4 ms·

I'd actually really recommend against the Penguin clothbound classics. Unless they changed something recently, the designs on the cover wear off very easily fro

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.

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.