Which (Currently avalible standard edition) books from the folio society best embody the streangths of the press?

I've recently been hearing a lot about the folio society and am LOVING what I am seeing. I want to pick up a book of theirs, but first want to hear from its "devotees", which books do you think are best representative of the strengths of the folio society? Which standard editions really stand above the rest? If you were to hand someone a single folio edition in order for them to "get it", which would you hand them? Why that book?

Titanic (as a single volume) and Jonathan Strange (as a set) are the first ones that spring to mind.

Not to answer the question, but Folio isn't a press, they are a publisher. They don't print their own books.

Both titanic and jonathan strange look fantastic! what do you think makes them such good examples of folio society's work?

Ah good point didn't realize that distinction, will keep that in mind!

Start with a book you actually want to read. Unless you buy the books as art or as a collector only of course…

>5 AnnieMod:

the following is a rant that shows all the books I was thinking about. Feel free to skip this to return to the main conversation.

So I will definitely read the book no matter what it is, but the conflict between "I want to read this story" and "I want to experience this craftsmanship" is tough! I haven't found the right balance point.

* For example, I'm currently reading through the Cosmore (switching between Cosmere and other books), so I am not in the mood for a second epic fantasy series. However, the Game of Thrones, earthsea, and Gormenghast editions are GORGEOUS. And I will read all 3 EVENTUALLY, you know? so maaaaaybe it would be best to do it now? (I already read Earthsea and loved it). But in general being in the middle of one big fantasy makes a second one maybe not the best choice.

* Dune and the Book of the New Sun aren't fantasy, but they ARE big epics, and although I've heard fantastic things about both editions... It might be a while before I read them, which isn't ideal. (though I could put the cosmere on hold for longer). (also, I remember reading the first Dune book and liking it, but that was also when I was about 13)

* The foundation has the benefit of my reading Asimov being a good thing professionally right now (I'm working on a project where the author was inspired by Asimov), but it's another epic.

* I have heard of fear and loathing in Las Vegas and had never really planned to read it, but those ILLUSTRATIONS, I can't get over them. But I'm not sure If I'd like it.

On the other side,

* I LOVE pulp horror; it is my favorite genre. That whole era of fiction is fantastic (I'm a huge Edgar Allen Poe fan). so Folio Society's "weird tales" seem like an obvious pick for me. Especially since the illustration is EXTREMELY my vibe (stylized art, in general, is my thing SO much, and I also have a huge thing for limited color). However, I want to see folio society at its best in terms of book design, and it doesn't seem like production wise this is where they pulled out all their stops for the best binding, paper, and such? I could be wrong, though.

* the same thing with all the Philip k dick; I LOVE his writing, and all the versions are nice, but they seem atypical of what folio society does and not a good representation.

* Planet of the apes, Rendevous with Rama, Haunting of hill house, we have always lived in the castle, and any Steven king novel are also on my too read list, so it would make sense to go for them now with folio society but I am unsure what I think of these editions compared to other offerings.

And then with other books there are a ton of reasons to get or not to get them.

* Frankenstein is one of my favorite books, and I ADORE the slipcase on this edition. It seems like the obvious get, however, I've heard there is a manufacturing defect with many copies of the current printing.

* Phantom of the Opera... I mean, I love stories LIKE that—Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man—but I don't actually know anything about Phantom. That design is GORGEOUS though, absolutely stunning, the orange of the cover next to the black of the pages is great. But I don't know if it fits the book or anything like that.

* Never ending story is in a similar category, one of the prettiest designs out there, but I've never seen the movie and don't know if I would like the book, but would definitely read them. I do love the two color text though, an AMAZING idea. it is beautiful.

* Mythic beasts, japenese tales, dante's inferno, and the complete folio of shakespear are all books which I would love to flip through, but I'm not really in the space to do a deep dive on right now. Love shakespear but I prefer watching him to reading him usually, and Dante's Inferno is great but also a lot.

* I'm already planning on also getting the beehive books dracula and I'm not sure I need two copies of dracula... might though.

Some I am not sure about.

* Like I ADORE the Moomin stories, so the finn family Moomintroll sounds interesting, but also I'm not sure what this version is doing differently from other versions (most moomin books are very well bound) other then color, and personally I tend to prefer black and white art. But also... moomin! (also, the textured paper, I do love hardy textured paper). It's the same thing with Alice in Wonderland; it's not a favorite story, but I mean, it's a classic. You got to have a nice edition of Alice in Wonderland.

* In the same vein, the little prince is one of my favorite books of all time and a big inspiration to me, and this seems to just be that but on nice paper. I would get that as a nice dedication to a favorite book of mine, but I'm not sure if it's a good taste of folio society.

aka i've been thinking about this for a week and its a hard choice to make!

Is it just me, but why do I feel torn between whether this is written by a marketing team who LOVE and ADORE their work in market research or simply an overexcited teenager on a tight budget? If the latter, then simply read more. The words matter much more than the presentation. Ask none other than Mary Beard on her opinion of FS, despite the paycheque she’s happy to receive (not a criticism, btw; I’d do the same!). If you’re looking to build a library of classics, one should skip FS entirely and head straight to genuine fine press. You’ll thank us later.
If it’s the marketing team, then I say Year-Round Things to Do shall keep you occupied for at least one solar orbit.

If I had to pick just one, it would be Anansi Boys - beautifully and richly illustrated in colour as well as black and white, the cover feels great, and the slipcase is really well made and illustrated, too. I also like the sprayed edge that suits the novel perfectly. Neverwhere would be a close second - they really did their best to make their Gaiman novels attractive editions. The Gormenghast trilogy is also very richly illustrated and beautifully done. Invisible Cities is a little gem in my opinion. I was also really impressed by a friend's copy of the Neverending Story, which I only didn't get because I prefer to read the German original. Alice in Wonderland illustrated by Charles van Sandwyk is also a really beautiful book, though the sold out limited edition was even better, very creative. Japanese Tales has a gorgeous cloth binding, a well-designed slipcase and unusual, interesting illustrations. In contrast to the other books I mentioned, it also represents what you might call the old Folio Society, which published less common, unusual titles that other publishers that do genre literature wouldn't normally tackle. This has definitely decreased in recent years. In all the books I mentioned, the illustrations are above average to me (tastes vary, naturally) and the whole design is beautiful and creative. That being said, I do have preferences when it comes to genre, and as was said above, it might be best to go with something not just for the visual aspect but for the book itself. I naturally don't know what kind of literature (or non-fiction for that matter) appeals to you. In the area of non-fiction, I really like and enjoy their two books by Steve Brusatte.

>7 cwl: lmao oof! I can see myself coming across both ways lol.

So for the context behind this post, I'm really into the zine scene (make them, read them, on the organization team for a zine convention), and the making of books as an art form really matters to me because of that. I've bought a lot of zines where I was interested in the design and printing more then the content, I just love seeing what people do with books as a format!

Recently I got thinking of looking more into book arts outside of zines, more in prose, which is where I came across the folio society. So I am thinking of dipping into the folio society more as "I want a cool piece of book design" then something to read. Though like, more books to read is also a huge plus!

I do plan on looking at the fine press stuff after trying out folio society and easton, but honestly don't know where to start there at ALL, and wanted to see what the various parts of the well printed book scene have to offer.

>7 cwl:
That was my feeling when I read the original post too. User joined LibraryThing just a few days ago.

>9 rfkannen: "I do plan on looking at the fine press stuff ... but honestly don't know where to start there at ALL"

Choose a book for which you definitely want to own a "nice" copy (or author), for whatever your definition of nice is. Search this forum, the fine press LT forum, and the George Macy LT forum for options. (Note the forum-specific search boxes near the top of each of these group index pages.) My gateway was Milton's Paradise Lost.

For the next step up in obsessiveness, find a few good comprehensive press lists (Will Ransom's compiled checklists cover basically all fine press publishers active during the first half of the 20th century) or bibliographies (including Folio 75, which is free in pdf format) and add those search targets to your workflow. The complete list of Limited Edition Club titles belongs here as well.

Search AbeBooks.com for your author or title, along with the single keyword "fine" and sort by highest price to find new possibilities (don't buy those, they will almost always be overpriced, but you will discover new press and publisher options). Search for (alone without author or title constraints) keywords that will generally only show up in high quality, knowledgeable descriptions of fine press books. Some examples: barcham green paper, bradel binding, dampened paper, Albion hand press, Caslon typeface, Heidelberg cylinder press. Again sort by highest price to avoid the chaff. Learn that book designers are often good search targets, in addition to presses and publishers.

You will be an expert in a month or two.

A welcome, perhaps unintended, side effect is that fine press second hand prices (apart from a small number of recent fads, hot ticket authors, and fine press royalty) will also often be cheaper than new folio society standard editions, not to mention the limited editions.

If you are all neutral about the Easton aesthetic, avoid completely. I've never met a collector who was happy with their past purchases of many Easton Press books, apart from those that target either the press itself of one of the press's specific series (such as whatever they call their "greatest books" series). (Cue the 1-2 exceptions piping up ...) And (my opinion now) if you do like (or are okay with) the Easton aesthetic, Franklin Library did it better for their first four major series. Better design, higher quality leather, better image reproduction quality.

Finally, to speak to the original post prompt, the recent Murakami volumes are all very nicely done, in the same style but still distinctive. Check that you are into the symbolist style of the illustrations though. They are the best "designed" books from Folio recently (and maybe ever, though I'm probably forgetting something). I was going to say the Call of Cthulhu Lovecraft compilation, but it doesn't seem to be available anymore. The two tone shifting purple green cloth binding is perfect for the stories. And in nonfiction, Johnson's General History of the Pirates is an excellent example of high quality materials, appropriate but restrained design, and reproduced historical illustrations.

The three trilogies that Folio published last year were all terrific (Gormenghast, Shakespeare, JS&MN), but if I had to pick one, I'd go with Shakespeare.

>6 rfkannen: So go for a book that you really want a nice copy of AND that appeals visually and you want to read soon(ish).

"Weird tales" is a nice book - it may be not be mentioned often as one of the more striking designs but if it is what you like and you actually like the art, why not just start there?

Trying to find a representative book will backfire - one of the beauties in Folio is that they experiment with design. So whatever you start with, if you set your expectations based on it, you will end up with some disappointments - even in books you may have liked otherwise. So if you find the Dick volumes drawing you in? Go for them.

My point is - stop trying to find the best first book based on subjective opinions and what other people think - everyone has their own reasons for liking certain books and occasionally they may not vocalize very well all of them. Make the list of books that both appeal visually AND which are what you would want to read soon-ish and take it from there. Once you have this list, come back with it here and you will get a more focused recommendation based on that.

PS: And we can start the bets on how many Folio books you will have by the end of the year (the answer is almost always "more than I expected") ;)

>7 cwl: Ask none other than Mary Beard on her opinion of FS

Any links or anywhere I can find articles or quotes on what she thinks? Some cursory googling didn't turn up anything.

>1 rfkannen: 'If you were to hand someone a single folio edition in order for them to "get it", which would you hand them?'

Any of them.

I would suggest you check out the catalogue, pick something that takes your fancy, see where you go from there. That's how I started.

It all depends on what you like but it might turn out to be a slippery slope ;-)

>14 Aiglos: Agreed. If there's any internet gossip, I am not seeing it.

Not everything is available easily via Google, apparently. She’s said it in person more than once over the years and I believe it might be in an older interview from a few years back, possibly shortly after the Pompeii edition came out. Effectively, she said that she didn’t see the point of FS as the contents of the books are surely much more important than the covers.

>14 Aiglos: I can’t recall if it was here or Reddit or somewhere else but I do remember seeing something written by someone on this. They’d taken a FS edition of SPQR to a book signing where Beard was present and she’d allegedly said something like the contents doesn’t matter as long as it looks nice.

Of course that’s a ‘someone’ said ‘something’ about Beard maybe having said ‘something’ so tertiary source at least!

I’ve heard her say it herself in person, but it wasn’t me at the signing of it’s also been referenced on a Reddit thread. Def not a tertiary, or even secondary, source.

>19 cwl: What exactly have you heard her say, then?

What I wrote above. Content over form. There are probably many hundreds, if not a few thousand, of us out there who’ve known her or been taught by her, as she was a very well-respected Classicist long before she reached celebrity status through the television programs.

>7 cwl:

ADORE, AMAZING, LOVE, ILLUSTRATIONS, EVENTUALLY, GORGEOUS, LIKE!!!!!!!

Very odd use of unnecessary uppercase.

fair with the typing style I'll tone it down.

that is really interesting with the Fine press edition, thank you for the methods I will try them out! I just looked for Poe, Dracula, Brave New World, and Lovecraft and didn't see anything available right now but will keep an eye out in the future. However it does look like theres a letterpress copy of Youth by Asimov done by Thornwillow, that could be interesting! I'll skip easton then.

Maybe weird tales is the right one, it does look interesting.
I think right now I'm torn between Weird Tales, Gormenghast, Never Ending Story, and Phantom of the Opera. I mentioned deciding this to a friend who said he thought I would like the way Gormenghast handles character which makes it seem interesting. I'll have to do more research on never ending story and phantom of the opera.

thank y'all for the help!

The first two books of Gormenghast are absolutely terrific, but the third falls off a good bit. I have the older edition, so I can't speak to the production values of the current edition, but I consider the first two more than compensate for paying for the third, by a significant margin.

>24 rfkannen: I highly recommend The Phantom of the Opera if you're interested in it! Receiving it in hand gave me the same feeling I used to get when I was new to Folio: it's a stunning production, it's beautiful to look at, and I can't imagine a better way to experience the story.