then perhaps if there's anything of interest you could take a trip to Eagle Street and personally inspect copies for purchase.

>153 Paulfozz:

I sympathize. I made the same decision after the fourth damaged book. It's safer to buy second-hand, especially if you don't live in the UK.

>159 HuxleyTheCat: I'll still be popping in here Huxley as I won't be entirely out of the folio world; from time to time I'll still be looking for interesting secondhand folios.

>160 JustinTChan: Sorry that you had a similar experience Justin. Fortunately I'm in the UK and the secondhand market is good, and pretty cheap if you look around and aren't into collecting the exotic editions.

Just received the following this afternoon:

Hound of the Baskervilles
Christmas Carol
Folio Ghost Stories
LE Toilers of the Sea

Having had a proper look at the Baskervilles and Christmas Carol 'collectible' versions, I can happily said that I am really impressed. They are not remotely 'soft-backs' at all. In fact they are better quality than most hardbacks generally on sale in Waterstones etc, i.e. properly bound (not just glued), decent paper, great (if simple) illustrations which compliment the stories well. They are not pocket-size but I didn't want them to be, but they are more than suitable for a commute if that is your thing. The only downside is the price: £20 is a bit steep, but to be honest for the quality it is not too much of an issue when you consider the competing prices for similar items.

Ghost Stories is a funny one - I'm not mad-keen on the spine with shining green lettering, but the illustrations within are great.

As for the LE Toilers... I was terrified of missing out on this when I saw there were less than 50 copies left (thanks to whoever flagged that up the other day on here!) so took the plunge. In no way do I regret it. Truly one of the most beautiful books I own (and I own a few). Even the box is a triumph! If any of you are on the fence about buying this then throw yourselves off it immediately! I'm sure you will regret missing out on this for the rest of your lives, plus the only copy on the secondary market I have seen is going for £300+ already (absurd seeing you an still buy it new for 1/3 less!).

>162 LowlightLamp:

Yeah, I am not sure why they are called softbound at all - yes, they do not have the sturdy covers of their other hardcovers but softbound they are not... And they have a ribbon marker (which I so wish Folio had in all their books).

Just purchased a slightly older (circa 2008) FS book - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

>162 LowlightLamp: Toilers of the Sea is now showing as sold out on the Folio website.

Ordered today: The Pearl Manuscript LE and the fine edition of Morris' News from Nowhere. Saved a lot by taking advantage of the members' launch prices and the 10 £ disount as well.

>166 rainerc: I will get the exact same volumes - IF my salary comes on tuesday (the last day of the discount on the Pearl) - and not on wednesday - and also the William Morris since i then get the 20% off, simply because of the beauty of this volume.

By the way, who in the name of Odin - "stole" the sealed Tolstoy set from Ardis ;) .. been looking at it for two months, now that i can afford it, it is gone (the sealed one)

>167 Pellias: I keep my fingers crossed for you that your payment will come in time! The £50 discount is way too nice to miss.

Agincourt and the Icelandic Sagas for me. Will make another order in December (Lolita, Earthsea, etc) which will include the new LE Alice.

Very excited to receive a 50 pound gift voucher so my Xmas choices have just increased exponentially!😊

First Folio Society book in 3 months, it felt nostalgic when i just bought *the pearl (last day of discount) - either way, i`m back to plunge again, i feel free and wonderful :)

`The Pearl manuscript` - yesterday

Today:
*Folio ghost stories
*Lo-li-ta
*News from nowhere
*Icelandic sagas
*Uncle Silas
*Religion decline of magic

That`s it for 2015 - if not a super offer arrives directly from folio, or secondhand, thought about a collectable edition and/or a Lang book, but .. no - i need a bookshelf first, that`s next on the list (and a close eye on Alice)

As beforehand mentioned, Joe (quoted in his blog that Edda is not due until march 2017. Link: http://www.foliosociety.com/joesblog/thursday-29-october-2015/#comments) - is therefore the main reason for my plunge this time

>172 Pellias:

You're quite amassing a beautiful collection there. Any chance on moving to Copenhagen and issuing a viewing pass to your reading sanctuary to yours truly? :)

>173 ironjaw: Oh, Faisel - sure, i`ll move anywhere for you ;) - and yes, it`s filling up here, now i have to start to think longterm (which involves space) - i just can`t seem to find a proper bookshelf (made something myself, but that`s short term - then again, love could be found around the corner, or never)

If you are in Norway, then you are most welcome to put up a tent in the garden, or borrow the sofa - i lived in Denmark for half a year you had your chance then - to talk me over the pond ;)

I also made a swap with diary and slightly foxed - and choose: Wannsee Conference (i wanted Keats, but it is not in the classic folio poets volume in leather)

Thank you to whom it was that forwarded this opportunity (Warwick?), and offcourse to folio society

>174 Pellias:

I had a Norwegian girlfriend once when I was at law school, and all she could talk about was the cheap alcohol :)

>176 ironjaw: Is that how a Norwegian hints that she'd like another drink?

>177 cronshaw: More like a culture chock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinmonopolet

>175 Pellias: The Wannsee Conference is one of very few books which have actually made me feel sick while reading.

While the author somewhat downplays the significance of the conference (His thesis being that the Holocaust was well under way at the time of the conference anyway and that the conference was more of a means for Reinhard Heydrich to position himself in the nazi hierarchy), one cannot escape the grisliness of ranking bureaucrats (or anyone, for that matter) discussing genocide in much the same manner as one would a business strategy. ("Oh, gathering them in ghettos then gassing them as resources permit would do nicely. What's for lunch, by the way?")

A very interesting read, though.

>178 alvaret: - Polet (As Vinmonopolet is universally known around here) is under-rated, IMHO - while it is true that taxes on alcohol border on the outrageous here, the plus side of the equation is that the taxes are largely determined by the alcohol content, not value (with the exception of VAT, which is a flat 25%) - and Polet are not allowed to make money; that is - taxes aside, they can only charge enough to cover the expenses of running the stores.

Hence, cheap vodka is terrifyingly expensive in Norway, as taxes make up >90 alvaret:% of the cost to the customer. Single malts the age of my father, on the other hand, are very competitively priced - as the profit margin added by most spirit retailers does not come into play at all, and taxes perhaps make up 10% of the cost (+VAT).

Also, they ensure we have a selection of wines and spirits which the marketplace alone would not be able to bear in a sparsely populated country as Norway - heck, my local Vinmonopolet branch serves perhaps 12,000 people of legal drinking age in a region of the country where a lot of people are teetotallers. Still they stock hundreds of varieties of spirits, more than a thousand wines and loads and loads of beer.

*Reader warning - i did not buy these books, these were the ones available for swapping with diary & s.foxed*

*Strange Defeat - - (this was the maybe)
*Shackelton’s Boat Journey
*Discovery of Tahiti
*Treasury of Mark Twain
*Dickens’ London
*Diary of a Provincial Lady
*Darling Buds of May
*Call of the Wild
*Devils Dictionary
*1066 and all that
*No Man is an Island
*Wannsee Conference - - (choose this)
*Relativity - - (own)
*Ballet Shoes
*Just So Stories
*Stuart Little
*Charlotte’s Web
*Animal Farm - - (own)
*Under Milk Wood
*Travels With a Donkey
*Best After Dinner Stories
*John Keats - - (really wanted this, but found it is not the classic one with leather spine)

>179 odderi: I believe you - wasn`t it Phillip K.Dick who got sick about diving down the paths of R.Heydrich, that`s why the man in the high castle did not have a follow up

>176 ironjaw: Well, that explains what priorities she had in your relationship
First: Cheap alcohol
Second: Maybe Faisel (or maybe further down) - did she get tired of you quoting the folio poets .. Shelley & Keats f.ex .. well, no man is an island, entirely by himself (you are over her, right?) :) - facebook friends maybe (no, you hate facebook as much as me) .. anyway

So, maybe it was a little interesting to see the offers mentioned,-

>180 odderi: I agree completely with your description, but I don't know why you assume that I have no personal experience with Polet?
Although I guess it is a fair assumption on these lists...

>181 Pellias:
They are also happy to swap with any of the Collectibles (if you already have the above or just want one of them) :)

>182 alvaret: - Oh, I figured you might. Think of it more as an eagerly grasped opportunity to explain Norwegian idiosyncracies to an international clientele... :)

>184 odderi: Well, I did the same thing, only in a lazier way ;)

>183 AnnieMod: .. a collectible ed. thanks Annie, nice to know for next time (there will be plenty, and maybe this could be a way to collect them in a sensible way - as they are .. well, collectible :) .. i could also search up volumes and suggest them for myself, hehe

>183 AnnieMod: Indeed they are. My last order I could truthfully say I have all of the above, and that's where I got my "Christmas Carol" from. What? You didn't think I'd paid money for it, did you? ;)

Received this week:

Casino Royale
Wizard of Earthsea
Sense and Sensibility

And what should have been
Breakfast at Tiffany's
but was sent
Breakfast at Tiffany's Notebook
instead.

I have emailed about the confusion on the last book, and am awaiting a reply.

The books I received are quite nice, and I am certainly hoping they continue with the complete set of 14 Ian Fleming 'Bond' novels. That would be lovely. We are halfway through the 'gold' Jane Austen set, and I also hope they publish all six eventually.

P.S. Update:

Ms. Wilby of Folio Society customer service has replied to the Breakfast at Tiffany's mistake and is making it right. FS customer service is wonderful.

-Shawn

"Your order has already been processed which means that the diary & Slightly Foxed are already on their way to you. However, I have arranged for a free copy of Wannsee Conference to be sent out to you seperately; apologies if this causes any inconvenience"

Folio Society is simply remarkable, thank you Claire

>189 Pellias: I love this very British politeness. 'Apologies if shipping you an additional book free of charge causes any inconvenience.'

Sheesh. I'll send the FS a Christmas card this year, thanking them for being what they are. I just have to make sure my initials are unreadable so that they do not figure it is some scheme to fish for freebies... :-)

>190 odderi: .. i thought the opposite `make sure to write down your membership number` - a great idea to send them a card, think i`ll actually do that .. form relations and all (at least in my own head)

.. and yes, sending me that free book will for sure cause inconvenience, i am simply not okay with it (if you read this Claire, i`m kidding - i love you in 84 charing cross road kind of way) - i could get use to this :)

Just bought a history of western science (sealed) for US$ 31.32 - great price! Next in this set is Bertrand Russel history of western philosophy, but that comes later ..

Also: *Tolstoy short stories *Legends of the grail *Rosetta stone (because it was sealed, and cheap)

.. and yes, *Les Miserables LE (little unsure about this one, as opinions are divided, but Ardis had a great price and i had to go for it)

Received today:

News from Nowhere
The Comedians
A Wizard of Earthsea
Slightly Foxed (free)
Diary (free)

Last Thursday ordered the Alice LE and swapped the duplicate freebies for Shackleton's Boat Journey

Have finally finished unpacking all the parcels that piled up while I was away, and I received the following books - starting with non-FS titles:

- Henry V (Penguin Monarchs Series)
- Elizabeth II (" ")
- Stephen (" ")
- William IV (" ")
- Religion and the Rise of Western Culture: The Classic Study of Medieval Civilisation, by Christopher Dawson
- Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited, by Tom Shakespeare (academic)
- The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry, by Christine de Pizan
- Eccentric Culture: A Theory of Western Civilisation, by Rémi Brague
- The Prettiest Love Letters in the World: Letters between Lucrezia Borgia and Pietro Bembo, 1503 to 1519
- Mirabilia Romae (12th c. travel guide of sorts to Rome, as composed by a canon of St Peter's) - edition from 1904
- The Heptameron, by Marguerite, Queen of Navarre (France's answer to the Decameron, basically) - five-volume edition from 1922
- The Breviloquium, by St Bonaventure (the Franciscan answer to Aquinas' Summa Theologica, essentially)

FS titles:

- Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
- A Memoir of Jane Austen
- Shackleton's Journey
- Heart of Darkness
- Travels of Ibn Battulah
- Agincourt
- Emma
- The Dam Busters
- Into the Unknown
- Sense and Sensibility
- A Wizard of Earthsea
- Great Contemporaries
- The Folio Book of Ghost Stories
- Icelandic Sagas, vol. I
- Slightly Foxed and the 2016 diary

I presume the Pearl LE is going out soon?

And I haven't even mentioned all the books I bought on the trip yet....!

I foresee a trip to IKEA is in my near future. Either that or a local Shed-renting facility!

>194 scholasticus:
An amazing haul!
And how long will it take you to read all of them?

>195 wcarter:

Oh, about two lifetimes, given the massive skew in favour of Book Acquisition Disorder v actually reading said purchases!

All kidding aside, I think I'm finished with BAD (?!?!), save for one possible last order from FS, as I'm quite tempted by the Rodin volume. I plan on getting a fair bit of reading done this winter, as snow is about to take up permanent residence here for the next six months. :/

>196 scholasticus:
You are a BAD boy!

>197 wcarter:

Yes, yes, I am. Especially as I have several other book orders still on the way. Oh, the life of a BAD biblophile.... ;)

>199 EclecticIndulgence:

That's interesting, because FS didn't put shrinkwrap on their books until fairly recently.

>200 boldface:
I think it's probably pretty easy to get a shrinkwrap machine and offer supposedly factory-sealed books you've done yourself. I got a "sealed" set of Jeeves and Wooster books in which one of the books was clearly from a different printing from the others. It was a cheap deal so I didn't complain.

>201 withawhy99:

I'm fear you're right. We perhaps place too much faith in shrink-wrap as a sign of factory-packed condition.

An extraordinary day!
Although ordered weeks apart, three separate parcels from the FS today:-
- Sharpe's Birds of Paradise
- News From Nowhere
- The Pearl Manuscript
Christmas has arrived a month early.

>203 EclecticIndulgence:

I would guess it's been added later. I never saw FS books in shrink-wrap until they themselves adopted it and I'm pretty sure that was within the last ten years.

I received my recent order today:

News from Nowhere
Folio Book of Ghost Stories
Lolita
Casino Royale
The Complete Molesworth (my chosen free book instead of Diary and Slightly Foxed)
Roberts' Holy Land and Egypt and Nubia

I must say they are all wonderful in their very different ways - News from Nowhere with it's sumptuous leather and red and black text, Ghost Stories with its atmospheric illustrations, the stylish Lolita with cut-out slipcase and illustrations by the aptly-named Federico Infante, Casino Royale with its crisp Miller font, and Molesworth with Searle's wacky drawings on almost every page. The only problem with Molesworth is that every other word is intentionally misspelled (or is that misspelt?) - it must have been a nightmare to proof-read! It's going to take a while before I can read it without wincing but I promise not to correct them in pen, pencil or marker pen. As for the Roberts - what can I say? I missed out on the giant LE version as it didn't fit in with existing payment plans at the time and it was positioned towards the top end of the budget. Never mind! This "fine edition" version is also magnificent and still quite large enough for a quarter the price. I think I might wrap it up and ask Santa to redeliver it to me on Christmas day.

I just received

A Story as Sharp as a Knife
Agincourt
and
The Icelandic Sagas

Unfortunately the first two have bumped corners, so I think I'll have to ask for replacements. Bleh.

>204 wcarter:

Oh, excellent! Hopefully this means my copy of Pearl will be arriving shortly! And Christmas has indeed arrived here - the weather folks are predicting 30 cm of snow by this time tomorrow. We're already at about 6 cm at the time of writing this.

Now where did I put that bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape? I would give almost anything to be back in Provence right about now, state of emergency be damned. Or perhaps I should skip to the harder stuff as I do have that bottle of Glenmoragine scotch in the cabinet. A pity today's only Monday....

>209 scholasticus:
Ahh, but its Tuesday here. Does that help?

My Pearl-MS facsmile has just arrived. A delight - pictures in due course.
It's wonderful to see the (tiny) manuscript in life-size; you appreciate its fragility and miraculous survival even more. The still-vivid illuminations show up the faintness of the 600-year old writing, so for clarity I'll still need to revert to my Gollancz black and white facsimile from the Early English Text Society.
The text, translation and commentary volume could almost be a fine edition in itself - the volume has a fine size and heft. If I were to quibble, I would say that this volume could take a bit more FS embellishment (to make it more like the FS Piers or Heaney Beowulf), rather than being dressed in commentary-volume sobriety. However I'll be keeping both volumes in their box.
All that is excluded from this edition of the Andrews and Waldron edition is the glossary - but most readers will be probably be satisfied with the literal translation in parallel, and the glossary in the Tolkien and Gordon edition (and subsequent revision by Davis) is best consulted for etymology.
FS are to be applauded for taking a bet on a facsimile of an unbeautiful manuscript which contains some of the earliest gems of English writing. Their next task (please) - to bring out the Exeter Book in a similar facsimile, text and parallel translation format?

I have ordered
The Folio Book of Ghost Stories,
A Wizard of Earthsea,
The Brown Fairy Book,
The Lilac Fairy Book,
Sense and Sensibility,
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Already arrived but unseen
Lolita,
The Voyage of Argo
The Warden)

So they should all be waiting for me when I get home in a month (I travel a lot), setting me up for a wonderful selection of Christmas entertainment (the television is always terrible anyway, not that I need an excuse to buy more books!)

News from Nowhere is indeed a gorgeous edition - it just made it here last night. :)

Just got my big order (4 packs) post >172 Pellias: .. 3 slipcases got bumped, lolita & news from nowhere, and especially the last one - Uncle Silas slipcase is BAD!

Will write the Folio Society, and hope they have some regular slipcases lying around, esp. News from nowhere & Uncle Silas (as they are regular cases, Lolita is not that bad - i`ll survive that one, but the other two .. no, they need to change .. bag ripped open and went to a hard turn during shipment, auch)

Very happy with Les Mis, from Ardis though - like new, in smell and feel!

Received my facsimile of Pearl today, and it is stunning.

The $73 CAD duty fee was not so stunning, though, but I fully expected Canada Post to mess that up anyways. Will write FS tomorrow morning about this and have $73 deducted from one of my forthcoming payments on this LE. Problem solved.

>215 scholasticus: For goodness sakes they need to get that fixed, it is a book!

As mentioned in post >214 Pellias: .. Folio Society are actually sending me 3 replacementbooks of these three volumes .. News from nowhere, lolita & Uncle Silas .. is it because it is me, and my orders will show i have spent heaps! .. or, how in great godness can they afford this? .. they did not have any slipcases lying around .. they could spare much on doing so .. i am actually a little shocked, how is it possible to be that nice?

Well well .. black sunday and all .. Folio Society i am yours truly, looking forward to visit you in Eagle street next year (and yes, you to Fiona, blinkblink) .. will bring some flowers to you Claire, i know you are watching ;)

Yeah I got a version of Trial and execution of Socrates published, according to LT, by Folio Society in 1972. I bought it secondhand in Hay-on-Wye a couple of years ago.

>217 Pellias:

A few weeks ago I had five slipcases bumped (not a packing issue as they were all in one box that appeared to have been crushed from two different angles). FS quickly sent me replacement volumes (in perfect condition)--as has been my experience with them in the past. I do spend a lot on FS books but I think that is just their policy and I am quite happy about it.

I've been getting more damaged books lately. The unusual thing is that the outer box looks perfect and the books inside are well wrapped with bubble wrap; yet, the slipcases may be badly bumped sometimes continuing on to the corner edge and occasionally crumpling the text block itself. Three out of my last five orders have had damaged books.

>221 kdweber: Were the books in these orders recent publications? If they were published a while ago, and the external packaging looks undamaged, then I wonder if the warehouse move may have something to do with it.

>222 HuxleyTheCat: Can't get much newer than News From Nowhere.

sigh..still waiting for my copy of News From Nowhere & The Vision of Piers the Plowman. I usually get my package in a week but it's now 2 so it's very uncharacteristic that I receive packages from Folio this long. But I guess I've been spoiled by how quick it is mailed to me that I forget it is coming from overseas.

>224 JuliusC:

With Thanksgiving last week in the States, any package into the country are probably delayed :)

>225 AnnieMod: Indeed but I'm north of the border ;) so we had our thanks giving last month. Hopefully it arrives this week but if not I will contact Folio on the 3rd week as it might have been lost in the mail :/

>226 JuliusC:

Ah - I could not remember where you were. I would blame it on the weather then - winter tends to surprise everyone somehow... even when it happens every year. :)

I usually get mine within week-10 days but I had had some delayed for 5 weeks. Good luck!

>223 kdweber: No, one can't. Whatever the reason for books arriving damaged isn't good, but it would have been doubly disappointing if the books had left the warehouse in this state, so, in one way, I'm glad to read that it is new stock affected. (No consolation for you, though.)

Ordered on Monday

Dune
Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Free: one of the Folio Collectables
Free: 2016 Folio Diary

>229 sdawson: I thought you had to order three books to get the free Collectable?

>230 Bookworm59: You do, but Dune counts as two volumes.

Has anyone ordered the Rodin volume from the sale? Still on the fence about that one.

>232 scholasticus: It's on my wish list but there's no hurry since it's not a FS book and can be found for quite a bit less on Amazon.

I've ordered all four of the collectables using the 'festive fayre' promotion. This entitled me to a free collectable which seemed illogical, FS kindly agreed to substitute this. I also ordered the 'Man in the High Castle', having been reminded to do so by the announcement of a new t.v. series.

News from Nowhere arrived yesterday, maintaining FS' 100% record for secure packaging to the redneck wilds of western Mass, unlike the experience of others in far-flung places who have posted here. Perfect slipcase and an absolute small(ish) jewel of a book. Anyone who loves the Kelmscott typographic and ornamental style shouldn't hesitate, and the text (unlike the mighty Chaucer) is actually perfectly readable.

Age of Gold just arrived. It took an age to arrive, in fact, but has done so without a scratch. Magnificent volume, and it looks like they cleaned out a goldmine to realise the gilt lettering, on a very fine black cloth binding.

>234 xrayman:

What other book did you substitute? Inquiring minds and all that.

>237 Firumbras: I'm reading Age of Gold as well. Unfortunately my copy came with a production flaw. The corner of one of the pages of photos was turned over before binding and trimming so besides the big crease lots of paper sticks out if one unfolds the page. I've been unlucky as of late must be the result of all my earlier posts commenting on how rarely I receive damaged books.

>239 kdweber:
That's a pity! No signs of flaws in the colour quires in my copy. On the cover of mine however there are some delightful imperfections with the lavish gold leaf, with little bits of leaf straying outside the margins of the letters. It really gives the impression (no pun) of a hand-made book!
It's also tempting me to invest in the Chaucer Troilus LE with its superfluity of gold on black.

>238 sdawson: I ordered 'The Hobbit' as a substitute. FS offered any book up to £29.99 which seemed remarkably generous.

I think I got a bit overload in Christmas joyous mood:

Alice in Wonderland LE
Great Contemporaries by Winston Churchill, Folio Society
Shackleton's Boat Journey, Folio Society, instead of diary and collectable
News From Nowhere, Folio Society
One year of Slightly Foxed subscription
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (SF Edition)
Pooh's Library by Ernest H Shepard, A A Milne
Van Gogh (Taschen)
Leonardo da Vinci (Taschen)
Moonfire (Taschen)

Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum by Paul Roberts (British Museum)
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
The Downing Street Years by Margaret Thatcher (first edition)
The Path to Power by Margaret Thatcher (first edition)
Lawrence of Arabia: The Life, The Legend by Malcolm Brown

Churchill and the Jews: A Lifelong Friendship by Martin Gilbert (first edition)
Churchill: The Struggle for Survival 1940-65 by Lord Moran
Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert (first edition)
Winston S Churchill, Vol. III: 1914-1916
Winston S. Churchill, Vol. IV: 1917-1922

Boswell for the Defence 1769–1774 by James Boswell, Heinmann, De luxe edition
The Letters of Ernest Hemingway: Volume 2, 1923-1925, Fine leather edition

>242 ironjaw: Wow, must check out some of those volumes when my time is better .. you really love Lawrence of Arabia Faisel

>242 ironjaw:

That's a prodigious lot of serious reading ahead, Faisel! And I note that you are going for first and fine editions of these great books wherever possible. A highly commendable strategy for building a wonderful library.

Thanks Øyvind and Jonathan. I was lucky in that a nearby antiquarian bookshop chose to close shop and offered its volumes at 50% off. I couldn't help myself.

And yes that's right Jonathan, I have some serious reading to do (and also a thought on that I'm thinking of abandoning my blog and reviews - I'm using too much time online to update the website) and with the £50 library fine (£12 for a late dvd and the rest on two notice letters that I forgot about as everything is sent electronically instead of letters to ones postbox) that I'm furious over, I think that this will be the last time I am ever borrowing from the library.

>245 EclecticIndulgence:

Unfortunately, vol. 1 in fine leather binding is sold out but you can get vol. 2 from bookdepository:

The Letters of Ernest Hemingway Leatherbound Edition: Volume 2, 1923-1925 ISBN13: 9781107624665

The Letters of Ernest Hemingway Leatherbound Edition: Volume 1, 1907-1922 ISBN13: 9781107020269

The Private Gardens of England edited by Tania Compton - not from Folio Recommends, I got it from The Book People for £14.40 post free.

>242 ironjaw:

Faisel, a very impressive list! I, too, picked up 84 Charing Cross Road from SF, as well as all of the back volumes currently in stock. I guess I just need to hunt down vols. 1-7 on the secondhand market to complete the set as it stands.

Reading these books, however, is another proposition entirely! ;) Something I sincerely hope to start rectifying over the Christmas break, touch wood.

Do let me know what you make of Brown's book on Lawrence of Arabia; I've had my eye on that one, but haven't taken the leap yet.

Also very glad to see there's another fan of Gilbert's magisterial biography of Churchill! Still working through vol. I, I must admit, though I may pick up a first edition of Gilbert's one-volume biography at some point, even though I do already have it in FS bindings.

>249 EclecticIndulgence:

Excellent news! Enjoy!

Finally took the plunge, ordered:
Casino Royale
Lolita
Earthsea
Brave New World
A Wrinkle in Time

A little more sci-fi than I envisioned. Looking forward to examining the 'collectable' first-hand.

Also ordered the Tolkien Treasury from Amazon.UK as I waited too long to get it from the Folio offer, and it isn't available in the States.

Ordered Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling last week, and just ordered three more books now:

Brave New World
1984
Lord of the Flies

And picked up Fahrenheit 451 on the secondary market.

Arrived just in time for Christmas:

Dune (3rd printing now, good for FS to have a hit like this)

Wolves of Willoughby Chase - looks very Christmas-y with it's silver cover, stars in the sky, reminds me of a cold, wintry night with wolves in the woods. Hope to read it over Christmas.

Frankenstein. -- a step below their usual books. Still, I like it. The ribbon is a nice addition. If FS plans on producing a series of these in a uniform edition, I think they would make a nice library. I'll likely go back for more this year.

-Shawn

Some more books .. most notable/exited about Walden Thorreau: Life in the woods (sealed) .. read good things about this - will read it in my cabin when spring has sprung

Somehow I ended up with:

King Henry's Prayer Book LE (used)

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner LE (used)

Peloponnesian Wars 1994 Ed (obviously used as well)

I thought about buying the LE of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam that is currently listed on ebay for 350 GBP, which is a lot cheaper than any other offering I've seen over the last few months, but I already spent more than I wanted to.

>257 TheExplorer: Nice haul :)

What is a "small press copy"? I've never heard that before.
Later: Sorry - redundant question - I've just found the answer - I'm in the UK, perhaps that's why it is new to me.
Incidentally, can anyone tell me how to address these posts to specific persons. I'm new to this game and I've yet to figure this out.

>260 scratchpad: You just type > and the number of the message and the name of the person magically appears.

>258 Pellias: Rime of the Ancient Mariner arrived yesterday and the book is absolutely stunning! Luckily, my better half has contracted a mild case of Book Acquisition Disorder and, instead of looking bewildered when another set of books arrives, is now looking forward to exploring its contents.

>262 TheExplorer: Yes. I know. I myself actually missed out on that one (but will have it in the back of my head when on the secondhand market). Welcome to the club, be on the lookout next for the new years sale :)

Just received my copy of Fahrenheit 451 that I bought on the secondary market. Seems like a nice edition. Only wish there were more illustrations!

>261 overthemoon: Thanks, it works!

Doesn't the New Years sale usually start just before Christmas. Feel like last year it was around this time.

>267 gatsby61:

I was just gonna ask when the NY sale starts.

I had a feeling it might be the 22nd because I saw last week the FS homepage was saying that the $20 coupon (for purchases over $150) was going to expire on either the 21st or 22nd. I would suspect that sale would expire as the New Years sale started.

Also, I've never participated in a New Years sale. What kind of deals are there?

Last year felt cold, I believe they added some books part way through. Overall I recall many underwhelmed. I think it was towards Spring or so that we got some really good deals. I don't think I even bought any New Years, waited for the February collection to come out.

>269 Diglot:

Do a search in the group - we have a thread every year :) Or just go through a couple of pages - you will see the threads

Plus - the sales are always better for new members because you probably won't have a lot of the books with the deep discounts - while the usual member around here have them from previous sales...

>271 AnnieMod:

Thanks, I just did some searching. The 12 days of Xmas sale Folio did last year(?) looked pretty nice to me. I imagine if they do something similar, I'll be buying most of the books on my wish list.

I just received a box with Lolita, Casino Royale, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Dam Busters. Each seems to me a little gem. The binding Folio's done for the new books in the Christmas collection (I have Agincourt as well, and the cloth is downright huggable) seems to be a step up from their previous set.

I'm a happy collector today :)

>272 Diglot:

Ah, that is not exactly the sale - it is one of those... things that they were throwing at us randomly. And yes - it usually works better for newer members.

The New Year sale is a bit more stable - not daily offers but a longer period, more books being discounted. How much they are discounted and what is discounted is of course a different story.

Last year I was trying to cut down on books so nothing was bought (plus most of the titles were the same as in 2013 when I overdid it a bit - a few 70% off titles, a ton of 50% off...).

Keep in mind that while it is possible that a certain book can show up in a better sale down the road, it is also possible that it goes out of print. So if you see something at a price you find reasonable for you, get it. If not - wait and hope for the best.

Very good month, bookwise .. started with 1:News from Nowhere, continued with 2:Walden, then with 3:leaves of grass: Whitman, and i suppose it will end for now with 4:Langland - in other words, 4 fine volumes in a mint and sealed condition

Merry Christmas all, in all of my years as a human, i have never seen a green christmas - but it is that now, and tomorrow is topped with a rainy day. Plain sad, no ultimate christmas feeling this year - never happened before

Happy hunting (books) on boxing day!

>275 Pellias: ". . . in all of my years as a human . . ."

What were you before? A reindeer?

Merry Christmas!

>276 boldface: so, so .. you don`t want any gnomes turning your shed inventory upside down during christmas Jonathan, or small hands stealing precious artifacts from it .. remember that porridge

Quite possible i were Rudolf, hard to know

Merry Christmas to you!

Over the past month I've bought two older but relatively recent titles:

1. Things Fall Apart by Chinya Achebe (2008)

2. The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien (2006) (real name: Brian O'Nolan).

This is a dark comic masterpiece by a very overlooked and under appreciated Irish author. The novel was written circa 1939/1940, failed to find a publisher and remained unpublished until after his death in 1966. This is not typical FS fare and the FS is way ahead of the curve on this one. Kudos to FS and, as a bonus, it is a beautifully designed book.

>278 dlphcoracl: two very good buys: I also bought them second-hand (after a lot of searching for the Third Policeman); they are both beautiful. I just wish there was an introduction in Things Fall Apart as I knew absolutely nothing about its background or setting.

Just ordered these to renew my FS membership which has expired since 2010:
1. Animal Farm
2. The Great Gatsby
3. Nineteen Eighty-Four
4. Casino Royale

>280 vietle:

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in"

Welcome back

Finally got my Sharpe and Lear Birds after ogling at them all year and after suffering some Aubrey/Maturin withdrawal which I spent 2015 reading from start to finish (now I can share in Maturin's love of ornithology). Decided to finally justify it as a birthday treat and as a milestone for my 10th blood donation that same day too!

I'd forgotten how big these volumes are since I last saw them in person in the DMR earlier this year. Didn't help that I had a sore wrist so taking them out of their slipcase/box was quite an effort! Now that my wrist is better it's still an effort!

Absolutely love these volumes, a few minor blemishes here and there, not severe enough to justify replacements I don't think.

Congrats, Danny! Two that I managed to hang on to...

Merry Christmas!

So there is some kind of life after Aubrey-Maturin!

>253 kcshankd:

Arrived safely 12/24.

I received Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as my Folio Collectible. I like it, can see a niche for shorter-than-usual works getting the 'Folio-light' treatment.

I also realized, with some horror, that this order included what could be considered the first book in THREE separate series - Bond, Wrinkle, and Earthsea. Future self blanches at the prospect.

>285 kcshankd: I do hope they continue with the Bond series. Last time, they didn't.

>286 sir.david:

I suppose the sales of Casino Royale will inform that decision. I would think it would do well.

I would probably ignore any further L'Engle volumes, not sure about Earthsea yet as I have never read it.

Just received Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling. The spine and cover look beautiful. Looks so much better on the bookcase without the slipcase. But, then again, isn't that true for all Folio books? ;)

That is incredible, the way FS sends my stuff across the ocean I don't think a Louisville Slugger could put a dent in any of the books inside.

That is unlucky. I've ordered over 100 books from them over the past 12 months. One of the books had a printing error on a couple of pages. However, all of the books were exceptionally well packaged and delivered safely. They've all come wrapped in inches of bubble wrap and then stuffed into a strong cardboard box. It's had to imagine how an external force could damage the spines of books inside the packaging I've received. Was there obvious damage to the outside of the parcel? It would be disappointing if the books were packaged up with the damage already having been done.

I should add, of course, that the Folio Society replaced the one book with the slight printing error, immediately and without any charge or question.

>292 EclecticIndulgence: Faust was published at £79.95, Paradise Lost £74.95, Inferno £69.95.

>292 EclecticIndulgence:

Faust was the only book in this series that I didn't buy on its release, I finally made good the omission with an eBay purchase about two years ago. Have just checked my Folio account online, where purchases go back to 2007, and it was in July '09 that I bought the Paradiso, for £59.95 which will have included the then customary 20% member discount on initial publication. That puts the standard price of the book at £74.95, which I believe was within a very little the price for the earlier Dante volumes, Faust and Paradise Lost as well.

Edit: Thanks bookfair_e for some precision on the matter!

Enabled by the New Year Sale, I've added the following titles from my wishlist at an average of 46% off. Thank you FS!
Beyond the Pale and other stories
Disgrace
Herzog
Midnight's Children
The New York Trilogy
On the Road
Orlando
The Outsider

>298 EclecticIndulgence:
I hope you didn't try to walk and carry that impressive pile home yourself!

Purchased Lark Rise to Candleford sealed off eBay for 25 bucks with free shipping. Amazing deal! I have the 1979 Lark Rise, but I have fallen in love with the series, so I want to read all three stories.

My first order from the Christmas Sale arrived today. I have just unpacked (in the order they came out off the box) Loving, Paris After the Liberation, Orlando, As I Lay Dying, The New York Trilogy, The Worst Journey in the World and The Renaissance. The only disappointment so far is that there's no little slip telling me who packed it so expertly. Was it Abigail? Or Bronwyn? Charlotte? or even Emily 2? I shall never know .... :/

(Edited for typo)

>302 folio_books: I once received a parcel without the little slip - and later I found it on the ground outside our building, it must have slid out of the box.

>303 overthemoon: Mm, not impossible, though I did check carefully. Anyway, order no. 2 arrived today (only ordered on Sunday - super-fast) and, again, no little slip. I just had to find out. The answer is they are being reprinted in a new design and are temporarily out of stock. So now we have the new little slip to look forward to. Let the joy of anticipation be unconfined.

For anyone interested, and to keep this more or less on topic, the star of this particular package is undoubtedly the magnificent "Finnegans Wake". Goodness, it's big! I had no idea. Worth the "fine edition" tag beyond any doubt. Anything else in the box has to be an also ran next to this but the completist in me demands a list. The remaining three are "Taming the Infinite", "Greek Science" and the three-volume collection of Mark Twain stories. All pristine and beautiful in that unique Folioesque way, of course, but Finnegans Wake is something else. I'm so glad I managed to talk myself into it.

Just ordered Winnegan's Fake and the Baburmama (down to 43 copies)!

Winnegan's Fake, Firumbras would farsoonerite ...

I think Joyce put it best when he wrote "bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!"

In other words, "Here's lumbos. Where misties swaddlum, where misches lodge none, where mystries pour kind on, O sleepy! So be yet!”

Indeed!

And who can forget the time-honored wisdom of "So weenybeenyveenyteeny"?

Stop me now, my droogs (wait, wrong modernist argot!) before I geek out any further on the Great JJ!

Think i will go for an audiotape of that one - while my finger and my eyes follows the book - also the brain, i hope

>Oh my I never imagined an audio version. Those poor actors.

While waiting/hoping for volumes to be added to the sale

*Principia Mathematica (searching for this for a long time, for a "reasonable price" in mint cond.)
*The Prince - v2006 (same as first)
*Ancient series-`Nile`(my second in this series)

>309 Pellias: Principia Mathematica, that's wonderful. I've been eyeing it too, though hoping that Folio might reissue it.

>310 ironjaw: Yes Faisel, it will be a wonderful asset to have in the library - don`t know how that volume was recieved, and it may well be FS does a better version of it, or put it back into print ..

But what i do know, is that it is often priced ex.high secondhand, so a "disounted" shrinkwrapped one where a no brainer for me - though i should pref. use those money otherwise, it`s not the cheapest of volumes. That`s the price of searching secondhand, never knows what will show up - or when it will again.

Part on my order received today. Two clear holes knocked in the side of the box, where the anonymous packer slid in As I lay dying - quite apt actually. The impact settled the question. I have contacted Folio for a replacement.

NB - Edited to highlight outstanding Folio customer service. Within minutes had an email back from Folio telling me a new copy is ordered and is being mailed out.

I added Liber Bestiarum to my (limited) collection of LEs today. It is gorgeous. My thanks to HuxleyTheCat for enablement beyond the call of duty with her wonderful photographs and mouthwatering descriptions. I'm almost as impressed with the commentary volume which is very well done. Next up for me is Alice which has already found its way into the possession of a few lucky members. Looks like the rest of us buyers can look forward to seeing it very shortly now.

>314 folio_books: I'm very pleased that you like it, Glenn. It's one of those books where I can honestly say I don't regret a penny of the cost. Talking of enablement, I enabled myself, today, and have purchased a title which I've had half an eye on for a long time but didn't ever seriously think I would own: the Queen Mary Atlas. Very much a spur of the moment decision to buy (I took a punt on a Best Offer on Ebay), I hope that it is in nice condition and that I won't regret anything about this purchase, as it was a rather hasty decision. So that's two rather large parcels I'm expecting this week, as Alice should be arriving soon, too.

>315 HuxleyTheCat: Ah, you must tell us your impressions of Queen Mary when she arrives. She's been on the periphery of my "must haves" for a long time but she's several places back in the queue at present. Just like you, I doubt I'll ever own it or, rather, not unless Folio stops producing essential but very expensive volumes. However, I remain to be persuaded otherwise ;)

My copy of Alice arrived this morning, as noted under the Alice thread. But it was later joined by a pristine copy of "Between Silk and Cyanide" from eBay at £19.95. Well pleased. All in all a good day so far :)

After having successfully held off even visiting the FS website to have a look at the sale offerings, I succumbed today.

Hitch-hiker trilogy (I've lusted for the FS take on it for quite a while, and now was a good time to purchase it, as I wanted to re-read it and couldn't find my paperback copy....)
The New York Trilogy
The Oregon Trail
The Great Railway Bazaar (Great travelogue!)
The Great War and Modern Memory
The Middle Parts of Fortune
All Quiet on the Western Front

A History of D-Day in Maps.

Now all I need is a couple of weeks off to catch up on my back log...

Have received my order from the New Year sale:

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - which I will continue reading from as previously had the Penguin Classic, printed on terrible paper.
The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry by Walter Pater
Restoration London, Everyday Life in London 1660-1670 by Liza Picard
Edward Lear's Complete Nonsense by Edward Lear

Have succumbed to some of the temptations of the New Year Sale:

Herzog by Saul Bellow
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
The Venetian Empire by Jan Morris

I was going to order just the latter three, but, of course, free p&p kicks in with a 4th volume, effectively making the Bellow under a tenner, which was irresistible.

My latest order arrived this morning, super-fast as only ordered on Saturday. Folktales of the Native American (from the sale), The Warden (I have the complete Folio Trollope but Bill Bragg's illustrations are irresistible) and The Great Gatsby, enabling me to dispose of the 2005 Fitzgerald set, which I've never liked. To make up the four a non-Folio from the sale (Arts and Crafts) which will be a birthday present for a Morris fan.

Arrived today from FS:

The Worst Journey in the World
Travels With Herodotus
The Meaning of Hitler

From eBay last week The Siege of Krishnapur
On it's way from eBay On War

my parcel just arrived:
Eagle of the Ninth
Shackleton's journey (free)
Folk tales of the Native American
and the Silmarillion.

Still pondering whether to order more from the sale.

>323 overthemoon: Ah gwon gwon gwon gwon gwon gwon.

(Apologies to devotees who've never heard of Father Ted).

Over the last few days my Letterpress LEs have arrived:

Henry IV part 2
Henry VIII
Titus Andronicus
As you like it
King John

Some of these are without limitation number or solander box, but I can live with that.

I continue my secondhand spree, as of >309 Pellias:

I were not going to buy anything secondhand, but then these came up .. to tempting

Ardis:
*Legends of Russia (part of set) - great read
*Legends of King Arthur (part of set) - great read
*Robin Hood (newest volume) - great read

Postscript boooks:
*Classical Tradition (missed out on this in the last summersale) - must have (hefty discounted) - run for it
*Annals of King Arthur - must have (hefty discounted - 75%) - run for it

Batch 2 in sale

*Worst journey (must have/price) - classic - Scott is a legend here in Norway/i can only speak for myself first and foremost, but he is
*The war at the end of the world (price) - modern classic
*The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (price) - ilke art (the art critic will be a great read - i hope)
*The New York Trilogy (price) - a tall volume, probably good in hand. hehe
*The Tiger in the Smoke (probably a great read - looking forward to - seems great)
*The Face of Battle (modern classic/few left - buy first think later)

Just ordered

1 x Animal Farm @ US$28.95
1 x John Wyndham: Three Novels @ US$65.95
S&H US$20.00
Discount: -US$20.00

Both items are in the New Years sale and with the discount I effectively am getting free shipping, so I'm pretty pleased with this order.

>326 Pellias:

Worst Journey in the World:
Interesting, I thought that Amundsen was more famous in Norway but yes the courage and untimely demise affects you in such a way that you remember it forever.

>328 ironjaw: Oh yes he is. But for those who show a minimum interest in polar history, Scott is a legend he himself also - rightfully. But i havent read his story yet, and looking forward to it. - It is a saying `to feel like Scott` when it`s freezing cold .. also Hjalmar Johansen (the third man, was much like Buzz Aldrin after Amundsen, they two saved each others life many times - got not so much fame, but was an invaluable resource, and commited suicide some years later, ptsd? - shot himself in the park in the capital Christiania/Oslo)
- -
Yet again someone grabbed *Russian myths before me, and i got a refund :(

Forgot to mention:
*Kings of Britain
*Chivalry

>329 Pellias: - Not to forget Nansen; there's this lovely little anecdote from his expedition to the North Pole:

While spending the winter in the Arctic, Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen, both pioneers in polar exploration, shared the same sleeping bag to stay warm (or less cold). After months of shivering in the same bag, Nansen suggested to Johansen one Christmas Eve that they stop addressing each other formally. Johansen answered “I'll have to think this one through, Mr Nansen.” A week later, Johansen noted in his diary that “Nansen and I are now on colloquial terms.”

>330 odderi: That's priceless!

My order (>318 odderi:) arrived yesterday, and I read way past my usual bedtime - I haven't read 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' in a decade, but found that I still knew it more or less by heart. Doesn't make it any less chuckle-worthy, though.

Next up tonight will probably be 'All Quiet on the Western Front', which I haven't read since high school. (That is, 20 years ago.)

I took a closer look at the Charles Sandwyk-illustrated 'Alice in Wonderland' LE , especially the photos recently posted, and I've ordered a copy. Clearly, one of the FS's finest efforts.

>333 dlphcoracl: So you've found more shelf-space for your 2016 purchases!! I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of my copy of Alice;at least it's now "despatched" per the FS website.

>334 gmurphy:

I did, temporarily, but nature abhors a vacuum 😊.

>333 dlphcoracl:

You will not be disappointed--I think someone earlier indicated that it is a better production than Sandwyk's The Wind in the Willows and I concur. One interesting detail is that throughout the book are charming "mini" illustrations that have been carefully cut out and then pasted into the work. Also, there are many, many more line drawings than there were in The Wind in the Willows.

>336 podaniel:

I am not as avid a collector of the FS LE's as many on this board but this edition is irrestible. The other LE in this grouping I couldn't pass on was the FS 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'.

New member here, although I've been lurking for a while, and have to say that this group has had a thoroughly bad (or should that be BAD/FAD?) influence on me!
I finally joined the Folio Society a short while ago, (after buying a few books / sets on ebay), and have just received;

Grimm's Fairy Tales ( I love Rackham's illustrations)
Rural Rides (covers my part of the world, so should be interesting)
The Prince and the Pauper

Awaiting the arrival of;
Piers Plowman (have been drooling over this for ages, so pleased to find it discounted in the sale!)
Cautionary Tales

Just wish I could afford the Alice LE...!

When you go to bed tonight don't worry if you start hearing voices whispering: Limited edition, limited edition, limited edition...

>338 Ivytree: Hello and welcome. Prepare to be tempted beyond your powers of endurance ;)

Thankyou for the welcome!

I feel that temptation! I really need to buy a new ironing board, oven gloves, an umbrella, a hairbrush and other such mundane but undeniably useful articles. Instead I have bought Folios. This does not seem to me very responsible, but it is so much more enjoyable!

Welcome! A while back I lurked for ages, too. :) But it's so much more fun to be an active Faddict!

Thankyou! I like the term "faddict" - I think I can claim to be one; as I lie in my bed at night waiting for sleep to claim me, my last conscious thoughts are probably of my Folio wishlist! Indeed, as ironjaw suggests above, there are also the whispers about limited editions! However, they will have to shout a bit louder to be heard above the groaning of my bank balance...

>336 podaniel: "I think someone earlier indicated that it is a better production than Sandwyk's The Wind in the Willows and I concur."

I had another look at the Wind in the Willows in Eagle Street today, and I have to disagree. If someone told me that they would be happy to swap their WitW for my Alice, I almost tear their hand off in haste to do the deal (and no, I would have no intention of selling it.)

Latest order arrived today: Folk Tales of Britain (Narratives), Voyage of Argo and the Rossetti poems. All are absolutely stunning. But there are some typographical inconsistencies I don't understand in the Rossetti book: why are some titles in capitals and some in lower case? Some of those in lower case have every word capitalized, others only the first word. Why is Goblin Market sometimes in quotation marks? Why does every title have a full stop (but not in the Contents list)? Maybe that's how they were done in the original Crump edition? I know these points are not really important but they do niggle (that's what working as a copy-editor does for you).

I especially hate the full stops after the titles; they are totally unnecessary (I also shudder when I see them after slogans in Saatchi & Saatchi advertisements).

Hello... new here. I made the innocent mistake the other day of buying an inexpensive/ still sealed copy of Pickwick Papers - my first FS book ever. Now I am addicted - and have recently bought 6 more! Is this common? What have I gotten myself into?

>347 cdmbsi: Hi and welcome, I'm new too, although I started seriously buying FS books sometime last year. What you're experiencing is quite normal, and I have read somewhere here that the only cure is bankruptcy!

>347 cdmbsi:
Quite normal! Welcome to FSD and FAD.
>348 Ivytree:
Your prognosis is quite correct.

Welcome! This group is wonderful!