So glad you enjoyed it😀 One can never go wrong with a Penguin. (That's an odd sentence, what?) I do enjoy Oxford classics, though they are not quite as stylish.

@tristanandtheclassics6538 well, not Penguin with a capital P. 😆

@@Dinadoesyoga 😂😂😂

It has been my experience that Penguin books are printed on very acidic and the pages yellow, deteriorate, and fall apart rather quickly compared to editions from other publishers. 😢

I am the same. I've been collecting the black spine classics for what seems like forever. I actually do not mind when the spines crack. It serves to remind me I've read the book and that brings back wonderful memories.

The everyman editions do look good lined up with their jackets on. As for Macmillan, they are beautiful. My only issue is that many are abridged editions.

I have about 120 of the Macmillans and very few are abridged: The Dumas novels are, one Dostoevsky, Les Mis, and Anna Karenina. However, a few of the re-released editions are coming out unabridged - the newer Anna K is now unabridged.

I'm assuming that you have the Everyman's Library Dickens illustrated cover editions instead of the white covers? I've been collecting them as well...at the least, used in very good or like new condition...and have returned them to the seller when they've been advertised as the illustrated covers but they ship the white covers. Because of that, there's no way that I would remove the covers on the bookshelves, although I also remove the covers while reading them.

Totally agree on the new Penguin black editions! They have ugly (IMHO) black & white drawings (like Tristan's Little Dorrit); I'll take the oil painting covers any day. I'd rather buy a used old black Penguin in good condition than an ugly brand new one.

Yes, on the illustrated covers. I have a few of the non illustrated covers for some of the non Dickens but all of my Dickens have the illustrations. The hardest one for me to get - which took a lot of searching - was The Old Curiosity Shop.

I don't even want to look through the website. Coveting is a sin!

Oh yes, Folio Society makes some stunning editions!

Same here. When I first got my own flat, I joined The Folio Society, about 30 years ago, but life got in the way! Now I had for Everyman first. Both have acid-free paper, which is important to me, as someone who has had to replace a lot of my 1970s paperbacks because they discoloured so badly!

I have several hundred, Folio Society books; Hardy, Trollope, Oxford history, Jane Austen, Dickens etc. the books used to be under £50, but since they started doing limited editions, I stopped. I don't like the prices nor the current books, especially not the overpriced SF books. They are a bargain second hand as many never get read.

This is quite funny, because I (literally just prior to this video!) just watched CarolynMarieReads do a video detailing her MacMillan collection, and discuss it in detail. I don't own any of that collection, but they do look beautiful and seem quite hardy little books 🙂

I have several of the Macmillan Collectors Classics, and I love them. In fact I’m actually on Amazon right now looking for more as I’m watching this video, and wondering why they didn’t make his list.

I absolutely adore them. I’m a little annoyed that they have rewritten a chapter of one “problematic” book (not sure which one) and that some are abridged (Count of Monte Cristo), but they are always my first choice.

Perfect!

Perfect!

That's amazing. I'm so pleased to know another booktuber who has found Alma Classics.

I annotate all of my books! I love the feeling of engagement it gives me while I’m reading.

Tee hee, I do like teasing Wordsworth about their covers. But I buy their editions frequently. Such good value for money.

I agree. The introduction can offer so much insight into the book. I often go back and read it again after finishing. I had to laugh when the introduction to Vanity Fair said not to read it if you haven’t already read it!

There's nothing quite like it. 😀

Translation is something that I'm trying to understand better. Once I do, I'll make a video on it. Perhaps I should try and track down a translator to interview.

This has been a problem for me of late. I don't know why it never occurred to me that there could be different, even multiple, translations for some books, and that not all are equally good. I was all set to read some Dostoevsky for the first time and then learned this fact. Sure enough, the translation I had was one that isn't considered as good as a different one. How was I to know that? Worse, I then learned there are even MORE translations that I'd never even heard of. How are you supposed to know what's an accurate translation or not when you only know the translated language, not the original one? All you can do in that case is trust the opinions of other people who do know both languages. Argh! The only other language I know besides English is Spanish. I don't have much experience reading it, but I can muddle through, depending on the difficulty. I could probably compare a few paragraphs of something (again, depending on the type of book and the difficulty) with the English translation and make a fairly correct determination on how accurate it is and even how well it flows. But that's the only language where I could do that. Can you see how much this is bothering me? If I wasn't already in my mid-50s I'd seriously consider learning Russian just so I could read these classics as they were first written. But I don't know if that would be worth the time commitment/difficulty. Just my luck, I'd get fluent and then drop dead before getting to actually read any of the works. :)

@@Yesica1993I’ve had this issue too and have seen other channels talk about how to choose which translation to go for. Some suggest it’s not always about literal word for word accuracy but often about choosing which style you personally prefer, and pick the one you think you’ll enjoy most. If possible I try and compare a few extracts before deciding or try more than one. Likely anyone reading for study or academic purposes may have to be more careful which translation to read and which to avoid but reading for pleasure I don’t worry too much.

@@Saraneyd Yes, it does seem it requires more research than I first realized. I don't mind doing that. I guess it's just a bit intimidating, first starting out. It caught me by surprise that there could be multiple translations in a single language. I don't know why it never occurred to me. Duh!

Oh good! I'm so pleased.

😂 I'm not sure if it's the bona fide term for it, but it certainly captures the essence of the thing.

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 well there's a name for everything and it's as good as any.😄

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Oh, it's the term, all right! You should see the Bible reviewers!

The flop definitely helps me decide on buying a book lol

I agree about the font size. Vintage are great for readability

Very true. But I imagine that in the styling of the period, the whale image could possibly have just been depicted in black on a poster to make it stand out more. Good spotting that though!

Thanks, David. I have seen some of the Barnes and Noble editions from the States, but getting them here is not easy. However, I may get in touch with them to see if they'll sponsor a video😉

Barnes & Noble's paperbacks are gorgeous on the shelf.

Oh good. Thank you so much.

Love "the flop" 😊 Try that with Brothers Karamasov or Ulysses and the only "flop" you'll get is a distorted wrist and hand ! 😂

Gotta love a good flop! I agree with you about Oxford Classics. Very good editions. Alma was a very welcome discovery for me. Each authors books are designed to match. Check out the F Scott Fitgerald collection.

@@tristanandtheclassics6538oh wow the F Scott Fitzgerald look great. I’m only familiar with The Great Gatsby so some exciting reading to look forward to.

I realise that the penguin black spines can look read due to the breakage of the spine but i am very fussy about my books looking pristine so haven't had this problem with my black spines.

Yes excellent suggestion

Heck yeah. And those really thin pages that feel like rice paper; ready to dissolve between your fingertips, if you linger a little too long before flipping on to the next page. Books for people who like to have attractive looking times decorating their shelves, but never actually read them.

I have the like 3 little cloth bounds and their really really sturdy and the paper is quite thick

All my other classics are oxford worlds classics and my favourite editions

Thanks for doing such a thorough comparison of the different editions. My favorites are the Penguin Modern Classics. Not one for matchy-matchy books, I love how individual the Alma Classics look on the shelf. I don’t know if you have it, but AC’s Anna Karenina is beautiful.

@@QuirkyGirl10 I do not

Well, ended up getting Four Alma Classics. 📖

Folio Society editions are very special. As for annotating and vandalism, I feel your pain😂 However, annotating (on cheaper books) does take reading to a whole other place. I have a video on it somewhere 😀👍

I AM an academic and i think it is sacrilege to write in books!!! . It makes me weep inwardly. I have notebooks and large post it notes that i write on a d stick in the book ad remove it when we have finished that chapter.

@@racheldemain1940 I'm with you! 😄 When I said I wasn't an academic, I just meant that I wouldn't add anything to the next reader's experience by scrawling my opinions in the margins! Plus, you can't really pass old books on to charity shops if they're "vandalised" like that.

I was encouraged to read from a young age by my parents and there were always plenty of books on hand, as well as trips to the library and book tokens received for Christmas and birthdays. But it was always drilled into me to look after books, never leave them just lying around where they could get damaged, and under no circumstances decide of deface them in any way. The only writing permitted was on an 'Ex Libris' bookplate that could be stuck on the inside cover to denote who "This Book Belongs To". When first presented with the concept of annotations, highlighting, and other marginalia, I felt as though I was committing a mortal sin, so because I have also always been obsessed with stationery, I would assign a notebook to each title I was studying in English, and would write up my notes in there. Then when I was 16 we had to go through Chaucer's "The Wife Of Bath" translating every line of Middle English, and the resistance in me gave way, in the face of far more complicated texts than I'd ever read before. I still had to use a notebook for extra information, but by the time we completed that tale, the pages of my book were a sea of underlining, highlighting, circling, and marginalia in the tiniest script I could write with my needlepoint fineliner pens. I wish I still had that book today...lord only knows where it went over the past 25 years. But I'd love to know who the publishing house was, because that paper was of the perfect thickness and never showed any bleed -through. Ever since then, when wanting to read a more complex book a little more intensively deep and focussed, I buy two copies: one for scrawling all over and one for just reading for pleasure. Now I've actually grown to like the look of my beaten-up old copies full of marginalia. My "working" copy of 'Lolita' is especially impressive to look at, because there's always something new to be found whenever I re-read it. I feel your pain though. The only way to cure it is by jumping in and doing something to the book, before you have a chance to talk yourself out of it. Start off by just underlining or highlighting every instance of a particular word that seems to keep cropping up. Use a pretty pastel highlighter at first, if it makes things look less ugly for you. After that, you've already left your mark, so you might as well carry on! #JustBookishThings #TheDangersOfReadingWithIntent

@@bad-girlbex3791 We didn't have a lot of books in our house, but my dad and I used to go to the library every week, so those books were treated carefully. When I was about 30, I started studying with the Open University, and they encouraged us to highlight passages on the work books they supplied. The lecturer said the thing students had the most difficulty with was writing on books! If I'm studying a book (I studied MacBeth a few years ago), I buy the recommended book and I'll highlight that, but I just can't do it to "proper" books I'm reading for pleasure! 🙂

i just received my everyman’s library edition copy of jane eyre today! you might want to consider it-worth the price for a hardcover ⭐️ tho in the end, it still depends on one’s preference 🙇🏻‍♀️ i’m simply a fan of the art for their dust jackets and the binding quality :D the font seems decent but the saturation of the text itself is not consistent since it tends to get ‘lighter’ making it look dark gray instead of jet black (idk if it’s just my copy)

Sorry for the late response. Stupid KZfaq is hit or miss with notifications. Thanks for the heads up! My birthday is coming up in a few weeks so maybe I will treat myself. It's the only time I don't feel (too) guilty about buying something for myself. And congratulations to you for getting it!@@thedustdevil

The mass market editions are a godsend. Imagine how expensive book reading would get otherwise! Love that you prioritise annotation over clean pages

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Yes, back then they were perfect, but not being a student and being in the workforce I can buy the regular size paperbacks.