/lit/ - Literature

What really fucks me off is when publishers decide on a really fucking ugly colour for... their colour scheme*

Literally all I want in a book. Just give me a plain colored spine, white preferred, a decent cover and consistent sizes. I've honestly just started pirating everything until I can find a cheap copy with a decent aesthetic. Something like pic related is ideal.

>>13245744
Bro, I don’t say this often, and when I do it’s usually ironic but please have sex.

Stop being autistic.

>>13245426
drink water

Check this ghastly purple cover. I get it's the Florentine colours but purple as a book cover is a serious no.

>>13245426
Folio, Easton and Franklin are bad, but Everyman is God tier? What are you talking about? Everyman's Library editions are ugly as sin and printed on tissue paper.

>>13246047
They're cheap, cloth bound, good translations, good clear print and I don't mind about the thin paper, keeps big texts light and thin. Name another publisher which makes hardbacks like that without trying to make decorations.

>>13245426

In other words, you think graphic design is meaningless and tawdry and irrelevant to the appreciation of literature? If only this were a board where people loved to read, my pitiful brother, you would find many allies. This is where people who listen to podcasts and watch youtube videos all day come to roleplay as "literate men".

Yes, you're correct in spirit. Yes, they all deserve to be shot like lame mules. No, they won't shut up and fuck off to hang themselves, even though it would be doing the world a favor.

Remain steadfast, OP. You were less of a faggot than I expected.

>>13246071
Yeah, they're definitely light. If that's an important feature for you because your arms are toothpicks then I guess they're a good choice.

Given the choice I'd take EP/Franklin/Heritage/LEC/Folio any day over EL. Not that they're always lookers either, but at least they're printed on quality thick paper, in reasonably dark text; and while sometimes garish they're not on the same level of ugly as EL.

>>13245426
Reminds me of this.

>>13245426
>Old blue penguin classics, vintage, and orange penguins are fine to read but shouldn't be shelved.
What do you mean by this? Where are you supposed to put a book that you own after reading it if not on a shelf?

>>13246177
Hide your shame.

>>13245426
Why would you take off the dust jacket? Your book’s gonna get dusty bro

>>13246194
To keep jacket dust free.

>>13246164
That’s kind of a wacky, zany cover though. Something like that makes me feel goofy all over and ready to read The Divine Comedy and laugh.

This is autistic as fuck but I will say my only peeve is that so few publishers print on acid fast paper these days. Even new fancy covers use cheap paper that will start to break down in 50 years or less. I want a library that my grandkids can enjoy.

>>13245426
sure, you may have your preference. and I may even agree on you with that. but ultimately, what is the point? who is looking at your personal library? i can think of maybe 3 or 4 people that have seen my books.

Kill yourself OP. You sound like an absolute faggot, and you have really shit taste in books.

having worked in charity shops and regularly shopping in second hand book places I'd recommend you leave he dust jacket on unless your books are stored in a dark closed cabinet. the spine fades and falls apart faster without the jacket. those covers were disposable like 100 years ago when they were actually made of thin paper, not so now.

what's the consensus on the norton critical series? do they belong on the shelf or do they expose one for compensating for a lack of formal education?

t. finds norton criticals very useful because i didn't study literature at school and thus has fair amount of them.

>>13246754
I have their edition of Moby-Dick, the footnotes/essays/supplementary material is all great but I don't understand why they printed it on such thin paper. Whenever I read it I feel like I'm going to rip one of the pages.

>>13246754
They're top tier when it comes to content.
Sadly the physical quality has fallen a lot over the years, very thin pages.

>>13246728
This. I've probably had more people in my house who haven't seen my books than people who have. And they're not hidden away. They're on bookshelves in the den right next to the kitchen in a rather small house with an open floor plan.

My books are haphazardly strewn about the floor in various rooms in my house, in true autistic fashion.

Reminder that if you dont hand transcribe the entire book in the store and shelve your manuscripts at home you are a larping printalist

>>13245426
this. i fucking hate pleb colors so much.

acceptable base colors:
>black
>white (if white as a base color, no other accent colors should be used accept for red)
>darker shades of grey, charcoals and onyx's
>lighter shades of grey if they have a metallic finish, no mattes or glosses
>ivory/beige/almond
>red, but only deep crimsons, garnets, bricks etc.

acceptable accent colors:
>gold, silver, copper
>white
>off-white/ivory if the base color isn't black
>red, darker or lighter shades, but no candy reds or anything that strays into pink
>green, but ONLY if the base color is ivory/beige/off-white
>in certain cases, piercing blues or navy's can work. again no gay shades, such as baby blue or sky blue
>neon colors of you're going for that aesthetic and it actually looks good

anything leather is also acceptable. most people have such shit taste in aesthetics its disgusting. who the fuck wants to read an orange book? why are you wearing a fucking purple tie?

>>13245426
the only real no-no is buying translations to be honest

>>13246910
I've just looked at your results. Bad news I'm afraid; you're retarded.

>>13246910
how good is your ancient greek?

>>13246844
>Reminder that if you dont hand transcribe the entire book in the store and shelve your manuscripts at home you are a larping printalist
Reminder that if you don't exclusively pirate books and print them in your own custom format for your personal library with volumes for large books so they are all the same size your a plebian.

>>13245426
>he doesn't know about the library of america collection

>>13246950
Newer titles have low quality paper.

>>13246241
How do you plan on having grandkids? As I understand, most posters need to "have sex"

>>13246950
>American authors
No thanks

>>13245426
Sup pseud

>>13246241
Another reason Dover is GOAT, apart from the new blue covers

>>13246177
Donate them, sell them, put them in a box. If you think you're going to keep it either buy a nice copy to start with, if you just want to read it first then buy the cheapest format you can, if you want to keep it afterwards then FOLLOW THE RULES

Gallimard, Minuit :-)

>>13245744
this is what hacketts look like generally

>>13246194
Because dust jackets are ugly as sin
>>13246728
Most importantly, I will be looking at them and I take some pride I'm my home. My girlfriend sees them. We regularly have guests and discuss books.
>>13246156
"not on the same ugly level" fuck me, if you think any of those publishers are good looking yiu are the problem.

Everyman's designs books to be read, it's function making form. Everything else you listed is purely form with no function.

>>Pic related
This is good besides top shelf and the hardback on its cover

>>13245426
okay reddit man

>>13247708
Their proust collection is just perfect. Wish I could read french

>>13247739
>Everything else you listed is purely form with no function.
Everything else I listed, regardless of aesthetics, is of much higher quality than Everyman's Library. EL is hobo tier.

>>13248264
Literally all their books look the same. Look up the books of Foucault or any other french philosopher.

>>13246950
This looks like a prison library, or like they were bought from a traveling encyclopedia salesman's trunk.

>>13245989
i think they had the wrong Prince in mind

>>13249003
kek

>>13245426
The absolute state of /lit/ is having only 14 books

>>13249514
use some common sense. obviously just used a few books to illustrate a point

>>13249514
The absolute state of /lit/ not being able to count to 15

>>13247739
Hey that’s my bookshelf lol

S O U L L E S S

>>13246950
>Nagel - Mind & Cosmos

nice