Terminalcoffee discussion

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/boo...

What do you think?

no

Yes.

I might, if it was a book I really loved and wanted to keep in my library forever, eg. Rebecca.

This is nothing new. The folio Society has sold fine editions for years.

no

Nope. I could use the money saved by not buying them to purchase additional books.

I'm with Phil, I'd rather pay a reasonable price for a "regular" book and be able to get more books that a super fancy one-time purchase. I did get the special edition of Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, with the mock-Bible cover and gilt pages, but it wasn't even as pricey as hardback. And I hate deckle edges on book pages. It's not fancier, it's just annoying.

I buy books for content, not to furnish my house. I can appreciate the artistry of some of the special editions, but what drives my purchase is the desire to read.

Oh, and if I do buy a "fancy" book, it's usually because it's old and I got it cheap.

Good point, Amber! I love buying old books because there are often interesting things stuffed between the pages (receipts, love notes, etc). It makes it seem as if the physical book has a life of it's own.

::writhes::



NO.

Which is not to say I'm uninterested in aesthetics. I do much prefer a well-designed book cover to a poorly designed cover, but that has nothing to do with gilding, price, etc. Some of the most well-designed covers are on books that cost $3 at the used bookstore.

And if other people want to spend big bucks on these gilded books, that's fine with me. At publishing houses books that earn lots of money subsidize the books that don't earn much money, which works out well for both authors.

I’ve bought a few books that were visually interesting to me at charity sales. I have a few that are leather bound also, but I bought those when I was a teenager and I saved up a long time, I don’t think I’d do that now.

My daughter loves these books. I don't think she's really interested in reading them. She just loves the look. Where did I go wrong???? Ack!