The May Collection is Unveiled

Mort (+ a Limited Edition @ £105)
Candide
Foucault’s Pendulum
The Shining
In Patagonia
The World Turned Upside Down
On the Psychology of Military Incompetence
A Shilling for Candles
Sowing the Wind
Brief Lives (again)
Goodbye to Berlin (again)

And two more Uncollectables:

The Diary of a Nobody
Black Mischief

And my order is in:

Mort LE (obviously)
Candide (only a shade less obvious, for those of us without the LE)
A Shilling for Candles (the Josephine Tey I most wanted Folio to publish next)

And then ... well, I need one to qualify for free postage but I have to say after the first three there was little or nothing for me. Eventually the lot fell to Military Incompetence, despite the ponderous title.

(drumming fingers, waiting for the Sale).

The Mort LE has been ordered, for now, but cogitation and rumination will be required over the remainder of the collection. I think I'll end up with Foucault's Pendulum, The Shining (not too sure about the illustrations) and In Patagonia. I'll possibly get the non-LE Mort as well as the LE. I have a store-room full of copies of On the Psychology of Military Incompetence and it looks like an excellent read which I keep meaning to get around to, so probably one for me in a future sale.

>3 HuxleyTheCat: I have a store-room full of copies of On the Psychology of Military Incompetence and it looks like an excellent read.

Thanks for the enablement. I really wasn't sure. The only other one that made the list of possibles was "In Patagonia".

>4 folio_books: As your order was already placed, then I think gentle encouragement, rather than enablement, in this case :-) In Patagonia appeals for several reasons: I enjoy travel writing, there is a Welsh community in Patagonia, which hopefully he writes about, plus some of Chatwin's photographs look interesting.

I would have bought Black Mischief...

Yes, the LE Mort for me too (followed by Death when Other Half finds out). Plus Foucault's Pendulum and A Shilling for Candles so I can say I got a discount...

LE Mort for me and the others will have to wait for this month (I'm still recovering from The Door in the Wall). Once I'm back to full book-solvency, I think it will be Candide, Foucault’s Pendulum and maybe The Shining. I'm also very tempted by the regular edition of Mort ...

Very interesting collection, and one that reverses recent trends insofar as I am tempted by almost all of the books, rather than by a couple or none.

Brief Lives, Candide (I can tolerate Blake at non-LE prices), Foucault's Pendulum and Sowing the Wind are all very interesting, almost certainties.

Goodbye to Berlin, In Patagonia and Military Incompetence are books I already have, all of which are eminently worth Folio versions, but which are of less urgent interest. (Huxley, to your point: Chatwin does indeed write at some length about the unexpected Welsh outposts and community). The Chatwin is most likely to make the cut as it looks a fine companion for The Songlines.

Finally although not a fan of King per se, the artwork of The Shining is very impressive. And Diary of a Nobody may well finally convince me to try the Collectible range.

All in all, fine work by FS.

Bought the Mort LE, Candide and The Shining.

I'm really considering making another order to get another of the Mort LE's to sell on the secondary market

Nothing, nada, zippo. Not a single title that grabbed my attention. Rather disappointed as I was ready to dive in. Alas...

This was expensive. I'd been saving my Door in the Wall order for the May Collection, and so!

The Door in the Wall LE
Mort LE
Sowing the Seeds
On the Psychology of Military Incompetence
Foucault's Pendulum
The World Turned Upside Down

Probably my last round of book shopping until the September collection, as I have a child on the way in June, and apparently those cost money.

>12 gmacaree: Impressive order! Congratulations on your little one soon to emerge into the bright world of bookshelves and their contents. Just think of all the children's Folios you'll be able to order.

None for me! My current wishlist is more or less the current LE catalogue (excepting Pratchett).

>12 gmacaree: Congrats on the addition to the family! I can confirm that the little ones are a quite costly undertaking - however, on the upside you have to spend lots more time at home, which, in turn, leads to more reading in the evenings as you're stuck at home and too tired to do anything else anyway.

I've put Foucault's Pendulum, In Patagonia, A Shilling for Candles and Sowing the Wind in my basket, just have to decide on another title to qualify for the 20 pound discount. Guess I'll go for Waugh's Black Mischief, I really enjoyed my first Collectable, and Waugh is never boring.

>9 ian_curtin: Thank you, and thanks too for the reminder that Chatwin wrote The Songlines, which is a real favourite Folio for me, both for content and particularly the splendid illustrations.

Disappointed. There is nothing in this list that I'm interested in.

This is an awfully masculine list I must say. Even Josephine Tey wrote under a male pseudonym (if not this book).

>18 withawhy99: Really? I don't see it like that at all.

>20 HuxleyTheCat:
All male authors except for Tey. But I looked back at the March collection and it was the same. I'm not saying gender equality should be a priority, but there are so many female authors I would love to see more in Folio, and not only for children's books.

I'm not in the mad scramble for Mort, not finding Pratchett appealing. Indeed I want only the Josephine Tey from the fiction (though I might replace my hardback copy of Foucault's pendulum in a sale sometime), but the non-fiction list is very good. I enjoyed Christopher Hill's book on Cromwell, so will go for The world turned upside down; I've never got around to reading In Patagonia - and the photographs look enticing; who could resist a book on military incompetence?; and Sowing the wind brings home the £20 reduction.

And I'm no more bothered by the standard Candide than I was by the standard The sound and the fury, the LEs being so good.

>21 withawhy99:

They are behind the times in that regard, to put it mildly. Not that long ago (couple years or so?) they actually did a "for him" and "for her" promo, with philosophy, history etc. in the first category and predictable fiction in the second... I don't think they care terribly about offending female customers--women may read more, but men are still the ones with deeper pockets.

>20 HuxleyTheCat: >23 LolaWalser: Keep up ladies; a binary definition of gender is 'so' twentieth century! :-) (At least if the Guardian, Independent and BBC are to be believed.) But, seriously, it hadn't registered at all that the authors are predominantly men, as I don't ever think in those terms, I judge a book entirely upon whether I'm interested in the content or not and in this batch we have travel, history, current affairs, detective fiction, horror, Pratchett, biography - I don't see any of those as being gender-specific.

>24 HuxleyTheCat:

I'd hope no one did, which is why that promo was so disappointing.

>18 withawhy99: I was thinking the same as I ordered, especially as I mistakenly thought the Tey was a collectable.

>25 LolaWalser: Agreed. I don't recall that particular promo but I do remember the Mothers Day one which had all the 'predictable fiction'.

so my intro to Pratchett will be Mort; I ordered the "ordinary" version not the LE, together with a collectable that was on my wishlist (Down and Out...) because I want to see what they are like and that is the only title that interests me, and just to make up a third, that little oddity about garden tools that seems intriguing; I think it will sit happily on the shelf with A Lust for Windowsills.

I cannot imagine being less interested in a collection.

>28 overthemoon: my intro to Pratchett will be Mort; I ordered the "ordinary" version not the LE

The standard version looks very, very good. I've decided to order one, having already ordered the LE. I think you have a treat in store with Mort.

I love this collection. Having not purchased anything from the March Collection, I've just spent £150+ on the May Collection. Pleased to see a simple money-off code as an inducement, rather than a freebie book that I have no interest in.

I've decided to go the standard edition route with Mort. It has a lovely binding, cover, and slipcase, and will hopefully be in keeping with future releases in the series. The DMR did't have a limited edition to temp me, though I'm told it should be available to view later this week. I have no interest in trying to make a quick buck by buying one purely to sell on once they've sold out.

Nice to see that the Eco is 'in series' with The Name of the Rose, and that the Tey is 'in series' with The Singing Sands. (I do love me some detective fiction).

I ordered my 11th and 12 book for this year

Mort (LE)
The Shining

A very interesting May catalog -- my disappointment at not seeing another Ian Fleming installment was soothed by The Shining.

Ordered: Candide, Foucault's Pendulum, Sowing the Wind.

Had forgotten what it was like to get all fired up on a release day. Although I accept I am nowhere near as over-stimulated as the Pratchett-ordering LE hordes...!

>33 ian_curtin: The 'horde' probably comprises about two dozen who've bought a ten or so copies each.

>32 sdawson:
My order exactly. Other publishers should take note of this buying frenzy when a leather bound LE is priced right.

>34 cronshaw:
Ballot stuffing! Never thought I'd see the day.

Will order:
Mort LE
The Shining
Candide

I'm so broke right now as I just received my Alice LE just 2 days ago (ordered last week) and still have 1 order (The Sound & The Fury, Brave new world, LoTR among others) from 1 month before has yet been arrived. Folio really knows how to squeeze me till the last drop...

> 31 "The DMR did't have a Mort limited edition to tempt me, though I'm told it should be available to view later this week."

That might be a bit embarrassing for them as, by then, there'll be none left to sell.

I thought it said the Mort LE was limited to one per person, or was I just dreaming?

Although I haven't ordered it, as my wallet has just suffered LE Mortification, the new Folio Keays volume Sowing the Wind looks to me one of the most beautiful ever standard FS bindings. Bravo! to whoever designed the cover.

>39 overthemoon:

One per order. Presumably repeat orders are possible, although I'm not one to test this.

>39 overthemoon:
Yes, just one copy per order, and the countdown is proceeding one at a time - now 187 left.

>39 overthemoon: one per order, not one per person. Someone on the Mort thread has already described placing a second, separate order so as to buy a second LE Mort, so the one-per-order limit isn't much deterrent.

Hmm. I wonder how they deal with multiple orders from the same account...

I'm really looking forward to this standard edition of Mort with its "tactile velveteen cloth" binding.

>35 jroger1: You have good taste sir.

The U.S west coast has woken up -- I wonder if this will help draw down the remaining 174 before nightfall?

Congratulations to The Folio Society!

>44 overthemoon: Hmm. I wonder how they deal with multiple orders from the same account...

I can only suggest how I'd like them to be dealt with ...

>47 folio_books:

Do scythes enter into it at all? ;)

>47 folio_books: I'm sure the Patrician could think of something suitable.

> 49, 47 - Just tell the Librarian that they were defacing books.

>50 coynedj: Did I just hear someone say Monkey?

...Ook...

>48 LolaWalser: Do scythes enter into it at all?

Nothing as fast as a scythe.

So, Candide, Mort SE, Shilling for Candles, Faucault's Pendulum, On the Psychology of Military Incompetence, Casino Royale, because I'd not ordered from a new collection since September and His Dark Materials from the sale section. That was... a big order for us.

Foucault's Pendulum
Goodbye to Berlin
Mort: A Limited Edition
Mort
A Shilling for Candles
The Shining

On the first pass for me (the fiction more or less minus Candide). I am sitting on a second order but it will be in June most likely. :)

Mort LE
Mort standard edition
The Shining
Foucault's Pendulum

I ordered both editions of Mort, not because I am thinking of selling the LE, but because the thought they might publish more books and I might not have a matching series was just too distressing!

I love Stephen King's writing early books and had to have this, although on first look I have to confess I am not keen on the illustrations. Hopefully they will grow on me.

And Foucault's Pendulum for when I am in the mood for something more challenging.

Hm... I wonder what makes Candide a Fine Edition other than the price? How is it more "Fine" than other nice clothbound editions like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or Interpreting Dreams?

> 56 "I ordered both editions of Mort, not because I am thinking of selling the LE, but because the thought they might publish more books and I might not have a matching series was just too distressing!"

Likewise!, But, what happens if the next in the series has two editions, too? And then the next...

We went back for the Mort LE as a Christmas gift for someone lucky.

Candide
Mort LE
The Shining
To be honest I wasn't expecting on spending anything on the May collection but Folio always manages to suck me in somehow. Also bought Travels in Arabia Deserta last month so my budget for books is stretched. If Folio offers the LE voucher again then good grief...

Well, the year got off to an OK start, but it's rapidly fallen away into, for me, one of the most uninteresting FS years since I joined in the late 80s. There may be more books than ever before, but there are less that interest me than ever before, and this is the lowest year for orders I can recall. Fiction is particularly disappointing. Of the latest collection, only In Patagonia has any appeal at FS prices (already have Candide LE). I do wonder why, amongst all the great literature in the world, Josephine Tey seems to have been singled out for such extensive treatment.

I ordered the Mort LE and The Shining. Those two books seem to be the most popular (by far) of the May offerings.

Anyone interested in Folio's edition of The Shining should probably first check out the Cemetery Dance website in a few days.

>62 Willoyd: Couldn't agree more. Dismal.

>57 elladan0891: Well said.

I might get The World Turned Upside Down, but nothing else interests me. Already have suitable volumes of Candide and Aubrey.

Nothing to interest me here, this time around.

My two orders
1)

Mort LE
In Patagonia
The Grasmere Journal

2)
Mort standard edition
Foucault's Pendulum
Candide
John Keats: Selected Poems

>58 HuxleyTheCat: I ordered both editions of Mort

*chuckle*

One to read and one to lock away, never to be read, seen, illuminated, touched, aired; but not forgotten. ;-)

After this frenzy, I think I might need to block FS & LT website for a few months.

>57 elladan0891: Having thumbed Candide in the DMR, I was wondering the same. It's nice, but the price point baffles me. I've passed for now.

>71 sir.david: Looking at Candide on the FS website it looks like a standard folio production; there's certainly no indication in the description as to where the extra cost has gone - standard size, standard folio materials. £75 is very puzzling indeed; I would have put the price at no more than £30.

Is a Quentin Blake blocked design on the cover worth £40 somehow?

>72 Paulfozz: Having considered Candide, I also rethought and won't be buying at that price point. The edition just doesn't seem to merit the price point. I can't see anything that really tips it beyond the standard Folio editions. I'm happy to be convinced otherwise when people start to receive copies but at the moment, it's come out of my hypothetical basket.

I'll definitely be ordering Mort and Foucault's Pendulum from the May releases. Usually a few others fall into my basket by the time I'm ready to order, and I am interested in several other titles.

I'm not sold on the Collectables and haven't ordered any (although it seems others have been pleasantly surprised by their quality) so I will skip those, and although I am a fan of the Dahl/Blake pairing, I'm not sure I like Blake illustrations for Candide. I agree with others that the price seems high for a regular edition, especially as this is a slim volume.

I ordered the Mort LE yesterday, then decided to go back for the standard Mort as well as Down and Out in Paris and London.

Did consider Candide, but I cannot justify it at that price point, so it's joining the other books I want from this collection in the 'to buy in a future sale' queue.

>64 DavidMF:
Yep.

It will be Chatwin's In Patagonia for me, I only have an old paperback of that.

Probably also Sowing the Wind will find its way to my shelves.

>72 Paulfozz: Would the cost of Candide be mostly down to the number of Quentin Blake illustrations? I doubt one of the world's leading illustrators comes cheap and there are 45 images in the book that FS will probably have had to re-license.

This may have no interest for discerning FSDs, but there is a pocket-size paperback of Candide in the original French that contains all the Blake illustrations, albeit greatly reduced in size. Ironically, it's published by Gallimard under the logo "folio anniversaire".

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Candide-LOptimisme-Illustre-Quentin/dp/2070446980

>78 ticketeditems:

Shrewd point - I've looked in the LE, and the illustrations are QB's copyright.

>78 ticketeditems: I think you're right about the cost of 45 QB illustrations for which he holds copyright, as Alan confirms. Also, the printing run for 'fine editions' is notably less than that for standard editions; even the runs for standard editions are generally less than they were five or so years ago. I was informally told this a few years ago during a market research group organised at the dMR for which a dozen local members were recruited, including Yours Sickly. The apparent purpose in reducing print runs was to reduce storage costs for FS and minimise the brand-bruising effect of the regular deep discounting in sales more likely with longer print runs. Folio was struggling financially at the time and was determined to switch from an offer-led to a brand-led approach. This approach sought to devise more of a brand premium and do away with annual joining and renewal bargain offers which were too often loss-making for Folio. Presumably as a result of the lower print runs, plus the straightforward need for greater profitability at Folio, we've seen the significant increase in prices compared to inflation that several Devotees have commented on in recent years. On the other hand, Folio does now appear to be recovering financially, indeed growing from strength to strength (fingers crossed), and the standard, fine and LE offerings of the past few years have had very impressive production values on the whole, and this at a time of economic austerity when so many other publishers have been looking to cut production costs. Moreover, with print runs more restricted than previously, members may begin to feel more confident that books they purchase direct from the Society are less likely to see the depreciation in value that we've all seen with volumes produced in greater quantities years ago. If we consider the 2012 fine edition Rubaiyat: everyone baulked at the price (£75 I think?) when it was released, but it's yet to be offered at a substantial discount in a sale. So I wouldn't bet on a much-discounted fine Blake-Candide!

Quetin Blake is certainly a friend of the Folio Society and has done some lovely scribbles for cards and tote bags, as well as books, but I would imagine that he is also in a position set the terms on which they take his illustrations. Hopefully it's working out for both parties but it does push the prices up for the editions he works on.

>81 cronshaw: I suspect you're right that we won't be seeing much of a discount on Candide in the next couple of years.

If anyone would like to check out an alternate take on The Shining, Cemetery Dance's version is up: http://www.cemeterydance.com/page/CDP/PROD/king11

Also Subterranean Press still has copies of their gift editions http://subterraneanpress.com/store/product_detail/the_shining

>84 JuliusC:
That is also an interesting one for anyone with an interest in a nice edition of The Shining, with great interior artwork (I'm not a huge fan of the cover, but it's ok).

Interestingly, Subterranean Press actually changed the artist they were going to use when the early sample art wasn't to the liking of the collector community.

>83 St._Troy:, >84 JuliusC: Thanks for posting those links. I'm happy to say (having ordered it already!) I prefer the look of the Folio binding and illustrations and can't wait to start reading my copy soon.

If you feel that the FS edition of The Shining is too inexpensive, there are five copies available on eBay at £94.99 (so we don't think it's actually £95 and decline) each, plus P&P. The same numpty has three copies of LE Mort for sale.

>87 cronshaw: The same numpty has three copies of LE Mort for sale.

This is the kind of person I really, really want to discover their order has been refunded.

I know, I know, I have been asking myself the same thing ever since... and not come up with a definitive answer yet!

>87 cronshaw:

The same seller is on Abebooks. He has the three Mort LEs at £325 and 5 standard editions at £65. I'm holding out for a reduction to £64.99.

St. Troy, the Folio edition of The Shining was one of my must haves, and then you showed us the CD version.....now I don't know. I only have one CD and don't collect them but this is beautiful!

The Limited Edition Mort is already sold out :(

Does anybody know if the new edition of John Aubrey's Brief Lives is more or less a compilation of the 1975 and 1988 selections? I don't like the cover of this new edition, but I'm sufficiently interested in Aubrey to order it... Anybody saw it in Eagle Street?

PS - I guess it uses 17c. spelling, but is the text layout also 17c.-like?

>90 boldface:

One standard Mort already sold on eBay for £65 plus postage. There'll be no penny off just yet ;)

>94 terebinth: Ok, so someone is able to use the internet to find and bid for the book on ebay, yet can't manage to get themselves onto the FS website? What am I missing here?

>95 HuxleyTheCat:

Lots of Terry Pratchett enthusiasts, I suppose, who use eBay and may never have given the Folio Society a thought: and the occasional one of them may buy the book on sight from such a listing rather than investigating whether it's to be had at a lower price. Such must have been the would-be-exploiter's hope, though it hardly seems likely to result in a glowing feedback record given the likelihood of a buyer discovering the Folio site within hours or days of so impetuous a purchase.

>96 terebinth: But if someone is a Pratchett enthusiast, and they come across a nice looking edition by a publisher they'd never heard of, surely they would take a few moments to check out the edition? Perhaps someone had heard about the LE and thought that this was it, and at a bargain price, too.

>97 HuxleyTheCat:

Hmm, yes, that's a possibility too, except once again it requires them not to have looked any further: and the fact of five copies sitting there waiting patiently to be bought should have alerted them, one would think, to this listing not being the kind of bargain that has to be snapped up instantly. We may never know.

It's even possible that the buyer has heard of the Folio Society, as a publisher of books of unusual quality, but imagined it to be somehow an exclusive body and hence or otherwise not one for them to do business with directly. In that case, letting the eBay opportunist make off with their £30 may have saved them a small or not so small fortune...

>98 terebinth: "We may never know." Indeed, but it does bring to mind the old addage that 'a fool and his money are easily parted'.

>99 HuxleyTheCat:

Yes, for sure. Still, with the example in my mind of my buying a hat from a market stall for £75 then arriving home to find that I could have bought the very same item online for £30, I wonder how many of us aren't caught out in a spot of folly once in a while.

I think there's a difference though - one of the things that gets my hands sweating when I'm in a secondhand bookshop and I see something which I believe to be a 'bargain' is that I can't check (I don't own a smartphone), so I have to rely upon knowledge and memory. If someone has access to ebay, then they have access to the whole world.

>101 HuxleyTheCat:

I've been there too, so just for a moment there you had me thinking that a smartphone might be a desirable acquisition. Still, I rarely get to bookshops any more, and I doubt I'll bother improving on our present phone which would stop working if taken out of the house.

>101 HuxleyTheCat:
>102 terebinth:

A smartphone is a very useful tool for the bookhunter. I frequently slip outside a bookshop (or remain inside if I can get a signal) to check out an item on ebay or Abebooks on my phone. It's saved me from an unwise purchase on more than one occasion. Just the other week in Cambridge I found a beautiful limited edition portfolio of Audubon prints for £250. I was strongly tempted (while my wife was shopping elsewhere) to snap it up, as the price seemed reasonable for such exceptional quality. I took the precaution of checking it out online, expecting to confirm I had stumbled on a bargain, only to find that any number of sellers were offering mint copies for half the price.

As for those who spend way over the odds on FS books they could have bought for half the price from the FS website, caveat emptor!

'a fool and his money are easily parted'
Exactly. Everything else is overthinking.

It's not something new. There are plenty of sellers out there offering ridiculously overpriced EP books. No brand new exclusive limited editions that sold out within a day, just regular EPs that have been in print for ages and can be bought significantly cheaper even directly from EP. They're clearly marked as Easton Press, there is no sense of urgency, so no reasonable person should ever be misled. Yet it happens all the time.

Hell, Nigerian email scams exist because they work! Yes, it doesn't make sense to any reasonable person how one could possibly be a victim of a Nigerian scam. However, Nigerian scams are ridiculous on purpose - scammers are trying to be efficient, so they sift out all people with any shade of reason and make sure only their intended audience - extremely naive people lacking common sense and willing to give money to strangers - responds.

'a fool and his money are easily parted'

>93 Pepys:

François, I haven't yet seen this latest edition, so I can't say exactly what is included in it, but the two previous editions from FS were edited by Richard Barber. The new one, however, "uses the definitive edition edited by Oliver Lawson Dick".

If it's of any use to you, you can read some basic information about my 1975 Lawson Dick edition here:

http://www.librarything.com/work/57666/details/93874482

>105 boldface: Very helpful indeed. I understand that most of your "comments" are borrowed from the BL, but it surely includes much of editing. I wonder how you can find time to do this so neatly... Thank you anyway.

So I expect the FS edition to be very close to the description you give. Perhaps some visitor of the MR in the coming days would be kind enough to give his/her impressions.

>106 Pepys:

My "comments" in most cases, including this one, come mainly from the book itself. I like to stick to factual information as much as possible and to restrict opinions to ones backed up by informed consent from more than one source. The publisher's blurb is, of course, biased, but as I have the book in front of me, I try to assess what they say in the light of my own knowledge and impressions and very occasionally suppress their most hyperbolic effusions if I feel they're unwarranted. That sounds a bit priggish but my intentions are honest!

>93 Pepys: I arrived late this afternoon to collect my order, desperate to have the volumes in my hands for the weekend, and didn't have time to take a thorough look at Brief Lives or any of the other new books in detail, apart from the Chatwin. Brief Lives is a far heavier, thicker volume than the old Folio edition from years ago. I didn't read the text, but a cursory glance suggested a more modern layout rather than a 17th century one to my eyes. I actually like the quirky images and find the whole book far more appealing than the rather plain old Folio I already have at home. I'll take a closer look when I next call in.

The book I was most surprised by was Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia. The binding is quite brilliant, I didn't get a hint of it from the on-line image. Rather than the dull flat grey impression you gain of the boards from the FS website photos, the 'Covera Flute' paper sides are indeed fluted, ie. corrugated, and they're a shiny silver, such that the boards look exactly like a corrugated tin roof, angles glinting in the light, presumably just as Chatwin described of some dwelling he visited (I've not read the work). Being already tempted by the Guardian review of the work, this is now a must-buy-when-I've-sufficiently-recovered.

>108 cronshaw: I had exactly the same reaction to the binding on the Chatwin when I opened it this morning. The contrast between the bindings on the three books I received (this plus the two Morts), made me very glad indeed that I collect Folio Society books and not Easton Press!

about 10 years ago I spent some time in Uruguay and then southern Argentina. I can attest that corrugated sheet metal is everywhere.

>110 jlallred2000: thanks for confirming; then the binding is as apt as it's striking. Bravo! to whoever designed it.

>93 Pepys: I called into the disMembered Room today and checked the John Aubrey Brief Lives volume. It is taller and about twice the thickness of the old edition, providing 134 lives out of the total 426 he wrote about during his own. The preface tells us that the lives not included were ones deemed insignificant: one such entry consisted of only two words, another of over 20,000. The entries in this new edition have been collated from fifty volumes at the Bodleian Library, plus another fifteen volume in other libraries. Where different volumes provide varying versions of the same life, as written by Aubrey, this edition has sought to bring different ones together as far as possible. The spelling is Aubrey's original, with minor amendments, such as replacing his idiosyncratic 'y' with the correct 'w' and 'm' with 'mm', and maintaining his Capitalisation. However, the layout has been updated, and certain quotes and digressions removed where these significantly detract from the flow of the prose and the life concerned. The editor has instead inserted supplementary, contextual information in square brackets at the beginning of each chapter.

The volume overall appeals to me, particularly the quirky illustrations (my favourite is a line drawing of a whale making its way up the Thames). I would like to upgrade my comparatively diminutive and dowdy old FS Brief Lives at some point, though it will have wait quite some time, probably a sale in two or three years' time (if it appears in one), given my gross over-expenditure already this year.

I also took the opportunity to compare the LE Candide available for perusal in the dMR with the current 'fine' edition. The difference in size is only slight. The illustrations in the new edition are only about 3cm less in height and width, still an enjoyable size. The paper in the fine edition is notably whiter and smoother. The LE pages are creamy rather than white, and thicker, with the paper surface containing multiple tiny dimples you can feel beneath your finger as well as see. The colours and resolution of the illustrations in the two volumes appear essentially the same to my eyes, with the different shades of white background having a subtle effect in the negative spaces.

>112 cronshaw: Thank you so much for your careful and detailed explanations. I really appreciate your help. I think I'm going to buy it, although I'm soon leaving home for a whole month in Corsica, and I don't like so much the idea of having a book waiting for my return I don't know where, on my door mat or in the post office. Perhaps I can ask FS to delay their dispatch by a month... Did anybody try that before?

>113 Pepys: Perhaps I can ask FS to delay their dispatch by a month.

I'd consider the safest method would be to delay your order until your return. This isn't the Mort LE, so it won't have disappeared while you're away. If you have web access in Corsica you could order it maybe a couple of days before you're due back.

>112 cronshaw:

Sounds wonderful. I'll have to check it out. On wikipedia, "shock" yes I know there is an interesting information:

"The most scholarly and complete edition, and now the standard edition for reference purposes, is Kate Bennett (ed.), Brief Lives with An Apparatus for the Lives of our English Mathematical Writers (2 volumes, Oxford, 2015), which was described on publication by Michael Hunter as "the edition we have been waiting for".

The life of Hobbes was included in Clark's 1898 edition of Brief Lives, but not in Bennett's 2015 edition."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Aubrey

>115 ironjaw: Hobbes is included in the new Folio edition. I recall seeing his portrait this morning, showing the difficulty he had keeping flies from pitching into the shininess of his very bald head.

>113 Pepys: You're very welcome, I enjoy having an excuse to peruse volumes I'm tempted by myself! I'm sure that if you phone customer services and explain you're going away, they'll be able to delay postage, or arrange it so you can still get the members' introductory discount when you return from your month in Corsica. Bonnes vacances!

>112 cronshaw: I called into the disMembered Room today and checked the John Aubrey Brief Lives volume.

My copy arrived this morning along with the rest of my second order from the May collection. My intention was to give it a brief once-over, then hasten to FSD to answer Pepys' enquiry. I'm glad cronshaw beat me to it because his is a more detailed evaluation than mine would have been.

Like cronshaw, I already possess the 1975 edition (and the later "Worlds of John Aubrey") but the photographs and blurb on the website persuaded me to "upgrade". Inverted commas are called for because I have made similar decisions in the past and been bitterly disappointed with the new, improved, go faster version.

In this instance I am pleased (and a little relieved) to report that the new version is everything I hoped it would be, a huge leap forward from its staid ancestor (which, even now, is hobbling towards eBay with the aid of a stick). The illustrations, in particular, are superb and entirely in character with the book. This is my first acquaintance with this illustrator (Joe Ciardiello) and it leaves me wanting more.

Thanks also to cronshaw for his comparison of the two Candides, I have the new version which confesses readily that the format is reduced from the LE. I just wondered by how much, as I well remember the devastating effect the process had on "War and Peace" in the seventies. Now I am reassured. Thanks for that!

>114 folio_books:

This isn't the Mort LE, so it won't have disappeared while you're away.
Depends... ;-) Look at that definitive edition in two volumes at OUP: even at £250, it's now out of stock, although published last year. Last time I was in London (Nobember), I couldn't find where I could peruse it. Ordinary bookshops usually have no such items. Any idea as to where I should have tried?

If you have web access in Corsica you could order it maybe a couple of days before you're due back. Another possibility, thank you. I had not thought about it. So simple in principle, although Internet in Corsica can be a nightmare depending where you are...

>119 Pepys: Could you not have it delivered to a friend's address?

>119 Pepys: Look at that definitive edition in two volumes at OUP: even at £250, it's now out of stock, although published last year. Last time I was in London (Nobember), I couldn't find where I could peruse it. Ordinary bookshops usually have no such items. Any idea as to where I should have tried?

Apart from the one on Amazon?

If that one's no good there's always my elderly first Folio edition, very shortly to be appearing on eBay ... ;)

>120 HuxleyTheCat: Could you not have it delivered to a friend's address? Oh no. Books are too personal. I remember a French—of course—film where an orgy took place in a house, and one of the naked guests, instead of practicing with the rest of the company, was in awe in front of a bookshelf. He finally asked the host: 'Can I borrow this book?' And the host replied: 'Definitely not: books are too personal.'

>122 Pepys: It's probably the first time I've heard a book and an orgy in the same sentence. You sir, have shaken my foundation. I will never forget that imagery. Bookshelves have another meaning now.

Received two of the more expensive offerings from the May offering today: Mort LE and Candide. I'm thrilled with Mort (number 123), my first LE. Not so with Candide.

Candide is my first "Fine" edition and I am having some trouble discerning what makes it such. The number of illustrations (and the illustrator), I suppose? The binding does not appear to be any different, in fact, this is the first folio book where I have noticed a loose string, about 1/2 inch, protruding from one of the pages. When closing the book there is a crunchy sound. The paper is white and heavy. I am hoping it loses a bit of stiffness and colour with age. I will concede that the paper does work very well for the illustrations.

Overall, I am a little worried about the longevity of this book over some of the standard editions I own. I am not sure if that protruding string and crunchy spine are worth contacting FS over - I will have to mull it over and hope that my initial disappointment settles.

Bonus: Picked up Dune as I figured it unlikely to go on sale anytime soon. This is closer to what I would consider fine. This one has sneaked into a prime location in the TBR pile.

My Candide arrived today (as did my Mort #112!) - however my Candide had a big bump at the bottom of the book and the slipcase so I'll be contacting FS tomorrow to see what can be done about it as it's extremely noticeable. I must concur, though, for the life of me I cannot see what makes Candide a fine edition. I also received Foucault's Pendulum (undamaged thankfully) and it is a far superior production. The Candide does look pretty flimsy as well. It's a shame that it was damaged but, regardless, I was hoping for something far more robust and luxurious as it's one of my favourite books. Perhaps it will grow on me. Hey ho.

>125 Bibliogasm: That's a bummer. It is one of my favourites as well which is likely why I am so disappointed. Hey ho indeed.

This may be a noob question, but how long does the discount last? I'm still mulling over which books to buy...

You've a little while yet :) Until June 26th according to the website.

(EDIT: Ah, perhaps the website doesn't mention the end date for the £20 off when you spend £150, just the one for members' introductory prices. So I've checked a Folio email which confirms that the £20 discount runs until the 26th too.)

>128 terebinth: Thanks, looks like my sight is failing me as well.

Have folks in the US received their May books prospectus yet? I just received the March prospectus (in poor condition) last week, which is much later than usual, and of course far passed the expiration of the March offers. I use the website for orders, but like to peruse the prospectus before I make final decisions on ordering.

>130 wdripp: I received (California) the May prospectus yesterday (June 1st).

And now in an email received today there is 15% off on a limited number of FS crime books - code G15T14.

>131 kdweber: Hopefully mine will arrive soon. Thanks.

>130 wdripp: >131 kdweber: No May prospectus here in Southern CA yet — nor the 1001 Nights (not that I can afford it without the, ahem, 10-installment plan, but the promo doubtless will be droolworthy), though I suppose it's a bit soon for that to get here.

Hi.

The May 2016 collection booklet arrived today !

I was looking at the Candide volume by Voltaire. I assume this is very similar to the LE volume.

This is translated by Tobias Smollett.

Could any people provide an opinions on the translation say as for readability and accuracy ? What I can find out this seems to be a very old translation. How would it compare with a more modern translation, say the Penguin translation by Theo Cuffe ?

regards

>135 peto11: It's a creaky translation. The best one, to my mind, was produced in the 1940s by John Butt.

Bibliogasm,

thanks for reply;

Why at the price been charged would you chose a translation from the 1760s(?) as it is in the public domain ?

I am not totally familiar with the law regarding copyright but a 1940s translation would be out of copyright or probably easily obtained

>137 peto11:

It's not necessarily about copyright or even the "best" translation. Smollett was a contemporary of Voltaire and his translation was one of the earliest in English. It may not be everyone's choice today but it carries an historical resonance with the original.