What Easton Press book are you reading now?

Come now, they are beautiful books, but they are meant to be read!

From the Greatest 100 series:

Just finishing up Tess of the D'Ubervilles
Just starting A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

I have the Easton Press Catholic Edition of the Holy Bible and for Advent I am starting to try to read the entire Bible -- which I have never done before. I ordered some commentaries to help me on my way and I am just waiting for them to arrive. :)
--BJ

Read them? But that would mean they would not be perfect anymore...lol

Re #2: An ambitious undertaking. You might find it's best to skip through the interminable sections --Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, etc., and concentrate on the books that aren't devoted to genealogy or legalistic concerns. (But you may in fact be interested in those--I'm mainly concerned with the literary aspects--and the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus and the prophets.)

Which translation does the Easton Press use? For me the KJV is still the one to read, but I keep the beautifully poetic translation by Msr. Knox handy when I encounter a "hard reading."

My translation is the New American Bible. I believe that EP also has the KJV. And I think that FS does as well.

I was planning to start with the Gospels; however, after reading a plan for reading the Bible, I am reading the Penatateuch followed by the Gospels. Previously, I have gotten stuck in just those sections that you mentioned. If I get stuck again, I will break it up with the New Testament books. I am planning to take it slowly.
--BJ

Genesis and Exodus are fine places to start, but before delving into the Gospels, you may want to skim through Isaiah. Much of the Gospel writers' concerns were in showing how Jesus' coming was in fact fulfillment of the sayings of the prophets (Isaiah and Jeremiah in particular). Also, the story of the rise and fall of the House of David, I & II Samuel, Kings, Chronicles are full of interest and contain an interesting mix of history and legend. And of course the books Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Jonah, and Ruth are indispensable for literate Westerners.

Thanks for the suggestions! :) I have read Job and Ruth before, but not for a while. I have been wanting to spend time on both Isaiah and Psalms, too. I am hoping that I can find some commentaries on these, just in case. My Bible has both a preface to each section and book and notes at the end of each book. Sometimes, though, a commentary can provide even more insight into what else was going on at the time the book was written.
--BJ

Thought I would bring this thread back to life.

I have been reading out of my Easton books lately. I enjoy just looking through them from time to time. I am getting the itch to buy some - I already subscribe to the 100 greatest. Can't decide what to buy to satisfy that itch.

Recently I was surfing, and did not realize that Easton had published a series by an author. Of course, right now I cannot remember who that was :(, but the set of three books was going on ebay for about $500. They were in mint "unread" condition. I thought that was sad. It would have made it more interesting if they were read; that the person who originally bought it, enjoyed it. I guess I am weird.

Currently reading stories out of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from the 100 greatest book series.

I have the entire Hornblower series, but have only read one of the books so far. I think I may start on book 2 (as published)

I just received the Victorian Ghost Stories volume that Easton Press released and plan to start on that this weekend. Looks to be another great volume.

I am part way through Churchill's memoirs of WWI, 'The World Crisis'.

I subscribe to their Signed First Editions of Science Fiction series. I've got about 10 of these (aside from other individual and set purchases). I'm currently going through The Devil's Eye by Jack McDevitt. I've never had a complaint about any of their offerings.

In addition to the Sherlock Holmes, I am reading though poems by Robert Frost also from the 100 greatest series.

Now reading through Starship: Rebel by Mike Resnick, also signed first edition series. Second book so far from him, nice easily Scifi novel, quite enjoyable.

Reading Vanity Fair from the 100 Greatest series. This edition has many and wonderful illustrations!

Someday I will get a new camera :(

>14 bumblesby:
That looks outstanding!

Currently reading Diamond Star by Catherine Asaro, part of the signed 1st editions of science fiction. I should be getting The Kelmscott Chaucer delux decision pretty soon (did any of you know there was a "normal" edition that EP produced?)

I'm tempted to e-mail them to go ahead and send Vanity Fair my way. its one of my favorite novels and why I haven't asked them before is beyond me. They've been so great with sending things out as I ask. If its not available, they always tell me when it will be.

@Tames
thank you for the nice pics
How was you able to post a direct image in your message? I'm willing to post some of my fav EP pics myself but cant menage to add the pics as you did
Thank you in advance

You have to house the image somewhere. I have my own server, but you can house them on many internet photo sites. Copy the image link and place it in a standard html img tag.

Below is an example:

<img src="http://trames.com/images/LibraryThing/VanityFairIlls01.jpg"></img>

You will also want to be sure the image is not too large. Use photo editing software and make it smaller. The images above are 576px × 768px.

Thank you very much tames!

I'm reading "The fifteen decisive battles of the world", the book itself is a marvel, is a very tall volume (29 cm; 11.8 inches) is also pretty wide (23 cm; 9.4 inches)
Is part of the "famous editions" library.
The engraving on the plates is deep and detailed - sorry for the poor quality of the images -
I've uploaded only one sample of the full color illustrations (I may add them all if someone may find interesting to see), in total the book contains 15 such illustrations.
Here a book description I read before to pull the trigger on it:
"Undoubtedly the most famous work of military history of the nineteenth century, Edward S. Creasy’s Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World has been read and re-read for close to 150 years. It is not only the authoritative account of each battle that makes Creasy’s work such a classic—it is his command of narrative, his interest in human struggle, his profound deductions as to effects of the battles, and his striving after truth. Furthermore, his selections seem as wise and well-considered today as when Fifteen Decisive Battles first appeared in 1851: Nobody since has made better ones, nor given us better accounts. Apart from the scholarship and literary skill of Creasy’s book, there is another reason it has endured: Creasy was essentially fair-minded. He had been a judge, and when he became England’s great military critic and historian, he maintained a thoroughly judicial attitude. He was not a British partisan, nor French, nor German—he was a cosmopolitan observer of great events. Out of 2300 years, Creasy only found fifteen battles which he called decisive in the highest sense. He chose them not for the number of killed and wounded, nor for their status in myth and lore, but because they fundamentally changed the course of world history. In doing so, he made his book a miniature military history of the western world, a classic that will repay continued study for generations to come, as it has for generations."

Hey, it's 2010... so I'm going back to the Roaring Twenties :P
I just started reading:

Tender is the Night (just got in a trade, thanks elmaynard :)

as for my queue, well there's always tons of stuff I've been meaning to read! Will update later... what are others reading these days?

cheers,

-astropi

I have put Vanity Fair on hiatus since I am reading many things about photography right now. Gotta get back to it!

I'm about half way through The Bell Jar. I had to stop for a bit because I was reading if before Christmas. Anyone familiar with this tome know its not conducive to happy times of the year.

Currently reading DISCOURSE ON METHOD by Rene Descartes. Loving this wonderful book. Small but very powerful.

H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines.

I'm just about to start on Asimov's Foundation's Edge, having read the Foundation Trilogy a couple of times over the years.

Does anyone have an opinion on which is the best of the Foundation stories?

I am just finishing up the last book in the Foundation Trilogy tonight! Let me know how Foundation's Edge is, it might be my next purchase (if i can find it!)

From the Masterpieces of Science Fiction collection: Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling. It's a must for anyone who enjoys cyberpunk!

The Sea Dogs: Privateers, Plunder and Piracy in the Elizabethan Age by Neville Williams, published by Easton Press as part of the Library of Nautical Classics. From the sounds of it, it is a wonder anything ever made it to it's intended destination.

I just finished A Tale of Two Cities, and Les Miserables arrives TODAY!!! I'm set up to get 2 books a month from the 100 Greatest Books collection, as opposed to 1. I'm not sure I could wait a month at a time for the next Easton Press book.

Wuthering Heights is the one coming in a couple weeks.

Whoa, didn't know you could do that and get 2 a month! Do they give you a discount or at least a break on shipping? Either way, it's a deal because you'll complete your collection in 5 years instead of 10. :)

@JJRothwell: 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Les Miserables' are two of my all time favorites! 'A Tale of Two Cities' may have been #3. You are definitely in a literary sweet spot!

I'm in the middle of "Jane Eyre", which I haven't read in about 25 years. I never imagined I would upgrade from my tattered "Signet Classics" edition from high school so this is a real treat. The font is just right for my older eyes, too.

You can actually have them send even more, I've found. Whenever I had the extra money, I would just e-mail them and ask to increase the number a month.

Hey sludgetrough;
Nope no break on the shipping as they send one ever 2 weeks or so (as opposed to 2 at once).

Yes it is awesome to be able to get the collection in 5 years (or less since I opted out of about 6 or 7) instead of 10.

waliofatail....definitley in a literary sweet spot...LOL. I usually end up calling Easton Press about a week before I know they are shipping as I'm excited to find out whats coming next. usually they can tell me the next to in line

Yeah, the folks at EP can do all kinds of wonderful and accomodating things. I once asked them, however, if they had a running count of how many volumes I had ordered to date -- for my current account, that is (my "subscriberships" have waxed and waned a few times over the last three decades -- right now, it's definitely "wax on!!"). Oddly, although they don't keep a running count, they can quickly quote the cumulative total of how much one has spent on EP books...Ouch!! As for me--well, let's just say that it was easily (and frighteningly) into the five figure range...

#29

If you haven't read it yet and like cyberpunk, try Gibson's "Neuromancer" which Easton Press also sells.

>37 SilentInAWay:

Jesus, in the five figure range?.......wow......You know, there's a show in TV called Intervention..........:)

I've been told that my intervention will be when my second-floor library collapses into the kitchen below it.

Depending on how serious you are, SilentInAWay, consider that most residential floor systems are designed for 40 psf of live load, i.e. the structural members would hold up if you placed 40 pounds on every square foot of the floor area. Most people have more here and less there and it all averages out. Book collectors, on the other hand, tend to stack, which can lead to extra concentrated loads that easily exceed 40 pounds per square foot. Get too many of those too close together and your library may very well be moving to the first floor.

(repeats to self)

"I will not do the math, I will not do the math, I will not do the math"

Currently reading "To Kill a Mockingbird".

I have just started "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman. Love the Easton Press edition! I recently acquired "All Quiet on the Western Front", also beautifully produced.

Currently reading "She" by H.R. Haggard. Received it recently as a Reader's Choice selection. I took it out of it's plastic prison and started reading... that is very dangerous because then I neglect other books that I am reading... sigh...

Just finished At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter Matthiessen in paperback. Liked it so much that I went on line and ordered the 2001 Easton Press version in like-new condition for my library.

>45 bumblesby: I LOVE that book, tames! I actually have the Haggard set that Easton still has available as well. I was introduced to Haggard by a dear friend. I read an OUP edition of She and am glad to now own the same copy as yours. I will look forward to reading it again.

I have trouble reading more than one novel at a time, but I keep trying! :-)

I've been reading a lot of books from the "golden era" of science fiction lately. Just finished 2001 and Ringworld and am currently reading Stand on Zanzibar. I'll probably re-read either Childhood's End or The Mote in God's Eye after that.

I didn't realize EP published a version of Neuromancer, but I will have to keep an eye out for it on eBay. Sadly, EP has not published Snow Crash which has always been my favorite cyberpunk novel.

In the category of "and now for something completely different" I pulled "Portnoy's Complaint" off the shelf.

Anybody have the Le Guin Earthsea Tetralogy? I have never read them before, but I did read the first 16 pages on the Amazon preview of the first book - I liked it.

I do -- a very attractive set (although I have not read them yet). Each book has the same cover design, but is bound in a different color leather.

You can view my cover scans of these books by clicking on this link and then switching the catalog to display in Cover view.

51: the Earthsea Tetralogy has only a frontispiece, is that correct? No other illustrations?

>51 SilentInAWay: Yep those be them. Hey we share 200 books in common. Mostly E.P. - imagine that! :)

I see you have Foucault's Pendulum. Have you read it yet? I did last year, just wondering what you thought of it.

>52 astropi:: I'll check when I get home tonight and let you know.

>53 bumblesby:: Unfortunately, I read Foucault's Pendulum over 20 years ago, so I don't remember specifics. I do remember liking it, but not as much as I liked The Name of the Rose.

>52 astropi:

You're mostly right.

The first volume (A Wizard of Earthsea) has a frontispiece, a small illustration at the beginning of every chapter, and 4 full-page hand-drawn maps.

The other three volumes have only frontispiece art.

Finished She a couple weeks ago, and just finished Tom Sawyer today. Yes I read the EP version. I also have the HP version. It was a toss-up. I went with leather :) The Rockwell illustrations are just wonderful.

I have been working on Vanity Fair for several months now. I AM going to finish it!

>41 wailofatail:, 42

A good article on heavy aqauriums:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php

Some of the tips are pretty good. I think the aqaurium hobbyists spend more time thinking about the weights caused by their hobby than do book collectors.

Oh my. It took me 10 months to read Vanity Fair. I finished it last night. The book was serialized like many in the period and I think that took 18 months.

Since Tom Sawyer is still fresh in my mind, I have started Huckleberry Finn.

You must have not enjoyed Vanity Fair much?

I'm currently making my way through The Mysterious Island. I'm almost done. While I like the book & enjoy it, I really wish Verne would have condensed it a bit. I could do without the details of everything they ate, how they cooked it, how they caught it, etc. I could do without a lot of other details, also. Half the time I feel like I'm reading a survival manual. It really picked up pace at the end of part 2, though, and particularly in part 3. All things considered, a good book.

I think you have to take into consideration the time it was written, no tv, no radio. I guess those novels were those days blockbuster like Avatar and jurassic park

I just finished Of Mice and Men and am reading both Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as Victorian Ghost Stories. Halloween is coming up after all.

>59 indigosky:
Ha! Yes I did enjoy Vanity Fair! At around 759 pages, other books caught my interest so I would set it aside for a while. It was not a difficult read, but not exactly easy either. I can whip through a 800 page Harry Potter pretty fast, but that is easy prose and a lot more action going on.

Hamletscamaro: How do you like Victorian Ghost Stories and how are the stories? I've been wanting to buy it for a few months (mainly because of my love for the Victorian era) but I don't know what to expect. Are the stories based on true life stories or are they made up? Are the stories only mildly scary or am I not going to be able to sleep for a few weeks? I'm intrigued...

>63 MashedPotatoes: MashedPotatoes, I like the Victorian Ghost Stories. It is a compilation of a bunch of different stories from several authors. I like that I can read one or two at a time, enjoy the period language and just enjoy the story. This is not an example of today's slasher stories, and not all of them are terrifying by today's standards. Actually, this is a reprint of the Oxford compilation; you can see the Amazon reviews here:
http://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Ghost-Stories-Anthology-Paperbacks/dp/0192829998...

I would recommend it.

64: are there illustrations? Also, from which series is Dr. Jekyll and is that volume also illustrated? Thanks in advance (and feel free to post pics of any illustrations move you)!

Dr Jekyll is in the Greatest 100 series, and I also see it in the Horror Classics. Illustrated by Edward A Wilson. There are b&w illustrations along with those that have a pink background with black sketching. Too lazy to photograph right now :)

>65 astropi: Astropi, here are some photos of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Illustrations range from full page monocrome drawings to partial page black and white illustrations. There are several, this is just a sampling (sorry for my fingers, I never stress teh spines enough for them to lay flat by themselves):

And since we are somewhat off topic anyway, here are some pictures from Victorian Ghost Stories. These are not as plentiful as other books, there are probably only 10 pictures in the book, but they are nice pencil drawings that add to the mood of the book.

What color is the Victorian Ghost Stories? It looks like plum on my monitor.

>69 acidneutral: I think the color variation may be the cheap Camera I used for these shots. I noticed that the colors were off and meant to make a comment on that. The Dr. Jekyll Mr Hyde is actually a brown color, and the Victorian Ghost Stories always looked black to me. I'll try to replace those with shots from a better camera and see if that works.

>14 bumblesby:

If I'm not mistaken those illustrations are Thackeray's.

Here's a site:

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/thackeray/ch1-15_file...

I'm reading The Book of Snobs right now which has that characteristic delivery I so admire in Thackeray's writing. It's not a guide for becoming a snob per se (I seem to be getting ribbed for that when people see it in my hands) but instead classifies, in discrete chapters, the different varieties of snob found in society (a process Thackeray readily admits is itself a form of snobbery yet parrys that accusation, as well as other remonstrances, in an arch, playfully conciliatory tone that borders on hyperbole). Anyway, as you might guess, about everyone under the sun is guilty of some form of snobbery (the implication being it's part of the human condition) and this net encompasses all customs and manners of British life eventually. I think he's done the illustrations for this as well and there is a quite amusing depiction of two young girls and their mother dutifully studying the peerage as it were some elementary school primer.

(Not to carry much further, as plot wasn't nessecarily Thackeray's strongest suit, yet he could turn those character sketches out as effortlessly as old Boz and a marvellous display of it is contained in this work.)

I just finished The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, from the Masterpieces of Science Fiction series. I really enjoyed it, first book of hers that I have read. It actually made me interested in the plague, so I went to Borders and bought a couple about it. So now I'm reading about the Black Death in non Easton books.

72: Is The Doomsday Book currently available through EP? I've seen it sell for higher on ebay, not that that means anything, but I thought it might be OOP. I read it in mass market & came upon it because I like historical fiction, particularly the medieval era. I agree, it was a very enjoyable book.

73- I don't know if it is still shipping. I bought it off ebay for $50, in pretty nice condition. I had started reading it a couple of years ago but got side-tracked. Glad I made time for it. I read the reviews on Amazon for it. Seems like people either love it or hate it, not many in between. I will definetely read her other titles, I really enjoy the time travel idea.

Like you, I like reading about the medieval era. I also recently bought the six volume set of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that I am looking forward to reading. That will have to wait until next year though.

73- Also, talking about historical fiction, have you read the Allan Eckert Frontiersmen series? They are very enjoyable. They would be nice to have in Easton editions.

75: No, I haven't read those. I'll look them up on Amazon. Thanks for the suggestion!

74: Have you also read Michael Crichton's Timeline? If not, you'd probably like it. A similar idea to The Doomsday Book.

76- I heard about Timeline, haven't had time yet though. I'll put it on the list.

Just finished "Heart of Darkness" from the "100 Greatest..."

Currently reading Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt. Its rather amazing how timely this book is with the current political environment in the U.S. right now.

>77 Wootle:
I read Timeline 6 years ago. I remember enjoying it, and one small part sticks in my skull when they first arrive in the past - oops don't want to spoil it. I think it is worth your "time".

80: I think I know which part you're talking about.

Just finished Waterloo: The One Hundred Days and I am about to start Mr. Midshipman Hornblower.

HaHa... I wonder if Billyjean ever finished the Bible.

Finished the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, now on to the Silmarillion...

Recently finished Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Now tackling The Count of Monte Cristo and its a big'un

I just finished "In a Glass Darkly" and "The Talisman". I'd like to start something else but I think I'll hold off as I know for sure "Arabian Sands" should be arriving any day now.

I'm also awaiting Arabian Sands. I thought it would arrive today, but no show. So, I went ahead and started The Two Towers, since I finished Fellowship last week. I always enjoy re-reading Tolkien.

Just started the "Fahrenheit 451" LE that arrived today (yes, I un-shrinkwrapped it). I've also been plodding along through Livy's "History of Early Rome" from 100 Greatest, but I seriously doubt I'll finish it...very dry stuff indeed, especially his numerous recitations of the interminable battles and wars between Rome and her neighbors during the first few centuries. Even tho' I generally love to read history, I'm having no problem putting this book down!

I read the 451 Limited yesterday. I was kinda dissapointed, it's not as good as I remember it from many years ago. I thought being older now, along with big brother growing bigger, it would have had more meaning to me than it did. Just a little slow going I think, at least the first third. I still made it all the way through, just a different perspective today than before.

>86 Wootle:

Don't you hate that huge letdown when you've been waiting for the mail all day and you're just sure that it must the day your book will arrive....and then, nothing.

Especially the days my regular carrier has the day off and the substitute doesn't come until late in the day when I am used to 11AM delivery.

Arabian Sands showed up on my CC about a week ago, but 451 still hasn't. I received 451 days ago and have already read it, but am still awaiting the other.

>68 hamletscamaro:-70

I just found this thread while I was looking for photos of books for flyers I have posted on my Lucas' (and other's) Easton Press Flyers thread so I could link to them. Anyway, I have Victorian Ghost Stories and when I took it off the shelf and looked at it in the sunlight the binding is definitely a deep plum. There are also 16 b&w illustrations along with the color frontispiece.

Reading "Master and Commander". Challenging but fascinating read for sure.

A bit off topic, but does anyone know which title in the "100 Greatest" corresponds to item #001-066? (Assuming 001 designates the series and 066 the individual title.) Thanks.

Politics by Aristotle according to my info.

>94 Tom41: Thanks, Tom.

I'm just about to start Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - it will be the first time I have read it since I was a child, so I am both really looking forward to it and apprehensive that it won't live up to my memories!

Sadly, None! I currently don't own any :{ Going to soon though....hopefully. I feel like I'm really missing out!

84----EP has a version of Tom Sawyer??

78--Did you enjoy Heart of Darkness?

>98 Jerry317:

There is at least the one in The Famous Editions list - not sure if there had been another.

The version from the 'Famous Editions' is the one you are likely to see most often. At one time E/P did issue companion volumes of the Rockwell illustrated The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. I happened to purchase the set from E/P when it was offered. I have never seen either edition of the companion set come up on eBay. Each edition has the title character gilded on the cover.

wail, did EP ever reprint the LEC Tom Sawyer with Tom Benton's illustrations? I know they did Benton's Huckleberry Finn, which was an LEC and never Heritage Press (despite LECCOLLECT's assertion that "the Easton Press owns reprint rights only to HP books").

Incidentally, LECCOLLECT also claims "Easton books are bound in leather, but the lowest grade of leather. They use leather scraps more or less molded together much as plastic is. This is the only way they can produce an all leather book at the price they charge for their books." I wonder about the validity of this claim. I'm certainly not an EP expert, but the EP volumes I have do not seem to be stitched or molded or pieced together, but of a single piece of leather. Anyone have any more knowledge about this?

>102 Django6924:, I agree, would like to know actual facts. Plenty of the EP's I have seem and feel pretty top notch. Yes, a few feel thrown together (unfortunately a lot of reader's choice fall into this category)...but still this is based on impressions, not actual knowledge. Would like to know what they actually use in most cases.

I know that, in the early days (pre-1980), some of the books in EP's Masterpieces of American Literature series proudly stated on the title page that they were bound in "bonded leather." These books not only had interesting textures, but were also more "perfect" than today's covers (where the "flaws" in the grain of the leather lend character to each book).

It's like comparing a strand of Majorca pearls to a strand of genuine oyster pearls. The man-made pearls are all perfectly matched, whereas each of the more valuable natural pearls has its own unique imperfections.

As far as the Macy reprint rights go, both the LEC and HP were sold to Boise Cascade Corp. who sold them to Ziff-Davis Publishing, who sold them to Cardavon Press. Cardavon then sold HP to The Danbury Mint, which itself is owned by the same parent company as Easton Press. As you can see, those Macy companies have sure been around the block (when they haven't been "on the block", that is).

If I understand all this correctly, then Easton Press has (for the last 30+ years) owned the reprint rights to any book for which Heritage Press owned similar rights at the time it was sold. The LEC continued to publish new editions after HP had been sold off, so EP would definitely not own the rights to those books. It is likely, however, that HP owned the reprint rights to a number of older LEC books that it simply chose not to republish. EP would now own the right to print those same editions (although they may also have also chosen not to republish many of them).

George Macy aficionados like to look down their noses at Easton Press collectors. From their perspective, EP has slapped leather covers of suspect quality onto low-quality reproductions of the LEC originals (not to mention that the originals were typically signed by the illustrator, where as the EP reprints must always be unsigned). Given EP's poor track record (over the decades) at reproducing color illustrations, these Macy collectors are not entirely wrong.

What the Macy people don't recognize, however, is that, over time, as you accumulate Easton Press books, you gradually build a wall (or several walls) of literary leather that collectively feels more like a venerable library do than any number of those beautiful slipcased books--with their animal, vegetable and mineral covers--that are put out by LEC, HP or even the Folio Society. Or perhaps the Macy mavens (and those with Folio fixations) do recognize this and their constant need to dismiss EP books as inferior products is just an example of leather envy.

102: I don't know all the details behind EP's leather. I do know that certainly some books use higher-grade leather than others. A normal EP book is obviously not bound in high-quality Nigerian goatskin leather as the FS Limited Editions. However, a normal EP book does not cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. My experience is that the quality of an EP book is very high, especially for the cost. I have to admit, I find myself rather skeptical at the claims made by LECCOLLECT. To this end, I sent an email to EP costumer service requesting any information they can provide about the leather they use. I'll let people know what I hear.

SilentInAWay wrote:
What the Macy people don't recognize, however, is that, over time, as you accumulate Easton Press books, you gradually build a wall (or several walls) of literary leather that collectively feels more like a venerable library do than any number of those beautiful slipcased books--with their animal, vegetable and mineral covers--that are put out by LEC, HP or even the Folio Society. Or perhaps the Macy mavens (and those with Folio fixations) do recognize this and their constant need to dismiss EP books as inferior products is just an example of leather envy.

I collect both E/P and FS books and I think the FS books collectively feel more like a venerable library. It has nothing to do with leather envy and more to do with thinking books can and should have beautiful bindings regardless of what material is used. In fact, I think my E/P DLE of Fahrenheit 451 has a fantastic binding and the leather enhances it, but I find many E/P bindings nice but boring. I really like the covers of the six volume OZ set with embossed covers when compared to the current four volume set with gilded covers. However, I prefer the original covers as reproduced by Charles Winthrope & Sons for The Bradford Exchange Press over the six volume set. I also very much dislike the new E/P DLE Slaughterhouse-Five binding and I’m glad I own the FS edition.

On the subject of whether E/P books are inferior, I don’t agree, but it has been noted that in many titles the illustrations are poorly reproduced. Furthermore, most titles I own have reproduced images of the text from an earlier edition instead of being newly typeset, as the Folio Society does for all except facsimiles. For me this gives the impression of being inferior, as in many of these books the text is not clean and crisp. Among the E/P books I own I find the MoSF titles to be the ones I prefer the best. Each one I own appears to have been newly typeset, have well-reproduced illustrations and have some of the more interesting bindings.

Much of it comes down to a matter of taste. It is true that some EP illustrations are not reproduced to the same standards as their original LEC productions. However many other EP volumes (such as the Masterpieces of Science Fiction) do include original illustrations and are very beautiful, while other books such as the DLEs are simply top notch all around! I personally appreciate all these fine presses, and think any and all can be beautiful. I will say that I have noticed substantial snobbery from FS members (not all certainly, but some members). To which I say, their loss.

I can to some point understand the snobbery. It does seem that sometiems EP rest on their laurels and don't really 'try' whereas the Folio Society are pretty creative and work hard to eb original even on their 'cheapest' books (even if they do sometimes miss the mark or leave things out).

That said if every publishing company was the same it'd be a boring world and we'd have a lot less to talk about on this site.

I appreciate EP for many reasons, such as printing things most other fine presses wouldn't touch (e.g. a lot fo the sci-fi series) and making affordable versions of fantastic editions from the past (much more affordable than the facsimiles of other companies). Not to mention the smell and feel of leather!

Anyway, I'm about to read Gulliver's Travels.

>104 SilentInAWay:
Being a longtime collector of Heritage Press and LEC books, I have no ill-will at all toward the Easton Press--let alone leather envy. I also own several EP books, the 39 volume reprint of the LEC Shakespeare set, the 17 volume Arabian Nights set, the complete Hemingway (in the earlier, far more attractive and better-designed bindings), the Faulkner set, and several individual volumes. I do feel that the clarity of the printing in the EP volumes (as well as the reproduction of the illustrations), could be better. And I'm not saying the LEC standards are the benchmark--anyone who has compared the print and reproduction quality of the earlier, New York-based Heritage Press editions with the corresponding EP version knows that the HP is superior. Were the EP books printed with the same attention to quality (and a few of them definitely are), I'd have no quibbles. But I also understand those for whom the bindings are the principal attraction, and the bindings certainly have the greater visual impact.

I got an email from costumer service. They say that the majority of their books use Cromwell Saderra genuine leather. Cromwell is a leather company in NY, and Saderra is their pigskin leather. Some books are cowhide (such as most of the DLEs) but otherwise it's Saderra. EP sent me a pdf from Cromwell that describes their leather. Sounds like high quality. Perhaps not kosher, but high quality nonetheless :)

Also, Cromwell does apparently make bonded leather, but the EP books are genuine leather.

>110 astropi:, could you PM me the pdf?

The binding for the DLE of Lincoln: A History is made from genuine Saderra pigskin by Cromwell Leather. Wootle posted a picture (fifth one down) of the DLE limitation and information page on the DLE Abraham Lincoln: A History by Nicolay & Hay thread he started. Since it's a ten volume set it makes sense that the binding would be closer to or the same as the standard binding E/P uses.

111: I certainly don't mind, but I don't know how to attach files in a pm. Is that possible?

Others might like to see the pdf as well so may I suggest uploading it to WikiThing and linking to it in a post?

>99 Jerry317:: Sorry for the delayed reply, Jerry. I found "Heart of Darkness" to be a fairly quick read, but I don't think it's my sort of thing, literature-wise. A bit too abstruse for my taste.

>102 Django6924:: "... did EP ever reprint the LEC Tom Sawyer with Tom Benton's illustrations? I know they did Benton's Huckleberry Finn, which was an LEC and never Heritage Press (despite LECCOLLECT's assertion that "the Easton Press owns reprint rights only to HP books").

I'm going to say 'no'. The two editions I referenced above, i.e. the 'Collector's Library Of Famous Editions' and the special presentation 'Collector's Edition', are both illustrated by Norman Rockwell. I'm surprised no one has noted my omission of the edition of Tom Sawyer from the 'Mark Twain Library'. I am not sure who the illustrator is for this edition but if I had to bet I would bet Norman Rockwell too. If anyone has this edition please confirm.

> 110

That's very useful infomation, thanks.

I agree that the clarity of reproduction on some EP texts could be improved. However, I am thankful that these classic editions are still in print in a relatively affordable format. Much as I adore the individuality of many FS bindings I can't help loving leather bound books. Leather is so practical - I can read a leather bound EP book on the train without fear of damaging it (which is not the case with some of the more delicate FS paper and cloth bindings).

EP leather feels of good quality to me. If it was bonded leather you would know instantly (bonded leather is smoother, shinier, more perfect in appearance - such as on the Barnes and Noble de luxe editions). The best leather of all is found on both the EP and FS limited editions - the binding on the Romance of King Arthur is totally exquisite.

Paradise for me is a room full of FS and EP volumes.

When I asked about the quality of leather, they told me it was genuine leather, as I indicated, and they sent me a flyer from Cromwell describing their leather. Some of you asked for a copy, so what I did was take the pdf and convert it to a jpg and upload it here.



The conversion slightly truncated things, which is why some of the wording might seem less than perfect, but otherwise here is all the info.

cheers,

-astropi

If anyone still wants me to send them the original PDF, drop me a PM with your email address.

Bear in mind, folks, that this refers to books currently in production. Books from the 70s, 80s & 90s may well have been bound using a different "genuine" leather (did Cromwell Saderra even exist back then?). And although EP has always (to my knowledge) primarily published books bound in genuine leather, they definitely offered some books bound in bonded leather in the past. In fact, they at one time offered the Masterpieces of American Literature series in two different formats, with the main difference being bonded vs. genuine leather covers. I own a couple of these books--the title page even says that they are bound in bonded leather!!

I'm pretty sure, however, that all books published by EP since the mid 1980s have genuine leather covers. So keep your eyes open when buying some of those older books on ebay!!

According to the Cromwell Leather Group website Our History page the company was founded in Germany in 1898 and the headquarters were established in New York in 1946. According to information on Zibb.com Cromwell filed Saderra as a registered trademark for "Tanned and Untanned Leather and Imitation Leather" on 18 December 1985.

Interesting.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that EP has switched both providers and binders a couple of times over the decades.

astropi: Did EP's letter mention when they first started using Cromwell leather (or, more interestingly, when Cromwell became their primary provider)??

LucasTrask: Same question from Cromwell's perspective. Do they mention the start of their relationship with EP? Any dates?

I'm curious because some of the most beautiful* leather in my EP collection comes from when I first started collecting (a few years before Cromwell registered their trademark for Saderra). I'm not knocking Saderra -- it's fine stuff (I suspect that over 75% of my EP books are bound in it). I'd just like to better understand some of the "older" editions.

In fact, I seem to remember that EP once advertised that their books were bound using a variety of quality leathers. It was back in the early or mid 80s, I think -- do any other long-time collectors remember this, or am I imagining it? That certainly would explain not only why different books have aged differently (some becoming glove-soft with time), but also why the covers of most recently-printed books have a more consistent (textured, yet hard and shiny) feel to the leather.

*I realize that we all tend to fall in love with the production qualities of books from the time when we first started collecting--when we would admire each new book that we receive for hours on end!! So it is, I hope, understandable that I am particularly enchanted by EP books from the late 70s and early 80s. It's certainly not a knock on the leather used for later editions...

121: they did not. However, you can email either Cromwell or EP and ask. I imagine Cromwell might not respond (due to privacy reasons and all)...

Cromwell has a general page for customers, but it doesn’t mention any by name.

116-
I'm almost positive that Tom Sawyer from the Mark Twain Library is illustrated by the original illustrator...I forget his name, sorry.

Hi Everyone, just joined the group. So glad I've found you! I stumbled across this site while doing a search on (what else?) Easton Press books with buying on my mind, specifically Middlemarch, having recently (re)discovered George Eliot.

The back story: in the Spring of 2010, a client of mine had a bookshelf full of EP editions, and it was love at first sight. Having collected International Collectors Library books when I was a kid, one look at her EP books and that long-dormant volcano erupted again ten-fold. Shortly thereafter the lust kicked in. I was fortunate enough to find someone on my local Craigslist (I live outside Boston, USA) who was relocating and looking to move her 56-volume, more or less unread, partial set of the 100 Greatest-- which I of course started calling 'The 56 Greatest Books of All Time.' I got them for a steal, $1000, or $17.86 a book. I still remember the day I picked them up, with the same fuzzy wistfulness and misty sighs one recalls the special days of one's life: we met in a parking lot, the books were in about eight different plastic bins, lined with towels. Our transaction ("bring cash," I was told) had all the appearances of a drug deal-- and in retrospect I suppose it was! I couldn't even wait to get home, but pulled over at a small conservation area and began to do worship-- fawning, pawing, sniffing-- the whole deal. I picked one from the bins at random and took it with me into the woods, the way one would go 'out walking' with a sweetheart-- in this case James Joyce and his Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Anyway, have been working my way through them slowly (along with other stuff) so as to let this linger, and my collection has now swelled to about 100 books (not all from the 100 Greatest).

I have an Adventures of Sherlock Holmes still in shrink wrap that I'd be willing to swap for Middlemarch in fine condition. Started with Silas Marner, then went on to Adam Bede (an old ICL copy-- Easton Press hasn't done Adam Bede, I presume-- ) and now have just began my latest (ebay) acquisition, The Mill on the Floss. My my, can she nail character!

>125 Fionnsboy:, Welcome, looks like you have a great start! I love Eliot also, good luck in your search!

Thanks, Busy Wine!

>125 Fionnsboy:, "Our transaction ("bring cash," I was told) had all the appearances of a drug deal"...

Yup, once reeled in, you will become dependent fairly quickly. It starts with that small voice calling out to you that you need just one more volume, and before long you feel yourself plunged into a never ending pit of need and desire that only EP leather can fulfill.

You will also need to start getting the EPAA meetings on your calendar. See Silent's thread here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/98012#2479770

Do yourself a favor, and stay away from any thread marked "DLE". That represents the seventh level of EP hell from whence no man returns...

> 125

Great post that evokes that mad and inexplicable and unreasonable rush of excitement that we all get about new books. I get it when my wife calls me at work and says the postman has dropped of a single EP or FS parcel that day. With 56 volumes I don't think I would be able to control myself.

I tried putting this in a new post but website wouldn't let me for some reason!
My question is how do you care for your EP books regarding dust buildup on the gold or leather? How do you safely remove the dust without damaging the paper or leather?

>130 Jerry317:: A very light feather duster frequently enough to prevent thick dust build-up. Once dust has sat long enough to soil or adhere to the gilding there is no good way to get rid of it.

>131 wailofatail:, a cheese grater will remove that built up dust, most of the gilt edging, and leave you with a rustic, well worn leather book look.

Why mess up your cheese grater when coarse sandpaper does the job just fine...

I prefer a Dremel tool; this also allows one to "customize" the gilding on the cover and spine.

Thanks, Hamletscamaro! I see you know the feeling. I fully admit that sometimes I go to extreme lengths in my Easton Fever: I introduce the new volume to the existing family....oi. I will also occasionally come up with a Top Ten List, in which I rank my faves, based on how much I enjoy the book itself (meaning its contents) and beauty, and illustrations, and color, etc.....I got it BAD!

It was truly a baptism by friendly fire, Quicksilver. I do the FS thing too occasionally via ebay-- have maybe a dozen in the collection, and just added Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth, a lovely volume. What's your favorite FS?

> 136

That's a tough question Fionnsboy.

Of the FS Limited Editions that I have, my favourite is Canterbury Tales illustrated by Eric Gill.

Of FS "regular editions", I think its Legends of the Grail in the Myths and Legends series - a really beautiful volume with a mystical look and feel to it.
A close second is Seven Pillars of Wisdom (maybe because it was the first FS book I bought).

I've just subscribed to the 100 Greatest, and have vowed to work my through each book in order, so I am just finishing up Huck Finn, and look forward to moving on to Treasure Island this week.

> 137

I have the Legends of the Grail, and many of the other titles in that series. I agree with Quicksilver66's comments on the high quality of Grail. Though not my favorite FS book, it is in the top quartile.

Was probably going to pass on the LE Canterbury Tales, given the price and the multiple other copies of this book that I own in Easton and Franklin edition. Maybe I should re-consider.

I love this site, but it is going to be expensive to keep up with you guys!

I just finished The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. It is a riveting book from start to finish.

I enjoyed that book too; unfortunately, I read it when it first came out--so my EP edition will probably never get read!!

> 138
Testadura: when you say you are going to read them "in order," to which order do you refer? The order in which you received them, the order in which they were published by EP (good luck determining that!), the order in which they were originally published, alphabetical order, titular order, OH THE POSSIBILITIES!!!!

BTW, I realize I have contributed a few times to this thread and never actually posted on topic.

So, I am currently reading the Easton Press series The Second World War Leaders. Speaking of order, I had no idea which order to read these in, so I decided on the following order, given that I just finished the 5-volume The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich set, and needed a break from the always maddening Herr Hitler:

Stalin: Breaker of Nations - Robert Conquest (finished last week)
Mussolini: A Biography - Dennis Mack Smith (work in progress)
Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous With Destiny - Frank Freidel
Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan - Herbert P. Bix
Hitler: A Study In Tyranny - Allan Bullock

The final title in the series is Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert, the one-volume abridgment. But since I also fortunately own the complete 12-volume Gilbert biography published by Easton Press in 1994 (I think), I will try to plow through that next. That will complete my over one year "deep dive" into 19th and 20th century European history, my weakest area of knowledge. Then I believe it is on to the home country where I will likely begin the 16-volume Page Smith History of America series.

Will I have to change my name to US_History_Fan then?

If anyone cares, the Stalin biography was disappointing. While there was some decent analysis of Stalin's motives and a lot of focus on his inconsistencies (saying one thing, doing another), it was rather spotty in its treatment of periods of his life (I would have liked more time spent on his rise to power as that was far less certain than his ability to perpetuate evil once he attained the pinnacle of it). Mr. Conquest warns the reader up front that it is not his intent to capture in detail the narrative history of Stalin's life (gee, silly me, what is the purpose of a biography again?) and he certainly lives up to his promise. Ok, I am not going to really write a full review, I don't feel like it...let's just say I was disappointed.

The Mussolini biography is also rather slow-going for some reason. My reading dedication and speed has slackened considerably lately (inversely related to the number of HOURS I spend reading and responding to posts in this group which is a quite recent discovery). That is the only downside I can find in these pages however!

>138 testadura:

I too started off reading the books in the 100 Greatest series in the order that I received them. I loved doing that!!

It worked out great, while it was one book a month...but then I had to go and subscribe to the Collector's Library of Famous Editions, the Masterpieces of American Literature (not to mention all the "special order selections" that were not a part of a series)--before you know it, I had a serious backlog and I began to pick and choose.

Then, having finished my B.S. (computer science) and my B.A. (music history and theory), I went on to get a master's in Comparative Literature (with a dual focus in Latin American Literature and Critical Theory). I was also in a PhD program in Comparative Literature for several years (realizing only after I had finished with all the coursework and testing, that I didn't really have much drive to become a professional scholar--it was the give and take in the seminars that had fueled my interest all along!!). By then, I had already been working as an engineer for over 15 years (and I didn't hate my job all that much)...so...

At any rate, by the time all this education stuff was over (a bit over a decade ago), I found that reading was not as simple as it had been before. Not only could I no longer approach a book 'innocently', as I had done before all that academic exposure, but I could also no longer be fully satisfied with the relatively narrow canon exemplified by most of EP's literary series.

Nowadays, about 15% percent of the books that I read are from Easton Press. Unfortunately, I continue to buy these books at about ten times the pace that I actually read them. I no longer intend to read them all--hopefully I'll manage to get through the ones I want to read the most!!

There are definitely times when I wish I could once again approach books with the simple joy of someone discovering great literature for the first time. My first exposure to Boccaccio, Dante and Milton (to mention three authors that I recently called out in another topic, in another thread) are all thanks to Easton Press. In fact, for all my life-long love of books, if it were not for Easton Press (and, later Philip Ward), I would probably never have considered pursuing graduate school in literature.

And yet there's no question that I miss those days, a couple of years out of High School, when I would anxiously await the monthly arrival of that white box from Connecticut to see what leather beauty I would be reading next...

>143 SilentInAWay:

When I subscribed to the "100 Greatest" about a year and a half ago, I deliberated on which titles I REALLY wanted to own/read, and narrowed it down to only! eighteen. I then realized that given my generally slow reading pace, I would quickly fall behind at the rate of one title per month, so I asked EP to send them on a quarterly schedule. This is working out well so far.

>144 iluvbeckett:

That is also true for me, I am not subscribing to the series at the moment but I flipped through the titles and picked only the ones I am interested in and it is below 20, so if I do sign up for it I will at least get those first.

> 142

I meant the order in which I receive them. I have about a week or two to finish Treasure Island before my next (mystery) volume arrives. I was Jesuit educated, so I read many of the books on the 100 Greatest list as a matter of course, but I am especially excited to read the classics I haven't read yet. Plus, the not knowing which book is coming next is a bit of a thrill as well.

Hey Folks, a question from a newbie. I've noticed on ebay and Abe Books that Franklin Library books are always less expensive than EP. I have three Franklin books (The Country of the Pointed Firs, short stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Yearling) about a dozen FS, and 85 EP, and can't really discern a difference in quality between EP and Franklin. Can anyone tell me, why the disparity in price?

That is a great question, but I doubt anyone has any real answers, rather just a bunch of speculation. I don't think there is any quality difference between EP and FL in their respective publications during the 1970s and early 1980s (IMHO Franklin volumes are higher quality usually but EP often had the better and more copious illustrations). After around 1984/1985 you start to notice a discernible decline in FL quality, especially as they really started limiting themselves to a Signed First Edition selection.

The normal culprit for these market price disparities is supply and demand. But what puzzles me is that the FL should command higher prices being both more limited (fewer copies sold than most of Easton's major series) and now out of print. It, like nearly everything having to do with EP, is inconsistent and mysterious!

Honestly, the most puzzling thing to me is how poorly the Folio Society books hold their value despite aging quite well. Granted they are overpriced to begin with, sort of like a luxury automobile declines in value more rapidly, but it is ridiculous, sad and frustrating to see currently available titles or recently available titles sell for less than a third of the fS direct cost even still in brand new shrinkwrapped condition!!

>147 Fionnsboy:: I would agree that Franklin Library books are generally less expensive than E/P, but certainly not always. My sense is that F/L books are generally less expensive for four major reasons:

1.) There are more variations in quality among Franklin Library books. For many collections there are up to three different classes of quality: Premium, Standard (equivalent to most E/P books), and Value. Many sellers are not aware of the different classes of Franklin Library books and list them without information necessary for buyers to discern for themselves what class they may be buying. This is especially true of Abebooks where you typically don't have the assistance of a visual to aid you. Skeptic that I am, I believe some sellers that are aware of the different classes of Franklin Library books intentionally list the value class editions without detailed information with the hope that unwitting buyers looking for Standard or Premium editions will inadvertently purchase them. The different classes of the same titles from the same collection makes collecting Franklin books much more difficult than collecting E/P books, which, with a few exceptions, tend to be Standard class editions. This has discouraged me from collecting F/L books and I suspect I am not alone.

2.) Franklin Library ceased publishing books in 2000. Consequently, any book you purchase from F/L is going to be, at a minimum, eleven years old. Most will be older than this. If we agree that the older a book is the more wear and greater evidence of aging it is likely to incur, statistically speaking, your chances of getting a more worn or aged edition of a F/L book is greater than that for an E/P book. My limited experience purchasing F/L books has borne this out.

3.) If you believe that more variety from which to choose enhances one's attraction to a particular provider, E/P surpasses F/L hands down. By my count F/L published thirteen (is anyone here superstitious?) major collections. Of these, for at least three, and to a lesser extent four, of these collections substantially duplicate a number of works. If you collect titles rather than collections and don't intend to duplicate, your selection of titles from which to choose is even less. E/P published considerably more collections and supplemented these with hundreds of smaller sets and individual special presentations. Furthermore, for at least four of F/L major collections, E/P offers a nearly identical alternative.

4.) E/P continues to publish books to this day, while the F/L is now defunct. The size of a Franklin Library collector's library, consequently, is capped, whereas, even if you owned every E/P book published to date, (a monumental feat as yet unachieved to my knowledge), you could continue to collect as E/P continues to publish new books. The prospect of a living, growing collection is simply more appealing than collecting solely from a limited catalogue of old books that will never change or grow.

Along a similar line, the old adage "out of sight, out of mind" is applicable. E/P still has a presence in today's market, attracting new customers and potential new collectors. Franklin Library books have, in some respects, been relegated to the back shelf. Readers, book lovers, and potential collectors have to do more homework to discover and become familiar with Franklin Library books, whereas E/P still does a lot of the 'discover me' work for them.

As has been repeated time and again in this group, price is inextricably tied to supply and demand. I think the crux of the answer to your question lies primarily in a greater demand for E/P books and less demand for Franklin Library books.

Although it hasn't been mentioned before, wail's point 4 above does, I believe, constitute a major factor. It is also, I think, partially responsible for the relatively low price of most LEC books considering their exceptional quality--usually more premium than either EP or FL offerings.

Incidentally, I have found one exception to the general adage that FL is priced lower than EP: the Franklin Library books published by the Oxford University Press seem to fetch quite a premium, as I've never been able to win one on eBay despite bidding more than what I though was reasonable!

Thanks, wailofatail, for the great and thorough answer! I suspected that there might be tiers of quality with the Franklin books-- nice to have that confirmed, and now I'll ask before I purchase. Another thing I've noticed-- although this could only be with the Franklin books I have-- is that they tend to be physically smaller than E/P books. One of the things I like about E/P books is the variety in size.

Thanks Django--

I just acquired a full set of the EP "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Gibbon and have begun reading Volume 1.

Finally started on the twelfth and final volume in the massive Randolph Churchill / Martin Gilbert biography of Sir Winston Churchill published by EP in 1994. I am pleasantly surprised that the enjoyment of this bio has been sustained over the 8100 pages. I have been at it exclusively since Nov 30th and should wrap up the final volume in a week or less.

The books seem beautiful crafted, a bit better than the EP books of today (thicker boards, better paper, deeper gilt impression in the leather). But they are not holding up well at all to handling. I bought the set used in 2009 so cannot account for its storage or use prior to that but the gold gilt on the covers is rubbing off with only the most minimal holding, the pages are sagging to the point of wearing off the gilt on the bottom fore edge of the pages, the gilt on the page ends is foxing something fierce, and the leather boards seem especially prone to dirt accumulations that will not wipe off (and given the fragility of the gilt I am not applying too much pressure). Nonetheless I am happy to own the set and glad to have read it. Just wish it was aging more gracefully or I had paid a lot less for it.

> 156

A bit of gentle wear and tear on a book can add character to a book, Sean.

>157 Quicksilver66:: Added character equates to reduced re-sale value. One man's character is another man's eye sore.

> 157
I'm rather picky about my book conditions. Some might even say fastidious. I was sorely disappointed by the rubbed off areas of gilt on the covers of most of the volumes. I actually started inspecting very thoroughly as I took the next volume down off the shelf and invariably, no matter how careful I was in reading it, by the time I replaced it on the bookshelf it looked worse for the wear.

Started Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton this week. It's been in my library since EP published it back in 1979. Time to check off the 'to read' list. Great so far.

Os.

>160 Ealhmund:: "...since EP published it back in 1979." I thought E/P hadn't published this until the first Reader's Choice, circa 2005 - 2006. For what collection was it published back in '79?

>161 wailofatail:

Ooops. It's the signed, limited edition by Franklin Library, not EP. Sorry to send you down a rabbit hole. I should have looked at the title page again before posting. Don't recall, and it doesn't say what series, if any, it was part of. I will say this, though - Howard Rogers' illustrations are quite fine; somewhat sparse, but quite moving.

Os.

>162 Ealhmund:: That's it ... the Franklin Library 'Signed Limited Editions' collection. This collection was, without question, Franklin Library's crowning achievement ... comparable in some respects to E/P's Signed Modern Classics. The FL 'Signed Limited Editions' has got to be among the few FL collections to have held its value and then some.

>163 wailofatail:
Yep. A quick internet search indicates some think it's worth $150 or more. Unfortunately, back in 1979, I thought putting my embossed nameplate on the cover page was a good idea :-(. Probably worth what I paid for it for that. Glad I didn't do that with my EP Asimov Foundation signed edition. :-)

Os.

American Gods is shipping.

Just stopped by to mention the same - just got the notification that it is shipped. :)

Got my notification today too!

Did I miss something? What is American Gods and why are we excited that it is shipping? I feel like I just dropped into the middle of someone else's conversation even though I have been keeping up with this topic (I thought)?

There are a lot of Gaiman fans these days.

http://www.eastonpressbooks.com/leather/product.asp?code=2820

>165 Wootle: thru 169: You girls and guys can go ahead and drool over this one; the dystopian/sci-fi genre just doesn't do it for me (though I will admit to having pulled the trigger on Fahrenheit 451).

Reseller with American Gods for $225, nice markup. It was just announced a couple of weeks ago, not like it has sold out that quick.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/American-Gods-Neil-Gaiman-Leather-SIGNED-Sealed-NEW-East...

American Gods arrived today!!

>172 Gallivanter:

Could you describe the quality of the book? Does it have any illustrations?

There are no real illustrations to speak of. The only thing is that at each page introducing a new part of the book there is a sort of picture with lightening. It's really more of a simple photograph than an illustration. I wish I had my camera as I'd take pictures but other than these there aren't any illustrations. Also the signatures aren't numbered and it's considerably longer than the originally published American Gods. Evidently, the 10 year anniversary edition has been edited to be more along the lines of Gaiman's original manuscript and in the author's note in the beginning he states that it's the edition that he's most pleased with. It has the typical moire end-sheets but they're in the dastardly orangish color that EP is so fond of. It would be nice if they had mixed it up a bit.

>174 Gallivanter:

Thanks very much for your description.

I am currently enjoying reading, "How Green Was My Valley."

Just finished American Gods signed by Neil Gaiman now reading The Prince and the Pauper Deluxe Edition by Mark Twain and Life Itself signed by Roger Ebert all great books.

>178 Carl64:

I've been waiting not very patiently for my copy of American Gods to arrive. Arg!

>180 EclecticIndulgence:

If you think Tolkien borrowed from Beowulf, wait until you read "Ring of the Nibelung".

Finally got my copy of American Gods. Sweet!

Great hope you enjoy your copy of American Gods it is nicely done by Easton Press.

Speaking of high quality leather binding my deluxe copy of The Prince and the Pauper is bound in Cortina leather imported from Italy which you can tell from the feel and touch a better quality than the regular Easton Press books. Which with the price I would expect.

I will be the first person to by the first DLE that EP binds in high quality Corinthian leather. Mark my words :)

Reading Zhivago. I have the older two-volume EP edition (although my reading copy is actually the 1958 Collins release).

Supplementing my read with the online Spark Notes, Irwin Weil's taped lecture released by The Teaching Company, and Tchaikovsky's Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (the EMI-Melodyia recording with Robev conducting). Playing the Tchaikovsky piece while I read provides excellent atmosphere -and it's a great performance (wonderful, moody, introspective, Russian Orthodox choral music).

Of course, I've also been watching David's Lean's cinematic interpretation ( I think filmed mostly in Spain and other places with fake snow, lol, nevertheless a great film -even if I did have a problem with some of the subtle 1960's hairstyles and not so subtle strong English accents (Christie)).

I don't think that the two-volume edition was ever part of a set. I purchased the this edition from EP as a special offer (not part of a series) in 1986. We've talked about this before, but nothing firm came up to help resolve this question one way or the other. See messages 196-199 and 203 in the "Questions For Our Resident Experts" thread.

Argh -- rereading that thread, I see that @UK_History_Fan asked me a couple of follow-up questions about the book's illustrations -- at least one of which I could answer, were I to have the book in hand. I'll try and remember to post an answer tonight. (I don't own the single-volume edition, so I can't compare the two, unfortunately).

Sorry, UK...better (six months) late than never?

>189 SilentInAWay:: Speaking of better late than never ... how about that story of the three, or was it two, Mobys? I'm still waiting.

>188 EclecticIndulgence:
>189 SilentInAWay:

Yeah, that previous thread sums it up pretty well. The front of this two volume edition states "Collector's Edition" so I don't think this was part of a series.

I haven't seen the inside of the current single volume edition but I would bet it contains everything (text & illustrations) of the older two volume edition. The book isn't that long (I estimate 170K words) so I don't know why they made it two volumes (maybe to make it look more important).

Those two illustrations that I showed in my photos are pretty much it as far as pictures are concerned. Richard Sparks is one of my favorites too.

>190 wailofatail:: Oh, I'll definitely tell that story sometime or other -- I just have to wait until I'm in one of those moods where I don't mind pissing people off...

>192 SilentInAWay:: Hmmm ... I never seem to have that problem.

Hi Eclectic, I have a Franklin/Walden issue (C. 1976, See below). This states illustrations by Ronald Keller.

Started reading Roger Ebert"s new book Life Itself which is a signed edition limited to 700 from Easton Press. Always like him as a movie reviewer and his personality also. Should be a great read and I think will sell out soon do to limited copies.

The 100 Greatest edition of Melville's "Billy Budd" and "Benito Cereno" (in one volume); I'm finding "Benito" to be the more intriguing/engaging of the two novellas.

> 195
Dill, I simply love the clock that you are featuring in the background of your photo! Carved wood with a marble-top base?

Kafka's "The Trial" from the Great Books of the 20th Century

Stockett's "The Help". It just arrived a week ago and I have been meaning to read it for some time.

>199 UK_History_Fan:

Hi UK, thanks. It's a well made imitation of some antique (not sure what period or origin). I bought it years ago at little shop in Skokie IL (forget the name -now defunct though). I really don't know what it's made from, base or sculpture. It's not pure resin (much too heavy and solid). I would guess some kind of metal coated resin.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Tigana.

Having enjoyed Arthur C. Clarke's A Fall of Moon Dust, I immediately jumped into Heinlein's story of lunar colony rebellion.

Stranger in a Strange Land.....still....(it's been a busy year with not a lot of reading tume)

Reading two different non EP books just now, but next on my EP reading list is Dr. Zhivago

Lovely thread to resurrect. Talk about a Lazarus 🤣

Current I’m reading a biography (non Easton press) of Howard Hughes. Talk about an interesting fellow.

My current Easton press in a new book I just received entitled Prisoners of the Castle
https://www.eastonpress.com/all-categories/history/world-war-ii/prisoners-of-the...

Started 'Lord Foul's Bane' last night. This book made an impact on me when I was in high school in the late 70's. I have not read it since, so this should be interesting.

-Shawn

That is one author I never got around to reading. I probably had all of his books at one time, but never got started. I was a big Zelazny and Saberhagen fan and read most all of their writings.

It's cold out, so I might as well steer into the wind...

Ice Station Zebra

In November I read the EP edition of Søren Kierkegaard's _Either/Or_, both volumes in a single book, from the EP Great Philosophers series. It's essentially a reprint of the Penguin edition from 1992, but with the usual EP leather cover, nice paper, and gilded page edges. Very pleasant edition to read. The translation is by Alastair Hannay, who expurgates very slightly but otherwise produces an entirely readable text. I found the going denser than I remembered from my college read, and now suspect I did some skimming in that Kiekegaard course.

>207 sdawson: what a great series, Thomas Covenant. I ate them up when they each came out. Read them all again a few years later and then read them again a few years ago when the last four were published. I plan to read them again in the next few years.

>211 Neil_Luvs_Books:,

Nice. I have put it on hold to finish up a few other books which have dragged me in. But it is coming up soon.

I read the first 20 pages or so to jump start my memory, and so far so good.

While I recall it being meaningful to 15 year old me, I also recall taking guff from folks who say he just ripped of Tolkein. I did not think that was a fair comparison myself. Imagine if nobody ever continued with dragons and elves and imaginary lands after Tolkein, literature would be the poorer. Or imagine if Robert E. Howard was the only one allowed to write Heroic Fantasy ...

But glad to hear you enjoyed the series as well Neil!

I recently finished “The Land That Time Forgot DLE” and the “Daniel Boone DLE.” I just started EP’s edition of Stephen King’s “Dead Zone,” which I bought secondhand.

None of them would be mistaken for great literature, but all are enjoyable.

Finally got my first EP book to check out if I liked them - Greg Keyes' "The Briar King".
I hope this is one of their less standout releases, to be honest. Somewhat thin and unimpressive paper, awful looking 3D model of a sword as chapter headers...
Well, at least I know I already like the book itself.

Finished up the FS edition of Get Shorty, which for me was enjoyable, up until the final five or size pages. Just seemed implausible, especially compared to earlier chapters. Still, it ended with the narrator reflecting that good endings are hard to come up with in the movie business, and perhaps that was what the author was going for in the book as well. If so, it was just a bit over the top meta for me.

Now, on to Dr. Zhivago

>213 jroger1: I really liked The Dead Zone. I only picked it up because it was part of EP’s Masterpieces of Science Fiction series a number of years ago and people said it was great. Well, they were right, TDZ is a great read.

>213 jroger1:

Ah, the debate will never end. What is 'Great Literature'. The question is so subjective, full of biases and personal history, and personal tastes, and belief systems which change each generation. I recall, in 1983 or so having a debate with my English Literature professor in a class discussion about this. I took a ton of literature in college and made it a minor, but that is a tangent. Anyway, my poor memory seems to recall him saying something about 'standing the test of time' and dealing with universal themes. And I pointing out that fear is univeral, and brought up how Stephen King has tapped into that and is quite a good writer, and perhaps would be enjoyed still in 100 years. Let's just say we disagreed on that proposition.

-Shawn

>217 sdawson: 😀

Which means that according to your professor, nothing from the last 100 years could be considered great literature because insufficient time had passed to make that judgement. That’s a fair assessment, but sometimes a piece will be written that so captures the zeitgeist of the moment that it is great in that moment but once the zeitgeist has changed, then the book no longer has meaning.

Yup, lots to debate here! 😀

>217 sdawson:
You’re right, of course, about the subjectivity of “greatness,” whether in literature or any other endeavor. All of Stephen King’s works are still in print 41 years after your debate with your professor and they are still immensely popular. “The Land That Time Forgot” has now passed its 100th birthday. I suppose my understanding of great literature has been tainted by high school and college reading lists.

And what exactly is a universal theme? Are hobbits universal? Can I really learn anything about life from them that I didn’t know already?

Nevertheless, there does seem to be something special about “Don Quixote” and “The Divine Comedy” and “A Christmas Carol” that I can’t quite put my finger on. But I can’t go along with those scholars who insist that a popular author can’t be great, ignoring the fact that Dickens and Twain and Steinbeck were all bestselling authors in their day.

>219 jroger1: Great point about popular authors of their time becoming great literature. Stephen King, for example, has some great insights on human nature in some of his novels that I suspect will transcend our current time.

>219 jroger1:, >220 Neil_Luvs_Books:,

My memory came back to me last night. It was during some reading of Poe that the conversation came up. I enjoy Poe, and other gothic supernatural writers. The Raven is in the top five list of my favoriate poems. I have read many of the short stories and longer stories as well including The Narrative of Arthur Gordyn Pym. I believe his short stories and poetry was better. I thought King's early novels, which started with horror were fun reads. But by the early 80's he had evolved into more exploratory issues regarding the inner demons of man and society, and had The Stand, and The Shining behind him already. I felt these were on par with some of Poe's writings.

Still , with any prolific writer, there are hits and misses, peaks and valleys. I read a recent King book a few years ago, and was quite disappointed. I also read a more recent short story published by him somehwere, with the same judgment. Still, the same can be said for most prolific authors. They can become formulaic rather than insightful.

I have yet to read his Dark Tower series, which my now 83 year old mother raved about, even though she avoided any of his macabre works. Would love for Easton Press to do this series, I'd pick them up for sure.

Is King great literature? Well, there is no answer for that, as great literature is not defined by the author, but by the individual work. Not everything Poe wrote was great, same for King. But some titles rise up.

Regarding are hobbits are universal -- well no. But hobbits are part of the created world, the setting. They can be characters which explore themes of power, family, courage, war, brotherhood, duty, love, and sacrifice. I have seen this done well with space explorers in distanct galaxies, alien species, humans, barbarians, and rabbits.

-Shawn

>221 sdawson:
I’m afraid that our opinions about certain writers, including King, are often colored by the movies based on their books. Unable to fully represent a 300-400-page book in a 2-hour format, character development often suffers. King did not like “the Shining” movie, even though today it is considered a classic, largely because he thought the early development of Jack Nicholson’s character was almost entirely missing.

I agree with you about Gordon Pym being a weak link in Poe’s oeuvre and The Raven being near the top. And my 78-year-old self might agree with your 83-year-old mother about The Dark Tower if I ever get around to reading it.

But rabbits? Have I missed something?

>221 sdawson: I very much enjoyed King’s The Dark Tower cycle. I hope you get to them. There is one place in the cycle that I think King cheated somewhat to get himself out of a corner he had written himself into, but it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the entire series. But I think both The Stand and The Dead Zone are excellent. But I have not read any of his classic horror. I just don’t enjoy that genre.

I agree with you that prolific authors will have hits and misses. An example is Margaret Atwood whose Oryx and Crake trilogy I thought was absolutely brilliant. And of course her Handmaid’s Tale. But a couple of others have not impressed me as much.

>222 jroger1: "But rabbits? Have I missed something?"

Presumably, Watership Down.

Sorry, that’s one I haven’t read (yet).

I've not read it yet, either. It's supposed to be pretty good.

>222 jroger1: >224 treereader:,

Yes Watership Down, another book from my teenage years which I recall enjoying. But have yet to read again. Perhap's I'll get to it this year after revisiting Lord Foul's Bane. This seems to be the year of re-reading, am currently on my second vist with Dr. Zhivago.

-Shawn

I am toiling through the EP version of Victor Hugo's "The Toilers of the Sea."

>228 Betelgeuse:

I read that this past summer for the first time.

Check back here when you are done and let us compare what we thought of it.

>229 sdawson: I finally finished it. I gave this only two stars. I know it's heresy to rate a Victor Hugo novel with only two stars. But heck, it's how I feel and it's my review. I was so glad to be finished with this one. I found it to be bombastic and bloated. The guy really needed an editor. When Hugo describes some rocks in the ocean, he's not content with using one metaphor or simile; no, he needs forty. In one paragraph. He takes fifty pages to say what could be expressed in one or two sentences.

And then there are the digressions. As a rule, long-winded literary detours haven't bothered me in the past. I've read Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, which had a thirty-seven page tangent on the topic of Air, and liked it better than "Toilers" -- maybe because it was nonfiction rather than an interrupted novel. I also enjoyed most of the nautical diversions in Moby-Dick, because they didn't seem as long-winded. And the lengthy sidebars in Tristram Shandy were meant as a joke.

Yes, I know protracted tangents are part of the Hugo "style," that it's supposedly part of his appeal -- Parisian sewers and all that. I've read three other Hugo novels and liked them all better than "Toilers." I actually enjoyed Hugo's long-winded digressions in Notre Dame de Paris because I liked the subject matter; I tolerated them in Les Miserables, because even though the novel was a gazillion pages long the digressions were only 25% of the story; I skipped over the mind-numbing lists of revolutionary heroes in Ninety-Three. But in "Toilers," the core story is almost an after-thought to the rambling discourse on rock formations and meteorology. At least 50% of "Toilers" was tedious digressions -- maybe more. I couldn't stomach it this time. I think it's because, unlike the other works I mentioned above, Hugo's meandering pontifications come across as showing off, or as pompous lecturing. Even the evil, giant octopus couldn't save this story. (And by the way, Hugo went on for three or four chapters about the octopus' evilness.)

The other problem with "Toilers" was that the characters were surprisingly one-dimensional. But what happens at the end (when I finally got to the end) not even one-dimensional Gilliat deserved.