I am a reader looking for durable and elegant editions of my favourite books, possibly with good intriductions and notes. Thank you for this, and I have to say that I suspected the Penguin Clothbounds would be a bit of a letdown, too pretty and cheap to be true! EDIT: I forgot to add that I live in Ireland, TERRIBLE place for books, unless you can afford a vault!!
Seven months late, but I'll answer. I'm both reader and collector, but my "collecting bug" is sui generis: I do not collect first editions, or signed books, or leather. I collect what I like. LOA or Everyman's Library Classics, HC, DJ preferable to slip case (for LOA). I favor Everyman's over LOA, but grab both whenever I find them in the wild. I also order them online and I own between 100 and 150 of both. I love Folio editions, but I own only about 20 or so, since they are quite expensive. I have never read a Folio because I don't want to get them dirty. When I open them, I wear nitrile gloves. I own hundreds of Penguins and Oxford World Classics. Both are okay, but Oxford stopped publishing their excellent yellow-spine iterations in the 90s, while Penguin has gone up and down: their newest versions of Dickens have horrible doodles on the covers, which look like art by an untalented six year-old. I do like the Penguin Modern Classics, though, and I have made a concerted effort to form a library of those. I have some regular pb Everyman's to which I'm rather indifferent, and some, less than 30, Wordsworth Classics. I own perhaps every Norton Critical Edition out there, mostly older ones from the 80s and 90s, but also maybe 30 or so of the taller, newer ones. I also have three or four boxes of Broadview Press because it publishes relatively unknown and forgotten authors. I don't care about Penguin's more expensive editions because I don't find the covers attractive. In my experience, the best publisher of classical works is not in English, but Spanish: Cátedra, from Madrid, is hands down better than Penguin, Oxford, Norton, or others. It publishes both Spanish language originals (Letras Hispánicas) and translations into Spanish of foreign works (Letras Universales), with erudite introductions and amazing footnotes. Castalia, another Spanish publisher, is just like Cátedra but a bit inferior, since they do not have such a dedicated section of works in a foreign language (that is, translated into Spanish), and their latest editions, while sporting nice, attractive covers, have inferior quality paper.
I am pretty much just a reader. But for Christmas last year my wife gave me a copy of the Illustrated Lord of the Rings published my William and Morrow. A gorgeous cover with Elf script painted on the edges. Of course it has color versions of Tolkien's artwork
For (very) expensive editions, I would add Folio Society and Easton Press editions. They are all sewn bindings with acid free paper and most are illustrated. FS commissions the illustrations, whereas EP often uses illustrations from previous editions. Two of my favorite editions are Everyman’s Library and Library of America. Again, sewn bindings and acid free paper. LoA uses very thin, but durable paper, allowing them to fit several works in the same volume (averaging over 1000 pages, but not taking up the commensurate shelf space. Both come with introductions, author bio, etc. Thanks for your video!
Excellent info, thank you very much! It's a national/local issue as well....I know Everyman, but I don't think I've ever seen a single Library of America in a Belgian bookstore before. It's often also a matter of 'fixed book prizes'. We don't have them for example, but some of our neighbouring countries do, meaning you can find books much cheaper over there.
Even as a reader, it's helpful to know a little about editions. Be especially wary of .99 kindle editions of classics in the public domain. A lot of them are very poorly done and full of errors. Also, when I'm reading something in translation, I've taken to researching the different translators and will pay a little more for a better translation.
As for collector's editions, a few more to check out: Easton Press Chiltern Publishing Arion Press and for some really beautiful, and costly, books: Suntup Editions Folio Society
Regarding Penguin Classics vs. Oxford World's Classics (OWC). Here are several factors to consider in choosing between Penguin and OWC: a. Translation. If the book wasn't originally written in English, or at least in an English that's understandable to contemporary English readers (unlike, say, Beowulf or The Canterbury Tales), and if one can't read another language, then a good English translation is a necessity and indeed it can be utterly crucial in comprehension and enjoyment of a book, for some translations are better than others. Broadly speaking, a translation can err toward one of two extremes or sides. Either toward the side of being more formally faithful to the original text, which is often good for capturing the literality of the source language such as its word for word metaphors, but often at the cost of wooden or stilted or simply strange or puzzling or incomprehensible language. Or toward the other side of being more functionally faithful to the original text, which is often good for capturing the original meaning and subtleties and nuances in an idiomatic and even stylish fashion, but often at the cost of losing structural or syntactical significance. For example, consider the English phrase "to have a frog in your throat". This phrase makes perfect sense to a native English speaker. And it would be accurate to the English in a literalistic way to translate "frog" as "frog" in another language like French ("grenouille"). However, if it is translated as "frog" in French, it would not entirely make sense to a French only speaker. In French, one would instead say "chat" which is the French word for "cat" in your throat for the same meaning as frog in your throat in English. A translation would lose the literal English word "frog" by substituting it with "chat" or "cat" in French, but the translation would gain in meaning by making the phrase comprehensible to the French speaker. Of course, one can reverse languages too. In other words, if the English only speaker is puzzled why one has a cat in their throat, then the French only speaker would be just as puzzled as to why one has a frog in their throat! It cuts both ways. And it's almost always if not always a tug of war between which extreme or side a translation wishes to err toward - formal faithfulness or functional faithfulness. That is, accurate to the grammar and grammatical structures and so forth (form), but less idiomatic and comprehensible, and perhaps less clear and natural sounding and stylish as well; or idiomatic and comprehensible and readable and often even artistically stylish (function), but less accurate to the grammar and grammatical structures and so forth. It's almost always if not always impossible to capture both perfectly, for there's typically always something lost in translation; the translator is a traitor, as the Italians say ("traduttore, traditore"). Perhaps somewhere out there such a perfect translation for a work exists, but I'm unaware of it if so. Getting back to Penguin vs. OWC translations. I think the choice here is more or less equivocal. Sometimes Penguin has better translations (e.g. The Count of Monte Cristo translated by Robin Buss is better than David Coward's translation in OWC), while other times OWC has better translations (e.g. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea translated by William Butcher is better than Penguin's translation by David Coward). We have to evaluate a translation on a case by case basis since it depends on the specific book in question. b. Introductions. Both Penguin and OWC can have good or bad or average introductions. In general, an introduction can be done one of two ways. First, a more or less boilerplate kind of introduction or an introduction that follows a certain template that any literary scholar of the work can write (e.g. an introduction to a Sherlock Holmes book might start with a brief biography of the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, how he began to write, what made him famous as a writer, involve a history of Sherlock Holmes as a character in the context of detective or crime fiction, trace its influences as well as what it influenced in later novels, perhaps talk a bit about Sherlock pastiches, and so on, and end with a popular quote like "The game's afoot!"). These introductions are literally introductions which help introduce and situate a reader unfamiliar with the book to the book. It gives one a broad background to understand the book, but it's not deeply analytical. The second way to write an introduction is almost the opposite. An introduction that's a trailblazer. An introduction that breaks new ground and gives new insight into the book. If done well, the introduction itself can even become a work of literature that's widely known and widely cited. In this respect, the introduction doesn't provide much of a broad overview of the book, maybe just enough to move on, but it dives deep into literary criticism and analysis. c. Notes. Typically it's either footnotes or endnotes. Both Penguin and OWC have done both footnotes and endnotes, I believe, but Penguin usually tends to favor footnotes, while OWC usually tends to favor endnotes. I prefer footnotes, but others may differ. Both Penguin and OWC can have good, bad, or average notes in terms of content. It just depends on the specific book in question. Also, it's worth noting (no pun intended) that different scholars sometimes write different notes for the same book, depending on US or UK versions of the same book, for example. Sometimes this is also true for other factors like cover art. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe there are copyright, royalties, and/or other legal and financial concerns that publishers need to consider across continents. d. Supplementary material. I think this is where the differences between the two publishers really stand out. OWC usually seems to provide far more supplementary material than Penguin. Penguin might do so better than OWC in some of their books, but OWC is more consistent than Penguin in doing so for most of their books. I'm thinking of material like appendices and bibliographies and so forth. This is where OWC tends to shine brighter than Penguin. That said, sometimes I only want a minimalist edition. A bare bones book. Just give me the text and a few helpful notes and let me come to my conclusions via my own interpretations. In this case, the Penguin would be preferred. In fact, sometimes it may even be overwhelming to have additional material. Anyway, in the end, it depends on one's purposes in reading a book. What one wishes to get out of the book. e. Book quality. Factors like cover quality, paper quality, binding quality. I think the quality of each of these for most Penguin and OWC paperbacks is going to be more or less equivalent or comparable to one another. Both Penguin and OWC editions are meant to be affordable paperbacks that can be read a few times at most, then discarded. It's not like the cover of either Penguin or OWC is matte paper made of dense card, neither has French flaps let alone dust jackets, I'm not sure if the paper is even acid free in either, and (like most paperbacks) the binding will be glue-bound in both Penguin and OWC. That said, if I had to choose, it seems to me based purely on anecdotal evidence from my own experiences and friends and others that OWC is slightly better in terms of overall quality than Penguin. OWC paper feels better to touch than Penguin paper. As far as I know, both are glue-bound, yet the OWC binding seems to hold up better than the Penguin binding when opened. Probably the OWC would better bear more wear and tear such as repeated readings than the Penguin. But again, the difference here doesn't seem huge to me. Hopefully others who are far more knowledgeable and informed about book quality issues than I am can and will give scientifically objective details and specifics. To me, it seems close, with the edge to OWC if push came to shove, but it's probably negligible overall. f. Aesthetics. This can be an important factor, though I think a lot of it is also subjective. I'm thinking of things like cover art, typeface, font type and font size, page layout, as well as the general look and feel of a book. I think overall Penguin tends to do a better job here, except for the typeface where I tend to prefer the OWC typeface. I especially love Penguin's easily identifiable black spines. (Note that the orange colored Penguin editions are atrocious in terms of quality. I'm certainly not referring to these Penguins. Penguins aren't tigers or orangutans; they look better in black and a bit of white than orange!) But again I realize this is a bit subjective. It depends quite a lot on one's personal tastes. By the way, the Penguin Classics Deluxe series is next level. It's aesthetically far better than the regular Penguin Classics as well as any paperback OWC produces. But I'll leave the Deluxe series aside since the Deluxe is not directly comparable to the Penguin Classics or the OWC as paperbacks. g. Conclusion. In general, I think both Penguin and OWC are good if one wants a book that's a combination of two or more of these: readable, affordable, portable, annotatable, lendable, and with a good sized library of classics. It seems to me choosing between Penguin vs. OWC can't be completely generalizable where one is definitively better than the other; it depends more on the specific book we have in mind and our goals or aims in reading the book.
I love Everyman’s library editions. You can get them used for around $4-10 dollars and they hold up very well. I love to find them with their jackets but they look nice on the shelf without them. They have classics, modern classics, children’s classics and pocket poets.
What a fun video. I was absolutely smiling as you discussed the pros and cons of these various editions. I am glad that I’m not the only one who is frustrated by the stickers leaving a mark, or even pulling off some of the cover’s illustrations on the Penguin clothbound editions. They are gorgeous though. I also do the cheaper paperback versions to read and/or annotate. I have the Barnes and Noble Exclusive version of Poe and it is beautiful. I love my Oxford Shakespeare. And if anyone loves fantasy/scifi, consider checking out The Broken Binding editions. Thanks for such a fun video!
You forgot to mention one of the best ones - Oxford World Classics. Good quality paper, a bit more of a cream/off-white colour which is easier on the eyes, good font size and spacing, margins, good introductions for those interested and good notes, good binding and decent flop.
I'm both a reader and collector. You've given me a few more options to add to my radar. I have several of the Barnes & Noble Leather Bound Classics. My current favorite editions are Eastman Press leather bound editions.
I loved this video. I have a few of the editions covered in your video so I think I am both a reader and a collector. Some of them are on my shelf simply because they are beautiful but I usually read from the more affordable paperbacks.
As you say - Penguin Clothbounds have issues with the design prints fading, even after one reading. For this reason I will not collect them, despite finding the covers quite nice to look at. The Barnes and Noble and Canterbury Classics leatherbounds are inferior bonded leather constructed; nonetheless it is still leather! I absolutely love how durable leather is, meaning after many readings, the leather will still look good compared to cloth or paper which will show more wear. They often hold multiple stories in an author's repertoire which can save shelf space, but it can be a bit unwieldy to handle these large books. The designs won't please everyone, I find some of the designs too flowery for my taste. I personally love Folio and Easton Press for the shelf candy which I think deserved a mention, the rest I will read as ebooks. Folios feature acid free paper and are contained in slipcases, this does wonders for preventing mould which can form over the decades you own them.
I have a huge collection of collins classics. They are really budget friendly and look nice. The only issue some people might have is the small font size
I am primarily a reader. I am a big fan of Oxford World Classics. I will usually choose those editions over Penguin. I find that they are easier to read, a bit floppier. I also like a larger font. I do love your Great Gatsby, it's beautiful!
Penguin is to go because it's availability and affordable to me. But as I want to get more information and study I did go for wordsworth and other publications on thrift store. Recently I ordered a bit pricey book - deluxe edition of homer box sets from penguin classic, I chose it based on the translation that I want and based on review mentioned how it's actually helpful with all the maps and notes. So I can't wait to receive it in 2 weeks time. Hoping that it's worth it.
It was a great videoy. My favourite are the Everyman's Library edition books. It is still to this days great value for money and feels really minimalistic yet premium especially without the jackets in shelves.
In India 🇮🇳 I love to read English classic novels from “Fingerprint publication “ … they are pretty much affordable with clear and dark printed . Quality of this publication both in paperback & hardbound are at par with international publishers (although they are not deluxe edition)
It’s always fun seeing the comparisons of the different editions of classic books, even though I am definitely more of a reader than a collector. I actually prefer paperback to hardcover editions because of their more manageable size and portability. My current favorite collection is the Penguin Modern Classics. I love the art work on the covers, which lean more towards photography as opposed to paintings. For the older classics, I like Penguin black spines and Oxford World’s Classics editions. For paperbacks that are a little higher quality, I gravitate towards the Penguin Deluxe editions with the deckled edges and French flaps. If I were to buy hardcover copies, my favorites would be the Macmillan Collector’s editions, Chiltern Classics, Everyman Library, and the Cranford Collection. I could talk about book aesthetics all day😊
Came across this video of yours and I must say that you have given a lot of useful information. I am not a collector and read occasionally, especially the classics. The one I can recommend for Hardcover editions is Everyman's Library. They aren't too expensive and come with Sewn Binding, with good paper quality. Also, for paperbacks, Oxford World Classics are quite good as well, especially with the extra information that they provide.
Black and White is my favourite combo so Penguin black classics are my favourite both price wise and accessibility i agree with your paper quality point but that is acceptable for me and for extra information i use some sites and TH-cam vdos . Vintage classics are my second favourite, thankyou for introducing me to new collector's editions i was only aware of the penguin clothbound. And i must say the The Great Gatsby edition is astonishing loved it ❤.
Great guide. I love hearing of the different editions! If you do a part 2, may I suggest the Everyman's Library, Oxford World Classics and Penguin Deluxe Editions? Everyman's Library editions are my favorite to collect.
@@cafeaulivre I apologize. I forgot about that. I agree. I don't get them in my country either. I usually order them online from Amazon (or previously Book Depositiory, before it closed down).
The Barnes and Noble are certainly gorgeous but I have doubts about the translations. The Arabian Nights one has the Richard Burton's translation, really old, difficult to understand for modern readers and a unreliable in terms of accuracy. Also, I think it's public domain. The Malcolm Lyons' and Hussain Haddawy's are the most acclaimed in English now.
Excellent, informative video. I read, some books I read until they die and then replace them. But, I am a collector because I keep the books I read and regret it when I don't. I have only just started buying 'pretty' editions after decades of second-hand shops so this was very useful. So far, I am really liking the Chiltern Classics and the Word Cloud. But I am new at this side of books.
A reader and a collector! If I absolutely love a book I will get it to keep it at home. Like Mrs Dalloway that I've read 3 times already. I would love to hear what you have to say about my two favorite books "The Door" by Magda Szabo or the Neaples series "My brilliant friend" by Elena Ferrante. Have you read them/done a review about them? If not, I highly recommend you to read them! The Door is my absolute favorite with themes of politics (communism/postcommunism), religion and antireligion, mother-daughter relationship, the intellectual and the "workers" and so much more!
My thoughts: 1. I used to work for Barnes and Noble, but honestly I don't think their leatherbound editions are all that nice. I mean, they're good, but not great. They'd be better placed in the mid-range section in terms of quality. And in terms of price, they are overpriced, in my opinion. 2. The MacMillan Collector's Library editions deserve to be higher than mid-range. Not quite the top end, but closer to the top end than mid-range. They are great little books as long as you don't mind their smaller fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand size. They're super affordable too, at least in the USA (currently around $15 or less). 3. Everyman's are my favorite for the combination of great quality and great price (relative to the quality). Same goes for Modern Library. And the Library of America, but I don't know if the Library of America publishes non-American literature. All three deserve to be placed in the top end. 4. In my view, the best of the best is the Folio Society which is the highest quality but also the highest price.
LoA does not print non-American Literature regularly, i imagine some has snuck through the cracks on some of their compilations and such, but they are a nonprofit dedicated to keeping American Literary works of merit in print. They are only up to 380 titles in their main series. They aren't particularly common to run into for sale secondhand, but i've managed to scrounge together 15 of them at rock bottom prices. i'm currently reading h. l. mencken's days trilogy in LoA edition. checking their website now, it looks like most titles are 25-30% off, given that, they are quite decently priced i think. the list price is a little steep in my opinion. eighty bucks for 13 of philip k dick's novels in three volumes? thats significantly more tempting at its current $80 price than its $110 list price. but i digress. all the time really
i'm a big fan of Library of America, Modern Library and Everyman's Library. when it comes to leatherbound i'm more likely to look into Easton Press or perhaps Franklin
Great editions, I'm both a reader and a collector, I have some penguins to read and write in if I want to and special editions to keep. A couple you might want to look into are Chiltern editions, I love those, and also Folio Society, who do a great range of beautiful books.
@@cafeaulivre For sure have a look out for them, they're both very beautiful. The Chiltern's are in shops, the Folio Society are more online and through orders. Both beautiful editions, the Chilterns have the gold edges too and beautiful covers.
Do you have the Everyman's Library or Library of America? I would like to hear your opinion on both and see what you may have in your collection. There is also Folio Society of course and the Easton Press.
Sometimes I feel like getting rid of my classics and getting the vintage classics editions of them instead 😅 I do have some clothbound classics but I do agree with you on the reading experience - I've never actually enjoyed reading one. I've been considering reading The Count of Monte Cristo but I honestly can't decide which edition to buy. It's obviously huge, which is a factor, but the translation is something to consider too. In my younger years, I'd have just bought whatever I came across first. First world problems 😂
Oh, have you seen that blue leatherbound edition by B&N? I saw it the other day in Rotterdam and I think I have been doubting if I'd buy it for fifteen minutes 😂 amzn.to/49SSrTv
my 'classics' collection mostly consists of the Penquin Popular Classics series, the cream/yellow spine ones with full picture on the front, got about 30 before they seemed to just disappear off bookshop shelves.
The rubber print on those penguin clothbound classics comes off really reallyyy quickly. I read the clothbound editions of crime and punishment and war and peace and after I was done both of them were unrecognizable. That's something that social media never shows us.
@@cafeaulivre Thanks for the reply. It amazes me that you do not own a single OWC. Not interested in why. It's simply surprising, like finding a guy who loves all sorts of cars but has never driven a BMW
I do own several Oxford University Press editions, because those were the cheapest go-to copies for many books when I was at university. I think it is a location thing: you simply don’t see many (if any at all) Oxford World Classics in bookstores here.
Are you primarily a reader or a collector? Which are your favorite editions? Let me know down below and we'll talk collecting classics some more!
Both! 😁
@@MrMaguire221b They are two different hobbies anyway ;)
@@cafeaulivre Why not pick up both, ya know? 🙂
I am a reader looking for durable and elegant editions of my favourite books, possibly with good intriductions and notes. Thank you for this, and I have to say that I suspected the Penguin Clothbounds would be a bit of a letdown, too pretty and cheap to be true!
EDIT: I forgot to add that I live in Ireland, TERRIBLE place for books, unless you can afford a vault!!
Seven months late, but I'll answer. I'm both reader and collector, but my "collecting bug" is sui generis: I do not collect first editions, or signed books, or leather. I collect what I like. LOA or Everyman's Library Classics, HC, DJ preferable to slip case (for LOA). I favor Everyman's over LOA, but grab both whenever I find them in the wild. I also order them online and I own between 100 and 150 of both. I love Folio editions, but I own only about 20 or so, since they are quite expensive. I have never read a Folio because I don't want to get them dirty. When I open them, I wear nitrile gloves. I own hundreds of Penguins and Oxford World Classics. Both are okay, but Oxford stopped publishing their excellent yellow-spine iterations in the 90s, while Penguin has gone up and down: their newest versions of Dickens have horrible doodles on the covers, which look like art by an untalented six year-old. I do like the Penguin Modern Classics, though, and I have made a concerted effort to form a library of those. I have some regular pb Everyman's to which I'm rather indifferent, and some, less than 30, Wordsworth Classics. I own perhaps every Norton Critical Edition out there, mostly older ones from the 80s and 90s, but also maybe 30 or so of the taller, newer ones. I also have three or four boxes of Broadview Press because it publishes relatively unknown and forgotten authors. I don't care about Penguin's more expensive editions because I don't find the covers attractive.
In my experience, the best publisher of classical works is not in English, but Spanish: Cátedra, from Madrid, is hands down better than Penguin, Oxford, Norton, or others. It publishes both Spanish language originals (Letras Hispánicas) and translations into Spanish of foreign works (Letras Universales), with erudite introductions and amazing footnotes. Castalia, another Spanish publisher, is just like Cátedra but a bit inferior, since they do not have such a dedicated section of works in a foreign language (that is, translated into Spanish), and their latest editions, while sporting nice, attractive covers, have inferior quality paper.
I am pretty much just a reader. But for Christmas last year my wife gave me a copy of the Illustrated Lord of the Rings published my William and Morrow. A gorgeous cover with Elf script painted on the edges. Of course it has color versions of Tolkien's artwork
The way you talk about that edition sounds like a collector waiting to happen ;)
A lovely edition!!
For (very) expensive editions, I would add Folio Society and Easton Press editions. They are all sewn bindings with acid free paper and most are illustrated. FS commissions the illustrations, whereas EP often uses illustrations from previous editions.
Two of my favorite editions are Everyman’s Library and Library of America. Again, sewn bindings and acid free paper. LoA uses very thin, but durable paper, allowing them to fit several works in the same volume (averaging over 1000 pages, but not taking up the commensurate shelf space. Both come with introductions, author bio, etc.
Thanks for your video!
Excellent info, thank you very much! It's a national/local issue as well....I know Everyman, but I don't think I've ever seen a single Library of America in a Belgian bookstore before. It's often also a matter of 'fixed book prizes'. We don't have them for example, but some of our neighbouring countries do, meaning you can find books much cheaper over there.
I love my Everyman's. I purchased many when I was in college 50 years ago. They still look like I purchased them yesterday.
Currently reading Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and The Folio Society's editions of these are beautiful and a joy to read.
Even as a reader, it's helpful to know a little about editions.
Be especially wary of .99 kindle editions of classics in the public domain. A lot of them are very poorly done and full of errors.
Also, when I'm reading something in translation, I've taken to researching the different translators and will pay a little more for a better translation.
As for collector's editions, a few more to check out:
Easton Press
Chiltern Publishing
Arion Press
and for some really beautiful, and costly, books:
Suntup Editions
Folio Society
That’s good advice! I don’t use an e-reader myself, so I would never have known that. Thanks 🙏
I think I have literally one Chiltern here somewhere 🤔
Regarding Penguin Classics vs. Oxford World's Classics (OWC). Here are several factors to consider in choosing between Penguin and OWC:
a. Translation.
If the book wasn't originally written in English, or at least in an English that's understandable to contemporary English readers (unlike, say, Beowulf or The Canterbury Tales), and if one can't read another language, then a good English translation is a necessity and indeed it can be utterly crucial in comprehension and enjoyment of a book, for some translations are better than others.
Broadly speaking, a translation can err toward one of two extremes or sides. Either toward the side of being more formally faithful to the original text, which is often good for capturing the literality of the source language such as its word for word metaphors, but often at the cost of wooden or stilted or simply strange or puzzling or incomprehensible language. Or toward the other side of being more functionally faithful to the original text, which is often good for capturing the original meaning and subtleties and nuances in an idiomatic and even stylish fashion, but often at the cost of losing structural or syntactical significance.
For example, consider the English phrase "to have a frog in your throat". This phrase makes perfect sense to a native English speaker. And it would be accurate to the English in a literalistic way to translate "frog" as "frog" in another language like French ("grenouille"). However, if it is translated as "frog" in French, it would not entirely make sense to a French only speaker. In French, one would instead say "chat" which is the French word for "cat" in your throat for the same meaning as frog in your throat in English. A translation would lose the literal English word "frog" by substituting it with "chat" or "cat" in French, but the translation would gain in meaning by making the phrase comprehensible to the French speaker. Of course, one can reverse languages too. In other words, if the English only speaker is puzzled why one has a cat in their throat, then the French only speaker would be just as puzzled as to why one has a frog in their throat! It cuts both ways.
And it's almost always if not always a tug of war between which extreme or side a translation wishes to err toward - formal faithfulness or functional faithfulness. That is, accurate to the grammar and grammatical structures and so forth (form), but less idiomatic and comprehensible, and perhaps less clear and natural sounding and stylish as well; or idiomatic and comprehensible and readable and often even artistically stylish (function), but less accurate to the grammar and grammatical structures and so forth. It's almost always if not always impossible to capture both perfectly, for there's typically always something lost in translation; the translator is a traitor, as the Italians say ("traduttore, traditore"). Perhaps somewhere out there such a perfect translation for a work exists, but I'm unaware of it if so.
Getting back to Penguin vs. OWC translations. I think the choice here is more or less equivocal. Sometimes Penguin has better translations (e.g. The Count of Monte Cristo translated by Robin Buss is better than David Coward's translation in OWC), while other times OWC has better translations (e.g. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea translated by William Butcher is better than Penguin's translation by David Coward). We have to evaluate a translation on a case by case basis since it depends on the specific book in question.
b. Introductions.
Both Penguin and OWC can have good or bad or average introductions.
In general, an introduction can be done one of two ways. First, a more or less boilerplate kind of introduction or an introduction that follows a certain template that any literary scholar of the work can write (e.g. an introduction to a Sherlock Holmes book might start with a brief biography of the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, how he began to write, what made him famous as a writer, involve a history of Sherlock Holmes as a character in the context of detective or crime fiction, trace its influences as well as what it influenced in later novels, perhaps talk a bit about Sherlock pastiches, and so on, and end with a popular quote like "The game's afoot!"). These introductions are literally introductions which help introduce and situate a reader unfamiliar with the book to the book. It gives one a broad background to understand the book, but it's not deeply analytical.
The second way to write an introduction is almost the opposite. An introduction that's a trailblazer. An introduction that breaks new ground and gives new insight into the book. If done well, the introduction itself can even become a work of literature that's widely known and widely cited. In this respect, the introduction doesn't provide much of a broad overview of the book, maybe just enough to move on, but it dives deep into literary criticism and analysis.
c. Notes.
Typically it's either footnotes or endnotes. Both Penguin and OWC have done both footnotes and endnotes, I believe, but Penguin usually tends to favor footnotes, while OWC usually tends to favor endnotes. I prefer footnotes, but others may differ.
Both Penguin and OWC can have good, bad, or average notes in terms of content. It just depends on the specific book in question.
Also, it's worth noting (no pun intended) that different scholars sometimes write different notes for the same book, depending on US or UK versions of the same book, for example. Sometimes this is also true for other factors like cover art. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe there are copyright, royalties, and/or other legal and financial concerns that publishers need to consider across continents.
d. Supplementary material.
I think this is where the differences between the two publishers really stand out. OWC usually seems to provide far more supplementary material than Penguin. Penguin might do so better than OWC in some of their books, but OWC is more consistent than Penguin in doing so for most of their books. I'm thinking of material like appendices and bibliographies and so forth. This is where OWC tends to shine brighter than Penguin.
That said, sometimes I only want a minimalist edition. A bare bones book. Just give me the text and a few helpful notes and let me come to my conclusions via my own interpretations. In this case, the Penguin would be preferred. In fact, sometimes it may even be overwhelming to have additional material. Anyway, in the end, it depends on one's purposes in reading a book. What one wishes to get out of the book.
e. Book quality.
Factors like cover quality, paper quality, binding quality. I think the quality of each of these for most Penguin and OWC paperbacks is going to be more or less equivalent or comparable to one another. Both Penguin and OWC editions are meant to be affordable paperbacks that can be read a few times at most, then discarded. It's not like the cover of either Penguin or OWC is matte paper made of dense card, neither has French flaps let alone dust jackets, I'm not sure if the paper is even acid free in either, and (like most paperbacks) the binding will be glue-bound in both Penguin and OWC.
That said, if I had to choose, it seems to me based purely on anecdotal evidence from my own experiences and friends and others that OWC is slightly better in terms of overall quality than Penguin. OWC paper feels better to touch than Penguin paper. As far as I know, both are glue-bound, yet the OWC binding seems to hold up better than the Penguin binding when opened. Probably the OWC would better bear more wear and tear such as repeated readings than the Penguin. But again, the difference here doesn't seem huge to me.
Hopefully others who are far more knowledgeable and informed about book quality issues than I am can and will give scientifically objective details and specifics. To me, it seems close, with the edge to OWC if push came to shove, but it's probably negligible overall.
f. Aesthetics.
This can be an important factor, though I think a lot of it is also subjective. I'm thinking of things like cover art, typeface, font type and font size, page layout, as well as the general look and feel of a book. I think overall Penguin tends to do a better job here, except for the typeface where I tend to prefer the OWC typeface. I especially love Penguin's easily identifiable black spines. (Note that the orange colored Penguin editions are atrocious in terms of quality. I'm certainly not referring to these Penguins. Penguins aren't tigers or orangutans; they look better in black and a bit of white than orange!) But again I realize this is a bit subjective. It depends quite a lot on one's personal tastes.
By the way, the Penguin Classics Deluxe series is next level. It's aesthetically far better than the regular Penguin Classics as well as any paperback OWC produces. But I'll leave the Deluxe series aside since the Deluxe is not directly comparable to the Penguin Classics or the OWC as paperbacks.
g. Conclusion.
In general, I think both Penguin and OWC are good if one wants a book that's a combination of two or more of these: readable, affordable, portable, annotatable, lendable, and with a good sized library of classics. It seems to me choosing between Penguin vs. OWC can't be completely generalizable where one is definitively better than the other; it depends more on the specific book we have in mind and our goals or aims in reading the book.
I love Everyman’s library editions. You can get them used for around $4-10 dollars and they hold up very well. I love to find them with their jackets but they look nice on the shelf without them. They have classics, modern classics, children’s classics and pocket poets.
You don’t see them very much here on the mainland of Europe actually, which is a shame.
What a fun video. I was absolutely smiling as you discussed the pros and cons of these various editions. I am glad that I’m not the only one who is frustrated by the stickers leaving a mark, or even pulling off some of the cover’s illustrations on the Penguin clothbound editions. They are gorgeous though. I also do the cheaper paperback versions to read and/or annotate.
I have the Barnes and Noble Exclusive version of Poe and it is beautiful. I love my Oxford Shakespeare. And if anyone loves fantasy/scifi, consider checking out The Broken Binding editions.
Thanks for such a fun video!
Just googled the Broken Bindings special editions and there sure are some gorgeous editions on there 😍
Great video! Didn’t know that the Penguins classics design changed a little bit until l bought a new copy of The Count of Monte Cristo!
Oh no 🙈 and you do see the differences when you lit them next to each other on a shelf
You forgot to mention one of the best ones - Oxford World Classics. Good quality paper, a bit more of a cream/off-white colour which is easier on the eyes, good font size and spacing, margins, good introductions for those interested and good notes, good binding and decent flop.
For me, they are included in the books universities often use: many of my old uni books are Oxford world prints 😊
I'm both a reader and collector. You've given me a few more options to add to my radar. I have several of the Barnes & Noble Leather Bound Classics. My current favorite editions are Eastman Press leather bound editions.
I loved this video. I have a few of the editions covered in your video so I think I am both a reader and a collector. Some of them are on my shelf simply because they are beautiful but I usually read from the more affordable paperbacks.
Same here…Inoften buy books for reading and I do collect although most of my collection editions are birthday & Christmas gifts 🫣
As you say - Penguin Clothbounds have issues with the design prints fading, even after one reading. For this reason I will not collect them, despite finding the covers quite nice to look at.
The Barnes and Noble and Canterbury Classics leatherbounds are inferior bonded leather constructed; nonetheless it is still leather! I absolutely love how durable leather is, meaning after many readings, the leather will still look good compared to cloth or paper which will show more wear. They often hold multiple stories in an author's repertoire which can save shelf space, but it can be a bit unwieldy to handle these large books. The designs won't please everyone, I find some of the designs too flowery for my taste.
I personally love Folio and Easton Press for the shelf candy which I think deserved a mention, the rest I will read as ebooks.
Folios feature acid free paper and are contained in slipcases, this does wonders for preventing mould which can form over the decades you own them.
I have a huge collection of collins classics. They are really budget friendly and look nice. The only issue some people might have is the small font size
I am primarily a reader. I am a big fan of Oxford World Classics. I will usually choose those editions over Penguin. I find that they are easier to read, a bit floppier. I also like a larger font. I do love your Great Gatsby, it's beautiful!
You do have to love a floppy edition 😋
Penguin is to go because it's availability and affordable to me. But as I want to get more information and study I did go for wordsworth and other publications on thrift store.
Recently I ordered a bit pricey book - deluxe edition of homer box sets from penguin classic, I chose it based on the translation that I want and based on review mentioned how it's actually helpful with all the maps and notes. So I can't wait to receive it in 2 weeks time. Hoping that it's worth it.
I’ve seen that box, but I have refrained at the very last moment, as I was pointed out I have several editions of Homer’s works already 🤭
Wonderful video! Thanks very much. The English Lit grad in me was smiling the whole way through.
It was a great videoy. My favourite are the Everyman's Library edition books. It is still to this days great value for money and feels really minimalistic yet premium especially without the jackets in shelves.
They do look nice on a shelf, I agree 😊
In India 🇮🇳 I love to read English classic novels from “Fingerprint publication “ … they are pretty much affordable with clear and dark printed . Quality of this publication both in paperback & hardbound are at par with international publishers (although they are not deluxe edition)
Never heard of those, I’ll look them up, thanks!
@@cafeaulivreI m from India...both of the Indian shops have mostly Harper Collins and penguin only
@@aravindm7171 … yes, you are correct 👍
But, you can purchase those through online … my favourite is Amazon , which gives more discount than flipkart
It’s always fun seeing the comparisons of the different editions of classic books, even though I am definitely more of a reader than a collector. I actually prefer paperback to hardcover editions because of their more manageable size and portability. My current favorite collection is the Penguin Modern Classics. I love the art work on the covers, which lean more towards photography as opposed to paintings. For the older classics, I like Penguin black spines and Oxford World’s Classics editions. For paperbacks that are a little higher quality, I gravitate towards the Penguin Deluxe editions with the deckled edges and French flaps. If I were to buy hardcover copies, my favorites would be the Macmillan Collector’s editions, Chiltern Classics, Everyman Library, and the Cranford Collection. I could talk about book aesthetics all day😊
I love some of the designs of the Penguin Modern Classics....the teal vs the black & white photography is often stunning!
Came across this video of yours and I must say that you have given a lot of useful information.
I am not a collector and read occasionally, especially the classics. The one I can recommend for Hardcover editions is Everyman's Library. They aren't too expensive and come with Sewn Binding, with good paper quality.
Also, for paperbacks, Oxford World Classics are quite good as well, especially with the extra information that they provide.
Oxford World got me through uni 💪
For classics on a budget, you should throw Dover thrift editions in the ring. And of course, Project Gutenburg for free ebooks of classics!
Exactly what I was looking for.
Thank you!!
Thank you for watching!
Black and White is my favourite combo so Penguin black classics are my favourite both price wise and accessibility i agree with your paper quality point but that is acceptable for me and for extra information i use some sites and TH-cam vdos . Vintage classics are my second favourite, thankyou for introducing me to new collector's editions i was only aware of the penguin clothbound.
And i must say the The Great Gatsby edition is astonishing loved it ❤.
There are more books in the same style as that Gatsby edition and they are all equally stunning 😍
Great guide. I love hearing of the different editions! If you do a part 2, may I suggest the Everyman's Library, Oxford World Classics and Penguin Deluxe Editions? Everyman's Library editions are my favorite to collect.
You don’t easily find Everyman’s Library here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a bookstore here before.
@@cafeaulivre I apologize. I forgot about that. I agree. I don't get them in my country either. I usually order them online from Amazon (or previously Book Depositiory, before it closed down).
This was great, what an innovative and informative post. ❤
Thank you 😊 Glad you enjoyed it!
@@cafeaulivre I am both a reader and a collector.
@@rosiej8755 Nice, anything in particular you collect?
Thank you. Excellent information.
Thanks for watching, glad you thought it was useful!
The Barnes and Noble are certainly gorgeous but I have doubts about the translations. The Arabian Nights one has the Richard Burton's translation, really old, difficult to understand for modern readers and a unreliable in terms of accuracy. Also, I think it's public domain. The Malcolm Lyons' and Hussain Haddawy's are the most acclaimed in English now.
Excellent, informative video. I read, some books I read until they die and then replace them. But, I am a collector because I keep the books I read and regret it when I don't. I have only just started buying 'pretty' editions after decades of second-hand shops so this was very useful.
So far, I am really liking the Chiltern Classics and the Word Cloud. But I am new at this side of books.
It's the same for me really: I've only started to collect special editions a few years ago. Honestly, I blame my book club :D
Excellent topic to cover.
Thank you for watching 😊
A reader and a collector! If I absolutely love a book I will get it to keep it at home. Like Mrs Dalloway that I've read 3 times already. I would love to hear what you have to say about my two favorite books "The Door" by Magda Szabo or the Neaples series "My brilliant friend" by Elena Ferrante. Have you read them/done a review about them? If not, I highly recommend you to read them! The Door is my absolute favorite with themes of politics (communism/postcommunism), religion and antireligion, mother-daughter relationship, the intellectual and the "workers" and so much more!
I’ll have to add them to my tbr then!
@@cafeaulivre Great, looking forward to your review! Greetings from Sweden! :)
@@Muftiladi Oh wow, Sweden...I actually often visit Sweden, friends of mine live there half the year and I try to visit them as often as I can :D
@@cafeaulivre Glad to hear you and your friends enjoy Sweden :) We have lots of great nature for hiking here :)
My thoughts:
1. I used to work for Barnes and Noble, but honestly I don't think their leatherbound editions are all that nice. I mean, they're good, but not great. They'd be better placed in the mid-range section in terms of quality. And in terms of price, they are overpriced, in my opinion.
2. The MacMillan Collector's Library editions deserve to be higher than mid-range. Not quite the top end, but closer to the top end than mid-range. They are great little books as long as you don't mind their smaller fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand size. They're super affordable too, at least in the USA (currently around $15 or less).
3. Everyman's are my favorite for the combination of great quality and great price (relative to the quality). Same goes for Modern Library. And the Library of America, but I don't know if the Library of America publishes non-American literature. All three deserve to be placed in the top end.
4. In my view, the best of the best is the Folio Society which is the highest quality but also the highest price.
LoA does not print non-American Literature regularly, i imagine some has snuck through the cracks on some of their compilations and such, but they are a nonprofit dedicated to keeping American Literary works of merit in print. They are only up to 380 titles in their main series. They aren't particularly common to run into for sale secondhand, but i've managed to scrounge together 15 of them at rock bottom prices. i'm currently reading h. l. mencken's days trilogy in LoA edition. checking their website now, it looks like most titles are 25-30% off, given that, they are quite decently priced i think. the list price is a little steep in my opinion. eighty bucks for 13 of philip k dick's novels in three volumes? thats significantly more tempting at its current $80 price than its $110 list price. but i digress. all the time really
i'm a big fan of Library of America, Modern Library and Everyman's Library. when it comes to leatherbound i'm more likely to look into Easton Press or perhaps Franklin
I envy having such a wide range of good options to choose from 😋
Great editions, I'm both a reader and a collector, I have some penguins to read and write in if I want to and special editions to keep. A couple you might want to look into are Chiltern editions, I love those, and also Folio Society, who do a great range of beautiful books.
I don’t think I’ve seen any of those around here in bookstores, but I’ll keep an eye out for them next time I’m in London.
@@cafeaulivre For sure have a look out for them, they're both very beautiful. The Chiltern's are in shops, the Folio Society are more online and through orders.
Both beautiful editions, the Chilterns have the gold edges too and beautiful covers.
My luxury favourites books in the Uk are Chiltern classic, ....I adore them.....❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
They have gorgeous covers! 🥰
Do you have the Everyman's Library or Library of America? I would like to hear your opinion on both and see what you may have in your collection. There is also Folio Society of course and the Easton Press.
Not as such: you hardly ever find them here in Belgium, not even in specialized English bookstores. I’m afraid I can’t really comment on those.
Those two are my favorite affordable but high quality publishers.
Sometimes I feel like getting rid of my classics and getting the vintage classics editions of them instead 😅
I do have some clothbound classics but I do agree with you on the reading experience - I've never actually enjoyed reading one.
I've been considering reading The Count of Monte Cristo but I honestly can't decide which edition to buy. It's obviously huge, which is a factor, but the translation is something to consider too. In my younger years, I'd have just bought whatever I came across first. First world problems 😂
Oh, have you seen that blue leatherbound edition by B&N? I saw it the other day in Rotterdam and I think I have been doubting if I'd buy it for fifteen minutes 😂 amzn.to/49SSrTv
@@cafeaulivre I can certainly see the appeal 😍
I discovered your channel thanks to this video in my recommendations. Happy Reading! 😎📚👍
Thanks for watching 😊
my 'classics' collection mostly consists of the Penquin Popular Classics series, the cream/yellow spine ones with full picture on the front, got about 30 before they seemed to just disappear off bookshop shelves.
Keep them close, I’d say. They might be worth a lot one day!
I started with penguin clothbound, but they are poor quality, so then progressed onto the chiltern editions
Recently discovered(via another channel) the New York Review of Books classics that are printed on acid free paper (mostly paperbacks).
The rubber print on those penguin clothbound classics comes off really reallyyy quickly.
I read the clothbound editions of crime and punishment and war and peace and after I was done both of them were unrecognizable.
That's something that social media never shows us.
That’s why mine are a collection…I read my paperback editions instead.
Nicely done. I hope you are reading something good. Best wishes.
Thank you for watching!
What about every man’s library? They’re my favorite
If you can get hold of them easily, absolutely. Here, however, you won’t find them at bookstores
What about Folio society?
You don’t often see them here tbh.
You forgot Oxford world's Classics or you just don't like them?
I simply don’t own any, so I can not testify on their quality and design.
@@cafeaulivre Thanks for the reply. It amazes me that you do not own a single OWC. Not interested in why. It's simply surprising, like finding a guy who loves all sorts of cars but has never driven a BMW
I do own several Oxford University Press editions, because those were the cheapest go-to copies for many books when I was at university. I think it is a location thing: you simply don’t see many (if any at all) Oxford World Classics in bookstores here.
i get pretty much whatever edition i can find in charity shops
Which works very well
MERCI
De rien!
❤📚