Summer Sale 2025

I know it’s a little early, as there’s been no comms from FS yet, but what are people’s hopes for the sale that should hopefully start in the next couple of weeks?

I think the New Year sale surprised a lot of people in its scope and depth of discounting. I wonder if we’ll see similar this time around?

For myself, I’m hoping to see a discount on The Anglo Saxons (feels possible), Japanese Tales (less likely) and perhaps one of the older Murakami titles.

If Rob Roy makes a re-appearance at 50% off I may even bite on that as the more I look at it the less opposed I am to the artwork…

>1 cyber_naut:, I’d love for the Georgette Heyer volumes to go on sale. Those three books are the only books on the FS website that interest me. Yikes…… only 3 books out of 277 listed on the FS ROW store that intrigue me…

As a Bibliophile, that’s not good…….

>2 Bibliophile-I:
Are you discounting current FS books that you already own or do you really have zero interest in their entire portfolio, save 3? Are you also discounting FS books which you already have in non-FS editions that, if you didn’t have those you’d be entertaining the FS versions?

If your stats were truly 3/277 I think you’d be obligated to change your username. ;-)

>3 treereader:

…?

Shall I nock a flaming arrow?

>3 treereader: my wishlist stats are 3-4 of (current catalog count).

Roadside Picnic (the LE if it hits a sale with a big markdown, otherwise I'll bite the bullet on a standard one of these days)

The Rovelli book on the physics of time

Maybe Dominion

Maybe No Country For Old Men (though Folio's art direction for McCarthy is so milquetoast, for an author that deserves the most wrenching, disturbing, or terrifying illustrations possible, that I've resisted so far, apart from The Road).

The LE of Roadside Picnic has many copies remaining, and has stuck around for a while, so I think there's a decent chance of it going on sale. But it would need to be a big discount for the materials value and price to line up for me.

(There are quite a few from the current catalog that I'd recommend to others, but I already have those I want in my library.)

>4 bacchus.:

Nah. I was being facetious but reacting to the “yikes” combined with that particular numerical evaluation of Folio’s catalog and being characterized as a disappointment. 277 probably just isn’t the right denominator because that’s (apparently) the size of the whole catalog: If one has zero books whatsoever, I find it impossible to believe that only 3 of 277 could be of interest. If one owns more than zero books, FS or not, then any titles FS offers that match would need to be included in the count of books of interest. Since this is a thread about the Summer Sale and maybe generally extended to new acquisitions, then the whole catalog as a denominator doesn’t make sense (unless owns nearly zero books) - the set of new books and/or count of sale books would be appropriate. Plus, since the sale hasn’t started yet, level of interest may change for some of those books once the sale pricing is available.

And even Bibliophile-I recognized the irony of the stat and username. Fixing the stat would surely keep their username’s honor safe and sound. I bet it turns out to be closer to 7/55, give or take.

Yes, the Winter Sale was exceptional, so hopefully more of that please. I have quite a lot of the current catalog, so the only specific book left on my wish list is Kindred. But I always pick-up additional titles when they're 50% off.

I count only five currently available books that I might buy, and one in particular (Piranesi) will of course not be in the sale. There are several others that could find their way into my basket at the right discount. And there are no comics involved.

>5 abysswalker: The LE of Roadside Picnic has many copies remaining, and has stuck around for a while, so I think there's a decent chance of it going on sale.

Yes, it hasn't sold well and I was mildly surprised that it wasn't included in the big clear out of LEs at 50% off in January. I would also be interested in it but would have to be at a deep discount to justify the extra cost over the SE, which feels like one of the more keenly-priced titles in the current line up.

About the only one that interests me at the moment almost certainly will not be in the sale - Neuromancer.

What was the date of the sales last year? I'll be on a trip until the 10th of June.

>11 David_Mauduit: Last year was June 3rd. The year before was June 13th.

I wonder if they would want to do a "deep discount" sale as they did in January so soon. I imagine they wouldn't want to create an expectation of 50% off, with the risk that buyers start to wait for sales instead of buying at full price year round.

>9 cyber_naut: Paying $430 for a cloth bound off-set printed book of 250 pp is insane. They could give it a 50% discount and it'd still be a pretty expensive book. Jonathan Strange is 3 books cloth bound of 1008 pp and it's $230. Ditto for Gormenghast. Game of Thrones is 800 pp cloth bound at $230.

Maybe it also has to do with the fact that the Strugatsky brothers are not household sci-fi names outside the Russian-speaking world?

Hey! I quite like the illustrations for Roadside Picnic - I think they fit the story very well.

I would have enjoyed Roadside Picnic with artwork by David Müller, as shown here: https://kopfstoff.blogspot.com/2013/12/thesis-roadside-picnic-sci-fi-graphic.htm...

He was an art student at the time and did a prospectus of the book as a graphic novel for his thesis project. Elements of his technique may seem commonplace now, but there is a kind of raw sincerity to his work here that I enjoy. It retains aspects of the domestic and the everyday that makes the novel notable.

>18 coynedj: Same here! :)

>18 coynedj: Thirded!

>3 treereader:, I thought I was clear. I said that of the 277 books currently listed on the Folio Society website, only 3 interest me. I looked at the UK store. They have 290 items listed vs 277 for the rest of the world.

As to my username, I’m the happy owner of shelves and stacks of books that number hundreds I would imagine. If I took every book I owned to count, I’d be buried in them!

>18 coynedj: Are you sure? McKean got his start in comic books, which should make him anethema to you.

>15 LT79: The fact that there was a SE kept me from buying the LE. Money. I cannot say I've ever not bought a beloved book because of the artwork; at best, it can entice me to buy something I might otherwise be on the fence about. This is a great book; if you haven't read it, run out and beg, buy, borrow or steal a copy to read.

Roadside Picnic LE failed where many other of their attempts succeeded - the simultaneous or near so launch of an LE and SE that have only minimal differences between them. It should be more amazing they got away with this so many times rather than this particular example lingering.
I also own Roadside Picnic and I love it, one of the best in print books they have by my count, both by content and by production, and at their "low" end of pricing to boot. McKeans abstract art captures something about the unsettling nature of the zone for me, moreso than a Tarkovsky-esque realism would. But even at 50% off the LE then being 3 times the cost of the SE would make me think twice.

>17 LT79: I'd be surprised if the artwork had such a significant influence on the decision to purchase the LE. While it's not traditional, it is certainly unique and can quite easily be appreciated for what it is. Overall, I'd consider the artwork a strong point for this title.

I would think the availability of the SE probably has a bigger impact on the movement of the LE, as well as the price point for the book size and quality of materials used.

I have personally not made any Folio purchase on the strength of the artwork. The story/content, binding (cloth or leather vs paper), typeface, typeset, even the slipcase usually come ahead of the artwork which I only consider an added bonus. I find it relatively easy to appreciate artwork for what it is - the perspective of another reader of the same story captured and shared visually.

>23 Chemren: I'm not concerned with where someone starts, but rather where they are at the relevant point in time.

I'm amazed that anyone bought the Roadside Picnic LE. 5.5 times the price to have an identical book with cloth instead of textured paper, basically. It was a completely absurd value proposition. Even at 50% off, I think the value is poor.

>29 stubedoo: The exact reason I purchased the paper-bound edition. I remember reading the description of the LE and assuming I had missed something: "Surely there has to be more?"

Despite my deeply entrenched reservations about Folio's shenanigans, I'm not averse to perusing a sale when it comes along.

Unfortunately, despite my usual budgetary incontinence, the last few sales just haven't moved the cistern chain for me.

Hope springs eternal.

>31 LesMiserables: What would you like to see in the sale?

>32 assemblyman:

Free shipping to Australia.

Dominion.

The Anglo Saxons.

The Old Patagonian Express.

Reach for the Sky.

The Iliad.

Would need serious discounts though, as the Aussie pricing is ludicrous.

Was sad to miss Syria last time (had already placed a previous order during the sale), so will definitely grab it if it shows up again.

On that note, I hope they finally decide to give the asynchronous sale model a rest, given how predatory it is for anyone outside the UK.

Do you think there might be a price hike on everything before the sale? Wondering if it’s worth buying some new titles (which definitely won’t be in any sales soon – eg Piranesi, Night Circus) beforehand.

>34 AdPacem: "I hope they finally decide to give the asynchronous sale model a rest, given how predatory it is for anyone outside the UK."

Hear, hear.

The FS Sample Sale has been announced for Saturday 5th July in London for anyone that is around.

https://www.foliosociety.com/sample-sale

Damn I’m at a wedding that weekend.

Last year the pop up was very good so would recommend anyone who’s around to go.

>31 LesMiserables: "...my usual budgetary incontinence...haven't moved the cistern chain..."

Here's to writing that keeps me reading.

Another sample sale missed - the consequences of living 4200 miles away.

>40 coynedj: "Another sample sale missed - the consequences of living 4200 miles away."

Beat you, I'm 11,760 miles away. That said, even if I was close by, I don't think I'd want to do the queue/crowd thing.

>41 stubedoo: "That said, even if I was close by, I don't think I'd want to do the queue/crowd thing."

I suspect I am the closest by (Google Maps tells me I live 0.4 miles away) and I suspect I won't go because of the queue/crowd thing.

Queueing up is half the fun! Where else will you find so many grognards talking books while waiting in line?

>43 Cardboard_killer: I had to check Merriam-Webster for the definition of "grognard"! Thank you for expanding my vocabulary today!

>44 CJDelDotto: And mine. One I'm filing away for future use :-)

>44 CJDelDotto: Stick that in your Funk n' Wagnalls. :)

>43 Cardboard_killer:

Grognard, Cardboard_killer: Hex and counter much?

Also learned and will use the term ‘grognard’ from now on.

>46 Cardboard_killer: Of course, the correct quote is "Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls!".

Spoken by someone old enough to have watched that show (Laugh In) during its original release.

>49 coynedj: Sock it to me, baby!

>29 stubedoo: I recall the LE using a slightly improved paper for the text block. Is that not true?

I also agree with the criticism of the cut out in the slipcase mentioned in the review linked above somewhere. The slipcase is supposed to protect the book! Such a large cut out is silly. Cutouts only work for me when they are quite modest (such as the Murakami slipcases, which have just a small hole, to let something like an eye or star peek through).

If indeed the LE uses the same text block, that cinches it for the standard edition. Even a 50% off sale wouldn't tempt me.

>52 LT79: I bought the Roadside Picnic LE without remorse. I am a sucker for the slipcase cutout with film that creates a moiré pattern with the cover artwork. It is particularly well done here.

If there is a summer sale can one apply a birthday code to the purchase or no?

>54 bruinuclafan: I've never tried but the terms say: "Offer excludes the purchase of limited editions, e-Gift cards and the cost of delivery. Cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion. Voucher valid online or by phone only. Minimum spend of £29.95 applies. One voucher per customer. Voucher valid for 30 days from date of issue."

Guessing it can't be applied to sale items but might work if you have any full price items in your basket.

>55 cyber_naut: that’s what I’m hoping, that there will be a mix of full price and discounted and it works.

>56 bruinuclafan: Folio's shopping cart is funky so the order that you do things matters. I believe it'll work if you add the full price item first, followed by the birthday code, followed by the sale items. But if the sale items go in first, I believe it'll reject the code. Never tried it myself, but there was a bunch of comments here to this effect during the last couple of sales.

>57 HonorWulf: thank you that is good to know!

How confident are we that there will in fact be a summer sale?

>58 bruinuclafan: There's been a summer sale for as long as I can remember, so no reason to suspect there won't be one. I suspect we'll get an announcement later this week or next week once the Giovanni's Room launch is complete.

>54 bruinuclafan: I did that precisely that during the winter sale, though it did not work automatically and had to chat with one of the folks there, but eventually got the discount (on top of at least one sale item - multiple books in the order).

>13 stubedoo: I imagine they wouldn't want to create an expectation of 50% off

Haven't they already?

Their high prices and 50% off sales is their known marketing strategy. We all know 50% off is (probably) eventually coming. You either wait with the poors or you buy now if you're wealthy or impatient.

>61 newbiecollector9: The 50% sales are typically just low moving stock. I buy about 20 books a year from Folio and I can count on one hand the number of books that I bought at full price that have made it into a sale.

Yeah like people have noted the novelty in the winter sale this year was actually including popular titles for a day. Otherwise it's much like any other sale, it's what doesn't sell that gets discounted. I've even played chicken with a few titles I thought were bound to end up on sales for a few years and ended up losing, they just sold out the regular way albeit slow.

>63 A.Godhelm: Plus, with the yearly price increases these days, by the time a book gets to a sale, the annual mark-ups can eat significantly into the discount when compared to its original price.

Plus there's the high shipping fee for the EU. It just doesn't pay off unless there's a larger number of titles I'm interested in, and with books I really want I don't risk them selling out before a sale. The stuff I don't really need is mostly still too expensive these days even in sales, partly due to the shipping fees. The Bond at half-price was an exception for me.

How extensive was the sale last year?

>66 brokenwolf: Unlike the Winter Sale, last year's Summer Sale was pretty limited - there were 40 core books of very slow moving product. They did run a couple of single day Flash Sales that were more attractive, but obviously annoying from a combined shipping standpoint.

>66 brokenwolf:
Full details of all FS sales can be found on the FSD wiki at https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Groups:Folio_Society_Devotees#Does_the_F...

>4 bacchus.: I've returned to this thread a few times to browse the latest comments and on each occasion I find myself laughing at this reply. Well done.

>54 bruinuclafan: Who’s had a birthday code recently? Not me and my birthday is this month.

>70 pse1: same here, and no birthday code yet. Should we gently nudge the FS?

>71 BorisG: June for me too, no code yet.

>70 pse1: I have a June birthday and got my code a few days ago.

I'm a June baby as well and haven't gotten a code in years. I don't buy much from FS however and am in the US, so probably two marks against me there.

>70 pse1: I got a birthday code and am in US.

For the first time I have received a £15 discount birthday code.

I noticed that the site was down for “maintenance”. I wonder if that means the sale is imminent!

>77 Atheistic: It would be an odd launch. They've been hyping up the sale for a week or so before it launches for some time.

>77 Atheistic: >78 A.Godhelm: It is back up now. They redecorated the website.

>79 assemblyman: They redecorated the website.

And they've made a very good job of it, in my opinion.

>80 folio_books: I agree. It seems far more user friendly from what I have seen.

The details section is very good, and the pictures are much higher resolution too.

>80 folio_books: It does look good and seems to load a little faster. I randomly noticed that the page count on Circe says that it's 40 pages (at least on the US site). Checked a few others and they appear accurate (at least a reasonable number of pages to seem so). I guess just an error.

>83 rubix_cubin:

Definitely an error!

The new design looks good, especially the "hero" section up top. Brings the site into more modern design parlance.

Incidentally, the Piranesi highlight is nicely effective. I wasn't thinking of placing an FS order any time soon, but I might have to now just for this book.

EDIT: One minor glitch on the US site in Firefox, don't know if anyone else gets it - there are no left-right arrow icons on the What Everyone's Reading Right Now scrolling section. They are present on the similar Let's get social section however.

I am very pleased that the site now remembers my login, so that there are fewer clicks to reach my wishlist, the place where I ponder, plan, scheme and ruminate.

For a company whose entire business rests on a web site, it has taken too long for something like this redesign to appear. There is a lot more they could do in the future by way of links, interviews, reviews etc., but it's a start.

Excellent job on the site, much improved. Quite like the gradual shift to a known release schedule rather than big reveals.

They layout is a little clunky for me. I don't like the book image changing when I roll over it either. That's a little hyper. Otherwise it's fine. It is easier to see how many copies of a book is left in stock. Just put in a high number and it automatically takes it to the limit.

>88 PartTimeBookAddict: I tried putting all the copies of a title in my basket to check the stock level and noticed that the book then showed as out of stock on my wishlist and on the product page. It appears that the new system is allocating a book and adjusting the stock level when it's placed in the basket rather than when it is actually ordered (which I don't think it did before). That could prove a bit chaotic when a new release is popular and selling fast.

Generally, I like the update but I'm already finding it annoying that there doesn't appear to be any way of changing the number of titles listed. If you select 'Fiction' you'll see 12 titles out of 230 and have to scroll to the bottom and add a further 12 repeatedly to see them all. The old site let you select 9/15/30/60/All which I found much more convenient.
>83 rubix_cubin: Perhaps this explains the 40 page count?

I agree that the rollover image change is pretty irritating too.

>89 Hrodberht: new system is allocating a book and adjusting the stock level when it's placed in the basket
That sounds absolutely nuts and vulnerable to abuse. Hopefully it's just updating a local instance of the numbers otherwise anyone curious about the stock numbers is also holding the books hostage.
scroll to the bottom and add a further 12 repeatedly to see them all
I hate the 'infinite scroll' design, especially when there's no 'see all' option.

>89 Hrodberht: I'm not sure, I think we may be talking about different things. If you look at the image below, that's what I'm talking about. (Sorry, I'm not sure how to properly imbed the image into the message)

https://www.librarything.com/pic/11776634

Edit: I do agree though, it's annoying to not be able to display more books per page

>91 rubix_cubin: Thanks for that. Yep, my mistake; I foolishly replied to your post from memory without rereading it.

I really hope they'll re-install a view all option.

Got an ad from Folio earlier - the summer sale will run from Monday 16 June to Sunday 22 June.

Not long to wait.

This thread was very early (!) but the summer sale has just been announced, starting Monday 16 June with ‘20% or more off on selected books’.

And there was a teaser in the same email about a new upcoming limited edition of It by Stephen King! 😳 that is not good, because I really might be tempted. I would be happy with a SE though, too…

>94 folio_books: >95 cyber_naut: I see an LE of Stephen King’s It is also in the works.

>96 woodstock8786: Great minds !

>98 red_guy: ;)

>97 assemblyman: I see an LE of Stephen King’s It is also in the works.

I can live without It. Especially an LE.

>100 folio_books: Not for me either. I read all his Dark Tower series and found it a bit of a slog in the end, so it put me off trying anything else of his.

FS have the sale as up to 50% off on their Facebook page. Just clarifying as it only stated 20% or more on the email.

>102 assemblyman: I was a bit bummed about the 20%, but glad to hear there might be some higher bargains to make

>101 assemblyman: Don't let DT stop you from reading other King; DT is King at his sloppiest and least focused and organized (though for those who love DT, it's a hell of a ride).

If you've never ready anything other than DT by King, try Salem's Lot or The Shining, and if you'd like to avoid horror, try Different Seasons (a fantastic collection that includes the original works behind the movies Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption).

>102 assemblyman: I'm going to guess 20% off most of the core items, with up to 50% 24-hour Flash sales mixed in if they stay true to the last couple of years.

>101 assemblyman: Dark Tower slowed to a crawl at the last three books (although I very much liked the ending). IT is not, IMO, a very good book. There is a lot of good writing in it, but editing was sorely lacking--an indication of a hot writer being given too free reign. I haven't even read that many of his books, but I thought The Stand and The Shining were outstanding.

>106 Cardboard_killer: His early work is fantastic. "It" was definitely the start of his "bloated book era". He's had some good books since (i.e. Misery, The Green Mile, 11/22/63), but there's a lot of clunkers in there that could have used a good editor, imo.

>107 HonorWulf: >106 Cardboard_killer: >104 St._Troy: I agree with all the takes here. I've read ~20~30 King books and the early stuff is the best (with some exceptions...), with some very notable gems sprinkled in his later works. The Dark Tower series is probably not the best representation of his oeuvre. For anyone wanting a taste of King though, I honestly think he's at his very best in short stories and they give a nice broad view of his writing. Night Shift and Skeleton Crew are my favorites - incidentally his earliest short story collections.

>101 assemblyman: that recent Fairytale book of his hummed along pretty well. I blew threw it and I'm hoping for a sequel.

>109 snottlebocket: I really liked that one as well!

His short stories are also really great. Everything’s Eventual has some really good ones. I also liked the collection released last year.
Pet Sematary and The Green Mile are great and I also love Duma Key, its subtle, but again King at his best writing about special characters and their relationships

Re: King: The Mist is a perfect Lovecraftian tale, and he sticks the landing too (King's biggest weakness is often his endings). It's also short (for him; still a few hundred pages). There's a TV series, which starts strong but fizzles (avoid) and a movie (pretty good). It is included in the collection Skeleton Crew. It was also published as a standalone short novel (I think that uses the same text as the story in the collection). Great candidate for a Folio Edition (or fine press).

I'd start there if one wants to see King at his strongest in genre work and aren't already a fan.

I'm quite fond of The Eyes of the Dragon (it's actually one of the novels I reread with some regularity), but it's not much like most of his other work. Straight up fairy tale fantasy, with a dash of psychosexual horror. I suspect my high regard is somewhat idiosyncratic.

Re: Dark Tower specifically, I love the first novel (The Gunslinger) as a standalone surrealist horror western, but the rest are pretty bad (I read the first 4 or 5 and remember almost nothing... except a monorail shows up at some point). It sounds like a good idea on paper (The Song of Roland as a contemporary fantasy-horror epic), but doesn't really work in practice.

I haven't really kept up with all his recent work, but have fond memories of (off the top of my head) Needful Things (brilliant concept and execution, except the ending), The Dark Half, Tommyknockers (which sounds really stupid but is actually a lot of fun), Desperation, Salem's Lot.

I suspect posterity will look back on him as the Dickens of 20th Century America, especially when one remembers he has written by now quite a few literary fiction adjacent masterpieces (such as the above mentioned Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile).

Unlikely the Shakespeare will be in the sale right?

>112 Atheistic: Very unlikely!

Just want to add a contrasting voice to all the Dark tower hate. I loved it. The first book is the weakest by far, but still very cool, so if that hooks you I’d say keep going.

>114 bruinuclafan: I didn't hate it. In fact, I think the second, third and fourth book are some of the best of King, and the first is at least interesting and short. However, the last three dragged on and on. And again, I loved the ending. I think the last three could have been done in one book and the series would be superb.

>113 HonorWulf: that’s what I thought

Gee, I wonder what web site I'll be eagerly checking tomorrow. I just hope that all sale items are available from the start, not dribbled out over the week.

>118 coynedj: I feel that the 24 flash sales are inevitable, but I hope I'm wrong.

>118 coynedj: sale's supposed to go up today?

Does anyone know what time the sale goes live?

>121 BriainC: From their instagram post:
foliosociety @baron_albatron Hi! The sale will go live at 4pm.

>122 A.Godhelm: Merci

>122 A.Godhelm: is that EST?

>124 rafcruz: BST. EST would be 11am.

Not live yet, as far as I can see?

Not here in the U.S. I did get a Summer Sale Is Here page once, but clicking on it got me nowhere, and now it's gone.

Live now with 50 titles.

Maybe they discounted the entire catalogue by 50% by mistake and had to hastily undo it :p

50 books now visible at https://www.foliosociety.com/row/sale (replace row with your region). Nothing for me this time at first glance

Some books from recent collections with 20% off. Seems the Chrestomanci aren’t moving very well

Still nothing here.

Half of a yellow sun and The diversity of life are tempting me.
It does not look like there is flash sales at the moment.

A few books are of interest (Anglo-Saxons, Death by Black Hole, Parallel worlds), but the 20% discount is not that amazing… On Photography is better at 50%, but I thought it was egregiously overpriced originally. Might sit this one out, unless there’s more stock added later on.

>131 dyhtstriyk: Chrestomanci is the only thing I'd potentially get, for my kids. Worth it?

>135 bruinuclafan: The books themselves are lovely, definitely worth a read. I liked the illustrations (enough to make me purchase them full price), but with the books in hand, I’m not sure about how sturdy the paper bindings are, and the internal layout is a bit cramped. So, bit of a mixed review…

Pretty boring, I would be tempted by the Mankells, but not at this price point

I want On Photography (50% off), but I'll wait for something else on my wishlist to show up as a flash sale first so that I'm not paying twice for shipping.

44 books here, and a great disappointment. On Photography is tempting, but not worthy of an order for a single book.

So on IG it is mentioned that the 5 books on top are flash sales.
Edit: and it is only 250 copies that are discounted, not the whole stock.

>130 AdPacem: Only 44 are listed for the US.

I own quite a few of these and some have been in many sales at significant discounts, like the Teys. Amused to see Spring still kicking around.

Half of a Yellow Sun is the only one on my wishlist so I’ll wait to see if anything gets added to justify shipping.

Here's the six books that aren't available in the USA due to being manufactured in China:

The Folio Book of War Poetry
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Silent Spring
Sharpe's Triumph
Sharpe's Fortress
A Walk in the Woods

Edit: Clicking of Cuthbert and Working are the other two (thank you PartTimeBookAddict!).

>131 dyhtstriyk: Looks like those are Flash sales books that are restricted to 250 copies to help tease the sale.

I emailed Folio expressing my profound disappointment about the "drip-feeding" of additional titles. The (very fast) response I received might be encouraging/helpful to some Devotees:

There's no need to order multiple times. The books in the sale will stay on sale until the end of the week (unless they sell out) so you can wait to see if there's anything you'd like added and order them all together. There are five more books (in low stock) being added on Wednesday and a handful of limited editions added on Friday (but they have their own postage anyway).

Me: Thanks for the quick response. That’s not the way most folk are reading it, or they’re assuming the titles will sell out. That’s possible, though there are no 24 carat bargains to be had. And I should say, in fairness, nothing I’ve seen so far has tempted me. I’ll post your comments (anonymised) to social media. They may calm a few fevered brows.

>142 HonorWulf: Interesting. Although I do see "A Walk in the Woods" and "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" on the US sale site. Is this why "His Dark Materials" is not sold in the US?

Edit to add: I think it's "Clicking of Cuthbert" and "Working" not being sold in the US.

>144 folio_books: Thanks, It is good to know that some more titles will arrive on Wednesday. I'll wait for those.

>145 PartTimeBookAddict: I think you're right! His Dark Materials appears to be a different case since it was restricted prior to the tariffs. That one appears to have been limited in the USA due to the licensing agreement once it hit a certain number of copies.

>147 HonorWulf: Makes sense. Thanks for being our FS whisperer!

Nothing in this sale for me. I would recommend On Photography and Shah of Shahs though.

There are only a handful of titles that I am interested in, none of which have appeared, so my balance sighs a breath of relief until Wed at the earliest.

>147 HonorWulf: I just assumed it was the different titles for the first book between US and everywhere else and that the different editions sold at different rates and they just haven’t restocked the US version yet. Time will tell.

>150 Chemren: I don't think that's it as they appear to be still selling the US titled version in Canada and ROW.

>148 PartTimeBookAddict: I bought Shah of Shahs for $16.25 in January 2023, in that year's winter sale. I need to read it some day.

Looks like Mr Campion sold out. And then there were 49...

Low stock:
The Diversity of Life (51 copies)
Shah of Shahs (55 copies)
The Tudor Age (55 copies)
A Bright Shining Lie (145 copies)
All Hell Let Loose (154 copies)
The Anglo-Saxons (163 copies)
Spring (183 copies)
Hide My Eyes (190 copies)
Culloden (217 copies)
Sharpe's Fortress (228 copies)
On Photography (241 copies)

Flash sale stock:
The Wind in the Willows (183 copies)
Witch Week (191 copies)
The Magicians of Caprona (192 copies)
Charmed Life (199 copies)
The Nutcracker (206 copies)

Sold out:
Mr Campion and Others

>152 coynedj: You and me both. Give it a read. A fascinating account of a major political upheaval. Kapuściński is a fleet writer and it flies by.

This is a sale?

Hmm…one of my targets (Anglo Saxons) is in the list but not at the price point I was hoping for. Had my fingers crossed for the same discount as The Aztecs at the start of the year.

Going to keep my powder dry for the time being I think. Do we have any indication of when the Weds/Friday drops will happen? Also 1600 UK time? Annoyingly I’ll be on a plane at that time on Friday!

Anglo Saxons was the only thing of interest - But not at 20% off.

>135 bruinuclafan: I'd be a buyer at 75% off if it ever gets there.

So the sale price for The Anglo Saxons is the same as the list price when the book was first released.

>161 kdweber: This has been their usual MO for some time now.

>162 cwl: yep - as many have said: if you want the book, buy it. (Combining postage where possible)

How many copies of get shorty did everyone buy?

>164 brokenwolf: I promise to buy the last copy!

A few new titles now added to the sale. I think all of these are 25% off:

The Bell Jar £37.46
We Have Always Lived in the Castle £41.25
Best Short Stories of Dostoyevsky £48.75
Foundation Trilogy £112.50
Trainspotting £48.75

All in the sale on the basis of 250 copies available at that price.

Any opinion on Trainspotting? I'm tempted to order it.

>167 David_Mauduit:

I would recommend it highly. A modern classic. I happily paid full price on first release and I don't regret a penny.

Those are some better titles. Ordered Half of a Yellow Sun, Bell Jar, Wind and the Willows, and Misery.

>167 David_Mauduit: Loved it; the movie was good but this is the source and has lots more.

>169 JonathanLibrarian: agreed, some more interesting titles. Will wait to see what gets added at the end since none of these are immediate have-to-buys for me. I may place an order on Friday depending on what gets added and what’s left.

Edit:
>144 folio_books: reading this I see I may as well go ahead with any books I want now since Friday will just be LEs with separate postage.

Does anyone own the songs of innocence and experience and can comment on whether it's worth picking up at half price?

>173 brokenwolf: Yes, can order from the USA store. However, the USA account does not work with the Canada store (and vice versa).

>172 anthonyfawkes: If you have the older small FS/Tate version, then no. The colours and printing here are clearer and brighter, a result of using the Fitzwilliam copy. Fatally, there is no transcription of the poems in modern print anywhere, as there is in the facing page of the old version. This was a serious and rather inexplicable miss. For this reason, I returned it.

>175 cwl: I don't have any version at the moment, the description says it has transcriptions of the poems but it doesn't look like they are alongside the facsimiles but instead just all at the end of the book?

>177 LT79: A bogey?

>172 anthonyfawkes:

I bought it full price and think it's beautiful. The large page size took a bit of getting used to, but that's what the original looks like, and this is a facsimile.

Diversity of Life down to 8 copies.

>180 HonorWulf: I just hope we don't get down to 8 species, the way things are going.

I ordered The Diversity of Life, Trainspotting, and Half of a yellow sun.

>181 coynedj: The cockroaches are bound to survive!

Foundation has burned through 50% of the flash sale in 6 hours.

I am interested in a couple on the list but I may leave it as I think Extraordinary Edition's Mr. Pye could be released in the coming weeks.

>179 SF-72: I never mentioned anything about the larger format being an issue. It’s not. It is beautiful, and yes, it does have transcriptions in the rear. It is a good facsimile, but less satisfactory as a reading copy compared to the smaller version where the transcription is on the facing page. So, the question is which does one prefer: c.£15 for the smaller version that provides a better reading experience, or £82.50 (plus shipping and any tax due) to be flipping around with superior pictures? It’s a personal choice.

>184 HonorWulf: that was the push I needed. I was thinking of using my birthday discount for this but the sale was better.

>186 cwl:

I didn't say that you did. I just gave my own view of the edition since >172 anthonyfawkes: asked whether it was worth buying.

P. S. I just noticed that I linked to the wrong post, which explains the misunderstanding. I've corrected that.

The added titles were enough incentive to place an order.

From the sale:
The Bell Jar
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Best Short Stories of Dostoyevsky
Half of a Yellow Sun

And from the low stock page:
A Perfect Spy

Incidentally has anyone compiled a list of all FS titles no longer available to US residents? Other locations seem to have 285/286 books listed while the US is down to 272.

>187 dyhtstriyk: Glad to be of service!

>191 LT79: I've considered "The Clicking... " a few times, but it's just not my cup of tee.

>193 LT79: That's the best by par.

>192 Thwack:. I like it, I think it's par for the course.

Diversity of Life, now extinct

I ended up picking up quite a few books this time:
- Interpreter of Maladies
- the Bell Jar
- Trainspotting
- the two Josephine tey novels (couldn’t resist at 14 quid)
- diversity of life
- songs of innocence and experience
- half of a yellow sun
- Dostoyevsky short stories

To which my partner asks: where will they go??

>196 Hrodberht: 🤣🤣🤣

>199 NovelNexus: it’s a pretty small selection, nothing that would tempt me, luckily.

>199 NovelNexus: I expected Shirley Jackson on the winter sale but wasn't there, would consider it for 25 and definitely pick it up at 50!

Half-way update...

Low stock:
Shah of Shahs (18 copies)
The Tudor Age (39 copies)
The Anglo-Saxons (121 copies)
A Bright Shining Lie (134 copies)
All Hell Let Loose (143 copies)
Hide My Eyes (161 copies)
Spring (177 copies)
Culloden (183 copies)
On Photography (189 copies)
Sharpe's Fortress (221 copies)

Flash sale stock:
The Wind in the Willows (74 copies)
The Foundation Trilogy (75 copies)
Witch Week (110 copies)
The Magicians of Caprona (121 copies)
The Nutcracker (137 copies)
Charmed Life (139 copies)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (157 copies)
The Bell Jar (180 copies)
The Best Short Stories of Fyodor Dostoyevsky (181 copies)
Trainspotting (211 copies)

Sold out:
Mr Campion and Others
The Diversity of Life

Zero interest in any of these for me. I have the Diana Wynne Jones books and Wind in the Willows already or I would pick those up. Wallet safe for another few months at least.

Foundation has hit the 250 copy limit and has been removed from the sale.

Roadside Picnic LE and We Have Always Lived in the Castle LE, both 50% off (along with Rob Roy, Rupert Brooke, Casino Royale and Beatrix Potter).

>205 GardenOfForkingPaths: This may be the time to help Rob Roy finally ascend to peaceful regions. Physical production value is very high, even if the art is somewhat polarizing.

Roadside Picnic LE still weirdly feels overpriced even at 50% off.

Well I have just helped Rob Roy to it‘s peaceful demise on the website.

>207 Atheistic: Same here. I somehow managed to convince myself that the intrinsic production quality is very good for the price. I'm a sucker for full leather binding.

Maybe the artwork will grow on me when I have it in my hands.

>208 Ibkay: Yes pretty much the way I feel. I‘ve mulled it over in previous sales and figured this was my last chance so I held my breath and hit submit

>208 Ibkay: The artwork grew on me overtime. I think the best aspect of its design is the spine. Looks very attractive on the shelf!

I caved on Casino Royale the last time it was on sale and I think it is worth it at half price: it's considerably larger than the regular edition, with a sturdy gunmetal grey solander box and lovely leather binding, plus additional illustrations.

Casino royale is the only one I want but it’s 500 Canadian. I just can’t do it.

The Waste Land is also available for the Yanks only.

Apparently, but one solitary Rob Roy graces their stock shelves.

And gone, at ~two weeks short of four years.

>210 Nightcrawl: Rob Roy has finally ascended! I'll certainly miss the title gracing future Folio LE sales.

Good to hear about the strong physical aesthetic though.

>214 FitzJames:
Not any more.

I can hear the bagpipes. May the wind be always at your back, Rob Roy.

>215 FitzJames: Farewell, gone to better places :-)

Shah of Shahs is gone as well.

I look forward to Rob Roy mysteriously becoming worth 2x the asking price on the secondary market after finally running out.

Doh! I’d talked myself up to getting Rob Roy if it reappeared at 50% off and it’s only gone and sold out almost immediately!

Oh well, perhaps I’ll splurge on Casino Royale. I’m not the biggest Bond fan but if I was to have a nice edition of one of the books it’d be that one. On a purely build and materials basis, however, it’s not as much of a deal as Rob Roy.

I’d toyed with the idea of Roadside Picnic LE but, honestly, even at the discount I don’t see that it justifies the 3 x price over the SE.

Well, now I'm left dithering over which edition of We Have Always Lived in the Castle I want.

I would advise anyone that if they’re on the fence, purchase the Rupert Brooke LE.
Whilst not my favourite of the three war poems books (that would be the Thomas) it is still well worth £125 with its letterpress printing
I did buy the Peter Rabbit in a previous sale, with a better discount, and it’s OK but not as essential as the Brooke

The Wind in the Willows flash sale down to 18 copies.

I too caved in a bought the Bond LE as much for its aesthetics as content.

>211 Cat_of_Ulthar: it was mentioned on another thread that the solander for Casino Royale is too large and Folio included a tube of cardboard to fill out the space. I saw the tube on a video someone had posted on YouTube and assumed it was just part of the packaging.

Is it really true you need to keep it so the book doesn’t rattle around inside the box? That seems like a massive production oversight if so.

>227 cyber_naut: If you take the tube out there is more space for the book to move around (widthways, not any other way) than for other volumes I have in solanders, although all the ones I've checked do have some freedom of movement within their boxes. It does look like they oversized the box a bit but I don't think the book or box would suffer any damage unless you were really shaking them about. I've left the tube in myself, though.

The Wind in the Willows flash sale has hit its 250 copy limit and has been removed from the sale.

>221 A.Godhelm:
There is a already copy of Rob Roy on Ebay for the original asking price (twice the sale price).
https://ebay.us/m/aNLU2B

>228 Cat_of_Ulthar: thanks for confirming.

>227 cyber_naut: Someone on Facebook shared that leaving the tube (of wax paper or something like that) inside the solander results in the gilding on the page block rubbing off. I checked my copy which I’d stored with the tube and alas, those poor gilded edges. PSA get rid of the tube.

>232 BooksFriendsNotFood: Thank you for the warning. I hadn't noticed any obvious rubbing but will remove the tube as a precaution.

>232 BooksFriendsNotFood: thank you for that. If I decide to purchase it’ll be stored sans tube. I guess it’s in there to stop excess rattling during postage but, honestly, at the list price for the edition a bit of padded felt on the inside fore edge of the box wouldn’t be asking too much (or indeed a properly sized enclosure).

>232 BooksFriendsNotFood: Isn't the tube supposed to be kept on the spine side? Considering rubbing would occur, I would never place it on the gilded page block side...

>235 EPsonNY: in the ‘unboxing’ video I saw it was on the fore edge.

>233 Cat_of_Ulthar: Glad your copy is okay!

>234 cyber_naut: "...a bit of padded felt on the inside fore edge of the box wouldn’t be asking too much (or indeed a properly sized enclosure)."

Hear, hear!

>235 EPsonNY: cyber_naut is correct: the tube came on the fore edge side. However, I wouldn't feel comfortable putting it on the spine side either personally as I once had a Taschen book delivered wrapped in waxed paper and there were dots of silver foil missing from the spine title and I only realized after re-packing the book for a return that the missing foil was on the wax paper.

>237 BooksFriendsNotFood: If spine is ribbed, tube would only touch ribs. As the book cannot move up or down even if the tube gets slightly compressed, spine ribs would only gently bumps into it. Felt covered block rather than just a felt piece could be used instead, which some publishers do when they make their cases too big. Mass publishers simply insert pieces of thick cardboard, which for instance Norton did in my set of Ripley novels...

Different logic may apply to Taschen volumes. Most of the time, even the smaller titles, are quite heavy due to their thickness and paper used. If spines have no ribs, books spends considerable time in transit often in the 'wrong' position and maybe mishandled, despite Taschen using wax paper, things like that may happen. I will not even get into the length of storage at Taschen's warehouses with materials deteriorating and more susceptible to flaking or peeling off over time...

I don't see why anyone would feel the need to leave that bit of packaging in. Unless you are taking the solander and deliberately shaking it around, the extra space is a complete non-issue.

Mine is preserverd in the glassine cover still. Was easy to slip the book out and return it to the glassine when storing. This is a barrier between the gilding and the tube. But I moved the tube to be save anyway. The glassine does not touch the gilding.

>238 EPsonNY: I never thought of ribbed spines having a benefit like this — interesting! Unfortunately Casino Royale and my Taschen book didn't have ribbed spines...I guess that would have solved a lot of problems.

>239 stubedoo: If the solander box is otherwise tight with close to none up/down and forward/backward movement allowed, then some side to side sliding will likely be of no consequence. If however, it is not the case, then excess space may increase chances of moisture/humidity exposure (non climate controlled environment) as despite the gilding, page block may not stay tightly shut between the covers and pages may acquire some degree of waviness.

>242 EPsonNY:

Tbh, if you have that level of humidity in the environment where the books are being kept, the books have way bigger problems than that bit of space in the solander.

Well, I know this is old news, but I'm glad the Rob Roy LE has finally been laid to rest. It was quite painful to see this great work of literature being paraded on the cat walk in a clown suit with threadbare underpants. Will Folio learn any lessons from this ignominious misadventure?

>244 LesMiserables: I mean, it’s always risky trying to bring a novel to new life through images. Or add any new element.

I still can’t forgive the people who did the Tintin tv cartoons. Now I can’t get the naff voices out of my head.

Just shows how good Folio has been over the journey.

I had a b/day discount from FS, which does wipe out delivery cost with a fiver left over, so I did add Death by Black Hole to my 'gift to myself' of The Children of Ash and Elm, but otherwise passed on the sale offering.

Well, the ‘Limited to far more copies than there is a market for Editions’ in the sale continue to resist being sold.

Interestingly, copies of recent LEs (Mythago, Perdido) don’t seem to be finding buyers on the used market, even at RRP or slightly less. Market turning, IMHO, though I imagine IT will be immune to the market as the Stephen King fans, not the Folio fans, will drive that one.

From what I can see, the used collector book is generally slowing after the big bubble.

>247 stubedoo: Was this a good sale? I'm not a wonk for the FS stats, but anecdotally it seems very little sold at all.

In the past few years most people on this thread were listing sale hauls of around 8-12 books and some were double ordering. The 2024 Winter sale was huge for me with 17 books ordered. Usually about half the sale items would go out of stock during the sale. This time only Shah of Shahs, Diversity of Life and Mr. Campion sold out and they were very low stock to start with.

This time it seems most people are getting 2-3 books. Is this because of the constant price hikes? Looking at my 2020/21 orders the sale prices are about 1/3 of the sale prices now. Or is this just that the new FS customer base is solely focused on SFF and the other books don't interest?

I could be completely wrong about these numbers and maybe FS is doing better financially and don't have to discount deeply anymore. Either way this is the first sale I've skipped in 6 years.

>248 LT79:

Definitely eBay can be up and down, though they also don’t seem to be shifting on the FB groups either. I have little doubt the market has turned (and tbh, it would be odd if it hadn’t, given the global situation).

Possible that the completionist gene is maxed out, now that, instead of a few LEs per year, there are not just a larger number of LEs, but signed editions as well, and FOMO can be assuaged by getting a standard edition that is pretty close to the limited.

It's like Penguin books. There are collectors out there, but is there anyone who resolutely collects EVERY Penguin book, or just (say) Penguin Classics?

>248 LT79: There's also the fatigue from collectors with the launch of so many limited and special editions in quick succession from the small presses.

Sometimes, within the space of a month, special editions from Folio, Suntup, Centipede, Lividian, Conversation Tree, Lyras, Curious King etc. are launched.

There's only so many USD 250-400 (or more) books that collectors can constantly keep up with every month or two months.

The market needs time to absorb the glut of special editions.

>249 PartTimeBookAddict: The Summer Sale has been fairly lackluster for years in comparison to the Winter Sale and this one was no exception with meager 25% discounts on popular books and a limited selection. In terms of standard edition sell-outs, this one had the three that you mentioned (Shah of Shahs, Diversity of Life, Mr. Campion), while the Winter Sale had seven (Micrographia, The Daughter of Time, China, Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson, Operation Mincemeat, The Stories of English, Miss Pym Disposes) and last year's Summer Sale had five (The Best of Dorothy Parker, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, Mayflower, The Secret Agent, The Selfish Gene), so not sure how much you can read into that.

>252 Ibkay:

For me, the continuous stream of special editions from the collective fire hose just renders them less special.

There were a couple of items in this sale that I would normally have gotten but this time I'm going to gamble that they'll eventually reappear in a better sale.

Thanks to Redshirt, an Excel spreadsheet showing the details of every FS sale since 2015, including the one just concluded, can now be accessed via the Folio Society Devotees wiki here.

The Singing Sands holds the record for appearing in the most sales (eleven).

If I don't think of it as an LE, I'm surprised by how nice the Roadside Picnic LE is. The cloth is particularly soft, the cover design and execution is great, the foiled endpapers are very cool, and the clothbound slipcase with the window is really effective (long-term durability TBD). In terms of quality, I would put this at the top end of FS' non-LE range with the books around £100. If you factor in the elements with varying subjective value like the signature, extra prints, etc., the sale price wasn't completely outrageous.

Of course, any notion of value is undercut by the presence of a standard edition that, I believe, is exactly the same once you get past the endpapers. Still, I would rate it as among the nicest FS editions I own. I would describe it as a FS 'Fine' edition, if those still exist? (Essays of Montaigne, Yangtze Valley and the like).

I just received it this morning, and I'm really pleased with it.

>258 GardenOfForkingPaths: Glad you enjoyed it! At the sale price, I think it's a fair value given the extras that you've mentioned. The standard edition is nice, but has a paper binding that easily marks. I made the mistake of reading it without a book cover and, despite my best efforts, left some visible prints on it. Might pick up the LE if it makes it to the next winter sale.

>259 HonorWulf: Oh, that’s a shame. I have experienced that with a few other books!

Perhaps that cloth-like paper they used doesn’t have much of a protective lamination. I thought it looked nice in the photos (if they must use paper).

>260 GardenOfForkingPaths: Yes, for some reason, there was little to no lamination on the paper cover unlike most of the paper binds that have been released since.