/lit/ - Literature

>>4857116
I buy one, and if it sucks then I favour other publishers if I have a choice.

To be honest this whole issue about having to choose between editions can be avoided by reading books written in the last 25 years.

penguin paperbacks are pretty bad

i have penguin's edition of 'dracula' and it gets little nicks in the cover really easily even though i'm reasonably careful with it

the pages are also prettty wafer-like and crappy

my 'my penguin' edition of woolf's 'the waves' is actually a lot better. it has a sturdier cover and the pages are thicker too (if rougher)

i've got penguin's hardback 'lolita' and 'the count of monte cristo' in the post so i'll see how those hold up

i'm expecting them to be a little better

on a slightly related note how great are the penguin modern classics covers??? i'm so taken with them it actually makes me want to read books i have little to no interest in

>>4857150
*correction

sorry, i meant to say their 'hardcover classics' editions have great covers. the 'modern classics' range has pretty boring ones

>>4857116

Library of America is God tier.

I shoot a load whenever I crack one open.

>>4857233

Yeah, 3 out of 5 of those are shit.

What? I love Penguin paperbacks. They always look beautiful, and I have no idea why the pages should be garbage-tier.

>>4857233
You do get your moneys worth with these editions. I also like that they are readable editions. As in they are not too fancy where you would worry about taking them out with you to read in public.

>>4857116
>I know some publishers with a bad reputation, so it's easy to avoid those (Penguin)

Penguin do not have a bad reputation. It's just /lit/ trolls trying to make people feel pleb.

Either that or there is some massive difference in quality with penguin's output on the other side of the Atlantic that i've not experienced here.

The black covers of penguin classics DO show creases and damage more easily. That's because they are black on white. Compare to the penguin modern classics (or even oxford classics) with white spines, creases just as easy (same quality) it's just not as noticeable.

Oxford are just as good in my opinion. Penguin is no better, but certainly no worse. (Excepting difference between different translations or editions of the same text, where one might be better than the other in a specific instance.)

>>4857400
actually, that said, they do do some stupid and ill thought out things from time to time, but still.

My only recent grip has been the back covers of the great ideas series. The series list on the back is poorly typeset and the text is too small.

I've always had a good experience with Signet Classics. Carried around a copy of Dante's Inferno for a while and it's got wear, but not so far as damage.

But I have been wondering how complete my The Programmed Classics copy of Seven Pillars of Wisdom is. I think it was printed in 1938.

I'm a fan of Oxford, and I do like Penguin as far as their notes/annotations and introductions go, though I find Oxfords far more pleasing on the eyes. In any case, here is a list of some publishers most of us already know and a few that some may not know of:

>Oxford World Classics
http://global.oup.com/academic/content/series/o/oxford-worlds-classics-owc/;jsessionid=EA5633A3184F61F9BA7247D441E2E911?cc=us&lang=en&

>NYRB Classics
http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints/classics/

>Everyman's Library
https://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/classics/catalog/advanced_search.html

>Barnes & Noble Classics:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Classic-Books-Barnes-and-Noble-Classics/379003245/

>Penguin (a listing of the complete set up until 2009:
http://www.listsofbests.com/list/26573-the-penguin-classics-library-complete-collection

>Wordsworth Editions (generally some pretty bad cover art and cheap paper, pretty much the same type used for newspapers, but they are only £1.99 each):
http://www.wordsworth-editions.com/collection/classics

>Modern Library:
http://www.modernlibrary.com/library/classics/

...and you also can look up S&S Classic Editions, Verso Classics, Vintage Classics, Perennial, Loeb Classical, Washington Square Enriched Classics, Bantam Classics, Cameo, etc.

>based everyman's library