Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,
hosted by Billy @
This Week's Question
You have just won a $100.00
Visa gift card. Will you spend the
entire amount on a rare collector's
edition you have always wanted,
or buy several newly-published
books? Explain your choice.
(Submitted by Maria @
My Answer
After I had submitted this question to Billy, it struck me that bona fide book collectors (of the really rare and expensive kind of books) spend much more than $100.00 on books they want to buy! In fact, the amounts they spend are often in the thousands. I guess I was thinking of a collector's edition that would be more "attainable" by someone of more modest means, such as myself. Lol. So I was thinking more of the kind of book you can buy from either The Easton Press, or The Folio Society.
So you know my answer already; I would go for the collector's edition, hands down! Why? Well, because it's not every day you can spend your hard-earned money on a real beauty of a book, and, if you win a freaking gift card, I think the thing to do -- for me, anyway -- is to rush over to one of the two sites mentioned above, and get one of those expensive books that I would normally just be able to drool over, and wistfully pass up.....
Of course, others might prefer to go ahead and spend the entire amount on newly-published books. In my honest opinion, though, I can easily get those later on down the line. Not all of them at once, naturally. I would have to get them gradually. But most of these books are more affordable, and can get even more affordable, as time goes by. As for the collector's edition, it can quickly and easily be discontinued. (Yes, then I could probably get it much cheaper on eBay or Amazon, but the chances of that happening are not always good....)
So here are some book beauties, any one of which I would love to buy with my hypothetical $100.00 gift card! (Actually, I would need a bit more than this amount to buy some of these babies....sigh....)
Click on each picture to access the book's page on the site.
This gorgeous edition of The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling, is from The Easton Press. I would have to pay FOUR monthly installments of $57.00 EACH in order to own this treasure! (Well, the gift card would help a little....lol.)
OMG..... I guess I really had NO idea what I was getting myself into.... I'm a die-hard fan of the Arthurian tales, but, if I wanted to own THIS beauty, I would have to shell out four monthly payments of....are you ready? Four monthly payments of eighty-nine freaking dollars!! The thing is, though, this is a complete set. And, of course, it's sold only as a complete set. Darn!!!
The photo above is of two illustrations from this incredibly beautiful edition, and my gaze is getting more wistful by the minute..... :(
Well, it turns out that The Folio Society has more "reasonable" prices, but they're still on the expensive side. Check out the books I would love to buy from them!
This collection, of Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy, would "only" cost $135.00. So I could use my gift card, and pay $35.00, plus S/H. Not bad, I think. Okay, it's not as bad as The Easton Press. No installment payments here! Lol.
This incredibly beautiful edition of Tolkien's The Hobbit goes for a "mere" $57.95, plus S/H! My gift card could easily cover this, but then I would have to buy a less expensive book with the balance. Lol.
So you know my answer already; I would go for the collector's edition, hands down! Why? Well, because it's not every day you can spend your hard-earned money on a real beauty of a book, and, if you win a freaking gift card, I think the thing to do -- for me, anyway -- is to rush over to one of the two sites mentioned above, and get one of those expensive books that I would normally just be able to drool over, and wistfully pass up.....
Of course, others might prefer to go ahead and spend the entire amount on newly-published books. In my honest opinion, though, I can easily get those later on down the line. Not all of them at once, naturally. I would have to get them gradually. But most of these books are more affordable, and can get even more affordable, as time goes by. As for the collector's edition, it can quickly and easily be discontinued. (Yes, then I could probably get it much cheaper on eBay or Amazon, but the chances of that happening are not always good....)
So here are some book beauties, any one of which I would love to buy with my hypothetical $100.00 gift card! (Actually, I would need a bit more than this amount to buy some of these babies....sigh....)
Click on each picture to access the book's page on the site.
This gorgeous edition of The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling, is from The Easton Press. I would have to pay FOUR monthly installments of $57.00 EACH in order to own this treasure! (Well, the gift card would help a little....lol.)
OMG..... I guess I really had NO idea what I was getting myself into.... I'm a die-hard fan of the Arthurian tales, but, if I wanted to own THIS beauty, I would have to shell out four monthly payments of....are you ready? Four monthly payments of eighty-nine freaking dollars!! The thing is, though, this is a complete set. And, of course, it's sold only as a complete set. Darn!!!
The photo above is of two illustrations from this incredibly beautiful edition, and my gaze is getting more wistful by the minute..... :(
Well, it turns out that The Folio Society has more "reasonable" prices, but they're still on the expensive side. Check out the books I would love to buy from them!
This collection, of Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy, would "only" cost $135.00. So I could use my gift card, and pay $35.00, plus S/H. Not bad, I think. Okay, it's not as bad as The Easton Press. No installment payments here! Lol.
This incredibly beautiful edition of Tolkien's The Hobbit goes for a "mere" $57.95, plus S/H! My gift card could easily cover this, but then I would have to buy a less expensive book with the balance. Lol.
And here it is -- the majestic The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by Tolkien!! This stunning set can be purchased for the price of $190.00, plus S/H!! Well, maybe I could win another gift card....... Lol.
Okay, so, since I only have 100 measly dollars on my gift card, I think I'll go ahead and buy four Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions, which are $20.00 each, plus tax, and be done with the whole thing! And heck, those B&N editions are just as gorgeous as the ones shown above, and at a cheaper price!
I've checked the B&N site, and they actually have some even cheaper editions! Check it out!
This B&N edition of Jules Verne's classic, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, is only $10.00! (Yes, you read it right. Ten, not one hundred.) And they currently have a special, too: buy one book, and get the other 50% off! (No, I'm not getting a commission for this!)
Well, okay, not all of the B&N Collectible Editions cost $20.00. The book above goes for $25.00. If you buy it online, of course you'll have to pay the S/H. If you buy it in a B&N bookstore, you'll pay the $25.00, plus tax. It's still a lot cheaper than either The Easton Press or The Folio Society! All you "Whovians" out there, take note!! :)
Yes, Barnes & Noble loves me!! I actually already own this edition of Star Trek: The Classic Episodes!!! I got incredibly lucky here, too; they were having a 50% off sale one day, so I got this book, which normally costs $25.00 plus tax, for only, and I really mean only, $12.50 plus tax!!!! Talk about Luck with a capital "L"!!!
Okay, so I'm definitely sticking with the Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions!! My gift card is (would be, if I had one.....) in love!! Lol.
Okay, so, since I only have 100 measly dollars on my gift card, I think I'll go ahead and buy four Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions, which are $20.00 each, plus tax, and be done with the whole thing! And heck, those B&N editions are just as gorgeous as the ones shown above, and at a cheaper price!
I've checked the B&N site, and they actually have some even cheaper editions! Check it out!
This B&N edition of Jules Verne's classic, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, is only $10.00! (Yes, you read it right. Ten, not one hundred.) And they currently have a special, too: buy one book, and get the other 50% off! (No, I'm not getting a commission for this!)
Well, okay, not all of the B&N Collectible Editions cost $20.00. The book above goes for $25.00. If you buy it online, of course you'll have to pay the S/H. If you buy it in a B&N bookstore, you'll pay the $25.00, plus tax. It's still a lot cheaper than either The Easton Press or The Folio Society! All you "Whovians" out there, take note!! :)
Yes, Barnes & Noble loves me!! I actually already own this edition of Star Trek: The Classic Episodes!!! I got incredibly lucky here, too; they were having a 50% off sale one day, so I got this book, which normally costs $25.00 plus tax, for only, and I really mean only, $12.50 plus tax!!!! Talk about Luck with a capital "L"!!!
Okay, so I'm definitely sticking with the Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions!! My gift card is (would be, if I had one.....) in love!! Lol.
What are your thoughts on
this topic?
If you're participating in this hop,
I'll go comment on your
own BBH post.
If not, I will then comment on one
of your blog posts!
Thanks for visiting!!!
What a great post Maria. For years I have been thinking of starting a collection of high quality books and this really tempts me to get started. It is also a reminder thaf some of these books are expensive. With that, you point out some super deals.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see thaf Star Trek book. I had read many of those Janes Blish adaptations a long time ago. I thought that they had been mostly forgotten. I should have known thaf they were still popular:)
Hi, Brian!
DeleteThanks so much for the compliment! <3 <3
I started my modest collection of B&N Collectible Editions some time ago. As I've mentioned before, I would not want the entire collection, though, because they have some books that just don't interest me at all, such as "Dracula", and the works of H.P. Lovecraft. But there are many others that I DO want to own!
About a week ago, my copy of "The Arabian Nights" -- with the mandala cover I featured in my SCS post of May 27th -- arrived! I bought it on eBay, as B&N has apparently discontinued it. The price was $19.99 plus $3.17 S/H, which came to a total of $23.16. Not too bad, right? So yeah, some of these books are available on eBay, as well as Amazon.
Yeah, I was SO HAPPY to be able to get that Star Trek book!!!! And the fact that they were having a SALE on these collectible editions was thrilling!! And OF COURSE these ST books are still popular!! YAAAAAAAAY!!!!
Thanks for the TERRIFIC comment!! Have a great weekend!! And, oh yes! LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!!! <3 :)
I had to wipe off the screen of my iPad after drooling over all your choices! I do see your point.
ReplyDeleteFor me, though, it would be an out-of-print classic from AbeBooks. I want some of Katharine Briggs’s fairy encyclopaedias and dictionaries. You absolutely can’t get them anywhere else. I might be able to get one and add something towards a second book with that, plus postage.
I have a first British edition of A Yankee At The Court Of King Arthur, which my sister bought me from a catalogue in the pre-Internet days, and I cherish it, though it isn’t dazzlingly beautiful. Mark Twain was alive when that book was printed, dammit! And it has all the original illustrations. I’d buy something like that if the Briggs books were not available, maybe another Mark Twain book...
Hi, Sue!
DeleteOh, you're SO FUNNY!! Lol. Yeah, these books are DEFINITELY tempting, aren't they? I had to sadly admit that I would never be able to afford either an Easton Press or a Folio Society edition, unless they were being sold used on either eBay or Amazon..... :( So I have to stick to the B&N Collectible Editions, which are not all that expensive, in comparison to the books published by the two sites I've mentioned.
As I told Brian in my comment above, about a week ago, I received my copy of the Arabian Nights from eBay!! This is a B&N Collectible Edition, and it has a beautiful mandala cover!! I featured it in my SCS post of May 27th. It wasn't all that expensive, either -- just $23.16. So I could see myself using my hypothetical gift card on 3 or 4 B&N collectibles.
Oh, I haven't heard of Katharine Briggs! I'm going to check her out!
OMG!! You actually have a FIRS EDITION of Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"!!!!! WOW!!! You LUCKY, LUCKY, girl!!! Yeah, this is a REAL PRIZE!! Btw, I have seen "Tom Sawyer" included in the B&N collection, but I think that's the only Twain book they have included. Hmmmmm.... I need to double-check, but I don't think I've ever seen "A Connecticut Yankee" included in this collection.
Thanks for the TERRIFIC comment!! Have a great weekend!! <3 <3 <3 :) :)
OMG that Doctor Who books! *sobs & dies* + that King Arthur set is amazing as well. Personally I would probably spend the money on newly published books because there are so many nonfiction and historical fiction that on my wishlist that I haven't been able to buy because, especially, nonfiction is more expensive than regular fiction. So sad.
ReplyDeleteHi, Steph!
DeleteYeah, I figured that book would grab your attention right away! Lol. It's not all that expensive, either, if you compare the price with the ones from The Easton Press and The Folio Society. Right? :)
The King Arthur set is AMAZING!! But well, I know I'll NEVER own it.....The total price of those four installments is $356.00!! And that's before you factor in the S/H!! Yeah, I'll just have to stick to the B&N Collectible Editions! Lol.
I can understand some people preferring to spend the $100.00 on newly-published books. There are indeed a LOT of tempting books being published every single month, after all.
As for nonfiction being more expensive than fiction, it all depends. There are nonfiction paperbacks. But it does happen that, the first time they're published, nonfiction books are sometimes hardcovers, and later on, they are released as paperbacks. It all depends on the publisher, though.
Thanks for the TERRIFIC comment!! Hope you have a great weekend!! HUGS!!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)
Wow...those books are absolutely GORGEOUS!!
ReplyDeleteI may be swayed with those ones. :)
Thank you for this terrific question and your fabulous answer.
I know I can always count on a thorough and interesting answer when I visit.
THANKS again, Maria...love it.
Elizabeth
Hi, Elizabeth!
DeleteAwwww.....you're always so sweet!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! ššš
I would LOVE to own the Easton Press and Folio Society books I've pictured here, but they're MUCH too expensive! Of course, that's because they're works of art! However, the B&N books are just fine, I think! They are just as GORGEOUS as the more expensive ones!
Thanks for commenting back! Also, thanks for always leaving such nice comments on my BBH posts!! HUGS!!! I'm on my cell, so here are some emojis! šš¹ššššŗššš
:) :) :)
DeleteI went for the collector's edition option, like you.
ReplyDeleteHi, Nicki!
DeleteGREAT!! You know, I think we were the only ones who did! Lol.
Thanks for commenting!! <3 :)
Wonderfully detailed and well-thought through answer! I completely see the appeal in owning a collector's edition of a book/series you absolutely adore, and those are excellent choices indeed.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I'd prefer to go for a range of new releases as I believe that suits my personal reading preferences better. I don't think there's a specific series I love enough to spend a lot of money on a collector's edition of it, but that could always change in the future as I read more genres and authors!
Completely understand your perspective though, and I love the consideration you've put into your answer!
Feel free to check out my own answer if you wish!
- Charlotte (InkBlottings)
Hi, Charlotte!
DeleteThank you so much!! You're so sweet!! :) :)
I'm glad you can appreciate the appeal of purchasing a collector's edition of a beloved book, in spite of the fact that you yourself would prefer to buy new releases.
You know, after I submitted the question, I realized that I should have made the gift card amount a bit higher; probably at least $200.00. After all, $100.00 won't go very far these days! Lol. But, as you read in the post, there are some options. The TFS edition of Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy, for example, is $135.00, which means that a collector who had won this gift card would only pay $35.00, plus S/H, out of pocket. Not too bad, I think....lol.
The very BEST option, though, is to buy B&N Collectible Editions. They're not all that expensive, as collector's editions go, and one could easily buy at least 3 or 4 with this hypothetical gift card. The rest of the $100.00 would go for the tax. And I think there might be some money left over! Lol.
I, too, can completely understand your preference for buying newly-released books. After all, there are always new and exciting authors and books to discover!
I guess that, in the end, this is a rather tricky dilemma....lol. I might have opted for new books myself, had I been in a different mood when I started writing this post! It's always a delicate balance, for me!
Thanks for the compliment, as well as the WONDERFUL comment!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)
I loved this question so much! And what a great answer!
ReplyDeleteMy BBH here
Hi, Erica!
DeleteThanks for the compliments, and for the nice comment!! <3 :)
Maria Folio Society was the first thing I thought of when reading this question. I did still answer several over one, but if I had one of Folio Society books I really wanted, I'd definitely get that. Depends on what I'm desperately wanting at the time.
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point that we can afford the normal priced books ourselves whereas the collectors is somewhat a treat.
Angelica @ Paperback Princess
Hi, Angelica!
DeleteYeah, they have GORGEOUS editions!! So does The Easton Press, but they're even MORE expensive than The Folio Society.....
Yeah, it DOES depend on what we're desperately wanting at a specific point in time! Lol.
Even in the case of normally-priced books, I wouldn't get them all at once. Well, except maybe the entire Bloodlines series, by Richelle Mead. Lol. I've been wanting these books for a while now. I have read the entire Vampire Academy series, and SURE want to continue!
Thanks for the nice comment!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)