Ivy’s Vine

Booking Through Thursday — Collectables

February 26th, 2009

This week’s question is about books as collector’s items.

• Hardcover? Or paperback?
• Illustrations? Or just text?
• First editions? Or you don’t care?
• Signed by the author? Or not?

Books are books are books.  Paperbacks are easier to carry around and store, and hardcovers don’t offer any advantage for their size.  E-books (have I beat this drum enough yet?) are even easier to carry around and store, and they don’t decay.  I want the content of a book, not the physical sensation of it.  Seriously, if you held a book in a language you did not read, would the texture of the pages please you?  Would the old book smell make you happy?  Probably not.  Now find a book in crisp new, super smooth paper, no traditional book texture, no smell, but fill it with an engaging story in your native language.  Does that give you pleasure?  Then is it the wine you like, or the glass?

As to the illustrations vs text question, it depends on the book.  Knitting books should have lots of pictures, clear, with models in normal poses (and with normal bodies please; I am not, nor do I want to be, 40 pounds underweight).  Fantasy novels can be simple text.

First edition, second, seventy-fifth, I don’t care.  I pick the “primary” or “variant” cover of my comic based on which one I like best.  The fact that one is the “real” cover doesn’t mean a thing to me.

I have a few autographed copies, and I cherish them because I know the author.  These are the successes of my friends, or people I respect.

So what do you think?  You can join in at the fun at the Booking Through Thursdays meme blog.

Jane spoke today about Lent on her blog, and she said she’s finishing her book for Lent.  I’m Jewish, so Lent as a holiday means nothing to me, but I like the motivation game.  I’m in for a minimum of 1,000 words a day on my novel until the end of Lent.  40 days should yeild 40,000 words.

Entry Filed under: Reading