Saturday, September 8, 2012

Shelf Candy Saturday #34: The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis

 
 
 
Welcome to
Shelf Candy Saturday!!
 
 
 
This weekly meme/blog hop, hosted here,
features beautiful book covers!
It was originally hosted by
Stephanie @
Five Alarm Book Reviews,
a blog I really miss...
 
 
If you'd like to participate, just grab my button (or create your own), write your own post, and link up in the Linky widget at the bottom of this post. Just be sure to click on "Read more" so that the entire post will open up.

As a bonus, you can include information on the artist, designer, and/or photographer in your post, but it's not required. You can simply feature a cover and explain why you love it!
 
 
 
Here's my pick for this week!
 
 
 
 
 
Leatherbound Hardcover, 800 pages
Barnes & Noble
August 13, 2009
Genre: YA Fantasy
 
 
 
 

Why do I love this cover?
 
A few years ago, Barnes & Noble started to produce gorgeous, sumptuous, and yet, reasonably-priced editions of major classics.  More and more of them have been showing up in their stores of late, to my complete and enthusiastic delight!  This one is an absolute jewel of a book!!  Utter bliss!!
 
I don't think I've seen a more beautiful cover for a one-volume edition of Lewis's beloved tales.  The level of  artistic excellence here is absolutely unsurpassed!  This cover is richly detailed, in an appropriately enchanting style.  The design elements are embossed into the leather, so one can lovingly run one's fingers over them.  The page edges are gilded in gold.  Of course, the design elements themselves, such as the tree limbs, the title (the font is just glorious!), and the author's name, are also done in gold.
 
All the books in this incredibly beautiful collection are priced around $20.00.  Naturally, the tax is added later, but I don't think they're too expensive.  One might expect to pay at least $50.00 for this kind of workmanship!  In fact, if you try to buy these books elsewhere, you will definitely pay much more for them than the B&N price.  Trust me - I've checked!   

And now I ask you, fellow bloggers: is it possible to get as much visual and tactile delight from a Nook or a Kindle?  Of course you all know the answer.  I rest my case.
 
 
 
Here's a more complete view of
the book!
 
 
 
 
 
 
These are two of the inside illustrations!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The cover and inside illustrations
are the work of British artist
Pauline Baynes.
(The cover designer is not credited;)
 
 
 
 
 
Here are some websites for her:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What do you think of my choice?
What beautiful covers
are you featuring this week?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 



8 comments:

  1. You know I have never read this one and I really should!

    The artwork here is fantastic!

    You raise a very insightful point about the visual and tactile delight experienced when holding and looking at this book. I have a theory. I think that the low priced paperback will eventually disappear in favor of ebooks. I also think that the future of old fashioned books as well as the independent bookstore lies in these higher quality and aesthetically pleasing editions. We are seeing something similar but probably less pervasive in the music industry with the rediscovery and new popularity of vinyl records.

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  2. Wow, such a beautiful edition of the complete Chronicles of Narnia! I'm a broke college student, as you know, but I simply must add this edition to my Christmas list... it is very affordable for its beautiful quality, as you said. I particularly love the illustration on the back cover of the White Witch's sleigh and her castle in the background-- just gorgeous! :) Hope you get to add this book to your shelf soon.

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  3. Hey, Brian!

    Yes, you should DEFINITELY read this, whether in this edition or another one. It's one of those classics that one should have under one's belt. I must confess I haven't read it myself, which surprises me, since Lewis was a friend and associate of Tolkien's, whose work I ADORE!!!

    (By the way, B&N has a one-volume edition of H.G. Wells novels in this collection, as well. I must try to get it!!)

    Oh, gosh!! I sure hope that printed books, whether paperback or hardcover, NEVER disappear!! I just can't stand ebooks!!!!! For me, there's simply NO comparison!! I've noticed, though, that more and more new books are coming out as ebooks...I'm very saddened by this. To me, as well as to all of those who agree with me, a printed book is MUCH more than its content. The printed book is a treasured object in itself. So I absolutely REFUSE to read ebooks!! In case someone points out that it's ironic I read blog posts, I say the following: blog posts are a lot shorter than books. Reading a full-length book on a machine must be sheer torture, with all that endless scrolling. Also, as I stated in this post, the tactile aspect of a printed book is totally missing. This is an extremely important aspect of a book.

    So I do hope that ebooks don't take over the book industry!! Thankfully, I've accumulated quite a hoard so far. If printed books ever do disappear entirely, I'll just stop buying books altogether. But I don't think that will ever happen. Marketing books personally is just too important to authors, and you can't do that with an ebook. Where would the author sign the book, for an eager fan to acquire? Book signings are SO thrilling, for readers as well as authors!! So it doesn't make sense for publishers to go entirely digital.

    Hey, I had no idea that vinyl records were makiing a comeback. How fascinating! I'm very partial to CDs myself. I don't like downloading music. In this area, too, I prefer 'physicality'. I want the actual CD, with the CD player. I want the packaging that the CD comes in.

    I feel the same way about movies, too. I want the physical DVD. I don't like to just watch movies on Netflix. If I really like a movie, I HAVE to own it, and that means buying the DVD.

    Art, music and literature should be enjoyed with all of one's senses! To me, that means owning the physical packaging these beautiful things come in. It's totally impossible for me to have it any other way!!!!

    Thanks for antoher very insightful comment!! : )

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  4. I love Chronicles of Narnia and that book and cover is absolutely beautiful!! I definitely will add it to my wish list as well.

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  5. Hey, Kat!

    Oh, I sure hope you can get this one for Christmas!! It's SO gorgeous!! I agree with you -- the illustraton of the White Witch in her sleigh, with the castle in the background, is totally beautiful!!!

    I DO own this book already -- I bought it last weekend. I had had my eye on it for a long time, too. There are just SO many of these books in the B&N collection, with more coming out every day!

    I took the pictures of the inside illustrations with my cell phone camera. They're a little dark, I know, but I wanted readers to get a look at them.

    Thanks for your wonderful comment!! : )

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  6. Hi, Dalene!

    This would make a WONDERFUL Christmmas or birthday present for any bookworm!! Hope you get it soon!!

    Thank you so much for the comment, and for participating in this meme!! : )

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  7. What a gorgeous pick! I love the Barnes and Noble classics, and this is such a beautiful way of packaging the Narnia books. It fits so well with the stories, and the interior illustrations are gorgeous :)

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  8. Hi, Claire!

    Oh, I had my eye on this one for a long time, and finally bought it just last weekend!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!!

    Not only are the front and back covers gorgeous, but so are the inside illustrations! Glad you agree!!

    Tnank you so much for participating and commenting!! : )

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