On pretty covers

I don't generally buy nice copies of books I like, but I do like to buy older copies of some of the fantasy books I'm into. In general I don't like the look of the high quality fantasy or Sci-fi reprints because they look to clean and cool, the only one I actually like is the Folio ASOIAF. Instead I much prefer the look of the old school fantasy and Sci-fi art style, like Elric, Dune, and all of the Gene Wolfe books.

SHOW MORE

You should already expect my response.

I've shelled out for leatherbound versions of Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis, St. Faustina's Diary and most of the writings of St. Teresa of Avila in addition to a copy of Confessions, and of course some nice Bibles for the house. The paperback cover of the Diary is not very aesthetic and it's one of my favorite devotional/private revelation works.

I also stand to inherit my parents collection, which is more extensive and has hardback sets of the Summa and the collected works of St. Francis de Sales as well as some sets of seminary textbooks, a collection of the Ante-Nicene Fathers and they're buying the Bp. Barron "Word on Fire" Bible series which has theology interlaced in and very nice covers, they're pricey though. I think it'll have been around $1k when they finish releasing.

Barnes and Noble had a halfway decent book run with new art .

I had a nice, giant, leatherbound, 1960s, two-part volume of The West Point Atlas of American Wars, but I gave them to my Dad as an anniversary gift

I tried to bribe military history neurodivergent, Aevann, with scans of them once, and he said they were too neurodivergent even for him

Darwin on Brazil:

One day I took a canoe, and proceeded up one of the channels to visit it; I found the old town from its situation both sweeter and cleaner than that of Pernambuco. I must here commemorate what happened for the first time during our nearly five years' wandering, namely, having met with a want of politeness. I was refused in a sullen manner at two different houses, and obtained with difficulty from a third, permission to pass through their gardens to an uncultivated hill, for the purpose of viewing the country. I feel glad that this happened in the land of the Brazilians, for I bear them no good will—a land also of slavery, and therefore of moral debasement. A Spaniard would have felt ashamed at the very thought of refusing such a request, or of behaving to a stranger with rudeness.

...

On the 19th of August we finally left the shores of Brazil. I thank God, I shall never again visit a slave-country.

(Excerpts from The Voyage of the Beagle.)

I'm a fan of very minimalist covers on books

Here's the new version of meditations I have that is imitation leather

Yes, I make fun of people for buying Funko Pop figurines and then shamefully buy copies of books instead of just checking them out from my library. I don't have anything really nice or rare but I do have a pristine copy of Don Juan that retails for a couple hundred dollars, but I got mine for much less than that.

Also, the English were done dirty by the translation of the title of "The Trial". "The Process" is a much better title IMO.

I got the LOTR author illustrated edition which cost like $60-$70 on sale at the time because of the maps and stuff drawn by JRR Tolkien being included were cool. It has now dropped even more to like $50 and the cover was pretty plain as a throwback to the original cover. But besides that and the matching Silmarillion since I didn't have a copy I don't spend extra for a special edition of a book and usually just pirate them for my kindle.

I sometimes spend a little more time online to find a pdf/epub file with prettier covers

Does that count !bookworms ?

Also, I think the Brazilian edition of the book "Vikings: Children of Elm and Ash" by Neil Price looks better than the American edition

Yeah I think the 'realistic' looking cover pretty much always look worse than other covers

Someone told me you were a foid and I didn't fully believe them, now I do.

This is my favorite non fancy/hardcover cover I own.

I've got a really pretty leather impression cover of The Art of War from the NY library bookstore, Ik it's basically tourist bait but it's still real pretty

Is it true that the origin of species in its original form is a pamphlet at most in length and most of its bulk consists of publishers adding extremely long forewords and background information over and over?

That is a beautiful cover! Apart from the broken Spanish.

I'm on the hunt to replace to a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude I loaned a now former friend.

You have inspired me.

I'm such a hipster, I don't buy fancy books. I buy whatever is on sale at Powell's, famous for being the best bookstore in the world. The only good thing in Portland. Go up to the Purple Room to find the good stuff.