/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.6457017]

Have you ever picked up a book because of its looks/aesthetics?

Post pics of it if you have.

>pic somewhat related

[Anonymous No.6457023]

Ugly book cover thread?

[Anonymous No.6457027]

>>6457017
sick fedora cover bro

[Anonymous No.6457208]

I kinda regret getting this over a paperback I probably could've found, but oh well.

[Anonymous No.6457247]

>>6457208
At least the spine doesn't look like complete shit, but that cover, Jesus.

[Anonymous No.6457268]

>>6457208
I almost got this, when I was a retarded consumer.

[Anonymous No.6457308]

>>6457017
Found it in a second hand bookstore. Actually a neat book on the collections (lots of pretty pictures), but i would have bought it anyway. The cover is actually padded.
Totes decadent/10

[Anonymous No.6457461]

>>6457017
Hundreds of times (or more accurately, I choose an edition of a book I like because I also like the edition's looks: I don't buy pretty books with content I hate).

[Anonymous No.6457475]

picked up these (Kafka - The Castle and Camus - The Plague) at a second hand bookstore. I think they are amazing.

[Anonymous No.6457476]

>>6457461

Beautiful/10

[Anonymous No.6457482]

>>6457268
>retarded consumer.
Buying books keeps publishers in business, which keeps authors being printed. Using libraries, downloading, etc., is fine from a selfish point of view, but it ignores the source of our joy and the trouble it's in. I give my extra cash to publishers.

[Anonymous No.6457489]

>>6457475
Nice funky retro covers, anon. I like the Gollancz black books too (I took this pic before I got the newest one, Tarzan's first six novels in one volume)

[Anonymous No.6457495]

They could be a bit sturdier, but the look suits the pulp history of the contents, in a quiet happy cheesy way.

[Anonymous No.6457502]

...and then there's the antique books.

[Anonymous No.6457505]

I do love book design in a wide range of flavours.

[Anonymous No.6457954]

>>6457489
>>6457495
shame they're bound pretty cheaply. I've only read a few chapters of the Conan book yet but it already feels like it's going to break out of the spine halfway in.

[Anonymous No.6458215]

>>6457017
People have already alluded to it, but:

Those editions are dog shit in terms of quality, and they also kind of look like crap - a cheap, poorly designed, flashy simulacrum of someone's idea of what a fancy book cover looks like.

[Anonymous No.6458229]

Generally a mix of that and them being antiques.

[Anonymous No.6458247]

>>6458215
I don't own that one is particular, but own some similar ones produced by the same company (Barnes and Noble). The printing quality is fairly decent in most of them, they're not expensive for what you get generally, if it's a collected edition, and they're hardcover so they'll last forever. I like them. Some are more garish than others, though.

[Anonymous No.6458269]

>>6457017

I picked up this edition of The Trial solely for the cover alone then I remembered >Picador.

[Anonymous No.6458294]

This randomhouse version of C&P.

[Anonymous No.6458302]

>>6458269
>being swayed by shit that doesn't matter

This is why you materialist faggots aren't taken seriously. You can't tell shit from Shinola because the wrapper looks good.

[Anonymous No.6458307]

>>6458302

It wasn't a big monetary loss on my end since I bought it for £1.

[Anonymous No.6458322]

>>6458215
the complete lovecraft is nice though, cover looks like shit but it really has EVERYTHING, including manuscripts of never-published stories

[Anonymous No.6458335]

>>6457954
I've read several of them all the way through and they're still in good shape, but I admit they always feel a bit fragile. I pity the ones who bought the paperback versions of those editions, though: I've seen how they turn into dog-eared phonebooks in a month. Here's all six of mine today, still looking fine.

[Anonymous No.6458343]

>>6458322
Yeah, I got that as a gift, it's really convenient. Even has his juvenilia and shit.

[Anonymous No.6458345]

>>6458307
You're missing the point. It's not just a monetary loss, but direct evidence of a flaw in your character and ability to make sound decisions.

[Anonymous No.6458350]

GAY CUNT, CUNT CUNT SHIT
SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT CUNT

[Anonymous No.6458359]

>>6458345
Yes, yes. Oh, no! I bought a edition some stranger doesn't approve of!
Go make fun of Penguins.

[Anonymous No.6459486]

Bump

[Anonymous No.6459550]

>>6458302
>materialism
If you think that a work of literature (or art, for that matter) is entirely contained in its text, then you're not really reading

[Anonymous No.6459618]

>>6457017
> Barnes and Noble leatherbound classics
How can you have taste this bad? How is it even possible?

[Anonymous No.6459632]

>>6458345
>having a sense of aesthetics is a flaw in character

stay ugly

[Anonymous No.6459636]

>>6457017
>Barnes and noble leatherbound
>nice looking

They're tacky shit for ghetto rich white people who want to affect intellectualism. Leatherbounds are no longer a status symbol and the art is gaudy. The gilding looks like shit and the stylization looks like an ADHD-addled middle schooler "designing" in MS paint.

Sell all of them, they make you look like a hack.

[Anonymous No.6459640]

>>6457017
Although I've never bought a book just for it's aesthetic, I have bought arguably worse editions of a book because of it's design.

Pic related especially, It has 200 fewer pages than some later editions and it's a paperback, but god damn, those colors compliment each other so fucking well.

[Anonymous No.6459643]

>>6457208
You should regret wasting money trying to affect intellectualism by buying overpriced garbage.

Those books try to look like 19th century leatherbounds because only aristocrats could afford them. It's fakery. It's all affect and no utilitarian substance.

[Anonymous No.6459648]

>>6459640
I chose this for it's box design over another, better version that included some of lovecraft's non-fiction letters and essays.

I regret nothing.

[Anonymous No.6459653]

>>6457482
Bumping B&N stock and giving the CEO a raise is helping nobody. They don't even use decent translations, every B&N Dostoevsky I've found was Constance Garnett. Buy a Wordsworth

[Anonymous No.6459655]

>>6458215
Explain simulacrum

[Anonymous No.6459667]

>>6459648
That's because you have no sense.

[Anonymous No.6459676]

>>6459648
>le xD Pomo monster climbing over the shield

Postmodern and modern elements were only cool the first time around. Having shit "in front" of logos and text is cliche and stylistically outdated

[Anonymous No.6459680]

>>6457502
>literally bought an antique book called 'How To Collect Books'

people like you are why terrorists are winning

[Anonymous No.6459693]

>>6459640
You do realize Grey's Anatomy is totally outdated in every edition, right?

Netter's Atlas has been the standard for decades and is far more accurate and beautiful than greys. Granted, it probably won't get you laid as quick as when the honey see "Grey's Anatomy" on your shelf and makes the mental association with McSteamy.

[Anonymous No.6459700]

>>6459693
This is a thread on the aesthetics of books. The gold standard is obviously going to be how quickly it gets you laid, not content or practicality or value of any sort.

[Anonymous No.6459706]

>>6459636
Is there any kind of swapping procedure at B&N if you want to trade different editions of the same book?

I got this >>6457208 and I slowly started hating the cover.

[Anonymous No.6459715]

>>6459643
Yeah, I was still pretty pleb when I got it.

They're highly priced for books, but they're not so high that only well-off people could get them. I just regret spending another fifteen or twenty dollars when I could've gotten a nice paperback.

[Anonymous No.6459741]

>>6459706
I would just search thrift shops. It will take you like three minutes to find C&P honestly

[Anonymous No.6459757]

>oh hurr durr guys, you shouldn't buy books with certain covers.

[Anonymous No.6459767]

>>6459715
They're just like coach bags. You never see billionaires with coach bags. Only trashy middle class white people buy them. They're purposefully priced too expensive to affect class and status. So the price is expensive on purpose

[Anonymous No.6459770]

>>6459757
You can do whatever the fuck you want, I'll just make fun of you

[Anonymous No.6459789]

I have this.

It's a lot less gaudy in reality. I think it's the best one out of all of them in terms of looks because it fits well with the content of the book.

I considered a Folio Society version of it and Anna Karenina but that was before in saw the price. Consumerism has no place in the arts.

[Anonymous No.6459790]

>>6459789
Fucking hell. I have this.

[Anonymous No.6459928]

>>6459767
Yeah, all those billionaires you see walking around...

And by your logic only expensive books are worth having or worth reading in public. I mean, why even bother reading in public if you can't afford a multi-million dollar Shakespeare folio? If people see you reading anything less expensive they might just assume you're a trashy middle class white person.

[Anonymous No.6459943]

A cover will affect the edition I buy, not the book itself.

A shit book with an amazing cover is still a shit book, so I'd pass.

[Anonymous No.6460166]

>>6459928
No, you tard. Just read a paperback and stop obsessing with fake affects.

[Anonymous No.6460374]

>>6460166
I read plenty of paperbacks. There is, however, something ironic in arguing against 'gaudy' hardcovers because of their appearance while arguing for mass market paperbacks as a means of achieving some other aesthetic effect. (If it has nothing to do with aesthetics, then why suggest paperbacks as an alternative?) It's not as though reading one form or the other will affect the content of the work anyways, so why is it worth bitching about whether one version is too garish?

[Anonymous No.6460433]

>>6460374
Buy whatever you want/find/can afford, and enjoy it. Books are beautiful: get a wide range and ignore anyone else's criticisms of appearance or choice. Any literate anglophone can find books they want to read somewhere in my shelves, and more importantly, I always can too. Be eclectic.

[Anonymous No.6460496]

>buying those hideous bonded leather monstrosities
>buying public domain books that you could find at any library or secondhand shop

the weird thing is how many people on /lit/ who have praised these over the years. Folio and Easton press are just as ugly yet more expensive. Those shits look like they would be found in a house full of doll figurines and taxidermyed pets.

[Anonymous No.6460506]

of course i have!

[Anonymous No.6460525]

>>6460496
I'm p sure that its basically a situation where all /lit/ regulars hate them but people keep coming in from outside the board and being like LOOK GUYS

[Anonymous No.6460910]

The Barnes and Noble Bible is pretty nice. It's good quality, cheap price and has the fantastic artwork by Gustave Dore. Not necessarily the best academic copy, but enjoyable nevertheless

[Anonymous No.6460943]

I don't get this trend

I just got a lot of paperbacks

Is there something more "magical" about the hardcovers? Is there a different story inside?

[Anonymous No.6460977]

>>6460943
they're not more magical but hardcover books have more meaning and are deeper than flimsy flaccid paperbacks

[Anonymous No.6461158]

>>6460977

I get all my paperbacks for 4 bucks or less cause I read every day

I would go broke buying hardcovers

[Anonymous No.6461991]

>>6457461
>>6457482
I've just started re-reading works by H.G. Wells. Is it strange that I find many of his stories... funny? Like they were intended to be comedic. Especially "The New Accelerator" (the singed yipping dog) and "The Magic Shop."

[Anonymous No.6462152]

These have almost no aesthetic value and they cost me £1 each when I got them ten minutes ago.

I'd be interested to hear arguments from people who think their "fancy" editions of individual books are somehow a better use of money. The only downside is how cumbersome they are, but I'm 6' 6" and have hands like shovels so that won't bother me.

[Anonymous No.6462231]

>>6462152
You wasted £2.

[Anonymous No.6462419]

>>6462231
Why?

It went to charity anyway so I don't care.

[Anonymous No.6462821]

>>6462152
They look pretty new; weren't those editions from 1977 ?

[Anonymous No.6462828]

>>6457017
Don't fret, anon, fables are the highest form of art.
After reading most of the western canon; I can confirm this. La Fontaine's fables are more enjoyable though.

[Anonymous No.6463146]

>>6462152
As much as I prefer cheap paperbacks, I still prefer not to get collections and just purchase the individual books.

Maybe it's just the collector-faggot in me, I do f know. It's partly why I can't stand compilation or "greatest hits" albums, but there's more to it than just the aesthetic when it comes to albums. A lot of the time an album tells a story with each successive song or the track list just flows really smoothly. I feel like listening to a compilation album is like reading a book that contains random chapters from around ten different books.

[Anonymous No.6463218]

>>6459928
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good

[Anonymous No.6463638]

I'm in Books-A-Million and I think I may have just found the ugliest covers I've ever seen.

[Anonymous No.6463652]

>>6463638
Sorry for the tilt.

[Anonymous No.6463680]

>>6460506
>tfw when you bought this for jokes because it gets posted all the time and now it just sits on your shelf staring you in the face

[Anonymous No.6464149]

>>6462821
Not quite. 1980, but the Steinbeck is an 83 reprint.

They are practically mint condition though. A bit of dust and yellow shit on the top (probably damp) but otherwise flawless.

>>6463146
To a point I agree. The thing is the books are still the same and I also had no intention or interest in them until in saw the price. Even if I think they're shit, which I don't think I will, the worst that can happen is I gave some money to charity.

I can't imagine I'd do the same for Cormac McCarthy or Hemingway or some of my real favourites.

[Anonymous No.6464173]

I think this set is pretty cool looking
I want it, but it's hard to find

[« Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ » No.6465335]

>>6464173
Have it. It's not scholarly enough for the snobs, but an entertaining rollercoaster through history.
Pricey tho.

[Anonymous No.6465362]

>>6463652
I saw these in books-a-million the other day, I stole a couple of books, but those were so ugly I couldn't even bring myself to even steal one.

[Anonymous No.6465747]

Wait, so I'm wrong to think leather books with crazy stamping and old timey designs look cool? And I'm wrong to value how a book looks?

I don't get it. My books spend 99% of their time sitting on my shelf. Why is it wrong that I want a book to look good? If I didn't care about how they looked I'd just read e-books.

[Anonymous No.6465762]

>>6465747

[Anonymous No.6465771]

>>6465762

No. I'm not a fedora and I'm not trying to look intellectual or wealthy. I like to look at nice things and I think fancy stamping looks nice.

[Anonymous No.6465875]

>>6458229
>>6459486
Nice.

[Anonymous No.6465885]

>>6465747
Yes, you are wrong to think that.

[Anonymous No.6465894]

>>6465885
thinking is the act of wrongness

kush and wizdom

[Anonymous No.6465903]

>>6465894

[Anonymous No.6466930]

A book's pretty cover won't affect my decision to buy it or not. A bad book is still a bad book, even if it has a good-looking cover. If I do want a particular book, though, I'll definitely take a look at different editions to find out which one suits me best. When I narrow it down, I'll do some research, 'cause I'm an indecisive fucker from a third world country and I don't want to spend my money on something that's shitty. If the book is practically the same but only has a different cover, I'll buy the one that looks better.

All things considered though, I prefer hardcovers over paperbacks. I'm so damn butthurt I can't find any Pinecone hardcovers.

[Anonymous No.6466949]

I bought this book because the cover made me laugh out loud. Read it and later found it it's an entire franchise that's big in Europe.

[Anonymous No.6467152]

>>6466949
I think I've seen the white character on merch. I thought it was Japanese though.

[Anonymous No.6467501]

>>6466949
you've never heard of the moomins! jesus u had such a depressing childhood.

[Anonymous No.6467506]

>>6467152
Moon books are from Finland but it's also popular in Japan

[Anonymous No.6467508]

>>6466949
>>6467152
>not knowing based Moomins

[Anonymous No.6467614]

I'm transferring books between hdds into my calibre folder and just as I scrolled over this post and enlarged the image I got a fucking dialog asking me If I want to merge the two Aesop folders. Blew my fucking mind

[Anonymous No.6467668]

>>6466949
Does the USA seriously not have Moomins? Or was the quoted Anon just a latchkey kid?

[Anonymous No.6467672]

>>6465771
>I think fancy stamping looks nice.

Yes you are wrong. Get some taste.

[Anonymous No.6467683]

>>6467672

OK sir, what do you think a good looking book is?

[Anonymous No.6467687]

>>6457505
I have an overwhelming feeling you have not read any of these books. They look purely for vacuous vanity.

[Anonymous No.6467699]

>>6460433
I think it's time to reinforce that bookshelf....

[Anonymous No.6467703]

Couldn't help but purchase when I saw it.

[Anonymous No.6467705]

>>6467703

[Anonymous No.6467709]

>>6467705

[Anonymous No.6467718]

>>6467703
>>6467705
>>6467709

That is a sexy book.

[Anonymous No.6467731]

>>6457505
>key from the hobbit movie
Why

[Anonymous No.6467744]

>>6462152
That shit must be printed on onionpaper

[Anonymous No.6467750]

>>6467718
looks like ass

>>6467709
>>6467705
>>6467703
tacky as fuck

>gilding with stenciled photoshop worms on the back

so fucking pleb

[Anonymous No.6467758]

>>6467683

[Anonymous No.6467760]

>>6467758
>Bland shit with zero aesthetic value

It's like you want an ugly bookshelf.

[Anonymous No.6467771]

>>6467760
pleeeeeeeeeb

[Anonymous No.6467781]

>>6467771

Calling me a pleb over and over doesn't make it so.

All you have done is assert that books should look as plain as possible because that is somehow more legitimate without offering any reasoning.

[Anonymous No.6467798]

>>6467781
By the power of Joyce I compel thee, pleb.

[Anonymous No.6467800]

>>6467683
Any book that doesn't look like it's selling itself. Basically everything that you wouldn't see published by Barnes and Noble

Here's clear signs you have a pleb book:

1. The author's name is larger than the book's title
2. The cover emphasizes a buzzword or two, e.g. words like "scandal"
3. It has excessive and pretentious affects, i.e. any stylizing that has no effect on the book's function

[Anonymous No.6467804]

>>6467781
Die, pleb, dieee.

[Anonymous No.6467805]

>>6467781
Collect your ass and stop being so mad.

[Anonymous No.6467807]

>>6467781
not that guy but you are most definitely a pleb.
>ugly bookshelf.
what the fuck man

[Anonymous No.6467811]

>>6467800

If the book is not worth looking at then why bother buying a physical book at all?

[Anonymous No.6467818]

>>6467811
>he enjoys looking at tacky plebeian pieces of shit

[Anonymous No.6467826]

It's pretty ugly but I guess I liked how simple and vaguely kitschy it was

[Anonymous No.6467827]

>>6467811
>implying I wouldn't lick the Odyssey Press edition of Ulysses all over

[Anonymous No.6467843]

>>6467758
dat minimalism
dat thin scarlet lettering against a subtle grey background
dat tasteful flourish under the author name

[Anonymous No.6467851]

>>6467811
Dull paperbacks are worth looking at. I look at the pages when I read them you stupid hack.

[Anonymous No.6467857]

>>6460506
yes

[Anonymous No.6467867]

>>6467851
>Implying that a book is read more than it is looked at on the shelf

[Anonymous No.6467908]

>>6467867
>being this fucking pleb
you literally are saying "books are for looking, not for reading". Get the fuck off /lit/

[Anonymous No.6467946]

>>6467908

Hey retard, why don't you try thinking about what I said.

If you have ten books, they take the same amount of time to read and you read them one at a time then each book is going to spend 90% of its time sitting on the shelf being looked at instead of being read. 90% of the time the book serves as decor. So why the fuck would the book's appearance not be a considering in buying it?

[Anonymous No.6467958]

>>6467946
>90% of the time the book serves as decor. So why the fuck would the book's appearance not be a considering in buying it?
I don't ever "look" at my shelves because I do things with my life. If you buy books for the purpose of decoration, ever, you are a plebe, bottom line.

[Anonymous No.6467979]

>>6467958
>I don't decorate my home

Fucking pleb

[Anonymous No.6468000]

I wish all my books looked like this.

No bullshit added, just the title and the author's name.

[Anonymous No.6468007]

>>6468000
i spraypaint or tear off the coverpages of whatever i'm reading to prevent anyone from using it to strike up a conversation

[Anonymous No.6468021]

>>6467979
I do, I just don't buy books to look nice. Because I'm not a pleb, like you.

[Anonymous No.6468025]

http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Book-Dead-Karma-glin-pa/dp/B0006CB9RA/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1430250410&sr=8-24&keywords=tibetan+book+of+the+dead

[Anonymous No.6468031]

>>6467979
I am dying to see what an abomination your home actually is. Please post some pictures for us. And don't forget your ornamental katana :^)

[Anonymous No.6468043]

>>6468000
That is a very nice-looking book.

[Anonymous No.6468048]

>>6468007
>reading in public

Who are you trying to impress?

[Anonymous No.6468061]

>>6468007
You would intentionally damage a book just to avoid potentially irritating conversations? Why not simply fashion a blank general-use cover if you are that antisocial? I imagine that would actually arouse less curiousity than your current, highly regrettable method.

If you are trolling you get 7/10 for making me respond.

[Anonymous No.6468086]

>>6467750
you look like ass

[Anonymous No.6468092]

>>6468061
reddit, pls...

[Anonymous No.6468170]

>>6467699
It's true: I've actually killed a few with all the heavy double-rows and so forth. That's the problem with having over 5000 books and limited space.

[Anonymous No.6468185]

>>6467731
Two keys from the Hobbit movies, actually. I like keys, enjoy the movies (for the most part) and love Tolkien. It's like my wall of mounted butterflies: makes me happy, needs no other excuse. It's best not to take this stuff too seriously.

[Anonymous No.6468204]

>>6457017
I actually started reading Aesop because I found out he was black from Ethiopia funnily enough.

Also I read rudyard kiplings 'the jungle book' because it had a nice cover (I found it at my grandparents house).

[Anonymous No.6468235]

Fedoraism is a spook, you guys should know that. There is no reason to hate a leather bound hardcover just because you think overweight people might also enjoy them.

I personally just prefer books with minimalist covers but if I was into these covers I wouldn't let a spook scare me away from buying it.

[Anonymous No.6468249]

>>6468185
neat

[Anonymous No.6468355]

>>6468249
Thanks. These are the good keys I have.

[Anonymous No.6469301]

>>6468170
You have too many books IMO. Once your book collection expands too much it looks more like you have a problem rather than you have a nice collection. You'd barely finish all of those if you read like a madman for a couple decades

[Anonymous No.6469333]

>>6457017
I don't care about aesthetics, but Those barnes and noble books are expertly crafted. They will last 50 years and a lot of wear and tear. I don;t care if something looks tacky if it's cheap and durable. But most of /lit/ only buys books to try to impress hypothetical visitors anyway. I can see them now, rehearsing
>Oh you like my bookcase, why yes that IS a first edition.

[Anonymous No.6469512]

>>6459550

lol?

[Anonymous No.6469515]

Yes...

[Anonymous No.6469690]

>>6469301
Well, I've been reading like a madman for a few decades now, but I can't deny I acquire books too easily. I love them too much.

[Anonymous No.6469696]

>>6467501
>>6467508
>>6467668
I'm from Canada and we don't have Moomins here, no.

[Anonymous No.6469702]

>>6469696
I'm Canadian and I love the books. It's true that the show was never on any channel I had, though.

[Anonymous No.6470390]

> Buy Paladin of Souls hardcover for three bucks.
> Feel shallow and not pick it up for three years.
> Discover Louis McMaster Bujold is a magical story teller.
> Moral: It's okay to judge a book by its cover.