I have just ordered / received #16

Put a bid in on eBay on Friday more as a place marker to remind me to check the final price. Lo and behold turns out mine was the only bid so I'm now waiting for A Man on the Moon at only £90. A bargain, I think. For those who care about such things (I don't) it's a first print, too. I had intended to order it from Folio today along with the Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty LE so instead I coupled the Rackham with Italian Folktales

>1 folio_books: Congratulations that sounds like a great bargain.

I received a copy of Scarlet and Black (1965 edition) late last week, which is in great condition bar some very slight sunning to the spine and came to only €20 including postage. I also have ordered two of what will be my first Folio Press Fine Editions, Dorset Poems and Motley and Other Poems. I intend to pick up a few more if I am happy with the first two when they arrive.

>2 assemblyman:

Bit of a niche market, the Dorset Poems. If you want an idea of the Dorset accent, to know how the poems should sound, I suggest listening to Ralph Wightman - he's been dead fifty years, but you can hear him on YouTube eg narrating a documentary Round the Island. He was much on the radio in my younger days, both in person, and lampooned by Kenneth Williams as Arthur Fallowfield in Round the Horne. The Barnes poems are worth the effort.

>3 affle:

I didn't know I was that old, Alan. I do remember Ralph Wightman (just); Kenneth Williams is unforgetable. I think he's better known these days for Rambling Syd Rumpo. Hello me dearie-ohs.

Thanks for the pointer I shall look him up. I read a few Barnes poems online before I decided to get it but hearing the authentic accent will be very helpful. I will also have to look up the Kenneth William's version as well as I love his Rambling Syd Rumpo routine from the show.

>1 folio_books:

A wonderful price for man on the moon a great find.

I got a sealed Tomb of Tutankhamen for 170 aud last week.

I am playing catch up on both the Aubrey Maturin series, as well as Dickens 1/4 leather bound. I am not doing too bad, although it is getting rather expensive.

I have just got both the Dickens Christmas Books and A Tale of Two Cities. I spent too much, but they both have special significance for me. That is my justification anyway!
I love Christmas, favourite time of the year and I have a tradition of making sure I always either watch or read A Christmas Carol. It gives me the Christmas spirit!
As for A Tale of Two Cities, it was my grandmothers favourite book and although she did not have much she wanted me to have a copy and gave me hers. I was a child at the time and it wore out quite quickly. I will think of her as I read it.

>7 Hamwick: Bravo! It's lovely to see such personal fondness expressed for particular books. I doubt you'll regret treating yourself to good Folio editions of them, even if they were on the expensive side. Enjoy :)

>8 cronshaw:

Nice to see you back again.

>7 Hamwick: I just received The Christmas Books to complete my Dickens set. For me, this set is absolutely perfect for Dickens. Lovely story about your grandma. My mom was a Dickens fan when she was younger and handed down David Copperfield to start. I look forward to passing my Everyman’s (from which I reluctantly upgraded, as I personally love this set) to my children when they’re older.

I found the 1997 eight volume Complete Works of Shakespeare set today for £40, pretty chuffed with that! I don't own any of them and after seeing Much Ado at the theatre last night, it'll be a nice way to catch up.

I've just received Thoreau's 'Walden', printed in 1980. Though it is 40+ years old it looks as new. It is a beautiful volume.

>11 lagartija23: Sounds a good buy.

I admire your fully fledged bibliomania but I could not sit down with an eight volume work of Shakespeare with the intention of reading his Collected Works.

>1 folio_books:

Glad the book reached you safely today and thanks for the review. I ordered one copy and was given the second as a present. It’s a fine edition I think

I was expecting more but it’s the luck of the draw on eBay!

>14 pse1: I was expecting more but it’s the luck of the draw on eBay!

Oh hello, I didn't realise you were a Devotee. I was astonished my bid won it, especially with the number of watchers you had. I thought it would be at the very least into three figures, more likely £120-130. In similar circumstances I've seen books go for more than the current Folio price. But as you rightly say a lot of eBay is down to luck. In this case your bad luck is my good luck and I'm delighted with the books - thank you!

>10 RRCBS: very well done on completing the set and finishing with The Christmas Books is finishing with a bang! You were also handed a copy of Dickens, I wonder how many people have had Dickens passed down to them. I am sure your children will love the Everyman’s versions and hopefully encourage a new generation.

My very first Folios actually from Folio, instead of eBay came today: The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. They're gorgeous--and they match each other on my shelf much more nicely than I was expecting.

>17 ambyrglow:
Welcome to the slippery slope of Faddiction.

>15 folio_books:

No problem. I very much enjoyed reading the two volumes and know far more about the Apollo Program now. The photography is outstanding. I’m glad it went to another Folio person!

>17 ambyrglow: However, A Wizard of Earthsea does not match.

>20 kdweber: That's okay--since Folio shows no sign of completing the Earthsea series, I'll stick with my first editions there.

>21 ambyrglow:

They confirmed to be releasing more of Earthsea.

>22 Charon49: do you by any chance have a link to the confirmation? I haven't seen anything conclusive about this (and I would probably buy any Earthsea book Folio publishes).

>23 abysswalker: I suppose they could change their mind but I was referring to them announcing from the fantasy survey that they were going to do the dark tower Stephen king series, book of dust from Pullman and continue the Earthsea series.

I finally succumbed, and bought Andrew Chaikin's Man on the Moon this week. It's very (very!) rare for me to buy one at full price (£150) from Folio Society nowadays (only the second since they dropped the membership model), and I know folio_books managed to find one for under £100, but whilst this is a fairly whopping price for a 2-volume 'SE' set, I actually think it's one of the best 'value' books they've published recently, particularly with those photographs. Have just spent a very pleasant half-hour or so browsing. I read this a while ago - really good read - but only had a fairly worn paperback. Definitely a good exchange for some of those folios I've sold off recently!
Edited to give folio_books' correct name!

>25 Willoyd: I know folio_society managed to find one for under £100, but whilst this is a fairly whopping price for a 2-volume 'SE' set,

I think you mean me :) And I was quite astonished to find my bid had won. I doubt many people will be picking that one up under £100. I agree with you entirely regarding the quality. I would have been delighted with it if I'd paid Folio's price.

>26 folio_books: I did!! Whoops, and changed - thank you!

I just placed an order for a good number of books.

Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy
The Silmarillion and The Hobbit, to round out my Tolkien collection
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.

I'm pretty excited about this one. Another book that nearly made the list, and now looking back I wish I had just bought it, is I Am Legend. I'll pick that one up if I have a good number of books I want to buy from the Winter Collection.

Anyone else looking forward to a recently placed order of FS beauties?

>28 Tyler_ghaskjd: Definitely seems like you have a bevy of goodies coming. Also, I can definitely recommend their edition of I Am Legend. I have it, and it's terrific. Very high-quality standard edition of a limited edition they did a while back, and it's printed on thick and lovely Abbey Rough Pure paper.

And I do have an order I'm looking forward to. I have the following on the way:

The Great Gatsby
Middlemarch
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
and the 2nd and 3rd Bond books

By the way, I'm an SFF fan also but have loaded up on those quite a bit on previous orders. :P

>25 Willoyd:
Love insights like yours!
I'll buy it as soon as I can! I was pretty much on the fence all this while.

>4 folio_books:

Drat, too late to this party. I missed a perfect opportunity to worble my nadgers. ;-)

>29 whytewolf1: That's a nice order as well! I seem to go back and forth in my orders, in one it'll be non-fiction dominant, and the next it will be mostly fiction.

A non fiction book I'm looking forward to ordering once it becomes available again is S.P.Q.R. by Mary Beard. Really liking the look of that book.

My current order:

If Not, Winter: Sappho
Selected Poems: Anna Akhmatova
Great Gatsby: Fitzgerald
Defeat into Victory: 1st Viscount Slim
(NFB): The River War 2v: Churchill (St. Augustine's Press)
(NFB): Voices of Marrakesh: Elias Canetti (Arion Press)

A reading suggestion:

For those FSD-ers who enjoyed reading Isabella Bird's 'The Yangtze Valley and Beyond' and are interested in the memoirs of intrepid women travelers, I strongly recommend the following:

Golden Inches: The China Memoir of Grace Service, University of California, 1989.

Briefly, Grace Service and her husband Robert ("Bob") answered the "call" in 1905, shortly after graduating U. of Cal Berkeley and recently marrying, to perform Christian missionary work in remote Western China for the Y.M.C.A. During the next thirty years, she and Bob would start and raise a family of three young boys, witness three of the most turbulent decades in Chinese history, and travel into parts of remote China that had never seen a white person. This is NOT a religious book - rather, it is an extraordinary historical document, describing the conflicts and changes in China culminating in Mao Zedong's Communist revolution which eventually led to their expulsion from China in 1934. It is also a memoir of a woman with remarkable dedication and courage.

Of particular interest, their eldest son John S. Service became an important Foreign Service Officer in China from 1933 to 1945 and a member of General Stilwell's advisory staff. He was the first of the "old China hands" purged from the State Department in the Joseph McCarthy era and anti-Communist witch hunts for advising (correctly) that Chiang Kai-shek was corrupt and not to be trusted and Mao Zedong and the Communists would prevail over Chiang's Nationalists. A link to the NY Times book review in 1989 is given below.

https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/05/books/advance-guard-for-the-ymca.html

>34 dlphcoracl: Wow, that sounds absolutely fascinating.

>35 Tyler_ghaskjd:

It is.

This book flew under the radar when originally published in 1989, but it was included in the NY Times 'Top 100 books' in their end-of-year book review.

I just ordered two older sets: Bewick’s History of British Birds and Rowse’s Elizabethan Age. Really looking forward to both of them. Researching them also came with a bit of nostalgia for the kind of chats that used to be had on here 3-4 years ago. Miss those days and some of the contributors.

>37 RRCBS: I wholeheartedly agree. It was an interesting time. All things must pass.

>37 RRCBS:
Both cracking sets. As I've said elsewhere, the Bewick is probably my favourite Folio publication of all time, whilst the Rowse is classic history reading - and typical of the fine, slightly understated (and all the better for that!) non-fiction that the FS excelled at.

>39 Willoyd: just received the Bewick books. Truly a beautiful set. And I love the size of them, perfect for reading. I’m one of those who are not so much into the big books. Elegant and understated set. Perfect to dip into!

My last order from Folio was placed October last year. Since then, I have been trying to determine how new rules due to Brexit affect my purchases. Among other uncertainties, Folio's ordering online kept telling me that no estimate for shipping charges could be shown so, consequently, I didn't follow through. This latter issue has now been solved, and I have placed an order for Mythical Beasts. Sales tax was applied directly by Folio at ordering time. I have now received the book, have not incurred any other charges or fees, and am very happy with it. Superb Folio standard production.

I placed a pretty big order (for me) for my birthday.

China
La Belle Sauvage
Venetia
A Feast for Crows
Shackleton’s Boat Journey
The Man with the Golden Gun
Dostoevsky stories
Thermopylae
Folio Book of War Poetry
In Search of the Dark Ages

They’re all beautiful productions, no big complaints. I agree that In Search of Dark Ages could have been a lot nicer with a cloth binding.
I love the cloth binding on Venetia and just started reading it. Not a fan of the illustrations and find it ironic that the introduction talks about how her books have had ugly cover art when these illustrations are equally unsuitable in my opinion.
Either way, I’m one of those who collect standard Folios both old and new, and choose them for the content, and am quite happy with them.

>42 RRCBS: that is a very nice order. It should keep you occupied for a little while!

I am in the process of moving from the UK to the U.S., so I am waiting until I am in the U.S. before ordering anymore (and reading the discussions on other threads about the cost of buying from the U.S.).
My biggest concern at the moment is that all of my books are on a container ship going to Longbeach, I just hope they all arrive in the condition I sent them!

Choosing and buying one's main birthday presents has always seemed a good idea as at least you know you will be getting some presents you really want. It also gets round that tiresome and sometimes self-imposed restriction we all tend to make (especially if pressed by an exasperated partner ...) of 'No more books'. Anyway, Happy Birthday - or should that be Happy Bookday...

>44 English-bookseller: Thanks 😊 my husband encourages my book buying actually, but he’s not a great online shopper so I figured since I was picking something specific, I may as well order them myself.

I finally stopped admonishing myself for not buying Ridley Walker LE when it was on sale and bought a copy from Abe (still in an opened shipping box). When FS released the LE, I hadn't heard of the novel and it was only earlier this year that I read a paperback copy and discovered what a brilliant book it is.

The final catalyst for buying the LE was a recent reading of the FS edition of Candide and realising that I am definitely in the 'fans of Quentin Blake' camp. Having now received it, I can fully understand why the size is a deterrent for many people! Fortunately, I generally enjoy large format books like this and don't foresee it being a problem. All in all, I'm very pleased to have this in my collection, at last.

I got my first shipment in a while yesterday. Got The Road, Crooked House, The Godfather, Dynasty, and The Diversity of Life. Most seem to be fairly standard FS publications, but I’m really impressed with the production of The Godfather.

>46 GardenOfForkingPaths: Congratulations! One of my favorite FS books - and by far the best of Quentin Blake's illustrations I've seen

>47 jsg1976: I’m really impressed with the production of The Godfather.

"Stunning" is an over-used adjective but I can't think of a more appropriate one for the illustrations in this book.

Godfather looks nice but the constant refrain I see is that the film is better than the novel. Is the book worthwhile? For the record, I've never seen any of the Godfather movies.

I have just ordered these titles around two weeks ago (they have yet to arrived). I think this is my biggest order from Folio so far...

Selected Poems (Akhmatova)
De Profundis
Iron Kingdom
Dynasty
The Best Short Stories of Fyodor Dostoyevsky

>50 adriano77:

I've read the FS version of The Godfather and, yes, the film is better than the book--but the film is one of the best movies of all time. The book is still a satisfying read but it is outdated in spots (such as the sexist scene with the plastic surgeon which will have readers cringing).

Similarly with Planet of the Apes, the movie (1968) was a cinematic juggernaut with arguably the most dramatic film ending ever, while the book, imho, seems rather small and underwritten in comparison.

I've just taken delivery of a trio of older FS books:

The Siege of Malta 1565 by Francisco Balbi di Correggio (1965)
The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1974)
The Witches of Salem (1982)

I'm enjoying working my way through the complete list of FS books and discovering the more obscure and esoteric publications.

When does it stop?

About four months ago I was looking at my thousands of cheap, faded, yellowing books and had a great business idea. What if someone were to start making *good* books again? Like the ones they used to make? Why, I bet there'd be a huge market for that!

Yes: Despite being a massive bibliophile my entire life, I'd somehow never heard of The Folio Society or anything else like it. My idea of a 'very nice book' was this '50th anniversary edition' of LOTR (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618517650/) retailing at about $45. It has a slipcase!

Needless to say I was in for a big awakening. And when I discovered Folio and other higher-end presses, it hit me pretty hard. Just that perfect combination of something I love, something beautiful, something appreciable, and *extreme* FOMO when it comes to LE.

So, yeah, I've spent about $20 grand on books in the last two months, mostly Folio. Some Easton, some Subterranean, some misc. Lots of old Limited Editions Club volumes. But mostly Folio.

The big three Folio expenditures were The Stranger, last year's Dune LE, and that gorgeous Lovecraft LE. Spent about $5.5k just on those. Then several other current LEs (man let me tell you the shipping on those sucks!). And literally dozens of retired and current Folio items, mostly via eBay. Do I really care enough about Shackleton to justify buying that awesome reproduction? Probably not, but I didn't want to *not* have it. Did I really need all the James Bond books? Who can say? But if you have one, you're gonna want the rest...

I think -- I *think* -- I've managed to snap up all of my must-haves by now. It's nice to imagine that, having secured the ones that are really important to me, I can regain control and start making more responsible decisions.

But almost every day I find out about yet another cool niche press. And almost every day somebody here brings up a really neat retired Folio edition or set. And once again the little voice inside of me says,

"If you don't get this now, you'll never be able to..."

>56 AtlantisLostAndCold:
Welcome to Faddiction - it has hit you hard! Unfortunately there is no cure except buying more books!

This will seem an odd post coming from a bookseller but I have being a keen book buyer for over 50 years now and I personally own more books than I will ever have time to read - even in a very long life. I do not even know to the nearest thousand how many books I personally own.

It was only recently that I understood this behaviour was an addiction.

We over-keen booklovers should perhaps think about how we can control our book-buying habits and then strictly follow such rules and controls as we devise. 'One book in: one book out' might be a good start.

Another rule could be to set a budget for that year limiting expenditure to a fixed sum or a total number of books.

I have recently re-joined The London Library which has extraordinary collections of books across many areas and am hoping that post-Covid (whenever that is) I can borrow their books to read rather than having to buy a copy of my own. The jury is out on that one until I can use public transport safely.

Another option is to become a bookseller, as I have done setting up a small business or (this is much easier) just selling books via third party booksellers or personally on eBay etc.

>58 English-bookseller: This is very true. And is not limited to the book collecting/reading hobby. It is the same with fountain pen/inks/notebooks collecting as well. Everywhere I see people buying way more of something than they will ever use. And one of the things I do not like about that is others egging them on. I believe that we are all in a sort of community and it is our duty to tell the newcomers to always take it a bit slow. The urge to buy a lot right from the start is almost irresistible, but some caution ought to be exercised nonetheless.

I tell myself this all the time and whenever anybody asks my opinion, I tell them to always go in slowly. Not only does one make more prudent financial decisions in this way, one gets to savour every purchase all the more.

Besides, I have always believed that collecting something is the easier part. The harder is actually using the tools...writing with the expensive Mont Blancs, filling the beautiful Paperblanks, reading the exquisite Folio Society books. This is the part which is what makes the hobby of collecting something worth it.

I too have been selling some of the books I either won't ever end up reading or have read and don't plan to read again. I don't want my possessions to start owning me and when I own too much of something, I feel bogged down.

Another thing that helps me is looking at other people's collections. It somehow repulses me and makes me want to cut down on my own collection.

>58 English-bookseller: I think becoming a book seller/dealer is great advice. But I have the problem that "I can sell it for a profit" is the perfect excuse to buy even more books that I, inevitably, don't want to sell.

Unless a purchase is time critical - such as a fast selling LE - I limit myself to only buying new books once I've finished reading a book I already own. It's a slow way to grow a collection, but it certainly suits my finances.

The Arthur Trilogy by Kevin Crossley-Holland at approx. £10.00 a piece plus shipping. Hopefully my last impulse buy for 2021 thanks to a recent review by wcarter here.

I stick to three rules (besides "don't buy junk books", which hardly needs to be mentioned in this group):
1 - no LEs. They look wonderful, but the cost is just too much for me;
2 - only buy a Folio (or other high quality book) if owning a high quality edition is justified. There are plenty of books for which a paperback, or a library borrowing, is sufficient. This rule has an always-moving line when it comes to the definition of "justified";
3 - only one edition of any book is allowed. I have a very few exceptions to this rule - I have four Bibles, for instance.

These rules have slowed my book buying only slightly.

Thought of a fourth rule - I never buy a book I can't read. Hence, no facsimiles in Latin, or any language other than English.

>59 sekhmet0108: Another thing that helps me is looking at other people's collections. It somehow repulses me and makes me want to cut down on my own collection.

'Fraid that doesn't work for me :-( Several happy afternoons have been spent slobbering over Warwick's wonderful and superb catalogue! Then I have to persuade myself I don't really need that superb LE I just spotted. Latest must haves were the various Extraordinary Edition's LEs but I've finally managed to convince myself that I don't really want them after all! That took some doing I can tell you :-)

Perversely my own library has "ordinary" (but often very well-produced) books neatly shelved and the Folios stacked in any odd spare places I can find! Even the recent Dante LE is still in its delivery box on the floor whilst I'm proudly displaying the likes of "The Water Supply of Byzantine Constantinople" on the shelves! Must do some photos of my weird and wonderful library sometime.

I think I’m the exception these days whose FSD is still going strong with both new releases and the backlog. Just ordered three older FS volumes from the secondary market:

The Fall of Constantinople
The Art of Love
Monks of War

>66 RRCBS: I sometimes wonder how many bookcases you fill a year… IKEA must be your go to store.

>67 NLNils: I do have okra bookcases…should probably have gotten something nicer, but needed something with doors and only had one shelf warp in 15 years. I don’t have that many, maybe 13? I buy a lot of books, but not into LE’s.

>68 RRCBS: It’s kind of you to answer! I have 6 bookcases and that’s where the line is drawn by my other half. 5 Billy’s and one gifted antique bookcase. All of them warp and that’s due to overstocking the shelves… I did start last year with donating books to the communal book stall(s), mostly paperbacks to make room for better quality editions, but also a slipcaseless Lives of the Engineers and the first thus of Scott’s Last Expedition. I actually like the idea of somebody else being able to enjoy the book(s)!

>69 NLNils: I often feel guilty for amassing so many books! I do share them with a couple of friends and have two young children (3&5) in whom I hope to inspire a love of reading and learning.

>71 Bamf102:

A warm welcome to FSD. You'll not be disppointed with either of those. Just be prepared to live with a diminishing bank balance as the Folio bug takes over.

>73 Bamf102: Congratulations on starting an expensive new hobby. Be sure to give the secondary markets on abebooks and ebay a look. We're right around the corner for the summer collection being released, and sometime in July is usually where there's a summer sale from FS directly.

>75 Bamf102: The teaser on FS instagram account was 5th May last year and the reveal a week after that. Expecting similar timing this year.

Here's FS instagram account if you want to keep watch: https://www.instagram.com/foliosociety/
Though any news will quickly find its way to the LT thread here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/341238

I found a cheap Frankenstein - no slipcase, but the book is in perfect shape and only $50.

I am in love with the Harry Brockway woodcuts! I really need to pick up that Dostoevsky short story collection on the next buy.

>77 rsmac:

Brockway is my favorite. There are some extremely talented woodcut artists out there, but something about Harry's style fits me well.

>77 rsmac: >78 CobbsGhost: Me too, and over the years I've collected pretty much all of the Folio work that I can . And now for or the first time I have just looked at his website (www.harrybrockway.com) and seen not only the woodcuts, but also his work as a stone carver and memorial mason. I had no idea...

Have you seen how reasonably priced his original woodcuts are? Often cheaper than a copy of the folio they were made for!

>78 CobbsGhost: >79 red_guy: sorry to be pedantic, but I think Brockway does wood engravings (made with fine gravers on the end grain of dense wood blocks), not wood cuts (made with gouges on side grain, often of softer wood). I mention this because I know when I finally learned about the difference it helped me achieve a new appreciation for the art form.

>80 ubiquitousuk: Of course, you're right - I was even looking at them on woodengravers.co.uk, so there is no excuse!

>80 ubiquitousuk: Fair enough, and certainly if there's a place for "pedantic", this is the forum.

I had a witchy theme going this month. A few weeks ago I picked up The Devils of Loudun by Aldus Huxley and this week got in nice copies of The Witches of Salem and the 1968 first edition of The Malleus Maleficarum.

Not that it makes much difference, but I am often surprised by the size of a title when it finally comes in. The Witches of Salem, for example, is smaller and more slender than I had imagined. I was likewise surprised by One Hundred Years of Solitude when I got that - it was quite a bit larger than anticipated. The sizes for newer ones are listed on the website so no surprises there, but with older ones you never know.

>85 rsmac: but with older ones you never know.

You could always take a look at the complete list of books published by the Folio Society on the FSD Wiki (or see below), which includes dimensions.

https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Groups:BOOKS_PUBLISHED_BY_THE_FOLIO_SOCI...

Edited to add:

Or even invest in a copy of Folio 60 if the book of your desires was published before 2007. Yes, I know, so very old but trust me, there were Folios around before then.

I just received a copy of "Defeat Into Victory" off ebay. Although fairly standard, I really like the presentation. A lot of maps and a lot of black and white photos. The cloth binding is really tactile and the spine really pops on the shelf. I will be reading it over the holidays.

For anyone interested, this volume is currently on the last chance page.

>88 PartTimeBookAddict: I've been waiting for this to be included in a sale, and it appears it never will. I may have to go the Ebay route as well.

>89 coynedj: Good luck. I paid about 2/3 the asking price and am happy with the purchase. If it hits the sales snap it up!

I just finished Howards End. I’m very surprised that Folio hasn’t reprinted it, not even once, while Brideshead Revisited has been reprinted several times.
The latest adaptation, from the BBC, has a cast filled with actors and actresses that have since appeared in super popular media franchises.

>91 dyhtstriyk: I love that book, one of my favourite novels. I have the Folio as part of my Forster set, but treasure my first copy, which was Everyman’s.

>92 RRCBS: I didn't see there was a complete set, thanks. Super interesting and (relatively) not expensive on eBay. My reading was on the Everyman which is nice and compact enough.

I managed to nail some box sets at reasonable prices in 2022:

- Eyewitness History of the Crusades £55
- Mongol Warlords £60
- Byzantium £70 BUT I then sold my non-Folio set of the same work for £45 so really it only cost me £25 to 'upgrade'.

All were works I was really glad to cross off my (infinite) wish list, so I was really glad about that.

>94 Retronaut78: You’ve done well for yourself. Congratulations!

eBay purchases in 2022: ($ inc. postage AUD)
- The Good Soldier ($35)
- Lucky Jim ($40)
- Doctor Zhivago 1997 Ed. ($60)
- Birdsong ($57)
- Oliver Twist ($65); III Nonesuch

None are ‘bargains’ per se, I’d say…but I feel good about having them all!

eBay recently -
Candide limited edition (250£)
Rochester, Perfect & Imperfect Enjoyments. (250£)
Letter press Shakespeare - sonnets and poems (400£)
Leaves of Grass (green leather version) (250$)
As I walked out one midsummer morning (50$)

Directly-
The Waste Land LE
Frankenstein LE
The Gormenghast Trilogy LE

Never ending story
Byzantium
Norwegian Wood
A walk in the woods
In search of the dark ages
The Man in the high castle
Neverwhere

Earlier this year or last…

>97 jlallred2000: I’ve thought about Byzantium, have the Norwich Byzantium in the FS edition which I have in the TBR pile though…

Just received St Augustine’s confessions (the cloth edition illustrated by Simon Brett) and what seems like an off-kilter gothic story titled “The Monk”. St Augustine has been on my radar for quite a while. The Monk was a spontaneous grab but I’m extremely satisfied with both binding and illustrations - I believe I got the last reprint.

Both for 4.99 GBP, so wouldn’t complain either way.

Just picked up a really nice copy of Joyce's Dubliners for AUD $26 inc. postage. Looking forward to reading it. I loved Portrait of the Artist, and was really enjoying Ulysses until a busy life intervened - will get back to it very soon. The Folio Dubliners is lovely - understated but seems to evoke the times and subject matter.

Ordered the currently available Agatha Christies and some items from the sale:

Crooked House
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Sparkling Cyanide
The Farthest Shore
The Stories of English
Joan of Arc

All was shipped and delivered very fast.

My cats had a field day with the packaging! 😂

>101 woodstock8786: I've seen your pictures passing by on my Instagram ;)
That stack of book reminded me of something I read before.

>102 David_Mauduit: I still haven’t cleared away all the packaging, didn’t want to rob the cats of their new favourite toy.

What did it remind you of?

I just ordered two Dickens IIIs - Bleak House and Pickwick Papers. I don’t have shelf space or really the inclination to collect the whole set. I already have:

Great Expectations
Oliver Twist
David Copperfield
A Tale of Two Cities
Dombey & Son

My last planned target is the Christmas books. I think that’s a reasonable approximation of his greatest hits, but I’d be interested and grateful for any other heartfelt recommendations!

>103 woodstock8786: I meant that when I saw the picture on Instagram it reminded me of your post here.

>105 David_Mauduit: Ahhh! Understood ;)

I’ve just ordered The Book of the New Sun. This one has been on my list for a while and I’m finally taking the dive.

I took the recommendations from this forum to get Dickens III, glad I did!

Yesterday, I received the three WWI poet (Brooke, Owen, Thomas) LEs that were 50% in the sale. They're gorgeous, and I'm glad to finally have them. I took several pictures of them and posted them on my IG (handle: cjdeldotto).

>104 GusLogan: that looks like a great selection - the same as mine, although I also have Nicholas Nickleby but regrettably I don’t have ToTC which I’ve read and loved (in a teeeeny pocket sized edition when my eyes were young and perfect).

People do rave about Little Dorrit, but I haven’t read it (yet).

>109 CJDelDotto: Thank you for the handle! I do so like admiring others' collections and they are indeed very fine volumes. You also had me at the BP Petrenko Tchaikovsky & Beethoven.

>111 FitzJames: I have around 10,000 books sitting in waist-high stacks in the guest bedroom in my basement. At some point, my wife and I are planning to turn the large (27' x 37') open space down there into our library (i.e., hiring a carpenter with experience carrying out such projects). When it happens, there will be pictures galore. In the meanwhile, the IG will be dedicated mainly to the missus and the kitties, with only the occasional excellent book purchase making a cameo.

>110 Jeremy53:
Thank you!

I just received The Book of The New Sun and wouldn’t you know it’s damaged. I’d heard there were issues in the past with this one. I was just hoping I’d get lucky. Hopefully the replacement will be fine.

>114 Geo135: Fingers crossed. Was it damaged in production or delivery? I was intending to finally order it this year having been put off initially by the production issues on the first run.

Major purchase for me: just received a set of the LE Pepys. I’ve wanted the set since I discovered FS about 15 years ago, but couldn’t afford it, then could afford it but all sets including shipping to Canada were about 1500 CAD and I thought that was too much. Finally randomly found a set that ended up costing 1K CAD (600 pounds) including shipping. It really is a treasure and the books fit well in the case. The case is great bc it can go on top of a bookshelf, thus saving badly needed shelf space.

I can’t wait to start on this set. Love the reasonable size of the volumes and the lighter weight compared to some current FS books. And the parts of his diaries I have read were fascinating so very grateful to have the whole set.

>116 RRCBS: Congratulations. That set is gorgeous. The more I see it the more I like it.

>117 assemblyman: it really is. I’m not one to buy LEs usually, but this one was always on the top of my wants list. It is combined aesthetic beauty with scholarship and a fascinating text. The other LEs I might buy if prices come down are The Toilers of the Sea and Gulliver’s Travels, but the size and heft of the volumes (and the current very high prices!) hold me back.

>116 RRCBS: just received a set of the LE Pepys.

Congratulations! It's a lovely set and you got it for a reasonable price. I'm sure you'll love it. For my own copy I looked for a set in slipcases as the wooden case was of variable quality. In some instances the books were just too big for the case. The books sit beautifuly in the hand. Enjoy!

>115 assemblyman: production issues. They replaced it in a matter of days and the new one is in perfect shape. Customer service was great

Just to echo the others with my congratulations. It is a beautiful set, whether on the shelf or in your hand. I do enjoy, every now and then, opening up on the date of the day, just to see what was happening a few hundred years ago.

>120 Geo135: Good to know. I will keep it on my list for later this year.

>118 RRCBS: It’s funny that late last year I spotted a set for sale and posted it here. Another devotee bought it but you commented ‘maybe next year’.

Toilers of the Sea has been also on my wish list before I even considered buying LEs but like you it’s high prices have held me back. But I recently found one at a price I’m reasonably happy with and it should hopefully be with me next week (fingers crossed).

>123 assemblyman: That’s funny! Nice about the Toilers, congrats on finding a good deal!

The Greek Tragedies have just arrived and I couldn't be more pleased. I've been lusting after this set for some years. Worth the wait.

>125 L.Bloom: congrats! I acquired the set years ago when it first came out and it is a treasure.

After some patience, I've finally ordered and received a nice affordable copy of "Claudius the God." Now that I have both in the series I can finally start reading them.

The family tree endpapers have a really unique embossed texture. I don't know if I've run across any other FS book with that feature before.

I received The Savoy Operas boxed set, 2001 reprint.

I already had the Heritage Press edition, but it is unwieldy, much older (they generally kept well but this has an excessively musty smell) and all the G&S parafernalia it contains looks like a gimmick. I definitely prefer the folios.

>104 GusLogan:

Finally found the FS Nonesuch Dickens Christmas Books!

My order of Kafka On the Shore, Roadside Picnic, and Syria: The Desert and the Sown just arrived. They were superbly packed and arrived with no damage, and all three look wonderful - fine examples of what FS can do and why I still buy their books. Many days of pleasant reading await me.

Made use of the free shipping last weekend and picked up The Wind in the Willows, 1984 and The Great Gatsby. Unfortunately, WitW came with one of the endpapers folded, but other than that - wow. Absolutely beautiful production from FS. I've wanted it for a long time but always passed in favour of other stuff. The art, layout, thickness of the paper, so forth, are all fantastic. Definitely one of my new favourites as an overall package.

Purchased a couple of recent-ish FS and an older one. Midnight Children and The War at the End of the World are both very handsome buckram-bound world literature productions. Also, the 1992 reprint of Cold Comfort Farm, so well made and in excellent condition.

On the way: The Moon's a Balloon by David Niven. I decided to buy this one after reading the reviews and finding out that Niven had entered my personal list of 'real life candidates to be the most interesting man in the world' alongside Dahl, Christopher Lee, Leigh Fermor and Chatwin.

>133 dyhtstriyk: The Wiki biography of David Niven is a very good read.

>133 dyhtstriyk: I've had my eye on the Niven book for a long time - let us know what you think of it! I might have to track a copy down.

Arrived home yesterday to a large box from Folio. Was surprised as I was only expecting two books and it was well over a foot tall. Didn't realize that the two books I ordered (Consider Phlebas and PKD's Selected Stories) were so large -- about 550 and 650 pages respectively -- and both at an oversized trim. Great packing job by Folio helped ensure a safe delivery overseas as well.

>135 coynedj: I highly recommend The Moon's a Balloon. I happened upon a non-Folio edition of it years ago and found it very entertaining. I was glad to upgrade to a Folio edition when I found one for a reasonable price on the secondary market.

I find I have little enthusiasm for FS release dates these days but I am still excited when an order arrives.

I picked up The Pale Horse, Dynasty, The Farthest Shore and The Tombs of Atuan as well as The Neverending Story which is certainly the standout of the group.

Tehanu and Pet Semetary arrived today in time for the weekend :)

I have just received a copy of The Scarlet Letter - 4th printing dated 2007, purchased for a fiver, and I have just ordered a copy of The Exeter Riddle, at the princely sum of a tenner, (I pushed the boat out for the latter as the volume was described as fine). I have been on the search here, to pick up wcarter's reviews, and I pass on my thanks for the wonderful write up, and thread discussion, as they provide a very interesting insight into the the volume.

I don't think this volume of the Scarlet Letter has been read. I'm very taken with the black full cloth and crimson end papers, plus gold/crimson motif, and I adore woodcut illustrations.

Just received the Wyndham boxed set, which I bought with the coronation free shipping offer. I hadn't ordered standard in a while, but everything came out all right. Took three weeks, though. EMS is very slow compared to the 3-day DHL, and in normal circumstances you save only 16 pounds. The boxed set is one of those Folios that doesn't look half as good on the website as it does in real life. Similar to the Dahls.

I'll also receive tomorrow a copy of The Thirty Nine Steps & The Power House. I have the Everymans Library Children's Classics edition and, though it is very nice and sturdy, I wanted to upgrade it even further.

I've just received the new Folio edition of Maya Angelou's 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'. I first read the work in Folio's first edition with its peculiar, unfathomable binding design and no illustrations, and though I loved the read, I quickly donated the volume to a charity shop on finishing. On seeing the new Folio edition on-line I knew I'd have to have it at some point, and I can vouch that it's even lovelier in the hands than it looks on the website. The binding style and illustrations are both perfect for the work. Well done Folio for (finally) doing Maya Angelou justice. This one's for keeps.

I just picked up the Christopher Hibbert matching set of "The Rise & Fall of the House of Medici" and "The House of Borgia".

They look really great, but weirdly the slipcases don't match. Also, so many of the copies of Medici listed on ebay have really chipped away spine labels. Does anyone have advice on how to read it without ruining the look? Brodart cover?

>143 PartTimeBookAddict: there are two printings of Medici. On the latter printing, the slipcase does match the Borgia one.

Just received "Vision of Piers the Plowman". A very, very handsome production. With chapter heading illustrations by Harry Brockway.

I don't have the Heaney Beowulf, but this appears to be of the same production quality and twice as long.

It's selling for about 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the FS Beowulf on ebay and abe. That must just be due to the familiarity of this title (I confess, I didn't know about it before FS brought it to my attention).

I'm very happy with this purchase and would highly recommend it, especially as the secondary market prices are currently in a slump.

>145 PartTimeBookAddict:
It took me a couple of years to find it below £50 which I thought was terrific value. I see someone recently bought a copy on eBay for £45! Patience is profitable. I wonder if there is a similar quality Folio Society Pilgrim’s Progress… off to research that now.