what causes these parts of the cover to be the most worn out? the cover on my copy of tcomc is almost torn out because of this.

Maybe I'm the only person who loves collecting books more than actually reading them. 😂

Don't get me wrong, I really love reading, but the feeling of collecting books is a completely different kind of happiness.

I don't know why, but imagine someone coming home after a terrible day at work. On the way, they suddenly notice the moon, stop for a moment, and just look at it. That little moment makes everything feel better.

That's exactly how I feel when I look at my books.

Sometimes I just sit near my bookshelf, look at the old books I've already read, open them, smell their pages, and remember the time I spent reading them. That feeling is unbelievable.

Maybe it's every book lover's story, or maybe it's just mine.

Does anyone else feel this way? I'd really love to hear about your experience with collecting books.

I went to my local Comic con this past weekend and picked up some books $.50 each. If you have any information on them Feel free to leave it in the comments. I just picked them up because they were pretty cool covers.

My wife was gifted a “first edition” of Salem’s Lot by my mom. The listing on ebay says “Salem's Lot by Stephen King, Ist Edition, Gutter Code Y38, HC DJ”

When we got the book home we found none of the indicators that it was a first edition. I’ve contacted the seller and they’ve explained to me that it IS a first edition, just not the first printing…. To me, then it isn’t a first edition. For it to be considered a FIRST EDITION, per King’s website, it would need to meet the following criteria:

https://stephenking.com/other/identifying_first_editions.pdf

It doesn’t meet any of those qualifications.

Is it dishonest to list a book as a first edition without actually being a first edition? If it’s not a first edition it’s just an early printing at best, and shouldn’t be described and sold as a first edition, right?

In honor of the publication of his 15th Hap and Leonard novel, here is my Joe Lansdale collection, filling 2 1/2 shelves.

After 15 days of fighting with the last-mile delivery company that couldn't manage to deliver my package, I finally received my latest purchase: this first printing of The Double Helix in quite good condition. I'm still processing the fact that I paid 20 bucks + 20 extra bucks for shipping to Europe.

Rather excited to find this Fighting Fantasy book for £1. It was in the little charity books section of our local supermarket.

Now, it's not worth too much (6th printing or so) but I can't stress how remarkable it is to find one of these books where no one has filled in the character sheet!

Hey book collectors!
I’m looking for suggestions on how to safely store a collection of books for approximately 2–3 years.

The books are a mix of novels and art books, including some larger hardcover books. The photos show roughly half of the collection.

They’ll be kept in a climate-controlled storage unit, and none are particularly valuable or rare. I’m mainly concerned about preventing moisture damage, warping, or other deterioration while they’re in storage.

Suggestions for a particular type of storage container?
Are there particular ways I should pack or stack them?
I’d appreciate any advice from people who have stored books long-term and had good (or bad) experiences.

Thanks a lot!!

I recently bought online ASOS after finishing clash. I got this paperback version (pic related). However, it is extremely bad in terms of quality. The book is really small and I have troubles opening it up fully. Also, the pages are extremely thin, almost see through. I returned the book and I am waiting to get my money back. What is the best version or paperback edition of ASOS? I really can't justify spending money on something that has garbage quality

A 340-year-old manual for dealing with people, and much of it is still relevant.

This is the first English edition of Baltasar Gracián’s The Courtiers Manual Oracle, or, The Art of Prudence, published in London in 1685.

Gracián was a Spanish Jesuit whose original Oráculo manual appeared in 1647: 300 short maxims about judgement, reputation, self-control, ambition and how to navigate other people without making a complete mess of things.

Some of it reads less like seventeenth-century moral philosophy than slightly ruthless modern career advice.

“Have a special care not to make ostentation of every thing, for you’ll soon come to want admirers.”

“Some new thing is to be kept in store, that we may appear with to morrow.”

And, under “Not to die the death of a Fool”:
“Some die, because they feel, and others live because they feel not.”

Even the first maxim starts with the proposition that it now takes more to make one wise man than it did seven in ancient times. Apparently everyone has always thought they were living through an unusually difficult age.

The book later acquired some formidable admirers — Schopenhauer actually translated it into German.

The binding on this copy has had a fairly hard three centuries, but somehow that seems appropriate for a book about surviving the world.

Really excited to read this after I finish The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.

I started collecting this English translated series about 2 months ago. Excited by how many I’ve found in that time! All of these come from either book stores, thrift stores, one book fair, one major FB marketplace score, and one free little library (which I frequently donate to). The three I’ve highlighted here are recent acquisitions.

Still looking for my grail: a collection of short stories called “Eye of the Heart”, edited by Barbara Howes.

Is this a natural discoloration of the page or are they spores?

I like to find books that stay identical or exactly the same as the first edition. That makes older books harder to find as revisions and edits take place. I've seen the PDFs that say they have the complete set but I like physical books and they have to be hardcover. Paperbacks are disgusting to me as they can easily be damaged (would love perfect binding). I've seen some sites say the total page count was around 4,100 pages or so for all 7 volumes and when I look on everyman's library, they only list 4 volumes. I want to read these books.

Edit: Page count is 4,215

Edit: Thank you everyone! I have received so many suggestions and I think I have made my decision. I need to save up for most of the suggestions. Will post a photo when I have at least one.

I only see it listed for $500 and up but maybe I just don’t know where to buy books (I’m not a book person)

📚 Can anyone help me identify this edition of an old book?

I have a copy of The Summer of the Red Wolf by Morris L. West, and I would like to learn more about its edition, possible rarity, and history.

Here is the information I found in the book:

- Original publisher mentioned: Editorial Noguer S.A., 1972.

- Published for Círculo de Lectores.

- Ediciones Nacionales, Edinal Ltda., Bogotá, Colombia.

- Printed and bound by Printer Colombiana in Bogotá.

- Year of printing: 1980.

- 302 pages of text, with the final written page unnumbered.

- Brown hardcover with no illustrations, featuring gold lettering on the spine.

- The book states “Unabridged Edition.”

I have had trouble finding photographs of another copy with the same cover.

Could anyone familiar with rare books, book collecting, or bibliographic research help me identify the exact edition? I would especially like to know whether there are different variants of this edition and whether it has any particular historical or collectible significance.

Any information or bibliographic references would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

📚 Can anyone help me identify this edition of an old book?

I have a copy of The Summer of the Red Wolf by Morris L. West, and I would like to learn more about its edition, possible rarity, and history.

Here is the information I found in the book:

- Original publisher mentioned: Editorial Noguer S.A., 1972.

- Published for Círculo de Lectores.

- Ediciones Nacionales, Edinal Ltda., Bogotá, Colombia.

- Printed and bound by Printer Colombiana in Bogotá.

- Year of printing: 1980.

- 302 pages of text, with the final written page unnumbered.

- Brown hardcover with no illustrations, featuring gold lettering on the spine.

- The book states “Unabridged Edition.”

I have had trouble finding photographs of another copy with the same cover.

Could anyone familiar with rare books, book collecting, or bibliographic research help me identify the exact edition? I would especially like to know whether there are different variants of this edition and whether it has any particular historical or collectible significance.

Any information or bibliographic references would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

📚 ¿Alguien puede ayudarme a identificar esta edición de un libro?

Tengo un ejemplar de El verano del lobo rojo, de Morris L. West, y me gustaría conocer más sobre su edición, su posible rareza y su historia.

Estos son los datos que pude encontrar:

- Editorial original mencionada: Noguer S. A., 1972.

- Edición de Círculo de Lectores.

- Ediciones Nacionales, Edinal Ltda., Bogotá, Colombia.

- Impreso y encuadernado por Printer Colombiana en Bogotá.

- Año de impresión: 1980.

- 302 páginas numeradas o escritas, con la última hoja sin número.

- Tapa dura marrón, sin ilustraciones, con el título en letras doradas en el lomo.

- El libro indica «edición no abreviada».

Me cuesta encontrar fotografías de otro ejemplar con esta misma cubierta.

¿Alguien especializado en libros antiguos o bibliografía podría ayudarme a identificar la edición exacta? Me interesa saber si existen variantes de esta edición y si tiene alguna particularidad histórica o coleccionable.

¡Cualquier información o referencia bibliográfica será bienvenida!

It's nice when the complete set shows up all at once in the bargain bin! This is Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet in charming matching Dutton paperbacks. Doubly lucky because paperbacks that the Strand Bookstore is buying now and setting out are being priced at $3, while these came from their warehouse and were acquired long enough ago that they were priced $1 each.

Are these hard to come by? I want to get my daughter a first edition (signed would be a bonus). She is a super fan. She has read everything. Made her own characters and the works. Really loves the Warriors world.

I am trying to find a good Christmas gift for her and I thought a first printing would be meaningful. I have been digging around for a bit, but have not seen anything on eBay or Abebooks.

If you have one or know of someone I would appreciate it.
Thank you

I have a few books I'm planning to listing for purchase and some of them are signed but that are personalized. If you were buying would how would you feel about it? Should I mention they are signed but personalized as a disclosure, or just not mention that it's signed.

Found in small mountain town in Idaho!

I’ve been living in my current house 5 years, and for some reason I decided to keep some of my books in a cardboard box in my garage since I can only fit so many on my bookshelf. I think I was so focused on moving in at the time that I didn’t think of the long term and forgot about my books being there. I just opened the box because one of the books I want to read is in there, and all the books appear to be in the same condition as they were 5 years ago, so I see no reason to toss them. That said, I’d like to protect them going forward.