New York Review Books- The Criterion Collection of Publishing?

[Anonymous No.6455852]

>rescue lesser known classics, foreign gems, artistically relevant non-fiction, and minor offerings from major writers
>use an instantly recognizable, minimalist package design
>packed with actually worthwhile 'bonus features'
>limit their availability to a select few retailers and charge a small but noticable premium

I'm at the point where I'll read a book that I've never heard of just because it's published by them, the same way I'll let criterion collection be a mark of historical or artistic relevance.

Is there any of ther publisher more deserving of the moniker 'The Criterion Collection of Books'?

[Anonymous No.6455868]

>>6455852
Whats Penguin Classics?

[Anonymous No.6455889]

>>6455868
Literally those walmart exclusive "ACTION 4 PACKS" that might have that one flick you cant find anywhere else in it but it's really poor quality.

[Anonymous No.6455890]

>>6455868
Printed on terrible paper, for a start.

They also don't fulfil the aspect of 'lesser known classics'. Penguin and Vintage usually go after just the obvious widely-accepted classics, and the NYRB series is good at filling in the gaps that those others don't cover.

[Anonymous No.6455903]

>>6455890
That's not fair or even true. Penguin for one offers thousands of books that would otherwise be out of print. Say what you will about their construction quality, but they make a lot of books available to the masses.

I bought two James Welch books and pic related of theres' recently.

[Anonymous No.6455916]

>>6455852

it is a pretty good analogy. the titles nyrb publishes are usually pretty top notch. but i'm not exactly in love with the design. it is adequate and unobtrusive but not all that appealing. it's hard to say exactly why.

[Anonymous No.6455933]

>>6455852
>Is there any of ther publisher more deserving of the moniker 'The Criterion Collection of Books'?

Obviously Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions.

[Anonymous No.6455940]

>>6455933

>those bindings

why.jpg

[Anonymous No.6455945]

>mfw someone "likes" the criterion collection on fartbook

[Anonymous No.6455946]

>lesser known classics

Like what?

[Anonymous No.6455950]

>>6455945
>When someone likes anything that isn't going to give them useful or relevant notifications and serve only to show their "friends" that they like anything

or:
>Facebook

[Anonymous No.6455953]

>>6455946
No one had read Stoner until they republished it.

[Anonymous No.6455969]

>>6455945
>I love buying Criterions, I'm such a film nerd xD

Why do Americans have to ruin everything?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btxXtS5TTQs

[Anonymous No.6455975]

>>6455969
because you're a jingoist faggot?

[Anonymous No.6455979]

>>6455969
the fact that Amazon and internet shopping exist makes this shit a million times faggier

[Anonymous No.6456292]

I personally like New Directions.

[Anonymous No.6456845]

>>6455933
I would have loved reading those editions when I was in grammar school.

The binding and feel of those editions are perfectly suited for making lifelong readers out of bright kids.

[Anonymous No.6456858]

>>6456292
So you're saying you like nude erections?

[Anonymous No.6456909]

>>6455953
This is demonstrably not true. When Williams died in '94 there was a surge of newspaper articles and accompanying sales. Then the next generation of journalists conveniently forgot that so they could do the same project again.

[Anonymous No.6456930]

>>6455903
Yeah, actually Penguin publishes fucking loads. On the other hand NYRB pretty much just publishes good shit, some Penguins suck.

Pushkin Press are contenders. Not always great editions, but a whole lot of Zweig.

[Anonymous No.6456945]

>>6455852
>I'm at the point where I'll read a book that I've never heard of just because it's published by them
Me too.
It's one of my favourite 'stamp of approval' in the publishing industry.

[Anonymous No.6456951]

All right then. I buy one NYRB classic tomorrow.

Which?

[Anonymous No.6456960]

>>6456909
Your post is demonstrably not true - this Guardian article says that Stoner was out of print within a year

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/22/john-williams-stoner-review

[Anonymous No.6456962]

>>6456951
Hard Rain Falling
Amsterdam Stories
The Peregrine
The Land Breakers
The Foundation Pit
Skylark

Pick one.

[Anonymous No.6456963]

>>6456951
The Long Ships

[Anonymous No.6456982]

>>6456960
Yes. It went out of print, and was then majorly revived in the 90s before falling out of print again. The review in Private Eye actually showed that since publication it has spent more time in print than out. Don't let the facts get in the way of broadsheet hyperbole.

[Anonymous No.6457003]

>>6455933

Can you recommend any of those? I want to pick up at least 2 (to get free shipping).

[Anonymous No.6457012]

>>6456951

[Anonymous No.6457061]

I'd like to know if you guys know any sort of equivalent to the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade/Library of America (neutral cloth or leather bound, great quality, complete works in one or even several tomes), but with British classics

[Anonymous No.6457067]

>>6455852
i agree

they re-published edmund wilson's to the finland station, which is a truly great piece of historical writing by one of america's great public intellectuals, that had long been out of print

I would love to start a similar kind of printing press myself, re-publishing old, forgotten classics.

NYRB has a lot of cachet in the literary world though, which is why they're so successful

[Anonymous No.6457132]

>>6457061
In Foyles, central london, there's a whole wall of these. Austen, Trollope etc. in big prestige editions. No idea who publishes though, because too little money to shell out.

[Anonymous No.6457145]

>>6457132
probably Penguin Clothbound Classics

[Anonymous No.6457169]

>>6456858
affirmative.

[Anonymous No.6457378]

Oh shit I love this press.

>>6456951
pic related

[Anonymous No.6457386]

>>6455979
and also torrenting, why does no one ever go out and torrent this shit, there's literally zero cons to torrenting

[Anonymous No.6457391]

>>6457386
Reading on a computer screen makes my eyes hurt and kindle is for pussies.

[Anonymous No.6457425]

>>6457386
Fucking Baudrilliard. Ever since that guy university types have felt like owning things is too bourgeoise, helping the economic system and THE MAN. Trust the hedonists. Have nice things.

[Anonymous No.6457442]

>>6455969
I don't know why I'm watching that video, but holy shit is that horrendous.
>unironically calling yourself a cinefile
>being a group of friends competing for buying the same dvd's, and not just watch them together
>muh property
>consume
>so culture
>not a good movie but a good "criterion"

hold me

[Anonymous No.6457506]

>>6455946
>>6456909
"forgotten" if you will then, speedboat is another example
they're also bringing back authors who haven't been translated into english or who were out of print, Stefan Zweig is maybe the best example

[Anonymous No.6457553]

>>6457506
He's an asshole. Stoner was most definitely only revived when NYRB reissued it. Just cus 'muh google search' shows it might have been published somewhere, somehow before then doesn't mean it had any impact or garnered any acclaim. NYRB is solely responsible for the book's recognition today.

[Anonymous No.6457564]

>>6455953

I wouldn't have discovered Stoner, and John Williams, if it weren't for /lit/ memes.

Thank you /lit/ for enriching my reading experience. You the real MVP.

[Anonymous No.6457856]

>the same way I'll let criterion collection be a mark of historical or artistic relevance

LOL. Criterion has been pure shit for the past few years in terms of quality releases. This needs to made evident regardless of how good their restorations are as I see no one else criticize them for it.

Let's look at their latest announced releases for july.

http://www.criterion.com/library/expanded_view?f=1&s=release_date

>The Killers boxset
both forgetable films

>Hiroshima mon Amour
Great. best release of the year so far under a pile of shit.

>The black Stallion
forgettable.

>Here is your life
forgettable.

>Moonrise kingdoom
Of course somehow all of wes andersons filmography as seen as worth shit by the faggots in charge there as well as mumblecore shit like Tiny Furniture.

>My Beautiful Launderette
Who literally gives a shit?

[Anonymous No.6458023]

What're the best NYRB stuff you guys have read?

Stoner goes without saying, makes me want to read Butcher's Crossing next. On Being Blue was sublime, and Fear was a better WWI novel than All Quiet.

[Anonymous No.6458025]

>>6455969
As someone that has way too many criterion DVDs and Blu Rays this just makes me sad.

>how their selection seems to be based entire off of cover art and name dropping value
>how the make safe tired jokes
>how they allude to needlessly edgy political opinions.

I mean fucking hell.

[Anonymous No.6458067]

>>6455852

I'd say Pushkin Press is more closer to Criterion than the New York Book Review of Classics are but still somewhat debatable.

[Anonymous No.6458074]

>>6458067
Was looking at Petersburg the other day. I'm assuming the Pushkin Press translation is the best?

[Anonymous No.6458097]

>>6458074

I'm reading the Elswroth translation at the moment and it's pretty damn good, no idea what the Penguin one is like but I like the cover better just for that painting.

The main character reminds me of a /pol/ user in the 20th century.

[Anonymous No.6458138]

>>6458097
>The main character reminds me of a /pol/ user in the 20th century.

For some reason that makes me think of a Russian Ignatius Reilly

[Anonymous No.6458159]

>>6457856
Black Stallion is beautiful. I haven't seen Here Is Your Life, but I don't mind Jan Troell getting a nice release.

But yes, they have been releasing too many things that they don't need to waste their time on (Tootsie, Broadcast News, The Fisher King)

[Anonymous No.6458176]

This entire fucking thread is a travesty. Going for "collections". Yup, be a sucker and buy the entire NYRB library. They have bad translations and overall bad quality on the book in several books. You pick book by book. Not just going by publisher.

I wish /tv/ could leave

[Anonymous No.6458184]

>>6457061
Franklin library

[Anonymous No.6458188]

>>6458176
Define "bad quality" in this context, and say why the translations are "bad"

[Anonymous No.6458209]

>>6458176
>You should pick book by book
How do you know something is good before reading it? People itt aren't saying the whole collection is good, but rather you'll be more likely to find a good, original, or interesting book with nyrb. No one is suggesting buying the whole library either.

[Anonymous No.6458211]

>reading translations at all

[Anonymous No.6458216]

>>6458188
Bad quality, as mediocre layout, cheap covers that break easily, bad fonts, bad size, bad margins etc.. bad translations is bad translations, what is it that you dont get?

[Anonymous No.6458222]

>>6458211
You think paper quality, font selection, font-size, margins, reading legibility , illustrations or not has nothing to do with your experience of the reading

[Anonymous No.6458784]

>>6458184
Thanks a lot !

[Anonymous No.6458959]

>>6455969
>>6455979
>>6457386
>>6457442
>>6458025

>2015
>getting mad at youtube videos

c'mon now.

[Anonymous No.6459988]

>>6458209
Nice reading comprehension there, lad. I think someone might have missed a few English classes.

[Anonymous No.6460003]

Like any other publisher, some are hit and some are miss. If Stoner is the only "popular" book they list (if you could even call it that), I have doubt they could truly be that great.

[Anonymous No.6460512]

>>6458025
v jealous of your collection.
Harakiri is still one of my favorite movies.

[Anonymous No.6460543]

>>6455933

The Dune one looks kind of cool

[Anonymous No.6460596]

>>6457856
>>The Killers boxset
>both forgetable films

I was going to defend them until I realised that although I've seen both, I can't remember a thing about them beyond the initial Hemingway bit.

[Anonymous No.6460632]

>>6455969
Criterion /is/ based tho.

>>6457386
I haven't torrented movies in years (why bother when libraries have them) but they didn't used to torrent special features, and a lot of criterion dvds have printed essays/articles.

[Anonymous No.6460713]

>>6457856
Aside from one of the versions of The Killers is one of the best examples of hardboiled noir I can think of, doesn't the set also include Tarkovsky's student film?

[Anonymous No.6460756]

>>6457856
My Beautiful Launderette is probably the best film of the bunch and I like Duras (as a writer).

[Anonymous No.6460812]

criterion are annoying, their selection is ok at best and the releases are pretty good

nyrb is probably a decent comparison

[Anonymous No.6460819]

>>6460812
Hold onto your butts, we have a True Patrician™ here.

[Anonymous No.6460952]

>>6460003
There's quite a few important and very good books in there. If you're asking whether they have The Great Gatsby, you're missing the point of the entire fucking thread.

[Anonymous No.6460961]

>>6460596
>Hemingway story
>directed by Kubric

how is that not worthy of being on an art film label?

[Anonymous No.6460975]

>>6455852
>I'm at the point where I'll read a book that I've never heard of just because it's published by them, the same way I'll let criterion collection be a mark of historical or artistic relevance.

Jesus fucking Christ you guys miss God.

[Anonymous No.6460991]

>>6457391
eh it's not so bad. I was reading Girl w/ Curious Hair, and it was annoying for a while, and then I got into the groove of it. And e-books?

pussies?

you're the bitch-ass weak-willed pussy here

[Anonymous No.6460996]

>>6460975
I don't think you understand.

What's wrong with a publisher printing and promoting books that have gone out of print? Nobody reads a book just because it's published. But just because it's published they might want to look into it, see what it's about, then make up their own mind whether or not they want to devote their time to reading it.

It's not like the NYRB is some arbiter of patrician taste or anything like that, but I do think they are providing an important service.

[Anonymous No.6461004]

>>6457856
is this supposed to be
>Of course somehow all of wes andersons filmography is seen as worth more than shit by the faggots in charge there
a friend who 'likes films' considers Grand Budapest, of all the movies he's seen, his most favorite -- is this pleb/bad/unwise

[Anonymous No.6461018]

>>6460543
too bad dune is sci fi genre fiction shit

if we still burned books, i'd use it to keep me warm at night

[Anonymous No.6461034]

>>6461004
it's bad, worse than pleb

grand budapest hotel wasn't even interesting to me. i'd rank it one of the worst of wes anderson's movies. I didn't even think it had a compelling narrative. Sure it had nice costumes and sets, but it was all style and no substance.

God damn I hate that movie and hate that it got nominated for/received so many awards

[Anonymous No.6461047]

>>6461034
>pleb
>to me
>i'd rank it
>I didn't even think
>I hate

quit being such an entitled little shit, no one cares about your fucking high school opinion.

[Anonymous No.6462590]

>>6457132
I saw everymans when I was last there.

[Anonymous No.6462603]

I don't like the small print and bunched up line spacing. 1 page is like 1.5 pages of a normal book.