6 ms·

I can't think of an author I miss more but 155CAD for a book with 6 illustrations seems crazy, especially when Banks isn't exactly making profit from this.

AndyMcConachie 4y ago
I like reading and I own probably too many books, but I don't understand the Folio society. If you want art then go by art, if you want a book then get a paperback. These aren't coffee table books. It's just words.
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  There's something to be said for presentation. Preaching's preaching, but a stone cathedral sure feels different than a strip-mall church.
  - a4isms 4y ago
    People act like books are just words to read, but the fact is that handling a well-made artefact of any kind stimulates different neural pathways into your brain than just looking at it. Books can have heft. They can be pleasing to touch. The feel of each page as you turn it is part of the book's user experience, and different choices of paper, binding, and finish all affect that. Reading a physical book generates more "input" to your brain, and if you're going to go to the trouble, it can be stimulating and pleasurable to pick a book that adds physical joy to the experience of reading.
- nineplay 4y ago
  I "collect" books in that I sometimes buy physical copies of books when I only read e-books, but when I purchase something it's usually because I've found an paperback in a used bookstore and can't resist the fantastic cover art and old book smell. Whatever one may think looking at my overflowing bookshelves, a new pretty print edition doesn't do much for me.
- ZeroGravitas 4y ago
  They make nice gifts, like an even more expensive version of the penguin cloth bound classics: https://www.penguin.co.uk/series/CLOTBO/penguin-clothbound-classics https://www.penguin.co.uk/series/CLOTBO/penguin-clothbound-c...
  - allturtles 4y ago
    I'd actually really recommend against the Penguin clothbound classics. Unless they changed something recently, the designs on the cover wear off very easily from the sweat/oil on your hands and you end up with an ugly book after one reading. If you want less expensive high-quality classic books I'd recommend Library of America (for American authors), Modern Library, or Everyman's Library.
    - yamtaddle 4y ago
      LOA's great if you don't mind bible-type thin paper and smallish type. Wonderful for saving space on a bookshelf, solid binding. I often wish they did British authors, too. Modern Library and Everyman are excellent mid-range readers' hardbacks, not fancy but solid and reliable, often (though not always) exhibiting excellent taste in selection of translations and introductions and other extras. Penguin Classics paperbacks are my go-to if I'm not shooting for a hardcover (though they recently and inexplicably changed what had been maybe the single best cover design in all of publishing to make it worse, which is irritating—at least it's still not as bad as the old yellow-cover design they used years back, god those were ugly). The French version of LOA is La Pléiade. Similar deal, smallish print, thin paper, focus on classics and important works. There are several mostly-kinda-shitty "fancy" series (Folio's not one of them) often in fake leather binding, but among the "fancy" sorts, one that really delivers is the (defunct) Limited Editions Club (LEC to book nerds). The name's awful, but if you want an edition you could put on a lectern in the library of a 15th century French chateau and have it look like it belongs, short of springing for real-leather binding, they're a good candidate. HUGE—seriously, big—often bound in heavy-duty cloth, well-selected illustrations, thick, nice paper. Not a lot of other extras, though. But if you want a book to feel like Serious Business, they're a good choice. Heritage Press is (well, was) the "budget" version of them, reprinting LEC in usually somewhat scaled down (though still large) and less crazy-good (but still good) binding. Much friendlier to normal shelf heights, and easier on the wallet. About the only paperback publisher I have an opinion on, other than Penguin Classics, is Dover. If you're going budget, might as well go all the way. Plus, hell, half the time I prefer theirs to slightly-more-expensive offerings. Love 'em.
- LesZedCB 4y ago
  a well bound hardback will be more comfortable to read, even compared to a properly broken in paperback spine
LesZedCB 4y ago
the binding and paper quality is very high. but it's solidly a splurge buy.
a4isms 4y ago
You can buy a print of a single image from Susan Kare's original Macintosh iconography for USD 160, and it doesn't come with any words! This edition gives you five more prints and a whole book. I think it really is a matter of this being a "collectible," or "personal treasure" rather than some kind of exercise in market economics. If the six illustrations speak to you and the presentation speaks to you and $155 is affordable for you, great. If not, no problemo, it's a niche product and you are not in the niche. The other thing you bring up—the author getting paid—is a different matter, and one that I take seriously as well.
iamacyborg 4y ago
Wait 'till you see how much Centipede Press' recent copies of Dune and Dune Messiah are selling for. https://www.centipedepress.com/sf/dune.html https://www.centipedepress.com/sf/dune.html
bediger4000 4y ago
Yes, but you'd be incentivizing Banks' successors in interest to create more content in The Culture universe. Can't be bad!

AndyMcConachie 4y ago

I like reading and I own probably too many books, but I don't understand the Folio society. If you want art then go by art, if you want a book then get a paperback. These aren't coffee table books. It's just words.

yamtaddle 4y ago
There's something to be said for presentation. Preaching's preaching, but a stone cathedral sure feels different than a strip-mall church.
- a4isms 4y ago
  People act like books are just words to read, but the fact is that handling a well-made artefact of any kind stimulates different neural pathways into your brain than just looking at it. Books can have heft. They can be pleasing to touch. The feel of each page as you turn it is part of the book's user experience, and different choices of paper, binding, and finish all affect that. Reading a physical book generates more "input" to your brain, and if you're going to go to the trouble, it can be stimulating and pleasurable to pick a book that adds physical joy to the experience of reading.
nineplay 4y ago
I "collect" books in that I sometimes buy physical copies of books when I only read e-books, but when I purchase something it's usually because I've found an paperback in a used bookstore and can't resist the fantastic cover art and old book smell. Whatever one may think looking at my overflowing bookshelves, a new pretty print edition doesn't do much for me.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
They make nice gifts, like an even more expensive version of the penguin cloth bound classics: https://www.penguin.co.uk/series/CLOTBO/penguin-clothbound-classics https://www.penguin.co.uk/series/CLOTBO/penguin-clothbound-c...
- allturtles 4y ago
  I'd actually really recommend against the Penguin clothbound classics. Unless they changed something recently, the designs on the cover wear off very easily from the sweat/oil on your hands and you end up with an ugly book after one reading. If you want less expensive high-quality classic books I'd recommend Library of America (for American authors), Modern Library, or Everyman's Library.
  - yamtaddle 4y ago
    LOA's great if you don't mind bible-type thin paper and smallish type. Wonderful for saving space on a bookshelf, solid binding. I often wish they did British authors, too. Modern Library and Everyman are excellent mid-range readers' hardbacks, not fancy but solid and reliable, often (though not always) exhibiting excellent taste in selection of translations and introductions and other extras. Penguin Classics paperbacks are my go-to if I'm not shooting for a hardcover (though they recently and inexplicably changed what had been maybe the single best cover design in all of publishing to make it worse, which is irritating—at least it's still not as bad as the old yellow-cover design they used years back, god those were ugly). The French version of LOA is La Pléiade. Similar deal, smallish print, thin paper, focus on classics and important works. There are several mostly-kinda-shitty "fancy" series (Folio's not one of them) often in fake leather binding, but among the "fancy" sorts, one that really delivers is the (defunct) Limited Editions Club (LEC to book nerds). The name's awful, but if you want an edition you could put on a lectern in the library of a 15th century French chateau and have it look like it belongs, short of springing for real-leather binding, they're a good candidate. HUGE—seriously, big—often bound in heavy-duty cloth, well-selected illustrations, thick, nice paper. Not a lot of other extras, though. But if you want a book to feel like Serious Business, they're a good choice. Heritage Press is (well, was) the "budget" version of them, reprinting LEC in usually somewhat scaled down (though still large) and less crazy-good (but still good) binding. Much friendlier to normal shelf heights, and easier on the wallet. About the only paperback publisher I have an opinion on, other than Penguin Classics, is Dover. If you're going budget, might as well go all the way. Plus, hell, half the time I prefer theirs to slightly-more-expensive offerings. Love 'em.
LesZedCB 4y ago
a well bound hardback will be more comfortable to read, even compared to a properly broken in paperback spine

LesZedCB 4y ago

the binding and paper quality is very high. but it's solidly a splurge buy.

a4isms 4y ago

You can buy a print of a single image from Susan Kare's original Macintosh iconography for USD 160, and it doesn't come with any words! This edition gives you five more prints and a whole book. I think it really is a matter of this being a "collectible," or "personal treasure" rather than some kind of exercise in market economics. If the six illustrations speak to you and the presentation speaks to you and $155 is affordable for you, great. If not, no problemo, it's a niche product and you are not in the niche. The other thing you bring up—the author getting paid—is a different matter, and one that I take seriously as well.

iamacyborg 4y ago

Wait 'till you see how much Centipede Press' recent copies of Dune and Dune Messiah are selling for. https://www.centipedepress.com/sf/dune.html https://www.centipedepress.com/sf/dune.html

bediger4000 4y ago

Yes, but you'd be incentivizing Banks' successors in interest to create more content in The Culture universe. Can't be bad!