/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.6948783]

Hello, /lit/. Multi-year lurker of other boards here. This is only my 2nd time posting on this board, so forgive me if this thread comes up often:

Is anyone else into "fancy" books? I spend inordinate amounts of time and energy seeking out Easton Press, Folio Society, Franklin Library, etc... editions.

I took a photo of the top shelf of my little library today.

What do you think? Am I doing it right? Wanna ask me anything?

>yes, I also read inordinate amounts of nerdy, low-quality sci-fi
>pls no bully

[Anonymous No.6948793]

>>6948783
2/3

If you noticed, I'm somewhat into classical literature. If none of you have read Suetonius' "Lives of the Twelve Caesars," I can't recommend it more highly. I loved it. Tacitus is also good.

>left side

[Anonymous No.6948808]

>>6948783
nice job wasting money on gaudy crap

[Anonymous No.6948812]

>>6948793
3/3 inbound. Is there no interest? Or is this board that slow?

[Anonymous No.6948825]

>>6948808
haha, it figures that the first non-OP post is someone talking shit on nice things they don't have.

[Anonymous No.6948826]

>>6948825
thes ethings arent nice, theyre pointless. you just want people to think highly of you when they see your bookshelf

[Anonymous No.6948829]

trust me, op, if you buy secondhand copies, break the spines, tear the covers, and generally make them look worn and used, people will think much more highly of you and you won't need to spend hundreds of dollars on a book

[Anonymous No.6948830]

>>6948812

I like that set of Plutarch's Lives. I have to say the leatherbound style is not to my taste, especially the kind from B&N, but to each his own. I haven't read that much of it, but do you find that Roman writers could be a bit earthy and coarse? Like Plutarch talking about broken toenails, and Caesar eating asparagus with hair oil and other gross stuff.

It is a pretty slow board.

[Anonymous No.6948838]

I collect books OP. Have a fair amount of signed first editions, folios, etc. really great hobby to have and I'll pass it on to my kids, which I'll have because I'm not a hopeless and transparent piece of shit like that other Anon. This board is slow so expect this thread to be up for a while. Really jealous of what you have, beautiful collection

[Anonymous No.6948850]

>>6948826
Guilty as charged. There is, however, also something to be said for the tactile sensation of holding a really quality book.

>>6948830
Yeah, I'm way more into Folio Society's books (like 2 of those 3 Kipling books), but they're tough to find. Leather is a distant second. They could indeed be coarse. Suetonious descriptions of the depravities of Tiberius and Caligula were quite coarse indeed. Especially Tiberius, that sick fuck. I have to admit to not having read Plutarch yet. I just picked that up last week for $10 flat. But yes, they are often quite vulgar.

[Anonymous No.6948860]

>>6948783
Looks like good Winter literature.

Is there a fireplace and a barn somewhere on your property?

[Anonymous No.6948873]

What is the best historical comparison made in Plutarch?

[Anonymous No.6948874]

>>6948838
Thanks for the compliment! I know that other collectors are out there, but that shelf represents only about 6 months of collecting. I haven't been into it for that long. I eventually want to have a whole freakin' walnut bookcase devoted to Folio books.

>>6948860
Not currently, but there will be one day, by God. I want an Edwardian library.
>pic related

Like that but with a huge fireplace and overstuffed leather couches and a big set of windows.

[Anonymous No.6948890]

>>6948874
Do you know what kind of wood this is?

[Anonymous No.6948894]

>>6948826
Everything is pointless.

Throw away your possessions, Live in a stump, eat moss, drink rainwater and jerk off a few times a day.

[Anonymous No.6948895]

>>6948873
Like I said in an earlier post, I haven't yet read it. I just finished Tacitus' "Agricola and the Germanii," and am currently reading a trashy sci-fi novel. I am excited to read it though. What do you think is the best comparison? I'll admit to being partial to Cato the Elder, Cicero, and Brutus, but I know little of their Greek counterparts.

[Anonymous No.6948905]

>>6948890
Not with any degree of certainty, but it looks like cherry (Prunus serotina) veneer to me.

[Anonymous No.6948918]

>You will never have an illegally harvested Madagascan Rosewood bookcase filled to the brim with immaculately bound banned books from around the world.

[Anonymous No.6948920]

I bought my first folio society book today. I usually wouldn't, but it was 75% off at my bookstore because it's been there so long.
The complete shorter fictions of Melville. I love the look and feel of it and it has some nice illustrations.

[Anonymous No.6948934]

>>6948874
Folios are nice but there are nicer Editions, especially the older stuff

[Anonymous No.6948937]

Easton Press and Franklin Library books are the epitome of useless junk. They do not hold their value. You won't receive a fraction of the price you paid for them. They are not rare books and do not belong to that particular market.

In addition, they are designed to be put on a shelf and looked at, not read. To me, that is a bastardization of what a book is for - to be read and learned from.

>I spend inordinate amounts of time and energy seeking out Easton Press, Folio Society, Franklin Library, etc... editions.
You could have spent that time reading rather than collecting vain, useless trinkets. It sounds to me like you're far more interested in maintaining the appearance of a book-lover rather than actually loving books for what they contain: knowledge. You've been successfully duped by the publishing houses that target those who prefer posturing to learning.

I used to be you, OP. Sell the gaudy books and buy something you actually want to read. Then read.

[Anonymous No.6948938]

>>6948920
They all have absolutely based illustrations

[Anonymous No.6948941]

>>6948937
>Collecting books means you can't read them
>being this patronizing
Lol

[Anonymous No.6948944]

>>6948941
If you don't see the problem with books that were designed to be looked at, not read, you deserve to be condescended to.

[Anonymous No.6948953]

>>6948937
I paid $12 for that Easton Press Livy, $2 for Marcus Aurelius, and $10 for Seutonius. Al of them have slight damage that practically destroys their value. I bought them because I love the way they look, and I would never buy a book I didn't plan to read, EVER. I don't care if I picked up a hand-transcribed Renaissance copy of Lucretius; "De Rerum Natura." If I buy it, I'm reading it.

[Anonymous No.6948964]

>>6948953
I know I came off as a total asshole in that post, sorry. Those publishing presses really rub me the wrong way, though.

[Anonymous No.6948965]

>>6948783
where are the B&N classics at

[Anonymous No.6948969]

>>6948944
If they're just designed to be looked at, why do they all have handcrafted typography and high end paper?

Nice work op. I also collect books like this. If you're into weird fiction, Tartarus press publishes a lot of really nice stuff on part with folio etc.

All that being said, I do buy very cheap editions as reading copies. I donate them after reading. Keep the good ones nice on my shelf for my future children/grandchildren.

[Anonymous No.6948988]

>>6948964
It's all good, man. Different strokes for different folks and all that. If everyone had the same opinions and tastes, the world would be boring as fuck.

>>6948965
Lol, see far left and Bullfinch. I don't buy that shit anymore. I had a gift card, dammit! Honest!

>>6948969
Tartarus, eh? Thanks for the tip. I've also seen something called "The Limited Editions Library" from time to time, and those are printed on super high-quality paper and are also wonderfully bound. I almost picked up Cicero's "Orations," which I've been looking for for a while, but blanched when I saw that it was $90.

[Anonymous No.6949065]

>>6948988
http://www.abebooks.com/House-Souls-Arthur-Tartarus-Press-North/14363416168/bd

This is one that I own. Bought it for 40 when it came out. Absolutely beautiful. Very simple dust jacket, but the hardcover itself is decorated as well similar to folio.

[Anonymous No.6949126]

>>6948783
>Bullfinch

apply yourself, anon.

[Anonymous No.6949139]

>>6948783
Very nice start, OP. I like that Plutarch set especially. Personally I buy a mix of everything, but I appreciate a nice binding, especially on an older volume. I don't have much of the newer Folio/Easton stuff, but the few I have are solid and attractive. Here's a few of my older ones.

[Anonymous No.6949160]

I posted this in the bookshelf thread, but you guys might appreciate it here. 20 volume set of Dickens... I'm missing no. 14.

1/2

[Anonymous No.6949164]

>>6949160
2/2

[Anonymous No.6949173]

>>6948783
I have that copy of Moby Dick. I love it. Got it for like $15 on ebay, an awesome deal since all the other hardcover version you can buy for cheap are trash.

[Anonymous No.6949208]

>>6949160
Frustrating, though it looks like you're missing 11, not 14. Nice set, though.

[Anonymous No.6949230]

>>6949208
Oh, isn't that funny. I haven't looked in a little while so I must have forgotten. I'm pretty committed to finding it, just not sure how long it will take.

[Anonymous No.6949238]

Do you all buy your books at physical second hand bookstores? I'm looking for <70's books, especially ex library books but I'm not sure if I'll find any.

[Anonymous No.6949643]

>>6949238
I get most of mine through Amazon and abebooks. Sometimes physical though. Usually those are impulse buys though. I also go to book fairs a lot

[Anonymous No.6949646]

>>6949238
Why do you want ex library specifically?

[Anonymous No.6949748]

>>6949230
Probably pretty doable with abebooks/bookfinder

>tbh

Definitely cool collection though.

[Anonymous No.6949765]

>>6949646
They're usually in better condition.

source: me getting dozens off from Betterworldbooks.

[Anonymous No.6949771]

>>6949765
You not mind the stamps and such?

[Anonymous No.6949795]

>>6949771
Not really. Some don't have any stamps, maybe a strip of printed paper very lightly glued at the back. Some of them don't even have any withdrawals written on them and they're in such good condition that it's safe to know they were never put out for public or nobody cared enough to read them in small city universities.

They're mostly out of print editions and I'm happy enough for reading them, plus they have really good bindings and the dust jackets are in excellent shape.

[Anonymous No.6949803]

Btw, you should totally read this book, OP.

[Anonymous No.6949811]

>>6949795
Huh. I'll have to stop discriminating against them.

[Anonymous No.6949945]

>>6948783
Pretty books. Also, which military sci-fi novel is your current favorite? I just got into it a couple months ago.

[Anonymous No.6949954]

Ultimate fedoracore

[Anonymous No.6950144]

Those books are beautiful!

[Anonymous No.6950164]

Those all look horrible

Only Plutarch's work looks half decent.

[Anonymous No.6950166]

>>6949954
>>6949954
>>6949954
this

instead of jacking off over your leather bound hardback just read the fucking book add it to the pile and read your next fucking book

I swear to god this bard gets filled with more posers every day

bet op 'reads' books on public transport and spends the whole journey just thinking 'oh god i hope someone notices my book'

[Anonymous No.6950215]

>>6950166
who the fuck takes pricey hard cover editions out in public transport?

[Anonymous No.6950247]

>>6948783
>dat moby dick back book

nigga i'm jelly

[Anonymous No.6950253]

I have a couple of first editions. I have a first edition of Erich Maria Remarque'Remarque ' Arch of Triumph. Great novel. And one of JD Salinger. Haven't actually gotten around to reading it.

[Anonymous No.6950288]

>>6950166
>mfw using my spare time on public transport to read is being a poser
Do you know how stupid and petty you sound?

[Anonymous No.6950830]

>>6950288
read what I said again you ignorant cuck

[Anonymous No.6950861]

>>6948944
>If you don't see the problem with books that were designed to be looked at, not read, you deserve to be condescended to.
I think they serve both functions you mongoloid

[Anonymous No.6950867]

>>6950166
>do things my way or fuck you
>material possessions are for plebs
>projecting own insecurities
Goddamn.

[Anonymous No.6950893]

>>6948783
They look really nice, I'd desire for every book's cover I buy to look like this

[Anonymous No.6951004]

>>6950166
It's nice to have nice things, anon.

[Anonymous No.6951230]

>>6950867
this, 1000%

[Anonymous No.6951337]

I've been collecting Easton press in Franklin library for a few years now. Folio to, but to a lesser extent; I don't like the feel of buckram. I'll post my bookshelf tomorrow, if this thread is still kicking. I know they don't hold their value, but they're a cheap entry level set into fine press books, and I love how they feel when I read them. However they don't leave the house, and I buy shitty paperbacks to bring out with me. I have a few hundred books, and they take up enough wall space that they become the main feature of whatever room they're in. Why not make that shelf more aesthetically pleasing than unmatched paperback spines. You plebs.

Pic related, one of my recent purchases.

[Anonymous No.6951352]

>>6951337
>Why not make that shelf more aesthetically pleasing than unmatched paperback spines.

Fucking thank you. Also, is that Sophocles one of their early full-leather ones?

[Anonymous No.6951361]

>>6951352
Yes sir. Picked it up for 25 bucks at a used bookstore last week.

[Anonymous No.6951363]

>>6951361
Nice, dude. Color me jelly.

[Anonymous No.6951380]

>>6951363
Here's a batch of books from the same book shop, a few weeks ago.

[Anonymous No.6951417]

>>6951380
Cool. Let me just hang from the ceiling so I can read the titles.

[Anonymous No.6951487]

I'm in Mexico, so English collectables are hard to come by, but I do have some okay stuff. Pic related from top to bottom: Aristotle's Politics in spanish, 60+ years old in perfect condition; a limited-edition fascimile of the first edition of Ethan Frome; first edition of The Reivers (I think); clothbound 1954 edition of The Sun Also Rises; Folio Society Greek Myths.

[Anonymous No.6951510]

>>6951487
And I also have this baby. Leather-and-wood edition of the True History of the Conquest of New Spain. It's not that old, but it's based as fuck and also the first book that press ever put out.

[Anonymous No.6951517]

>>6950166
Why can't books be a collector's item? Why can't I take joy in the aesthetic design of a book in addition to the content therein?

[Anonymous No.6951529]

>>6948937
sperg

[Anonymous No.6951535]

My issue with these is that, while they are very pleasing to the eye, they are cumbersome to actually use.

Paperbacks make more sense for something you actually read, hardbacks are for showing off.

[Anonymous No.6951553]

>>6950215
this guy
>>6948783

[Anonymous No.6951587]

I have a 2nd edition of mein kampf in German (pic related, my version is black). I read the first 3 chapters, but seriously Hitler is a fucking bad writer

[Anonymous No.6951660]

Nothing beats the beauty of a pdf folder.
Jesus, it's 2015, why would I stuff my rooms full of smelly paper shit?
Is this reddit?

[Anonymous No.6951733]

>>6951660
2/10 b8 m8
Also, it's only smelly if you're a fucking slob.

[Anonynous No.6951843]

>>6948783
>Is anyone else into "fancy" books?
You mean fancy covers? You don't necessarily like reading books (I mean maybe you do) but you sure as shit want make sure any guests think you're a literary genius.

Books are like furniture for you. I had a roommate like that. He placed various high quality dictionaries around the place to make himself look sophisticated. He got laid quite frequently, so he must've known what he was doing. Best of luck OP.

[Anonynous No.6951850]

>>6951587
>Hitler is a fucking bad writer
What makes you say that?

[Anonymous No.6951856]

>treating literature like furniture

Fucking disgusting to be honest.

[Anonynous No.6951866]

>>6951856
>Acting pragmatically to get laid.
Pretty admirable in my opinion.

[Anonymous No.6951872]

>>6948783
folio society books look really tacky. i know some bitch who loves their shit and feels the need to update people when she buys something new from them. she's the kind of loser who fills the emptiness in her life with shit. she's always buying shit.

[Anonynous No.6951877]

>>6951843
>He placed various high quality FUCKING DICTIONARIES around the place to make himself look sophisticated.
He got laid quite frequently, so he must've known what he was doing. Best of luck OP.

Oh wow, anon! Did you really read Mirriam AND Daniel Webster's interpretations of the English language? Mount me right the fuck now, anon.

[Anonymous No.6951884]

>>6948894

[Anonymous No.6951952]

>>6951866
I don't think anyone looking closer and seeing Moby Dick between Plutarch and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich will ever be impressed.

[Anonymous No.6952341]

>>6951380
I tried to get through Thucydides once. I didn't even make it through 150 pages. One can only take so much "Aesculus, son of Petrefalus and his companion, Farodimides, son of Archilimus" etc...

Feelsbadman

[Anonymous No.6952363]

>>6952341
Dude just carry on reading, you'll remember the important names anyway fuckimp hel

[Anonymous No.6952364]

>>6951884
Fuck you, Diogenes. I saw a portrait of you recently at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

[Anonymous No.6952376]

>>6951952
...but Moby Dick is between "The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius" and "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens...? Do you read and post in braille?

[Anonymous No.6952382]

>>6952376
Are you telling me it is not between Plutarch and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich too?

[Anonymous No.6952398]

>>6951510
beautiful cover and binding

[Anonymous No.6952400]

>>6952382
Are you telling me that "The Twelve Caesars" is between Kipling's "Just So Stories" and "Great American Short Stories?"

>semantics - where do they end?

[Anonymous No.6952416]

>>6952400
Well, it is, and this is also a excellent example of the complete incoherence of this library.

[Anonymous No.6952428]

>>6951487
Is that edition of The Sun Also Rises the one where it just says the name of it in small letters on the front?

[Anonymous No.6952450]

>>6952416
>tastes must be specific and not deviate from a set standard
>Alles muss in Ordnung sein

OK.

[Anonymous No.6952502]

>>6952450
Having a exact replica of some “100 /lit/ essentials” faggy chart and creating a neat, coherent library with books sorted by genre where there is no “Quantum Physics II” laying between “Flowers of Evil” and “Medieval Anthology” are two different things.

Anyway, both are still better than having a superficial and nonsensical library made up with “beautiful books”, some of which he admited didn't read.

[Anonymous No.6952554]

>>6952502
What kind of autist is going to categorize a library of fewer than 100 books (like OP's) by genre, and why must genre necessarily be the chosen criterion? Sorting by author, title, or publisher would be just as valid. Perhaps OP is just not as OCD?