Fall 2018 Books

Any idea when the Fall 2018 collection will be listed? Looking forward to it even though I really shouldn’t be spending any more money for a while after my past several orders!

I'm guessing the 5th of September, but it's only a guess.

It will be interesting to see the direction Folio goes with this collection. Will there be some big name titles or will it be more reprints?

I imagine we'll see another title or two in the "Chinese Dickens " collection, maybe another Bond, but other than that I really don't have any guesses.

So far this year Folio has extracted 0 dollars from me, which I am sorry to say as I would like to support the company

"With the Summer Sale nearing it's end, it can only mean one thing - beautiful brand-new editions are on their way. Nineteen stunning new Folios are preparing to be introduced to you, along with some favourites being brought back into print." The Summer Sales ends, of course, on Friday August 10th. I suspect we may see the new collection before August is over.

A reprinting of The Master and Margarita would be nice.
I keep hoping that we'll see some more Terry Pratchett.
I anticipate another Fleming (Bond or Chitty) before Christmas.

>4 fiascoborelli: I'm expecting the sale to be extended by a week - it usually is. 10th of August is quite soon for it to end as well compared to previous years.

Would love to see the next installment in the Hornblower series in September.

I can't wait to see the new releases and hope it comes up sooner rather than later! I am ready! I hope we get more of the new Dickens set, as I am collecting them, more of the Hornblower series, maybe another Ray Bradbury and Neil Gaiman (Dandelion Wine or Something Wicked This Way Comes and Nevermore), more classics (Phantom of the Opera, New Grub Street, The Christian Year by Keble, Sketchbook of Washington Irving), maybe some children literature like Black Beauty or Heidi, perhaps some modern classics like Memoirs of a Geisha, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Year of Wonders. Just browsing through my wishlist....lol

For reprints I am still hoping for Cranford and Life of Charlotte Bronte to be reissued in fresh editions. I wouldn't mind another copy of The Imitation of Christ for my collection either.

19 new editions plus reprints? That's a hefty release. I have been emotionally and financially preparing for this for several months now.

I'm still dreaming of FS editions of Murakami's Hard-boiled Wonderland and the end of the World, Bradbury's Golden apples of the Sun, Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Phantom of the Opera, Logan's Run, the rest of Dune, Zola's Pot Boil and the Ladies Paradise.

I'd also love reissues of His Dark Materials, the Master and Margarita and Narnia.

But most of all, I'd adore a standard FS edition of the Charles van Sandwyck illustrated Alice in Wonderland.

***Edit: How could I forget about The Left Hand of Darkness!

I find it hard to believe that they never published Phantom of the Opera and really hope that they finally will. Not that I'm getting my hopes up too much, just like I don't really expect more Pratchetts. I think the originally planned four FS titles were lost to us when the rights went to his heir(s).

>9 RecoveringYogi:
How could I forget Tenant of Wildfell Hall? I am right with you on that one!

>4 fiascoborelli: Somewhere - facebook or instagram, I saw a FS post of a pile of "Gothic" black-bound books and in the comments, a remark in answer to a query, that there was NO other Pratchett in preparation at the moment.

Got a confirmation on Sept 5...really hoping for another Kazuo Ishiguro novel!

>9 RecoveringYogi: RecoveringYogi:
>11 Lady19thC: Lady19thC

It's bizarre to me that Tenant isn't being considered for publication (or so they've said when contacted). It's in the public domain and from memory Jane Eyre has been marked as a bestseller on the catalogues... what gives?

>14 wwfield: But FS have to ask whether it will make a profit, as well as whether it deserves the FS treatment
Jane Eyre is 17th most popular book on LT with 43,099 members having in their libraries.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is 1,235th most popular on LT with 5,190 members having in their libraries. And FS have published in the past, if not recently.
Looking at the top 1,000 books on LT there are many other works deserving of the LT treatment which are likely to outsell the Tenant, even if it is in the public domain and so with a higher profit margin (perhaps).

I am all for works previously unpublished by FS.

>15 CarltonC:
Being curious, i looked into what's more popular on LT ( https://www.librarything.com/z_books.php ) and ALL the top is trusted by Harry Potter books o_0

Top 10 :
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling (96,054)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J. K. Rowling (80,949)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (79,734)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (78,980)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling (77,240)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (76,785)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (73,365)
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (67,331)
1984 by George Orwell (59,731)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (58,965)

>14 wwfield:
In one of the more recent catalogues (from this year), Wuthering Heights is also a bestseller.

>15 CarltonC:
Well, since both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are bestsellers, if they publish the Tenant of Wildfell Hall in a similar style, then I do think that many who have bought the Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights would also get it for completeness' sake.

Edited to add-on:
>16 Niurn:
And Stephen King is 2nd on the Top Authors list (first being J. K. Rowling which is obvious based on the Top Books list), while both Twilight and Hunger Games are ahead of LoTR.

>16 Niurn:
I'm a bit surprised by some titles i see on the Top 100. I know nothing of the #98, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and published in 1998, but a historical & familial saga set in Africa could be a fit ?

>15 CarltonC: One of the biggest problems is that not very many people are still aware that the Brontes comprised of three writing sisters, not just two, and that Anne is often considered the best of the three. Very few have read Agnes Grey, let alone ever hearing about it. Personally I think it would be in the best interest of FS to publish Tenant so that they at least have an offering of the best novel of each sister represented.

I'm all for new titles too, but I do love the new Bronte editions compared with their older sets where the print was often quite tiny and chapters were not broken up neatly. They were cheap editions, hence being offered as free gifts. Now they have something that looks classy and I would love to see them flesh it out with more works. I have two copies of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre from the new editions. I would buy two copies of Tenant (at least) in a heartbeat!

>19 Lady19thC: I have not read Anne’s books, but have read the more famous Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. Good luck with your wish.
I would prefer another Ray Bradbury (Dandelion Wine or Something Wicked This Way Comes as you suggest). Or a Year of Wonders.
If I could have my wish, I would like to see more Ursula K Le Guin. It is a pity FS do not appear to be interested in publishing more Earthsea.
Or W G Sebald or Raymond Carver. But they are probably not popular enough to be profitable.

Am I mistaken or was an ancient Roman history type of book teased a few months ago by FS?

I think some said it was SPQR?

>17 Lim_See_Min: And I'm in a related but different camp, where I won't buy the current editions of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre unless / until Folio were to release the rest of the Bronte sisters' works in a matching edition.

I'd love for the Brontes to be continued since I really like these new editions. But they clearly only go for the best-known titles, which then stops some people from buying any. All of this is less than ideal.

>22 McLeanSloughter:
Exactly. I haven't purchased the Folio Society editions of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, and I have no interest in doing so unless they release Tenant. As of right now I have the penguin clothbound Bronte set, which is beautiful but not very well-made so I'd love to upgrade. But any set I would buy would need to have, at least, the best offering from each of the Bronte sisters.

>23 SF-72:
Incidentally this is also why I won't touch the new Dickens series they're releasing right now. Instead of finishing their last Dickens collection, which didn't come out that long ago, they start a brand new one. Which doesn't instill a whole lot of faith in me that they'll finish this one either. If they make it to Little Dorrit and Nicholas Nickleby in this collection I'll reconsider but until then...

I rarely buy new releases these days, but that doesn't stop me from getting excited about the possibilities. I'd be thrilled to see another children's book or a mystery. I've been reading a lot of both genres recently, as they are providing a respite from, well, everything else.

>25 EclecticIndulgence:
Also, just purchase the blue buckram Bronte set. Lovely woodcuts.
Agree entirely. >19 Lady19thC: was somewhat disparaging, but I love this set, which is eminently handleable and readable. As with the Austens, I'm not in a hurry for the newer sets, not least because the numbers of illustrations all seem on the mean side, and I have a liking for the elegant, rather understated, but beautifully executed woodcuts. Same with the Hardy set (marred a bit by the poor title labels on the spines).

Given my ongoing Historical Illuminatus Chronicles odyssey, perhaps some Flann O'Brien might be in order? The Dalkey Papers, perhaps? Or a reissue of The Third Policeman? Go on, go on, go on, ...

Please, something by Samuel Beckett! It's criminal that nothing of his has been published by FS yet.

>29 TheHermeneut:
They've done Waiting For Godot, but yes, I wouldn't mind more

>7 Lady19thC: >9 RecoveringYogi: >10 SF-72: This is interesting... I would love to see them publish Phantom too!
https://mobile.twitter.com/DLB913/status/991624721044295680

>32 ReadTree: Awesome! I hope they publish Phantom of the Opera too!

F.R. Leavis notoriously wrote in a footnote "It is tempting to retort there is only Bronte" although he did grant that Charlotte had a minor if permanent interest. Although I feel the world has rejected that verdict it does kind of share his complete dismissal of poor old Anne. So although I think The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is rather good and Agnes Grey has its moments her work is probably never, ever going to be as popular (plus I can only remember a couple of classic serial adaptations of Wildfell which isn't a good sign).

>33 NotDownInAnyMap: It is! I really hope they do! Something else I came across a while back: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg_tUpag2mX/?hl=en
Folio is considering reprinting the Rainbow Fairy Books! Look in the comments towards the bottom.

I would really like to see illustrations of Something Wicked This Comes. I must also confess to a certain curiosity as to how they might handle Chapter 31.

>32 ReadTree:

That's excellent news. Thank you!

>35 ReadTree:

I have them, but would be happy for others. I never really understood why they didn't after some point (which involved all the later editions). I had the impression that these were reliable sellers and an attraction to new customers.

Ah - I stand corrected. What a peculiar production. They can leave Beckett alone if that's the look they'd go for again.

If there's a FS edition of Phantom on the way, I'll be first in line! :-)

Has anyone heard a date for the fall releases? This seems so late to me. I remember the good ole days when we had a catalogue in hand during August and could start ordering before September publishing.

They told me September 5, I agree, seems to far away!

Have just released a pic on Twitter. 5th September, 19 books. Though I spot 26 or so, so a few sets are included

There are quite a few sets in there. I wonder what those 4 thin books at the top could be? Any guesses? I am assuming there are a few Dickens maybe in the pile. I see a trio that might (?) be the Hornblower series continued?

>43 Lady19thC: I think I see the Hornblowers there too. From Folio's twitter:

"You'll find a fascinating mixture of modern fiction, horror, military and ancient history and groundbreaking science fiction. "

A couple of wild guesses: SPQR and Canticle for Leibowitz

I’d like to see the next in the Fleming Bond series.

The four thin books near the top are the most intriguing - too soon for more Maigrets? And sorry, much as I'd like to, I'm not seeing the Hornblowers. Leibowitz seems near the top of many folks' wishlists, so with it being SF perhaps Folio have taken note.

Edited for afterthoughts.

Horror, what could that be, any of these?

From the horror survey from the past.

Red Dragon (Thomas Harris)
Rosemary’s Baby (Ira Levin)
A Ghost Story (Peter Straub)
Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe)
- The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty) : Check! Done / finished!
- I am Legend (William Matheson) : Check! Done / finished!
The Woman in Black (Susan Hill)

>47 Pellias:

I am actually reading the Woman in Black right now, so it is a possibility. That usually happens to me! lol But I read it every year so I am all for it and have been asking for it! Can only cross my eyes, fingers and toes!

I agree. I don't see any Hornblower. Probably in the holiday collection instead.

>48 Lady19thC: That is a good enough valued argument for me: `You are reading it, therefore it is a possibility` .. cross ones eyes, that one is new to me :) - WIB would be a great choice. Myself i am hoping for `The Haunting of Hill House` - so that i can stay clear of the CP press edition.

I asked them on Instagram if one if these books could possibly be ”Watership down”, they didn’t say ‘yes’, but they didn’t say ‘no’, which they used to do every time I’ve asked that same question. They also confirmed that the new Holmes edition will be released with Christmas collection.

>50 Kisa_Vorobyaninov: Watership Down was on my old-fashioned wishlist (the kind they don't do anymore) for ever, so I'd be surprised and delighted. Strikes me as something Charles van Sandwyck was born to illustrate.

Holmes, OTOH, they can keep for me. I wonder how many customers haven't already got the complete short stories and the complete novels? There have also been two anthologies produced by Folio, one in the fifties and one in the nineties. Not, perhaps, as obvious as Dickens, but overkill nonetheless.

I would really like if they released more books of the Dune hexalogy. Those would be straight to the top of the wishlist and make perfect Christmas gifts.

>46 folio_books: Those four thin volumes near the top (beginning with 3rd from top) are most definitely the four seasonal Folio Anthologies released as free gifts (with order) over the last few years. I pulled mine off the shelf and they clearly match. Perhaps they're doing a slipcased set. I wouldn't mind just getting a slipcase!

>53 kronnevik:

Well that's a bit of a cheat. As it happens, I'm getting a slipcase custom made for me by a friend who's into crafts. It's for my birthday present. October, in case anyone is thinking of saving up ;)

>48 Lady19thC: >49 Pellias: CP have their own version of The Woman in Black on the way according to their most recent newsletter. Incoming very soon apparently.

Okay, so they are showing 26 books total, but say only 19 are new. We now know 4 of them are the seasonal poetry books, so that leaves only 3 other reprints. Thoughts? Rumors? Hopes?

I would love it if The Name of the Rose came back into print. We know they have said The Wizard of Earthsea is coming back. (Could it be coming back and be one of those trilogies at the bottom of the pile?) Oooh...that would be nice! I would commit to that!

>56 Lady19thC: The Wizard of Earthsea has been available on both websites for a few weeks now. I'd love to see Folio publish The Tombs of Atuan, but the last I heard from the Society was that they did not plan to release any further volumes. That was a few years ago.

There do seem to be four fairly thick volumes with light grey covers (1 in the middle of the stack, and a set of 3 towards the bottom of the pile). Could the colour and size suggest a further Dune volume (or 4)?

I can't spot any Pratchett or James Bond bindings. (I still refuse to give up all hope of future Pratchett releases).

"You'll find a fascinating mixture of modern fiction, horror, military and ancient history and groundbreaking science fiction."

From the Folio Society Sci-Fi survey of July 2015:

- A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter Miller Jr.
- Neuromancer - William Gibson
- A Voyage to Arcturus - David Lindsay
- Roadside Picnic - Strugasky Brothers
- The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester
- The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells
- Dune Messiah and Children of Dune - Frank Herbert
- The Cosmic Trilogy - C. S. Lewis
- Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick

>58 fiascoborelli:

I'm still hoping for Stranger. I think that's been on more than one of those lists, though I'm sure it's nowhere near as popular in those surveys as the next two Dunes.

The Ancient History book could be SPQR by Mary Beard, or Dynasty by Tom Holland. Both have had books given the Folio treatment already, so either of these would be good companions.

>I'm still hoping for Stranger.

I was on my (now defunct) wishlist for many a long year. I'm not a fan of SF per se but that it a great book, totally worthy of a Folio edition.

Edited for typo.

>60 Uppernorwood: Dynasty over SPQR for me. I read Rubicon earlier this year and its novelesque approach is exactly what I need to appreciate Ancient history. SPQR I read the first chapter of and her point of anti-reading to glean more information of the existing sources doesn't come of for me at all.

There's a sneak pick of one of the illustrations in folio's Instagram stories.

>63 Kisa_Vorobyaninov:
What a strange illustration! I see some kind of black creature with large arms and hands, and purple eyes, and above it a grate and perhaps a fire. Well, it doesn't fit The Haunting at Hill House nor the Woman in Black, so I am utterly clueless as to what horror this might be!

Perhaps 'Something wicked this way comes?'

>65 Kisa_Vorobyaninov:
Oooh! The witch in the library? Quite possibly! She did have glowing eyes!

On 22nd August the question was posed on twitter, "My favourite Ray Bradbury books are ‘Dandelion Wine’ and ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ - any plans to add them?"

Folio's response? "Plans may be afoot... :)"

"Groundbreaking science fiction" had to be Neuromancer then. It feels like a year will go by before september 5th! I want answers NOW NOW NOW

> 67

I am still hoping they will do both of them and The Halloween Tree, which is delightful! This makes me so excited to see if it is another Bradbury!

Groundbreaking science fiction... Maybe 'The Left Hand of Darkness'?

>67 fiascoborelli:

>69 Lady19thC:

Don't get my hopes up! I've been yearning for special editions of The Halloween Tree, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes for years!

>63 Kisa_Vorobyaninov:

Any chance of posting the picture here, or providing the link? I can't seem to find it. I don't have an Instagram acct., if that matters.

Could be The Stars My Destination, too.

It’s also on their Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/TheFolioSociety/photos/a.232192513461460/2566897109990977...

Folio added another sneak peek at their Facebook and Instagram. https://www.facebook.com/225978247416220/posts/2568403719840316/

>74 Kisa_Vorobyaninov:

That looks like another Dickens novel! I'm for it! Personally, in spite of owning several different collections of Dickens, I have no qualms about the so called "Chinese" version. I've been reading each one as they come out and enjoying them, saving my more luxurious burgundy leather FS volumes, or my sentimental lovely OOP Oxford Illustrated 21 volume collection from too much wear and tear.

It would be a real fillip to get some classical fiction that wasn't just a rehash of a perennial, but I'm not holding my breath, especially with the mutters of yet more Dickens. So far, have managed one book in the past year, an all-time low.

>74 Kisa_Vorobyaninov:

Thanks!

That does look rather "Wicked" to me. If the shadowy figure had a top hat, that would cinch it!

There are also a couple of new illustrations at their second Instagram account @foliosociety_book_design.

>79 Kisa_Vorobyaninov:

Judging by one of those photos, they're working on 10 new books for Christmas.

I like the photo with the wing, it could be something about ancient cultures maybe?

'top hat' has me hopeful.

Crawl this way, please :-)

Is it Wednesday yet? I’m eager for the new collection to be revealed to all!

So, one of the books is definitely illustrated by Balbusso twins.

>83 Kisa_Vorobyaninov: one of the books is definitely illustrated by Balbusso twins.

In which case I'm almost certainly buying it.

I'd love a reprint of 'Finnegans Wake' - it's very hard to track down.

Oh, and Arabia Deserta, too, please...

Excited!! Wonder if it will go live at midnight!

Usually no earlier than ten UK time.

The Balbusso sisters have revealed their book from the new collection on Instagram. It is Atlas Shrugged.

Atlas Shrugged is a buy for me! I don't have any edition so far.

The books are up! I’m interested in fiction, havethe Hardy volume already...really only ones I need are Atlas Shrugged (expensive but looks gorgeous), The Left Hand of Darkness and Miss Pym Deposes. Otherwise stuff I already own or don’t want. Was expecting to have more wants, but better for my budget this way I guess :)

>90 RRCBS:
They may be up, but they are hard to find. You have to constantly to and fro between categories.
Why can't they all be listed in one place?
I hate this new website!!!

try https://www.foliosociety.com/new

>92 Loki_Lulamen: Thank you for the link. The Seasons can only be found on this page and can not be found under either Fiction or Non-Fiction. There also seems to be a price error with these books. On the UK site they cost £150 and on ROW £82.5, which would suggest a UK price of £75.

I was hoping for the next Bond novel.

A sigh of relief for my wallet, not a single title interests me aside from maybe Atlas Shrugged but even then it's not exactly a must-have.

Only selected one, the horror collection. Put in basket and thanks to new website I don't seem to be able to go any further...wont allow me to complete purchase. Presented each time with a empty checkout page. Really don't like new website

>92 Loki_Lulamen:
Thank you, but how did you find that page?

Bomber Command, Brideshead Revisited, Homage to Catalonia, Night, Persian Fire, Cook's Journals and the Left Hand of Darkness for me. Maybe the Teys as well. Most excited by Cook and LeGuin.

Meh, the only one that looks interesting to me is 'Homage to Catalonia', maybe LeGuin. Definitely no must-buys for me:(

Interested in LeGuin and Tom Holland, but given the postage to Europe and the price hike for ROW not overly pushed to get anything right now. I can see myself only ordering in their christmas and summer sales in the future, which is disappointing but their attitude towards customers recently is a bit of a turn off. Although who knows they might up the sales delivery to 30 and over to make up for discounts! That said if there was anything I desperately wanted I would have it in the basket now.

For those who cannot access the list on the website ( https://www.foliosociety.com/new ), here is the list with UK prices:

ATLAS SHRUGGED (AYN RAND) £120
BOMBER COMMAND (MAX HASTING) £49.95
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED (WAUGH) £34.95
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (HARDY) £34.95
HOMAGE TO CATALONIA (ORWELL) £39.95
HOW TO SEE FAIRIES (CHARLES VAN SANDWYK) £39.95
JUDE THE OBSCURE (HARDY) £34.95
MISS PYM DISPOSES (JOSEPHINE TEY) £32.95
NIGHT (ELIE WIESEL) £29.95
PERSIAN FIRE (TOM HOLLAND) £44.95
RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM (EDWARD FITZGERALD) £29.95
TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES (HARDY) £34.95
THE DAUGHTER OF TIME (JOSEPHINE TEY) £32.95
THE FOLIO ANTHOLOGY OF HORROR STORIES £36.95
THE JOURNALS 1768-1779 (JAMES COOK) £120.00
THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS (URSULA LE GUIN) £34.95
THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE (HARDY) £34.95
THE SEASONS (4 ANTHOLOGIES) £75.00
THE TIME TRAVELLER’S GUIDE TO ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND (IAN MORTIMER) £39.95

No new Dune novels to my great disappointment. Have only wish listed Le Guin and Cook. But the prices are eye watering. If I would only order those two, my total would be £188.94 or €209.09. I'm now getting at a point that I will have to be selective on which books I want in FS garb (and already foregoing Persian Fire). With the new shipping costs hike I likely will adhere to @NiecyG's strategy and only order twice a year when the Sales are on. I also feel a bit misled about the 26 new titles from this collection. I count 8 reprints and a re-issue of the seasonal anthologies.

Disappointed with the list. I thought 'How to see fairies' was going to be a LE?. I hope FS doesn't release a LE after everyone buys the standard edition.

Aside from the Waugh there's nothing there for me. My credit card breathes a sigh of relief.

I could get the link for the new collection to work like this:

www.foliosociety.com/row/new

The US might look similar

Interesting that two titles previously touted as LEs end up on the "core" list - Atlas Shrugged and How to See Fairies. Another truckload of unwanted reprints, which leads me to question further the degree of creativity within Folio Towers. But I must also concede there are some interesting and compelling titles. My first run-through produced a list of seven at a cost of about £340. Further consideration might add one or two. I'm planning on sleeping on it then ordering by phone (the instalment plan beckons) tomorrow, paying for express delivery and having them to drool over on Friday.

I guess this means Thomas Hardy novels will never get a new binding design, besides that out of print edition of Tess? I'm definitely getting Night.

Thoughts on the Hardy novels? I don't currently have a set and am picking up the current Dickens series also (was hoping for another one).

Definitely interested in Persian Fire. Not crazy about the choice in colour though.

Atlas Shrugged looks very cool, IMO, design-wise. Tad pricey @ $245 CAD but then again it's in three volumes...

Also liking Homage to Catalonia, although since I already own the previous edition it's not too much of a priority for purchase.

I can definitely see Atlas Shrugged becoming a super expensive edition on the secondary market once the print run sells out. The book has a cult following. I'm not much of a Rand fan, personally.

https://xkcd.com/1049/

I instantly purchased Night. That had been on my wishlist on the old Folio website for a few years. Interestingly, the other two books I had on the wishlist thing — I Am Legend and The Great Escape — were also published by Folio, making me think they were using my wishlist to glean ideas from ;)

As an aside, this was the first time I’ve seen the new website and I think it is a huge improvement over the old website. Albeit, I was seeing the mobile version on my iphone. I haven’t gone to Folio on a regular computer yet.

Wow. I think this is the most disappointing FS release for me since I was a member (before being dismembered!). And so we are talking 20+ years.

I already have the entire Hardy set...all 18, 19 if you count his separate book of poems that doesn't actually match. I don't need them again. In spite of mine being read yearly, they hold up wonderfully and I have no need to buy another set. I doubt they will republish them all anyhow, so it would be incomplete in my eyes.

No Dickens. Huge disappointment there.

No Bradbury. No Phantom of the Opera.

I refuse to buy a skinny book on faeries at that price, no matter who the illustrator is.

Instead of continuing with the Wizard of Earthsea trilogy they print another LeGuin? To me that doesn't even make an ounce of sense.

Ever so slowly debating Brideshead Revisited, but this might actually be the first release that I don't buy anything at all!

Are there any perks, freebies, to buying from this collection to make it worth my while, in any fashion?

For me, The Seasons says it all. Snippets of tired "classics" with pretty pictures for those who can't be bothered with reading. The Readers Digest Condensed Version of an anthology by Patience Strong.

Only temptation is the LeGuin, and that's in sequence with their depressingly gloomy WOES.

>112 Lady19thC: There is a free notebook (https://www.foliosociety.com/media/catalog/product/cache/63b257758dea7240e07d9df9b4b9676a/f/m/fm7_main.jpg) when I put anything in the basket, but I can't find a description for it and I don't recoginize the cover.

>112 Lady19thC: "No Bradbury. No Phantom of the Opera."

Let us all take a moment of silence for our shattered dreams...

Having said that, I am ecstatic about 'The Left Hand of Darkness', enthusiastic about the Charles van Sandwyck (although a CvS standard Alice would have seen me singing from the hilltops) but sad that none of the reissues are from my extremely-out-of-print-and-hard-to-find-for-a-reasonable-price™ list. 'His Dark Materials' would be nice.

>112 Lady19thC: For a freebie, I got a Folio notebook when I added Night to my cart.

The cover looks like the commentary copy that comes with The Little Prince.

>112 Lady19thC:
I do have to say, for a moment there I really did believe we were going to get a Balbusso sisters illustrated Phantom of the Opera. It would have be PERFECT.

I'm quite happy with this release, save for the prices they're asking.

The James Cook Journals are a must-buy for me as an Australian. I suspect I will be picking up the Hardy novels (though I'm a bit disappointed that there's not been a redesign), Atlas Shrugged and Catalonia as well. Looks like the Waugh is in series with Vile Bodies (spine design being similar). I already have an older edition of Brideshead, otherwise that would be in my cart as well.

Honestly, this is the first time in over 20 years that I won't buy something from the Fall Collection. I despise Ayn Rand (though the edition is pretty), and I'll pick up the Pyms at a later date when they are inevitably on sale, but the Hardy reprints look just like the ones I already own and, really, The Seasons? I have them all already from past orders when I received them for free. The LeGuin is a great book, but I already own a beautiful edition, the horror collection contains 3/4ths stories I have in other editions (maybe even 7/8ths!), . . . I just can't get excited. And I gad saved a bit in order to get myself at least one book!

I would have purchased PHANTOM OF THE OPERA this morning without a second thought!

No new Dune is the biggest disappointment for me also (along with the price hikes for us ROW members, I'm only next door in Ireland and paying higher prices on everything now!).

Persian Fire and the Van Sandwyk are the only books of interest, but not now considering their shipping fees and 10% rip off on top of that. I'll look into alternative ways of buying with shipping to the UK first and make one more purchase before Brexit and customs fees ruin things even more. The William Morris would be pretty, but I already have the Phaidon edition, so no need to get it from them.

I would say that Homage to Catalonia is pretty opportunistic...

This is okay. Brideshead is a must-buy, that's about it. I'm always let down when their most contemporary stuff is genre fiction.

Did place an order for Folio Book of Horror Stories and Sandwyk. Realized later on while speaking to the call center that the Horror Stories does not even have a slipcase. This is ridiculous. I hope the information is incorrect.

I will pass on the Fall collection and hope for a good Christmas selection. It's times like this when I miss the old days where we received the entire year's prospectus in the Fall.

Four of the books would be of interest, if I did not already have older EP editions of each of them: The Left Hand of Darkness (have signed EP edition), Night, Brideshead Revisited, and Atlas Shrugged (have 2 volume EP edition).

FS seems all in on Thomas Hardy and Josephine Tey, but they are not for me. And lastly, Cook's Journals look very interesting, but are out of my price range.

What do folks think about the Seasons set now being offered as regular books for sale.

-Shawn

I ordered Night. I teach it every January in my English class.

>124 drasvola:

Ha, good point. That whole thing completely slipped my mind.

Haven't seen this mentioned yet but I received the Autumn Collection Catalogue through the post this morning. I suspect this isn't the regular mailing because it wasn't in the usual decorated envelope. I asked for a second copy while I was on the phone to them yesterday and I'm pretty sure this is it. Anyway, the main change is the size, which is smaller - 9.5 x 6.5 inches approx, or 24 x 16.5 cm approx, if you prefer.

I'll start scanning it for the Wiki page today. With luck and minimal interruptions it'll be finished tomorrow,

>124 drasvola:

Agreed, but also equally redundant. They've published two different editions before. I have them both (it's my favourite Orwell book) so it goes on my "Unnecessary Reprint" list.

>129 adriano77:
>131 folio_books:

I think that Orwell did a fantastic reporting of the Catalonia region during the Spanish Civil War. It's an indispensable work and one of my favourites, but totally unrelated to current Catalonian events.

>132 drasvola: It's an indispensable work and one of my favourites

I recall it had a profound effect on me when I first read it. Unforgettable.

>126 Neil77:

Just confirmed with Ms. Wilby - the Horror Anthology does come with a slipcase (not mentioned on the website and even the call center is not aware of it). Now, that's a relief!

Well this was disappointing. I had been looking forward to making a new order but I don't need anything from the new collection (I already have a good edition of LeGuin) and there is nothing to make it worthwhile to order now rather than wait until next sale as I don't need another notebook.

I probably would have made a small backlist order anyway if it wasn't for the ROW price hike but I don't feel like supporting such a hostile move.

A lot of reprints here, but I suppose new customers might be attracted to own new copies. I wonder if the spines of the new Hardys will scratch and wear as easily as the original editions? Hopefully not.

I was interested to see Cook's Journals, last published by the Society in a different selection in 1997 in their "Victorian" Explorers series. This new one, very slightly smaller in dimensions, has the advantage of one volume per voyage and many more illustrations, not to mention the wonderful fold-out map. The only other Folio publication with a seperately-bound map that I can recall is the one which accompanied the Arabia Deserta LE.

I assume Brideshead Revisited is published in the revised (and abridged) text of 1960, rather than the 1945 edition. Although the later version was produced by Waugh himself and no doubt cuts to the chase more effectively, I still have a fondness for the more verbose original. Will the new and ongoing Oxford edition include both versions, I wonder?

I'm ashamed to say I don't have any previous knowledge of Atlas Shrugged. It looks interesting, although it sounds to be quite divergent from my own political opinions. Maybe that's a good thing!

Much as I admire Charles van Sandwyk, I can't get too excited by this latest slim offering, particularly with its hefty price tag.

____________

Edited to add quotation marks to the word "Victorian".

I am disappointed by the lack of children's books, but at the moment I can't order online anyway, so...

I already own the seasonal anthologies (is price for the set of four significantly lower than what the combined listed values of the freebies were?), also older editions of Brideshead, Daughter of Time, and Rubaiyat.

I checked out the earlier FS editions of Hardy's works online this morning to see if they were the same (they appear to be, apart from different colored bindings), and ended up buying a set of 9 of them (including the 4 FS just released) for $75 on ebay this morning. Oops.

Still some titles of interest: Catalonia, Fairies, Pym, and Night, but the prices/lack of incentive are a deterrent for now.

While a LE van Sandwyk would have been hard on my wallet, I think they missed an opportunity to make one that include inserts, fold outs, and the like which make the Fairy Press books so fun.

Rats! All that Tey and Hardy, and no "Phantom" or Dickens. If they'd deliberately set out to come up with my least-likely-to-buy list, they couldn't have done a better job. :-) Oh well, my credit card gets a break for now.

The William Morris version of Rubayyat looks amazing, and anything touched by the Balbusso sisters instantly has my attention. They'll probably be added to my January order which is very slowly increasing in size.

The 4 Hardy titles feel like a slap in the face, especially because those are readily available second hand at a way lower price.

Nothing there to tempt me; I don't know whether to be sorry or relieved. I think this is where FS and I part company.

Sweet baby Jesus, how many reprints/rehashes can you have in one collection?!
Anyway, some definites for me, just not right now.
Must haves for the near to mid-term: Cook's Journals, Night, Persian Fire
To the wish list for some time in the future: Bomber Command, The Left Hand of Darkness
Horror Stories to the bottom of the wish list.

P.S. The new site is retarded. There is no permanent link to the Autumn collection there. One is forced to either wait for the banner to show up in the stupid carousel if you happen to be on the main page, go to the main page first to access the carousel, or type in the URL manually if you know it, which is just silly. Feels like the website upgrade has been managed by a few college kids as their school project.

Atlas Shrugged and Catalonia are purchases without hesitation. Very much considering the Hardy as I don't have any of the previous series and much like the Dickens if they're starting it up again I'd like to get in on the ground floor.

The William Morris Rubiyat is interesting but not likely to purchase it. No interest in any of the fairy books. All in all this release holds more interest for me then the last did.

Atlas Shrugged? SERIOUSLY? With fascism on the rise? I am offended. As for the other releases, they don't excite me except for Brideshead.

Easy pass for me. Will make a small order in December for the diary.

>143 Beth38: I hear ya, but at least they also published Night. It is a chilling display of what happens if we let fascism take hold of a society.

Is anyone else enjoying the "Ah! Atlas Shrugged! It burns!" comments as much as I am?

*rolls eyes*

Let's pressurise publishers to no-platform any author with whom we disagree, shall we? Perhaps we can organise a few book burnings while we are at it. We must censor any political writings that contradict our own viewpoints!

To quote a little ol' band from Liverpool: "There's nothing for me here so I will disappear". See you in December.

Oh, and first time signing into the new website. Not at all impressed by having lost my Wishlist.

You know, it's possible to say you dislike something, even greatly, without wishing it banned and burned.

It is not censorship to choose not to do a fancy edition of book. How about a glossy Mein Kampf? Is that OK?

>136 boldface: I'm ashamed to say I don't have any previous knowledge of Atlas Shrugged. It looks interesting, although it sounds to be quite divergent from my own political opinions.

Indeed. I have to say that it is a very long way out of my comfort zone and whether I would actually read it, in its entirety, I somehow doubt. BUT - it's illustrated by the Balbussos. Quite sparingly, I'd have to concede, but ... Well, just but. It's the Balbussos. I'm something of an admirer.

On an entirely different tack, I'm waiting for willoyd to realise there's not only a new Josephine Tey but a reprint as well. He's a big fan ... ;)

Edited for omission.

>147 LondonLawyer: I would say that a quality publisher should keep a certain standard whereas a general publisher can publish almost anything. If we expect FS to be a quality publisher not only when it comes to the production, we can and should have opinions on what they choose publish.

The only item I was interested in was Cook, but then Jonathan helpfully reminded me that there is a previous edition, which I have, so nothing for me this time around.

Atlas Shrugged - Charles Ede would be spinning in his grave and I doubt that Bob Gavron would be too happy either.

I do wonder if this thread will follow the usual course of such things on FSD:

Pre-release - much anticipation (☑ )
Release day - much grumbling and disappointment (☑ )
A few days afterwards - loads of comments from FSDs who have, after all, found that they just 'have' to purchase multiple items (???)

Without pre-judging, I somehow think the usual pattern may not occur this time.

>150 Beth38: Easton Press has done so, as part of their "Books that Changed the World (For Better or Worse)" series, or some such thing.

I hear your pain. I am a huge fan of Balbusso twins, but I utterly deslike 'Atlas shrugged'. I actually don't mind the reprints, since I've been buying folio books for only 2 years and don't own any classics by Hardy, I just don't feel like buying them until the winter sale.

Brexitannian FS isn't Charles Ede's FS... no doubt they feel "pressurised" to pander to the Trumpian "very fine people" more than ever. Personally I find gilding Rand's turds amusing (milk those suckers), but I do feel for people invested in the notion of the Folio Society as an exemplar of a publisher with "standards" (literary or political).

>150 Beth38:

There has been a thread on that very question before. At the time it seemed the "more money than taste" cohort was largely on the EP customer side. Not big on black humour either--very few seemed to see how ridiculous was EP's blandly slapping their leather-cum-ribbon-marker on Hitler's teratogenic baby. One got the feeling anything rolling down that conveyor belt had exactly the same chances for exactly the same treatment.

>152 alvaret: Atlas Shrugged is part of the modern literary canon. It's a Penguin Modern Classic. It's also hard to argue that it falls short on "quality", compared to other books currently in publication by the FS. Unless, of course, "quality" is measured by the extent to which you agree with it.

>150 Beth38: Yes, it would be okay to publish Mein Kampf. How are we to give the book the criticism it deserves, if we are not able to read it?

They did have Atlas Shrugged in one of their 'Should we publish this' polls if I remember correctly. I didn't want it then or now, but I would assume that enough people ticked yes for them to go for a release. The illustrations look good, but 4 per book isn't that great, and reading a few pages didn't appeal to me at all, so I'm glad I'm not interested in the least. The way their prices keep going up I really don't want to support a release like this. That's why I still don't have Dune, their first (and very successful) attempt at selling a regular (though admittedly large) book at a whopping 75 Pounds. They've gone beyond that mark with several titles since then and will continue to do so if they sell well enough.

>157 LondonLawyer:

I’m surprised Atlas Shrugged is considered a classic by some. I’ve read it and I think Ayn Rand is terrible at writing fiction (although, to be fair, that is the only fiction of hers I have read). I have to assume it is considered a classic because of it’s influence, would that be correct?

>157 LondonLawyer:

Literary excellence isn't the only or necessary condition for something being considered "classic", least of all for inclusion in a publisher's series. Penguin has reprinted lots of poor to shitty stuff as a "classic", and there are various grounds to that. As for Rand, the only thing worse than her writing is her thinking. But hey, to each their own.

>154 chrisrsprague: That selection included books by Hitler, Lenin and Mao. Somehow I doubt FS will ever publish any of those.

If this publication means they will continue with other authors like Karl Marx, Schumpeter, von Mises or Hayek (or Trotsky's account of the Russian Revolution) I would be delighted with their decision.

But the point is they have chosen to publish one of the most mediocre political books ever published (although quite popular I admit, as it is the equivalent of fast food for thought), which is only seriously considered in the USA as something worthy of any relevance in its field, while they have not published any of the authors above mentioned, which are all way more worthy than Ayn Rand.

This is an editorial decision, and as such can be criticised, especially when they have ignored other, better alternatives. I hope they sell a lot of copies to the other side of the pond, because I fear this title will not be a huge success in the Old World.

>128 Mr.Fox: I find it curious that a Yiddish author, who first published this as a french-written book in Argentina is taught in an English class

>158 LondonLawyer:

The question isn't whether Mein Kampf ought to be read, or published at all, but whether it deserves "luxury" treatment... and from whom.

>157 LondonLawyer: I'm only arguing that if we expect FS to be a quality publisher we should expect their books to have a certain standard and that it is in no way censoring to argue that some books are below our expectations.

I haven't read Rand so I don't have any firm opinion on whether or not that is the case for that particular book (although I'm sure that I personally have no interest in it). I'm also not sure if FS is still trying to be a quality publisher.

I'm going to go against the grain and say this collection has some great books. Brideshead Revisisted has been in my suggestions for ages, Thomas Hardy is one of the few writers in the Victorian cannon I genuinely love (as oppose to respect/admire), and Tom Holland is probably the best history prose writer on modern times. These are all part of sets which is a bonus.

The Captain Cook looks gorgeous and is a great example of what makes Folio special. Same for Atlas Shrugged, although it doesn't appeal to me personally and I've heard the writing is terrible.

My two cents is that if Folio can publish the Communist Manifesto (for example) then they can publish this. I won't contribute to Godwin's law by comparing it to Mein Kampf as I haven't read either!

I wonder how different this Captain Cook edition is to the previous blue one volume edition...was the latter abridged?

>136 boldface: "I'm ashamed to say I don't have any previous knowledge of Atlas Shrugged. It looks interesting, although it sounds to be quite divergent from my own political opinions."

The honestly curious would benefit from a reading of Atlas Shrugged, if only to learn what it really says (it boils down to self-interest, not fascism etc. - you might be interested to know that Atlas Shrugged was actually written before Trump declared his candidacy and actually has nothing whatsoever to do with him) and further refine and clarify your own positions.

Among other things, it concerns itself with rampant political corruption, which (assuming we're all non-politicians here) should interest all of us to some extent, as this is harmful to us no matter which party is in power. You do not need to subscribe to Rand’s philosophy in order to find something of value in Atlas Shrugged - I am no follower of Objectivism (as her philosophy is known), and Rand held many opinions that I do not share, but I still found much valuable food for thought in Atlas Shrugged.

>150 Beth38: "How about a glossy Mein Kampf? Is that OK?"

Interesting that you reach for that comparison.

Of course it's okay; it just wouldn't appeal to you and I. I prefer the Houghton Mifflin edition, with a plain black cover that seems to just lightly clear its throat at you, as if to whisper the title (I haven't bought this yet, but when I do pick up MK, this will be the one).

>161 LolaWalser:"Literary excellence isn't the only or necessary condition for something being considered "classic"..."

The thing is, the absence of a workable universal definition of "literary excellence" makes this criticism a difficult one to permanently affix to any particular work. You're not alone in thinking very little of Atlas Shrugged, but ultimately, that individual opinion is about as important as me thinking very little of Catcher In The Rye and The Great Gatsby - which is to say, not important at all. All three works left a mark; publishers know this and act accordingly.

>162 IgnatiusR: "...it is the equivalent of fast food for thought..."

An interesting way to describe a 1,500 page book written by someone who'd lived through the Russian Revolution.

If you are Rand curious, Anthem or We the Living are much better examples of her work. Atlas Shrugged is a bloated mess, though I am sure this version is gorgeous.

>165 Uppernorwood: My two cents is that if Folio can publish the Communist Manifesto (for example) then they can publish this.

Sadly, they haven't (yet) published the Communist Manifesto. I wish they would - my copy is falling apart.

>167 InVitrio: I wonder how different this Captain Cook edition is to the previous blue one volume edition...was the latter abridged?

The new three-volume edition is an abridgement "Selected, Edited and Introduced by Philip Edwards". From which you may deduce that the single volume was also an abridgement.

>170 folio_books: Haha ..

While I think that Atlas Shrugged is an atrocious piece of fiction (and I disagree with her Objectivist philosophy, as it is as naive as Marx’s communism), I have no problem with Folio publishing it. There is a line, of course, where I wouldn’t support Folio publishing a book, and while I’m not exactly sure what would fall under that, I definitely don’t think Atlas Shrugged does.

Plus, if it’s a big hit (which I wouldn’t be surprised if it is here in the USA at least), then it will help keep Folio’s doors open and keep them publishing some good quality books.

>112 Lady19thC: Instead of continuing with the Wizard of Earthsea trilogy they print another LeGuin? To me that doesn't even make an ounce of sense

Must be issues with rights. LOA, which published quite a bit of Le Guin already, explicitly said they won't be publishing Earthsea any time soon due to rights issues.

Btw, I don't know what the current situation is, but years ago different parts of the series were owned by different publishers. The rights for part 2 and part 3 were held by a publishing house different form the one holding rights for part 1. Also, the rights for the same book might have been held by different publishers in different countries as well, although don't quote me on this one.

Now the rights might have been consolidated by Simon & Schuster as they're publishing the complete Earthsea. So perhaps after rights consolidation they went all Nazi and refuse to give permission to LOA and FS to publish the series.

I don't think highly of Rand's prose or her philosophy, but Folio's published Ian Fleming so the bar for quality writing seems now non-existent.

>174 elladan0891: While I would welcome a continuation of the Earthsea series, the Left Hand of Darkness is for me a far better work, and I'm glad that Folio prioritised it.

>168 St._Troy:

Agreed on all counts. I've read Atlas Shrugged and found some parts agreeable and others less so. Its description of political and corporate corruption and misguidedness was often believable, if not eerily so. Rand can get long winded and repetitive, though. There is some value in the book but not everything in it is valuable. With that in mind it's like any other book - not black or white but somewhere in between.

Nothing strikes me as necessary in this release; I already have non-Folio versions of what I would have wanted. My other hobbies will rejoice as they'll now get the Fall Collection's allotment of funds.

>168 St._Troy: I know it sounds incoherent calling this behemoth "fast food", but in my experience length does not make a book a difficult read. I think you can find more complexity and material for thought in one short essay by Camus like the Myth of Sisyphus (not to mention other authors like Rawls' A Theory of Justice or Kelsen's What Is Justice?) than in the whole oeuvre of Ayn Rand.

However I am not against its publication, but against it being published before other, more intellectually and historically important works. The road to serfdom by Hayek comes to mind along similar lines.

Thank you, alvaret!

The Rubaiyat seems quite cheap. Also wasn't it only recently published in a different edition? Anyway - this new version looks exquisite to me. I wonder where it is printed though.

Oh... Maybe because it's tiny!

I wonder where the Hardy novels were published and on what kind of paper? My older set is quite sturdy and printed in Great Britain.

All the Autumn release titles have now been included in the Complete List of FS books here.

>27 Willoyd: ...Hardy set (marred a bit by the poor title labels on the spines
>136 boldface: I wonder if the spines of the new Hardys will scratch and wear as easily as the original editions?

What was the problem with the old Hardy set? I assume the issue was only with spine labels? What were they made of? I have to confess I've always had an eye on the Hardys, I like their simple understated design.

>183 elladan0891:

The only problem I am aware of with the old set is that the section where the title and author is scratches up a bit after numerous readings, usually from being put on rough surfaces or because you are wearing rings while reading it.

That being said, out of my 18 volumes, only The Return of the Native has scratches on it and the rest look brand new. And I read Hardy every year, being one of my all-time favourite writers. Who is to say these will be any different until someone can give us a comparison on the two sets.

I am still very surprised that they did a release of 4 of his works, but not a single new edition of Dickens. Why not release 4 Dickens at a time and let us collect them as fast as Hardy?

Was away for a day and returned to a whole lot of posts.

>153 HuxleyTheCat: One of my favorites. Even as a newbie, I couldn't help but notice the pattern of anticipation, disappointment and reconsideration. It will be interesting to see what happens with this new slate of books.

Regarding the 10% surcharge that is displeasing many, I feel your pain as we here in the US are subject to a 20% surcharge. Put me in the camp of one price for all with real shipping costs. Though, to be fair, I assume those who are happy to buy a book for $50 with $11 shipping might think twice about a book for $40 with $20 in shipping costs (I suspect optics may math).

For those long-time customers displeased with the "same old, same old" I understand but be sympathetic to those of us who are earlier in our FSD and welcome reprints of classics. (Mole, I'd also be happy if your brought back the three volume Divine Comedy, the Brockway illustrated Karamazov and some Virginia Woolf titles).

Finally, maybe I missed it, but I'm amazed I haven't seen any posts about the price drops in the US. Based upon my quick review, FS seems to have implemented an across the board 20% surcharge for US customers. While that raised the list price of some books, it led to a number of drops, including $11 for the Austen books, $20 for Cthulhu and $45 for Paradise Lost (though the 50% off sale price was still the way to go there).

As for purchases from this offering, I will consider them for a while as shipping charges has led me to the logic of grouping my orders and buying twice per year, during the sale periods.

>185 Redshirt:

I hadn't noticed price drops for two reasons: first, I was only looking at the new releases and second, my wish list is gone, so I have no reminder to look for things. Thanks for the observation!

>185 Redshirt: I'm amazed I haven't seen any posts about the price drops in the US

Ah, I hadn't noticed that! Thanks for bringing it up. Great news indeed. Looks like some of the very recent titles went up by $2 to $5, corresponding to the little bounce back of the sterling, but many older and even some newer titles have decent decreases. The Malay Archipelago dropped by $30, The Bayeux Tapestry, Dune and American Gods by $20 each, Empire of the Sun by $18, The Gnostic Gospels by $28.05 (the latter drop also means it will be priced well next time it goes on sale), etc. Just compared the old and new pricing for top 30 books from my wish list, and pricing adjustments amount to a total decrease of $174.05, $292 for the top 50. Not too bad! Still would prefer to pay in sterling, of course, but I'll take this price drop

>187 elladan0891: I noticed the price drop in the Gnostic Gospels this morning and I threw it in my order along with Night.

>183 elladan0891:, >184 Lady19thC:

Coincidentally, or otherwise, it's my Return of the Native that is also scratched, whilst the others are OK - maybe it was just that one then?

>108 leemeadowcroft:

I love the set - as someone says elsewhere, simple and underrstated, and for me eminently handleable and readable, with excellent woodcut illustrations that go well with the text. But at £35 each? Phew - I would stick to the secondary market.

>182 wcarter:

Brilliant, Warwick. Bad day yesterday - didn't get to start scanning the catalogue. Today, hopefully.

>190 Willoyd: Coincidentally, or otherwise, it's my Return of the Native that is also scratched, whilst the others are OK - maybe it was just that one then?

I'm guessing, but Return of the Native (and Mayor of Casterbridge) were the first volumes in the series and both carried leather titling labels in their original issue. Subsequently the titles were blocked onto the spines, to their detriment imo. My Mayor of Casterbridge, acquired on the secondary market, has a scratched and somewhat tatty leather label whereas my Return of the Native (which featured in my first-ever Folio prospectus) looks as new.

Well, I've placed my first order using the new website. Everything went smoothly (adding the /row parameter to start), and I paid using PayPal. Just to try the newness. Ordered Night.

I've just spent 20 minutes re-registering myself at the ROW website. As some of you have said in that other thread, all the important information is gone and at this point I'm not so sure what the new website brings to me.

To add insult to injury, prices for the new books appear £4 to £10 higher for ROW compared to customers in the US and UK. I have not combed through all existing titles yet (since my wish list has disappeared) but prices seem to have gone up at least £3 across the board.

I seriously feel that I'm being taken for a ride (inconvenience those loyal bunch and milk them for all it's worth!). I think I will refrain from any purchase this time round.

>171 folio_books: I am also curious to their difference. The 1997 edition was selected and introduced by Glyndwr Williams amounting to 552 pages compared with the 736 pages in the just released edition. According to the wiki, the size of the 1997 edition was 25.3 x 17.7 cm (10˝ x 7˝) making it slightly larger than the new edition at 9½˝ x 6¼˝. So, if their font sizes are somewhat similar I would guess that the new edition contains more text than the older 1997 edition.

Aside from that, I guess the colour illustrations and fold-out map are new additions.

I would naturally very much like to hear if someone should order the new edition and have the old to compare with.

Price for Night in UK £29.95; in ROW £32.50. There is no justification for this difference. Prices should be equal, across the board, in pounds sterling, with adjustments for shipping according to distance.

>194 F.Trier:

The difference may be smaller than you imagine. The FS usually has a rather comprehensive approach to page counting, so they would I think assess the older book at 632 pages: 552 of the main text, 36 of front matter, and 44 of illustration. Or put the other way round, the new book may well have many fewer than 736 pages of Cook's journal.

On the other hand, I noticed that East of Eden went from an already jarring $99 to an outright shocking $115 for US customers.

>194 F.Trier:

I placed my order this morning, including Captain Cook. I have the old edition as well. The books should arrive tomorrow. In case I forget, remind me and I'll give my first impressions.

>195 drasvola: It appears that we Faddicts from ROW are subjected to a "Folio tax" ranging from 8% to 11%. It is quite sobering.

Prices of new books: UK versus ROW price (markup in relation to UK price in brackets)

Fiction:

1) Atlas Shrugged: £120 vs £130 (8.3% markup)
2) The Seasons: £75 vs £82.95 (10.6% markup)
3) Brideshead Revisited: £34.95 vs £38.95 (11% markup)
4) How to See Fairies: £39.95 vs £43.95 (10% markup)
5) Miss Pym Disposes: £32.95 vs £35.95 (9.1% markup)
6) The Daughter of Time: £32.95 vs £35.95 (9.1% markup)
7) Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: £29.95 vs £32.95 (10% markup)
8) The Folio Anthology of Horror Stories: £36.95 vs £39.95 (8.1% markup)
9) The Left Hand of Darkness: £34.95 vs £38.95 (11.4% markup)
10) Tess of the d'Urbervilles: £34.95 vs £38.95 (11.4% markup)
11) Far from the Maddening Crowd: £34.95 vs £38.95 (11.4% markup)
12) The Mayor of Casterbridge: £34.95 vs £38.95 (11.4% markup)
13) Jude the Obscure: £34.95 vs £38.95 (11.4% markup)

Non-Fiction:

1) Homage to Catalonia: £39.95 vs £43.95 (10% markup)
2) Persian Fire: £44.95 vs £49.95 (11.1% markup)
3) The Journals: £120 vs £130 (8.3% markup)
4) Bomber Command: £49.95 vs £54.95 (10% markup)
5) Night: £29.95 vs £32.95 (10% markup)

>199 tkerod:

We now get the same medicine given before to Australians, Canadians and Americans. Perhaps it's all part of a "no deal" Brexit.

>196 affle: Thank you for the explanation.

>198 folio_books: I will do that in case you should forget it.

So we have a few new books and a lot of reprints ... yet people are still buying reprints at the new higher prices, even though many of them are cheap on the secondary market or were even available at half price in the recent sales. Brideshead is the third edition they have produced, hardly revolutionary. Rubaiyat, likewise. These are among the few new editions, as well.
Therefore, one must deduce that FS has decided, correctly as it turns out if this continues, that their target market is new, or relatively new, customers who are willing to pay a premium for 'new' reprints rather than navigate the secondary market. There is still much of the back catalogue that could be reprinted, which costs the FS little, and yet people will buy. So why, then, would FS continue to invest in new illustrators, rather than stick with their four or five favourites, or publish new editions of relatively unknown gems? Goodbye, innovation. Welcome to the road to EP and forgetful mediocrity. My wallet, at least, is pleased. My one ray of hope: please do Lear's Parrots LE, and don't cut corners.

>199 tkerod: >200 drasvola:
Welcome to the club! I understand that on the surface ROW markup looks utterly ridiculous, more so than the hidden mark-ups in USD/CAD/AUD, but perhaps this will make your dose of medicine taste a bit sweeter:

US markups at current exchange rates:
1) Rand's bloated fairy tale: 19.08%
2) Seasons: 18.39%
3) Brideshead Revisited: 19.20%
etc.

I’m glad I ordered East of Eden this summer instead of American Gods. The former went up $15 and the latter went down $20.

When I first reviewed the books 24 hours ago, I was a bit optimistic about the new releases. They weren't for me, as I already have nice editions of the ones of interest, but perhaps for newer FS customers they would be a fit.

However, today I'm a bit more pessimistic. This is the first Fall in 15 or more years where I can take a pass and not have any regret.
Where is that juvenile or children's book which I was unaware of, which has been given the FS treatment, and which is now a must have for me? There was no surprise book that I was not expecting, but just hits me as marvelous. The Left Hand of Darkness was the closest, and if I didn't already have a nice edition, I would get that one.
But this 'if I didn't already have a nice edition' is the crux of the issue. In the fiction category, much of what has been produced this fall has already been produced in attractive editions-- in many cases by FS themselves. These can be found on the 2nd hand market, in fine condition, for less than what FS is asking today. So is the target audience those who must have new books and who are also new to FS?

I look forward to the Christmas/Winter releases and am hoping for a continuation of the James Bond set of books, and hopefully one or two new children/juvenile books.

>77 Willoyd:
It would be a real fillip to get some classical fiction that wasn't just a rehash of a perennial, but I'm not holding my breath, especially with the mutters of yet more Dickens. So far, have managed one book in the past year, an all-time low.

Well, no Dickens, just four reprinted Hardys and a rehashed Waugh, so I'm glad I didn't hold my breath. It did remind me that I hadn't got an FS copy of Brideshead Revisited and my book group is reading it next month, so have ordered one.......on the secondary market.

That means that I've now ordered one volume from FS in the past year (a few more second-hand), by a long way the lowest year total for over 25 years. Over the past three years I've ordered less than a quarter of what I had been ordering per year before then.

"So is the target audience those who must have new books and who are also new to FS?" Exactly my point, too. This, along with alienating core customers everywhere outside of the UK over price and the amateurish website unrolling, combine to demonstrate in a week the current mis-management of the company. I fear this might well be the beginning of end unless something changes over Christmas.

>200 drasvola:

I'm pretty sure the way they now treat the rest of Europe is connected to Brexit, which seems even more idiotic since it hasn't even happened yet. Right after the poll, they suddenly started slapping customs forms onto packages to Germany when they weren't even needed yet. Now they charge extra on books while the UK is still a member of the EU but claim the difficulties of handling packages meant to be sent abroad as one of the reasons. (They can only mean the paperwork involved when you need to prepare things for customs.) But Brexit won't be until next year, and the UK will still be part of the customs union until 2020. What they don't seem to consider at all is that prices will already rise after the the end of the customs union and actual Brexit , not their private version of it, when you have to pay customs fees on books. This is a good way of alienating and losing customers.

I'm going to go against the grain and say that I'm quite pleased with this month's offerings. I have just placed an order for:

- Atlas Shrugged
- Bomber Command
- Brideshead Revisited
- Far From the Madding Crowd
- Jude the Obscure
- Tess of the d'Urbervilles
- The Mayor of Castorbridge
- How to See Fairies
- Night
- Persian Fire
- Captain Cook's Journals
- The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England

For argument's sake, 1) how long have you been a member/customer? 2) From your username name, is it safe to assume you are UK based?
These things now matter. Enjoy your purchases :)

I loved Atlas as a teenager; now that I am older I can find it overwrought and occasionally melodramatic—but it’s still well written and unlike anything else, never mind containing some really interesting ideas. I would have preferred them to print the Fountainhead (which I think is superlative and says everything Atlas does philosophically but with less speechifying), but admire the FS for doing the book justice in what looks like a well-judged and beautiful edition. I'll look forward to picking that up at some point, along with Night (an excellent book) and Tess.

>143 Beth38: I feel someone needs to point that the classical liberalism/libertarianism Rand espouses is diametrically opposed to fascism and Nazism on any conceivable level. Now, I understand there are many people who would find the idea of an extremely limited government that does not provide a strong social safety net callous and misguided. I respect Rand as a thinker and author but do not agree with all her views. But to equate them with fascism betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of politics and philosophy.

I’ve always been intrigued by the knee jerk reaction the Fountainhead/Atlas Shrugged inspire in some people. I admit, as noted, I don’t agree with all Rand’s philosophy. But fundamentally the world she paints is one in which mankind is essentially rational and good and capable of tremendous achievement. This is the basis for a society in which minimal government intervention allows capable individuals to flourish. I think there are plenty of reasons to argue this vision is practically flawed, and that maybe good people do need help which the state is better placed to provide than relying on humanitarian individuals. (Never mind the funding of centralized infrastructure projects, safe roads, etc.) But it’s interesting to me that someone would react with sheer outraged horror at the idea that humanity is rational and good, and should be allowed to operate free from the coercion of the state.

I can see plenty of folks disagreeing with this, but Hitler or Mussolini this is not.

I've just taken delivery of the latest Kate Atkinson, UK hardback, free delivery, no taxes, for $30 Canadian. For 2½ times more I could have bought Miss Pym Disposes. Must be crazy.

> 211 Well said!

>211 RHalley63: "But to equate them with fascism betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of politics and philosophy."

Or it could also mean they didn't bother reading the book.

>211 RHalley63: " I feel someone needs to point that the classical liberalism/libertarianism Rand espouses is diametrically opposed to fascism and Nazism on any conceivable level...to equate them with fascism betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of politics and philosophy."

Well said.

>214 treereader: "...it could also mean they didn't bother reading the book."

There is that.

Anyone that has managed to hate Atlas Shrugged without having read it would benefit from a read (yes, it's quite long, but if you're on LibraryThing, you can handle it).

The Time-traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England is the only one for me from this batch.
As usual, I'm horrified by the blanket use of the curly FS monogram on almost every book spine. it ruins the Anne Rand Books. It's even on the reprint of the Handmaid's Tale, where before it was 'Folio Society' in lettering appropriate to the design.

>216 Firumbras:

That's what happens when marketing takes over a company. It's called "branding" like McDonald's golden arches. Maybe those should replace the curly FS monogram.

>217 podaniel:
Absolutely, and it's every bit as tasteless!

>216 Firumbras: >217 podaniel:
I hadn't noticed the universal logo branding.
The old idea of matching the FS logo to the title made the books much more interesting, and it is the book design that attracts most of us to these books.

>216 Firumbras: I agree, it is an unfortunate change and detracts from the design on some books.

>216 Firumbras:
Ah yes, the "one size fits all" monogram. Yeah, I was kind of sad to see it on "We".

Cook, Fairies and Horror stories ordered.

>216 Firumbras: >217 podaniel: >219 wcarter:
The comment about all books in the Autumn release having the same FS logo on the spines is not strictly true.
Brideshead, Miss Pym, Daughter of Time and Time Traveller have varied lettering instead of the logo.
Rubaiyat appears to have no FS identification on the spine.

I placed a second order, and I got a free Folio Magazine instead of the free notebook like in my first order. I couldn't find the terms of the promotion, but it seems like the Folio notebook is limited to one per customer. In total, I ordered:
The Left Hand of Darkness
Night
and from my wish list
Rebecca
The Little Prince
A Wizard of Earthsea
The Handmaid's Tale

I was disappointed with the Hardy set. I have the 2007 edition of Tess, but I don't like the vintage look of these reprints with the labels on the spine. If they ever go on sale I might pick them up in the future. I love Hardy, but I don't want to pay top dollar for a binding design I find unappealing.

>223 wcarter: Are those books continuations of series that started when FS permitted book-specific logos? If so, it would be bad form to switch logo design half way through publication of the series. I wonder if their policy is that all new standalone books, and all new series, shall have the traditional FS logo, while allowing a "run off" period for existing series.

>223 wcarter:
Yes. But I did say 'nearly all'. Call it three quarters? :)

It does say on he inside front cover of the catalogue (bottom) that the notebook is limited to one per customer.

Anyone else out there dislike books missing some manner of FS logo? It killed my interest in this edition of Rubaiyat. I have a few editions without it (Catch 22, To Kill a Mockingbird, Umberto Eco's books, New York Trilogy etc) and I've always founded it mildly jarring.

>228 wwfield:
The new York Trilogy has an NYC taxi's wheel where the logo should be. I would prefer something else too! But often the absence works for me, depending on the design. It's effective, for instance, in the Fagles Illiad and Odyssey.

>227 ubiquitousuk: the notebook is limited to one per customer.

Indeed. But my order arrived this morning containing two copies of the notebook, with no sign of the magazine. It's not the packer's fault (Emma) because that's what it says on the advice note/packing slip. I've asked for another. But it does admit the possibility of more than one per customer.

What I hadn't noticed before is that the price of postage within the UK has also increased, to £7.99. That's still miserly compared with the actual cost, but still ...

Regarding the apparently contentious issue of the logo on the spine, my personal preference would be for the traditional logo at the base of the spine on every book they publish (with the exception of LEs where to do so would spoll the effect such as on a facsimile). I doubt that will ever happen but I prefer some small degree of uniformity in otherwise random design.

>228 wwfield: It killed my interest in this edition of Rubaiyat.

Not the same thing, I know, but it's prominently displayed on the front of the slipcase. The book is very small.

Edited for omission.

I quite like this collection and will probably look to get The Left Hand of Darkness, Persian Fire and Cook's Journals at some point, probably once the Winter collection is available, although I await more comment about Cook's Journals following frostymaxim's comments on another thread. I also have Night on my wishlist, but do not know the work.
I like variety rather than standardisation of the FS colophon, but it is a matter of taste, and I thought that the shapes on the side of The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum looked like an F and an S, but perhaps too subtle.

Regarding the Hardy reprints, I have seven of the originals (some of my first Folio purchases from 1992 to 1994) and I think that it is high time they were reprinted. I also think that the simple cloth binding, corn dolly motif and woodcuts by Peter Reddick all stand the test of time. Whether someone wants to find fine quality secondary market copies or the new editions will be a matter of taste and I know that I kick myself for not having bought some editions new (later Trollope Palliser novels), as a second hand copy may be adequate, but it is never quite as nice as a new edition, even if it is just looser opening of the covers.

Has anyone tried to get enlargements of the books using an ipad? It doesn’t work with mine. Works fine on my Apple desktop.

Have just tried unsuccessfully using both Chrome and Safari on my iPad.

I have the same issue with my iPad.

>228 wwfield: Anyone else out there dislike books missing some manner of FS logo? It killed my interest in this edition of Rubaiyat

And I thought I knew all about FAD! Sounds like a new symptom that needs to be documented.
Dr. Carter, are you taking notes? Might be time to update your medical encyclopedia.

And although the current FS logo is pretty flowery so would probably be approved by Mr. Morris, I don't think slapping it on a binding is the best decision when it comes to facsimiles. Perhaps you should take another look at it - keeping in mind it's a facsimile )

>233 CarltonC: >234 Andreas12: Thanks for the confirmation. That clinches it - yet another cock-up. What delightful surprises yet await us? I’ll drop good old customer services a line on Monday although I’m almost reluctant to do so since they will probably groan and toss it straight in the bin with all the others. God, what a mess - you couldn’t make it up.

Why did they change the design /spine/coverdesign on the J.Tey series? It wouldn`t be popular with me if i collected a set, and they all of a sudden changed .. the new set looks cleaner, but anyway, why?

Persian fire and Homeage to Catalonia and maybe the horror, will find it`s way to me someday .. pray tell, if the Folio Magazine is worth having, thus i will make my order so that i can have me a copy

>225 LondonLawyer: You're spot on. Folio has been doing it for a couple of years or so now. Whenever they bring out a book in series with some previously published book, they go with the old design. Otherwise it's the oval logo, whether it fits the style or not. Bloody marketing people, sometimes it's really hard to control the urge to kick them square in the nuts. Perhaps logo is a relatively small detail, but I hate Folio going the EP way, always applying the same formula whether it fits or not.

Spines are an important feature of Folio books, and requiring to always apply the same tired logo limits creativity, prevents effective design solutions (just think of the spine of, say, The Man In The High Castle, which utilizes text symmetry that would have been broken by the logo), and sometimes results in spines where the flowery logo just DOESN'T GO. Imagine slapping the current logo on the spine of Juvenal with its crazy lettering - can't be more ill-fitting. It's like coming to a business meeting in a standard office tower dressed in white tie and tails, or wearing business casual dress to a rap/metal concert or a rave, or putting pimpin' 20" black rims on a 1960s Porsche, or publishing Kurt Vonnegut dressed in psedo-Victorian leather binding with half a pound of gilding on every edge like EP, or having whatever current nauseating pop boy band (is it still One Direction or do fourteen-year-old girls have new idols now?) perform Sex Pistols songs.

I always liked how Folio played with their colophons, fitting different styles. For a boutique publisher this approach was a much better branding feature than the single one-size-fits-all standardized colophon of Ms. Readers Digest.

Btw, The Limited Editions Club was like that too - they often had the artist working on a book design a new 3 Readers logo with references to the work. I'm sure Steve from George Macy Devotees forum won't mind me posting a link to his pictures of some variations of the LEC 3 Readers colophon:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevejohnsonmsu/sets/72157663085547287/

Link stolen from the following GMD post:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/285680

For those of you (like myself) whio are in parts of the planet far from London, the Autumn FS Catalogue is now available to view on the FSD wiki here, and the FS Book List here.

And speaking of the catalogue an index and/or decent sized order form would have been helpful. As indeed would a readable font.

>239 wcarter: first impression is that the current collection leans heavily towards war and dystopia. The fairies and little prince seem a bit lost in all the gloom.

>239 wcarter: the Autumn FS Catalogue is now available to view on the FSD wiki

There seems to be a problem in viewing the catalogue. Either that or it's taking several minutes to load and I don't have the time. I suggest downloading it to view, which works fine.

My latest haul arrived yesterday. *Happy LondonLawyer*

Bringing a couple of recent themes together, whether you like the Hardys (>231 CarltonC:) or not (>224 NotDownInAnyMap:), I note they are not precise reprints: the book colours do differ from the earlier edition (seem stronger, more vivid on the whole) and they incorporate the new logo - the older ones had no colophon on the spine. So, for the fastidious completist, they wouldn't be much good for filling holes in a collection (not that these four are likely to be wanted for that, given they are amongst the most popular of Hardy's novels), and could cause some angst if the start of a Hardy collection (presuming the modern FS follows its trend of only publishing the most popular volumes, if all of those).

I agree with >231 CarltonC: - they stand the test of time, and for me are FS classics (aside from those pesky scratchable labels, which hopefully the new editions have seen corrected!).

>242 folio_books:
Opened within 5 seconds on my iPhone with 4G connection.
May vary with your connectivity.
>243 LondonLawyer:
Wow!!!!

>243 LondonLawyer: Wicked!

>243 LondonLawyer: That is one grand haul! I'd love ot hear your opinion on the editions that impressed you the most amongts that row of delight!

>245 wcarter: Opened within 5 seconds on my iPhone with 4G connection. May vary with your connectivity.

I'm glad to hear it's working, for some, anyway. As I say, downloading works fine, too. In theory my connectivity should be more stable than a phone - I'm viewing on my iMac which is connected directly to the router through an ethernet cable.

> 238
Agree completely.

>243 LondonLawyer: Wow! An impressive haul.

I have to admit I'm becoming more and more tempted by Atlas Shrugged -- the design and the illustrations look like some of Folio's finest work.

Nice! That is bigger than my entire Folio collection. I only started this year, however.

>250 gmacaree: the design and the illustrations look like some of Folio's finest work.

I bought this solely on the strength of the Balbusso sisters and my faith was not unrewarded. I have high expectations of anything by the Balbussos and this remarkable work exceeded them. True, I'd have been more thrilled with a few more illustrations, but these are serious works of art, executed in a very attractive art deco style.

>243 LondonLawyer: Very nice. Is that your bookshelf :) I am putting together one last order for the year and must buy the Ulysses volume before it gets even more expensive

- - -

With these new prices we must evaluate if FAD is still a deciase of the mind, or if there now have been found an antidote. Clearly >243 LondonLawyer: Have not been given that antidote .. :)

Hi, could I check if anyone has received an email about the autumn collection or something like that recently?

I haven't received a newsletter for nearly a year, though they assured me that I was in the mailing list when I emailed them about a month ago... Planning to write back again but first I need to make sure they did send a newsletter recently...

Edit: I just log-in to the new website and was fidgeting with it. Noticed that the box to received emails was not ticked, which made little sense to me since the customer service said there should be no problem... Oh well fingers-crossed that it works!

>254 Lim_See_Min: I received 'an invitation to explore our autumn collection' via mail on September 6th. Hopefully ticking the box fixed your problem.

>243 LondonLawyer:
Gorgeous haul. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of paper the Hardy novels are printed on? Thank you!

So, I grouched and grumbled and finally placed my order. Some I knew right away that I would be getting, but originally was disappointed. Well, I am still because a lot of titles I hoped to see were not there. Holding out hope for the Winter Collection since Christmas is not Christmas without a few FS books under the tree and my birthday is late November, so I usually hand over a book to the husband to gift me for that, as well. That being said, here is what I ended up ordering.

Brideshead Revisited~Never read it, but have seen movie versions. Should be a nice modern classic (modern for me) to add to my collection.
The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England~One of my favourite time periods and I love these kind of books. Love the author.
How to See Fairies~This was hard. The price is outrageous, imo, for such a small book, but I collect fairy books and figurines, so...yeah.
The Mayor of Casterbridge~Already have a FS edition. I read several Hardy novels every year. Will consider it a very nice backup book.
Far From the Madding Crowd~Same excuse as above
Tess of the d'Urbervilles~Same excuse as above, plus one of my favourite books of all time. Just finished a reread of it in August.
Jude the Obscure~Same excuse as above, just reread it earlier this year.
Free Folio Magazine
Free Folio Notebook

Now let's hope they arrive unbumped, unblemished.

>256 Lady19thC: Thank you!

The Hardys are typeset in Baskerville, printed on Yu Long Pure paper at C & C Offset Printing Co. Ltd in China and bound by them in cloth.

Edit: I have to admit I am not especially impressed with the slipcases on these editions. They have the texture of cheap recycled cardboard and the printed design doesn’t come through very well. This is what I mean:


delete account freelancer

Hm. According to the blurb:
"This is made from Fragrance of Grass paper, which is created using an ancient Chinese paper-making method that results in a unique appearance and texture." Is it fragrant?

>259 Jayked: It smells ... sort of minty.

>258 LondonLawyer: Thanks for the production details! That's very helpful.

For my personal taste, $54 each is too much for made in China and a plain, vintage binding design. I'm not a fan of the Yu Long paper either. The slipcase doesn't look attractive, but maybe it's nicer in person. I still hope this set goes on sale someday. It's too bad producing some editions in China doesn't really bring the prices down.

>258 LondonLawyer:

Ugh...that slipcase looks horrible! Well, if I hate them, I'll toss them. Backup Hardy's in hardcover with decent print will probably still be worth my while, but I won't moan if they don't do all 18 volumes. I do hope they add in Return of the Native, The Woodlanders and even Under the Greenwood Tree.

The Trumpet Major would be very welcome as well although I already have the previous edition of all those Hardys. However I will say that The Return of the Native is one of my favourites.

And yes anything from 1901 onwards is definitely modern.

>264 EclecticIndulgence: Only the Hardys. My other purchases from the autumn collection are of the usual good quality.

Would love a review of the Captain Cook journals from anyone that has these. Close to pushing the button on this and the South Polar Times!

>226 Firumbras:

I second this. Also can we have a list of where the books are printed?

>266 leemeadowcroft: *

> 258 Thanks for the post and the picture. I had added the Hardy books (particularly "Tess") to my wishlist but that slipcase is giving me some doubt. As others have noted, I can always turn to the secondary market for the Hardy books. I respect the effort to be creative with the slipcases (a relatively recent trend, I gather) but this effort seems to fall short. I'll have to give this one some thought before biting.

Same with the Ayn Rand book. There, however, my issue has more to do with the book than the presentation (which I very much like). I was given "Atlas Shrugged" by my first boss. I was then a teenager without a well-developed political viewpoint of my own but I thought Rand's philisophy was simplistic and naive. But my real problem with the book was the writing. I remember thinking it was a mediocre soap opera and, in some places, embarassingly bad. But that was a long time ago, the book is undeniably influential, and Folio's packaging looks to be excellent. If any of you are inspired to purchase and read the book I'd be interested in your thoughts about the text. If I decide the book merits a re-read I could be tempted into the purchase.

Slipcases worthy of the author :)

>261 NotDownInAnyMap:
For my personal taste, $54 each is too much for made in China and a plain, vintage binding design.

Too lazy to see how that translates into GBP (which national $ are we talking about? US?), but in UK they come in at £35. I thought, and still think, that's steep, but looking back, they were in the £15 to £16 range when first published, and I didn't bat an eyelid then, yet looking at rates of inflation, they are actually now a bit cheaper than they were then (inflation website suggests £1 then = £2.37 now). As ever, it's about what we perceive.

With all this talk of not buying Chinese, I wonder how much these books would cost if produced in UK/Europe or wherever.

I would suspect that the design decisions for the Hardy slipcases were to some respect influenced by the LEC Mayor of Casterbridge, which has boards covered in handmade Japanese rice paper. The effect is very beautiful and simply perfect for Hardy. The slipcase design for the new FS Hardy editions looks overly complicated, and would probably have benefitted from going with either the corn dolly motif or the grass paper, but not both together.

The "Prospectus & catalogue index 2010 to date" in the FSD wiki here. has now been updated to show all books that have appeared in any FS prospectus or catalogue this decade.
An amazing 767 books have appeared.

>271 Willoyd: Yes, I mean $54 U.S. Dollars each book which translates to about £42 GBP. I paid slightly less to buy Left Hand of Darkness which the binding design, slipcase design, and quality seem far superior in my opinion. If I ever buy these in the future, it would only be for the literary value and the illustrations. If I were in charge at the Folio Society, I would have revamped the binding design of the Hardy books. I think they deserve more than what they got.

>274 NotDownInAnyMap:
Matter of taste, really. I actually like the understated design of the Hardys. Fits the works and the writer well.
I haven't seen them in person, so can't comment on their particular quality of cloth, but generally speaking a book bound in nice cloth and bearing only minimalistic design is not in any way inherently inferior to a book covered in illustration like the Le Guin.

I'm not a fan of the Yu Long paper
Now that is a different question. Which FS books do you have that are printed on Yu Long? How does it compare with the ubiquitous Abbey Wove?

>275 elladan0891: "the understated design of the Hardys. Fits the works and the writer well"

Exactly. The though of giving the Folio Hardys treatment akin to that of the latest Folio Austen iteration makes me feel physically ill.

In the US, at least, the list price on a newly released hardcover is typically pushing $30. Given that, Folio prices don't seem out of line given the cost of better materials plus artist payment/author payment when still in copyright.

>275 elladan0891: Regarding the Yu Long paper, I have Moby-Dick and had the Maigret set (returned it) with the same paper. Compared to Abbey Wove, the Yu Long paper is very smooth with no texture, and has an undesirable chemical smell. This is my opinion, of course.

It's great that you and many others like the understated design of the Hardy books. I want the Folio Society have success and profitable sales so they can keep on making more beautiful books. Like I said, I still want this set, but I'm just going to wait and pray that they go on sale in the future. I just don't want to pay full price for something I don't like 100%.

>275 elladan0891:

Oh, good! My "Chinese" editions of Dickens are made on Yu Long paper and I actually like it! This makes me happier about my purchase!

>278 NotDownInAnyMap:
That's regrettable. I don't like smooth paper either.

I wonder if all Chinese Folios are printed on smooth paper?

I just don't wait to pay full price for something I don't like 100%
Fair enough. I think Hardy has a good chance of going on sale eventually, so your wait will probably pay off.

>274 NotDownInAnyMap:

If I were in charge at the Folio Society, I would have revamped the binding design of the Hardy books. I think they deserve more than what they got.

As I'm sure I've said before, the Hardy set is amongst my favourite, partly because of the classic, rather understated approach that FS tended to use at that time. Likewise my Austen, Bronte and other sets. In particular, the woodcut illustrations that they used were, for me, absolutely spot on. They are books to live with!

Having said that, if the FS had done a revamp, then both camps would be happy, as the classic Hardys are pretty much all readily available on the second hand market; I certainly managed to complete the set I started from new reasonably straightforwardly and with some in excellent condition. Like Huxley, though, I just can't imagine that sort of makeover for Hardy!

>281 Willoyd: I've had the 2007 edition (I consider it a revamped design from the classic Hardys) of Tess for years, and I've been hoping for Folio Society to use this design for the other Hardy novels. But to my disappointment, the new reprints in the Autumn Collection confirm that 2007 edition was a one-off. I can picture all the Wessex novels with that binding design. I would be a dream come true. But the decision was made to go the classic reprint route. Just like all their editions, some will like it and some won't. I was disappointed about Hardy, but I'm completely happy with the design of The Left Hand of Darkness. So I'm still happy that I got something good from this Autumn Collection. I am waiting to see Night in person when I receive my order later today.

>282 NotDownInAnyMap:
I've had the 2007 edition (I consider it a revamped design from the classic Hardys) of Tess for years, and I've been hoping for Folio Society to use this design for the other Hardy novels.

I've had a quick look through the prospectuses on the FSD wiki to take a look, and can't find any entry for this, although I vaguely remember one. Sorry to doubt, but sure it's 2007?

Glad you've managed to find something you're completely happy with!

>283 Willoyd: The copyright is 2007 in my book. It's in the 2008 Prospectus on page 55.

When anyone opens up Atlas Shrugged, I'd love to hear thoughts on the "metallic textured paper" in which it is bound and blocked; it sounds intriguing.

>283 Willoyd:

I have to say that one completely bypassed me, too. I see they've kept with the Reddick woodcuts, which is a victory for common sense and good taste. The binding? I dreaded seeing what they'd done to it but I confess it's not bad at all. I could live with it if I had to. But a whole shelf like that might be a bit too much of a feast for the eyes. Anyway, thank you >284 NotDownInAnyMap: for bringing it to our attention.

>285 St._Troy: " I'd love to hear thoughts on the "metallic textured paper" in which it is bound and blocked"

If it is anything like the Barzun, we will rapidly hear about the "sticky" covers. Not that i found it a problem but it is surprising at first.

>284 NotDownInAnyMap:
Found it - thank you! Must have skimmed past it, as remember a couple of the other books on that page (I have a couple!).

Looking at the details, I suspect that it's 'just' a reprint with a different binding design, as the illustrator, introducer and dimensions are the same as the earlier editions. It says 448pp, but mine is 438, so there may be a slight difference somewhere.

Like >286 folio_books:, I'd happily live with that for one or two volumes, but with a run of 18 (as the full set is) it might get a bit messy. I can see the attraction though.

To slightly diverge - that page also showed Middlemarch bound in purple crushed silk. I had that volume, and like an idiot exchanged it when the full set of Eliots was published for the volume with the portrait centred on the front cover. That set is one of my disappointments, whereas the crushed silk edition was gorgeous. Big mistake. The Dangerous Liaisons binding on the same page is another FS favourite of mine.

I received the Fall print catalog today in the mail. Maybe now I can actually complete an order. The US online site for no apparent reason deleted the books in my basket when I tried to (gasp) complete the order.

>288 Willoyd: exchanged it when the full set of Eliots was published for the volume with the portrait centred on the front cover.

Just about everything is wrong with the bindings for that series. It's by far the most disappointing Folio "set" I own. I wait in hope of a reissue, though I doubt there's much demand for the full series. They could look at a set of the more popular works, though.

For those interested in the original Hardys I just noticed there's a few of them on eBay UK ending tomorrow afternoon, very reasonably priced (£4 to £5, ish).

The usual disclaimer.

>291 folio_books: There are a few nice sets on abe too.

I had the 2007 Tess and considered the binding cloth (I seem to remember it being buckram or similar) to be inferior to the much softer cloth of the set, and gave it away. Aside from the label issue I came to consider the '90s Hardys to be some of the very best examples of Folio design, as they were so perfect for Hardy. Apparently the customer base agreed and the reprints were ditched post-Tess.

>292 HuxleyTheCat: I came to consider the '90s Hardys to be some of the very best examples of Folio design, as they were so perfect for Hardy.

Absolutely. Hardy is the last novelist to demand a Fancy Dan approach. Reddick was a gift from the gods for him. Lovely, lovely books.

>290 folio_books:
Glad I'm not the only one to think that!

>194 F.Trier:

So I now have both, side by side. What exactly is it you want to know? Bear in mind I have read neither so questions concerning the text are redundant!

>294 Willoyd:

They produced a lovely edition of Middlemarch in the seventies with production standards very similar to the Hardys we've been eulogising. I got rid of my copy in favour of the "new" series :/

Regrets, I've had a few ...

>271 Willoyd:

For a true picture of how expensive FS books have become, you should really factor in the value, in the time of membership, of the renewal offer and the discount to members on new books during the year of 10% (or was it 20%). At the very least, in the glory days the presentation volume could be swapped for one or two other books. If one held out, in some years there were four or five successive renewal offers. The last was usually any books at half-price, and before that often a choice of sets. The result was that the four mandatory books usually cost only 50 or 60% of the list price when averaged out over the free-ish books. How soon one forgets how good those days were. I recall one member registering his wife as a fictional member just to take double advantage of the renewal offer.

Just ordered the Cook Journals, South Polar Times and Mani and Roumeli, with the 10% discount on the latter two!

>297 Felixholt:

What you stated is true of course. But that model may not have been financially stable. Too many sales and too many renewal offers (with folks using multiple accounts) perhaps was part of the issue driving the changes. I would prefer something in between where it used to be and where it is now.

What I would like to have back are:

1) Membership, where folks commit to their 4+ books up front at the begining of the year, and in return receive a 20% discount. Could be increased to 6+ books. This would necessitate a printing in the fall of the complete set of books planned for print during the year so we could subscribe to our 6 minimum.

2) Pre-release discounts (15-20%) during the year for folks who commit to buying other before the books are printed (as was done with the Patrick O'Brien books)

3) A single 'presentation' volume at the beginning of the year for folks who make their commitments.

Yes, I know this sounds a lot like the old model. But it could be tweaked in that the generous 'renewal' offers are not there, and the swapping of the single yearly presentation volumes as well. Heck, if they put in a cut-off for the members, they could print pretty much exactly the number of presentatino volumes required and eliminate waste there.

Then they could still sell to non-members at the full price. They could also sell to members at full price if we do not subscribe to the books before they are printed.

As it is now, many of us are starting to take a 'pass' on new books, hoping that they will go on sale in a future year. This is not satisfying for customers, and I can't imagine it is satisfying for FS.

But heck, what do I know. I'm not a publisher perhaps the above would now work. But I would feel connected to the FS again, and would buy more books.

-Shawn

>297 Felixholt:
Good points. At least a couple of my Hardy books were exchanges for presentation volumes.

>299 sdawson:
Yes, babies and bathwater come to mind. My buying has certainly crashed since membership was dissolved, varying between one-tenth and one-twentieth what it was per year.

>299 sdawson: All good suggestions. I would not mind giving up the free volumes each year if discounts were offered with a membership.

I did send an email a while back lamenting the loss of the new release discount (20% I think, and later 10%), and stating I was rarely buying new releases now.

I was part of the group offering feedback about planned changes to the FS and membership model. I don't recall any of us recommending the type of changes they have chosen to make in the past two years. I realize we are a small group, and not a representative sample of FS customers, but still...

On the plus side, I have been much more focused on older FS releases, and have really enjoyed adding to my FS library this way.

The old membership model was completely obsolete and obviously holding FS back. The only problem is that they didn't do a good job transitioning out of it.

Some of the problems with the old model:
- bribing lapsing members with renewal offers. They were basically incentivizing people to limit their full price purchases to only the necessary 4 per year and play chicken with FS, waiting for better and better renewal offers
- the system was open to abuse and dishonest behavior, such as registering fictious members as mentioned by >297 Felixholt:
- old system rewarded newly joining members more than current members
- it's hard to find a marketing shtick more repulsive to twenty- and thirty-somethings than the tired old "get this fine thing for free in exchange for committing to buy X things at full price every certain period" gimmick

However, dispensing with membership cold turkey FS alienated some of the old standing members. And there are still few incentives to buy books full or near full price.

What I think FS really needs is some sort of loyalty rewards program that encourages buying, especially at full price. The more books you buy, the more points you get that you can then convert into discounts or free books. Simple and effective. Adding certain incentives for certain buying behavior could be built into the system as well, e.g. buying full price vs sales could bring more points per pound/dollar spent, buying a book within a month of its release could bring more points, etc.

Oh, and I like presentation volumes too. The way they're doing it post-membership is fine, I think - I happily collected all 4 seasonal anthologies. Too bad they came immodestly slipcaseless, I have to order a single slipcase for them now.

>302 elladan0891:
I agree with sentiments completely.
Rewarding members who buy lots of books (thinking of you LondonLawyer) by giving points or similar that can be redeemed for books, is a great idea.
Those, like myself, that obtained our order history with an eye watering total at the bottom after 26 years of membership, should also be encouraged to keep buying with loyalty rewards of some sort.
At the moment we (and I suspect the wider FS customer base) are disgruntled by the confused change over to the new web site and the increased prices and shipping costs.
Mole, please take these ideas upstairs, and "ungruntle" us.

>302 elladan0891:

While I appreciate all ideas, loyalty points would not appeal to me at all. The loyalty points system, to me, is far more gimmicky than free presentation volumes. It reminds me of airline points or credit card points.

I fly *a lot* (50+ flights/year), and while I use points, they do not matter so very much. The tickets I buy are based on two factors: schedule and price. I will not pay a higher price to get more points.

Similarly with credit cards. Just give me cash back, keep it simple, and forget the points.

I have other standards for books (the story first, then design, materials, illustrations and cost) but 'points' would not factor in. With books, I would appreciate a direct, pre-order discounted price as someting of value. Paying full price for points that I may later use in some nebulous fashion is just a game I don't want to play.

I agree with >302 elladan0891: that the renwal offers simply had to go. Current members should not be treated more poorly than new members.

Honestly though, I could do without the presentation volumes as well, it's also 'nice' but not mandatory.

Shawn

>304 sdawson:

I think you're overcomplicating the potential of a points system by muddling it with an airlines analogy. Airlines impose too many restrictions.

If Folio implemented a simple program whereby one would receive, say, 10% credit on every purchase for use on future purchases, sort of like a cash back set-up, the results would probably be quite favourable. Folio doesn't need to limit when/where/how points are valid like airlines do because their product is so much simpler and not affected by nearly so many external factors. One's accumulated points could be applied to any book, new or old stock, sale or full price, LE or standard, book or non-book, etc...

>305 treereader:

Yes, if implemented like that, as a simple x% credit that I could use on any future purchase, then that would be of value. In my mind that is dollars I can spend rather than points that must be somehow converted to dollars. My experiences with other points programs was influencing my thoughts.

-Shawn

>295 folio_books: I was wondering if by a cursory glance you could perceive any major difference in their degree of abridgement i.e. if they contain the same passages from the original journals or different excerpts.
But don't stress it, I have almost convinced myself that it should be included in my forthcoming order to be placed soon.

Thank you for remembering my post though.

I wonder if in readiness for Brexit my package from FS arrived with a customs declaration label attached.

>307 F.Trier:

The quick answer to your question I gleaned from the respective introductions to the books. The single volume (1997) volume claims to contain about one-fifth of the original material. The new three-volume edition claims about one-third. This accords with my visual impression that the three volumes together appear about 150% of the single volume.

That said, as long as you can stand the price of the new set I'd say your inclination to purchase sooner rather than later is right. My usual way of dealing with the expensive end of Folio's releases is to put them on my waiting list for a future sale, but only if I could bear the thought of missing out in the event of them selling out first. I couldn't take the risk with this particular set so they went straight into my first order and I'm very pleased with them. Recommended.

A special word about the separately-bound map, which is a quality production up to the standard of that issued with the Travels in Arabia Deserta LE, for those fortunate enough to own that set or who have seen a copy. It's a nice way to put icing on the cake and a welcome change from having constantly to turn to endpapers as the voyages (all three) unfold (no pun intended).

>309 folio_books: It looks to me like the Cook journals are the must-haves of this release.

>309 folio_books: That is all I wanted to hear, many thanks. Duly enabled!

>310 gmacaree:

Certainly a must-have for me.

>311 F.Trier:

You're welcome! Enjoy!

>299 sdawson: Onwards.

I just did a rough and ready calculation on the spreadsheet of my order history: eliminating all the crap (Year Round Things To Do and its ilk), bookmarks, umbrellas magazines, and looking at the free books which I actually requested (in lieu of presentation vols) and received, these are running at about 10% of my total order value. From which I conclude that if Folio had simply cut out all the crap and given members a 'spend on what you like' voucher based roughly upon a percentage of what they had spent in the previous year, they could have continued with a membership/rewards programme and kept everyone happy without any form of points gimmick.

Just to follow up on >309 folio_books:, here’s a few pictures of the map volume. It’s an excellent finishing touch to the set.

>314 LondonLawyer: Gorgeous. Exactly the sort of thing that differentiates the best Folio books from the competition, and what I hope they do more of.

>309 folio_books:, >314 LondonLawyer: Many thanks for the description and photos. The Cook journals were top of my list, but this enabling confirms that I need to order them. As >315 gmacaree: says, this is what differentiates FS from other publishers.

>314 LondonLawyer: The map is awesome! Great job Folio Society!

The Autumn catalogue finally reached Australia today, and I now understand what everyone wa saying about its size. It is about the same size as a small FS book, and much easier to handle.
Australians should also be aware that 10% GST is now included in the price and postage, and not added at checkout, explaining a significant part of the price increase in this part of the world. Makes me marginally happier that the FS is not gouging Aussies as much as I had thought.
Still have not placed an order from this catalogue yet. Waiting for my selection to precipitate from a suspension to a definitive sediment.

The catalogue also arrived in Germany yesterday with the 10% price increase without ever mentioning it. Since I doubt that any of the new releases will sell out until the next sale I will wait until then to order.

>314 LondonLawyer:

Thanks for this. I did consider trying to add some photos. I'm glad I resisted because they wouldn't have been up to your standard.

With all the praise for Cook's Journals I went to my shelf in the expectation that I would find my old copy in the 'Victorian Adventure' series suffering from 'flat-spine' syndrome and therefore providing me with a jolly good excuse to replace it. Sadly, however, I found that I had already replaced it with the same edition but with a plumply rotund spine.

>321 HuxleyTheCat: Do you happen to know what causes this "flat spine" syndrome? I've noticed it with a few of my second-hand volumes. I assume it's caused by laying the book open on a table over a long time, but perhaps there's more to it - use of particular binding materials, maybe?

>322 LondonLawyer: As the syndrome seems to affect particular prints of books from within a series sharing the same design and materials, I don't think it's so much the binding materials used as perhaps the tension used in the process of gathering and sewing in the signatures within a particular print run. The original Folio edition of the Cook seemed to be particularly prone, disproportionally so in comparison with others in that series, and I was delighted to eventually find a copy which matched the others (Darwins etc) on my shelf.

>206 Willoyd:
Well, no Dickens, just four reprinted Hardys and a rehashed Waugh, so I'm glad I didn't hold my breath. It did remind me that I hadn't got an FS copy of Brideshead Revisited and my book group is reading it next month, so have ordered one.......on the secondary market.

Arrived this morning. Near new condition, certainly unread. For a penny under a tenner it's a bargain.

>323 HuxleyTheCat: That's interesting to know. One of my Andrew Lang books suffers from it, but none of the others. And a couple of the bellicose series and 19thC exploration books.

>325 LondonLawyer: "One of my Andrew Lang books suffers from it (i.e., flat-spine syndrome)."

I'm willing to bet it's the Blue Fairy Book. The first impression is like that, but when it was reprinted it had a rounded spine in common with the rest of the series. It drives me nuts when I look at them on the shelf, but I can never quite summon up enough determination to go to the expense of buying a later printing!

>325 LondonLawyer: One of my Andrew Lang books suffers from
>326 boldface: I'm willing to bet it's the Blue Fairy Book.

Yes, my Blue Fairy Book is the same. We are suffering an epidemic of flat blue fairies.

>326 boldface: You guess correctly! It’s irritating and I’m minded to buy another copy.

And I thought it was just my Blue Fairy book. This was my first purchase of the Lang books and I almost did not continue purchasing them due to the defect. I am glad I changed my mind.

My order arrived today with the Cook Journals, South Polar Times and Mani and Roumeli. Glorious.

I am also afflicted with the Blue Fairy flat spine - and I just noticed that the Deptford Trilogy has a spine that is flat at the top and rounded at the bottom.

>329 sdawson: "This was my first purchase of the Lang books and I almost did not continue purchasing them due to the defect."

I don't think it's a defect as such, just a different binding style which in practice has an inherent weakness. Flat-spine bindings appear not to be strong enough to prevent a sagging of the text block after a while. This means that the spine is no longer quite flat but develops a slight concavity near the top. Horrible!

Yes boldface, you just described my Blue Fairy. As one can see here hopefully.

There have been a number of discussions of this problem over the years on this forum and others. Although it won't cure the problem, you can improve appearance for books with slipcovers by placing a support under the end of the text block furthest from the spine. It should be non-acidic. I use a piece of covered styrofoam cut to the width of the text block.
The following leaflet gives a diagram of a "tailored text-block support piece" as item F in figure 1.
https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/4.-storage-and-handli...

Edited to add reference

I had actually not seen the increased price for the ROW region before someone pointed it out here in this thread.

Well I have no idea why that has happened, but FS books are becoming a little bit to expensive for me nowadays I think anyway. Alternatively I can only get the "must haves" which is a good thing cause it saves me from purchasing on impulse, at least that is something.

What a charming book How To See Fairies is . But what a price for it. I think it is a lost opportunity for a wonderful LE

>336 shdunne:

I'm relieved on the one hand due to the price of limited editions, but I really think this would have made a beautiful one.

This morning under the Children's section I see The Complete Poems for Christopher Robin by A.A. Milne. Is this new? I don't remember seeing it before as a single volume.

>338 wdripp: Great! Yes, it is new. Last week there was only The House at Pooh Corner. Winnie the Pooh is back too.

Those considering the Journals of Captain Cook may be interested to hear, if they haven't already, that the wreck of the HMS Endeavour may have been found off the coast of Rhode Island in the US:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/sep/19/wreck-of-captain-cooks-hm...

After all the excitement of finally getting my order after almost a full month of waiting, every single slipcase was damaged, plus one book. Actually, a few books were damaged slightly, but I will accept them as is and smoothing out the wrinkles as best as I can. I have written to them with photos of all the damage. I hope they will send me fresh slipcases and the one damaged book. The box was smooshed, poorly packed with very little bubble wrap and everything was sliding around in the box. I have told them over and over again that they need heavier duty mailing boxes. They use a very soft cheap kind that just doesn't hold up to heavy hardcover books. To say I am discouraged and disappointed is such a understatement. I have never received such a mess. This box was packed by Erika.

Folio Society mole~You have really come down in the world and I doubt I will be purchasing much in the future. I can go to my local B&N and pick up nicely bound books that are undamaged and survive perfectly well, or buy books second hand knowing they will be packed nicely and in sturdier boxes.

Has anyone else received a nightmarish package from FS for this release?

>341 Lady19thC:

Most of my orders have some kind of damage. FS quality control is their weak point.

>342 MobyRichard:

None of my orders (over thirty years) has ever had any kind of damage. FS quality control is their strong point.

Quality control WAS good, once upon a time, but it isn't anymore. I don't like bashing FS because they have made me extremely happy over the past several decades with their gorgeous books and introduced me to titles I would never have read. They have published gorgeous hardcovers of editions that I have asked for and fulfilled library dreams. But this was unacceptable by all means and I sent them an email with photos so they could see. It is being taken care of and replacements being sent out. It was late in coming compared to recent orders over the past few years and oddly came on the 1st year anniversary of my Mom's wake. It has been a hard week, a hard year. These books were bought with money she left me. To have it come and see every single one damaged just brought tears in my eyes and I couldn't even deal with it. I just put the books on the dining room table and left them for the weekend until I could properly inspect each edition.

It is an easy fix. Pack the books with more bubble wrap and carefully. Secure them with yet more bubble wrap, and use a heavier duty brown cardboard box for the entire order. Also, the new slipcases are cheaper, but thicker and seem to get bumped up easier, and when they do, because they are thicker, they do more damage to the actual book.

>341 Lady19thC:

My latest order was damaged--I'm not such a stickler about creased slipcases as long as the books inside are undamaged. But if the books are damaged too (meaning spines creased or corners stubbed), then I have no hesitancy in asking for replacements. I have never had a problem with getting replacement copies.

>304 sdawson:
Shawn, sorry for the very late reply, but I've been terribly busy and just had a moment to catch up on LT.

Looks like we have a lot in common - love for books and old houses, and we're both frequent flyers )
I've reduced my travel to about 20 flights a year, mostly for pleasure now, but I used to take 50+ flights a year like you. I think I did over 100 flights one year.

>305 treereader:/>306 sdawson:
Exactly, that's what I meant. Airline points are as gimmicky as the airlines make them. Don't know which airline you usually fly, but I can say that Delta skymiles became almost useless junk. I just started converting them into Delta $$$ certificates, as I can never use them when I want to anymore. Like you, I don't look at miles when buying tickets. However, 15 or maybe even 10 years ago I wouldn't call skymiles useless or gimmicky when I knew that 50,000 miles flat would always get me anywhere in Europe on any dates.
Yes, points could be implemented or thought of as cash back that you could use on future purchases. No gimmicks!

Hi,

I am updaing an old thread but for those people who have bought the new Thomas Hardy books, have they had a final opinion on the paper and slipcase after owning them for a period . There was certainly some initial discussion about this compared with the editions in the 1990's especially the slipcase

I am now having second thought about buying them in the future , that is in a positive way, especially if more titles are publiehed.

The main issue , that has caused new interest, is the longitivity of the labels with use with the older editions. Has this issue been addressed with the new books or are are they of the same construction.

I was looking at getting copies second hand from the 1990s editions and what I can see from photographs from many second hand copies on sale (a large percentage?) have minor damage to almost total destrucion of the labels. Is this issue apply to particular printings ?

I have currently bought Tess and Trumpet-Major second hand that look to be in fine condition but now reviewing future buying. (Also, a minor point, the labels don't line up with different printings)

So do I need to read the older editions very carefully or start looking at the latest editions with the new slipcases that certainly had mixed reviews. Currently waiting on other titles to be published.