/lit/ - Literature

They develop weird little creases all over and are generally overpriced with very poor quality.

>>16323134
Pros: cheap as far as new print books go, look nice lined up on a shelf together
Cons: poor quality everything. Binding is weak, print is blurry, paper is course and rough and gets everywhere.

>>16323134
penguin bad

>>16323134
They're fine if you want a minimalist experience. I like annotations though, and if you buy from norton or folger they include essays in the back which usually add depth and context.

>>16323149
yeah black spine and when it creases it's very noticeable

They attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ9X3M1BXe0

>>16323173
ya they end up looking like used whores. It's pretty hot.

>>16323149
>>16323173
Paperbacks only look aesthetic if they have creases. If you don't want creases then buy hardcover.

>>16323221
But hardcovers cost more.

>>16323134
because /lit/ is a Wordsworth Classics board

>>16323134
Because /lit/ is retarded and doesn't get that books are meant to be read, not collected

>>16323272
>Wordsworth Classics
Accurate, considering that's the shitposting equivalent of printing.

pleb
>NYRB classics
>New Directions
>Everyman
>Norton Critical Editions

normie
>Penguin Classics
>Modern Library Classics
>Signet Classics
>Oxford World Classics

patrician
>Wordsworth Classics
>B&N Leatherbound Classics

I made the mistake of buying the Penguin Book of Haiku without inspecting carefully beforehand

>heavy use of cringe, modern vernacular
>poontang

Don't buy it bros

>>16323303
Everyman is best though

>>16323403
>EVERYMAN, I will go with thee,
>and be thy guide,
>In thy most need to go by thy side

>>16323134
i don't i love buying some old boomers complete collection for a few dollars after they die

>>16323712
estate sales must be on the rise because of the rona. I mean, just imagine, 180,000 collections now freed for the public.

>>16323272
basado

>>16323727
cooms

>>16323134
I like them. Oh if only they weren't so inconsistent among printings.

>>16323134
Only get a penguin if it has the better translation

Not sexual enough on the bookshelf. They do not bring enough sexual energy.

>>16323134
I like penguins classics.

dover thrift is where it's at

>>16323303
why is Norton Critical pleb

>>16323149
>>16323173
>>16310754

>>16323303
What about Dover Thrift Editions?

Never in my life have I had a problem with a penguin book. Then again, I’m not a retard. I just buy whatever is cheaper with no useless introductions.

>>16325257

patrician

The true patrician option is to buy what you want from thrift stores. Penguin, Norton Critical, Oxford World Classics, Everyman's Library, insanely well made vintage hardcovers from some weird defunct publisher, etc. All the same price, all with the thrill of the hunt, never knowing what you're going to find, discovering a new favourite book from some author you've barely heard of. What a thrill.

>>16325250
My Tibetan Book of the Dead looks like that and I only read it twice.

>>16325289
Crime & Punishment was only read twice as well. The older build is less sturdy.

>>16323134
I reject your hypothesis.

what if instead of a penguin it was boobies

>>16325288
>insanely well made vintage hardcovers from some weird defunct publisher
Heritage Press ftw

>>16323154
>paper... gets everywhere
??

>>16325206
I discovered this the hard way.
Penguin arrived in my country recently and their translation of Isaac Babel is almost unintelligible.

>>16323303
imagine not recognizing this as bait. Swap pleb and patrician and you have the true ranking.
>>16325288
Agreed. Found my 1930 Modern Library Moby Dick on a free shelf in a random neighborhood. Goodwill shelves are full of Norton editions and Readers Digest hardcovers, which are geezer-tier but have quality binding and paper.

>>16323167
Penguin Classics almost always have annotations and introductory essays.

>>16323356
>heavy use of cringe, modern vernacular
>poontang
That's not a haiku.

>>16323134
They don't smell good and their papers don't feel nice to touch

>>16323303
>Norton Critical Editions
>pleb
please.

>>16325330

They'll always have intros but annotations are only for older more established classics. They're not paying some loser critic to annotate Thomas Ligotti or something.

>>16323134
Penguin are a step up from the cheap Bantam/Signet pocket paperbacks, the ones with the dark pulpy pages and smeary ink. But they're not much better. The edition I buy depends on the book/ translation if applicable, my attitudes toward the particular work/ whether I've read it before, and how I plan to use the volume in question. Penguins and Oxfords are for reading while /out/ or traveling. They're basically disposable so I pick them up cheap. Sitting at home, I like to have a nice hardback with ribbon bookmark and dust jacket. I may own a Signet, an Oxford, and a Folio edition of the same book, all for different purposes.

>>16323149
A densely creased spine is pretentious as fuck. Everyone will know just how fastidiously you read such a book on your bookshelf, but I strive to be humble.

>>16325366
Annotations are usually for foreign things with difficult words to translate.

>>16323173
A densely creased spine is pretentious as fuck. Everyone will know just how fastidiously you read that book; but anons, we ought to strive to be humble.

>>16325386
Textbook projection and insecurity masquerading as humility.

>>16323173
A densely creased spine is pretentious as fuck. One look and anyone will know just how fastidiously you read that book; but anons, we ought to strive for humility.

>>16325366
Ok I guess I'll pick up the Norton Critical Ligotti instead....

If I read the whole book and there's no visible crease, I feel cheated. I earned one. Fuckers

>>16325428
>used creased paperbacks, eh?
>I buy em up for 10 cents at the HBP Outlet.
>already creased (used), I don't care.
>I grab them off the squeeky wire rack that spins
>there are four of those racks, I body block them so other people will leave the area and go look at other sections.
>side-eye an old cunt with a basket full of Janet Evanovitch while I keep grabbing for 10 centers.
>Let out a huge ripping fart so she vacates my fucking rack space.
>The Evanobitch lady plus multiple other people in the area back away.
>start spreading my feet out so that my stance encompasses two wire squeeky racks worth of space.
>keep grabbin for 10 centers
>those yellowed edges like long, nicotine-stained acrylic press-ons
>cheap paperbacks fragrant like cheap whores
>I love a dirty, used up bitch. I love creases.
>Ten fucking cents like this is nineteen fucking 52.
>Bright ass bleeding green hi-lighter
>inferior translation
>ugly cover
>Peabrain NGMI English 101 annotations with some bitch named Katie Johnson's name in Crayola marker on the inside of the cover
>One just says AIDS, I buy it.
>love that shit, baby.
>Put em in the bag, sweetheart.
>Bye sweetie, have a good day.
>wait
>I have to fucking poop
>"can I leave my bag here?"
>uh... sure, ...sir? I'll hold it back here.
>go into bathroom, sit in stall.
>Infinite poop. You sit on the toilet to poop, but the poop never stops coming out of your butt.
>You have to start flushing the toilet every two minutes to keep up. You try to pinch your butt closed but that makes your insides hurt. The poop accelerates.
>You call 911. The paramedics call for doctors. The doctors call for specialists. The story trends on Twitter. You turn down talk show appearances. Your septic tank fails. People form a cult. Your toilet is finished. Volunteers arrive with buckets and shovels. You are completely used to the smell. The poop accelerates. You are moved to a stepladder with a hole in the top step. The poop accelerates. The shovelers abandon the buckets and shovel directly out the window. The poop accelerates.
>A candlelight vigil forms around your house. One of the workers falls over and can't free himself. The poop accelerates. A priest knocks over the stepladder and tackles you out the window. You land in the pile. The poop accelerates. The force now propels you forward and upward. >Vigil goers grab at your legs.
>The poop ignites from their candles.
>The Facebook live event hits 1 million viewers.

>>16325414
Jesus, you are a self-conscious.