It is a nice collection to look at. The cloth cover is really well designed. But appearances can be deceptive. Though called Clothbound, the volumes are simply glued, and not signature -stitched. The result is that the volumes cannot be opened fully, they do not lie flat on the desk when opened. Compare these volumes with Everyman''s Library volumes and you will know the difference. The binding is not durable. When we spend a fortune on these books, we expect better quality. All that glitters is not gold.

@holistic7980

4 жыл бұрын

I agree. I had the some years ago and the design peals off and it doesn't feel nice in your hand. The paper is stiff. I would not buy any. But I think it's nice if penguin send you free copies. I think Everyman's library make beautiful books. The paper and quality is great.

@MillieBee24

4 жыл бұрын

Yes the designs rub off!! So frustrating

@TwoMiceOnMyBookshelf

3 жыл бұрын

R Nanjappa Ah didn’t know this. These are deal breakers for sure. My understanding is that these days sewn binding can be done at a reasonably low price so this is disappointing. The only glue binding I will tolerate is for paperbacks.

@cyana5867

3 жыл бұрын

What company would you suggest for a quality binding of classics?

@MyAliasAndNoOneElses

3 жыл бұрын

@@cyana5867 It's probably a bit late, but as no one answered I'm just gonna do it! My personal favourite are the Macmillan Collectors Library. They have great binding and quality (also notes and introductions!), but they are very small books and I heard that the font can get tiny with bigger novels. I also heard very good things about the Everymans Library, but those are really expensive so I don't own any. Penguin Blackspines are often good, but they can really vary between different books, f.e. the font, cover or general quality can get really different. But they are pretty OK in price and many people love Penguins books!

Its interesting how books used to be a real status symbol then become more mass-market as literacy levels increased and production costs decreased. Now it feels like there is a real return to books as valuable objects in themselves.

I am reading a few classics this year. I have decided that I will buy cheap second hand paperbacks that I can use to annotate and if any particular book really thrills me then I will buy the clothbound edition for my library. Lovely set of books !

I just bought The Count of Monte Cristo clothbound classic yesterday and it is the first time I have bought one of these editions and it will be the last. Infact I want to return my copy. I don't mind having books that look somewhat aged and worn, especially if I buy them secondhand, but I am someone who handles books very carefully and once I have bought a book I do my utmost to keep it in the condition it was in when I bought it. This clothbound classic not only arrived damaged due to a barcode sticker on the back which left a VERY noticeable stain and peeled part of the pattern off but the quality of the print on the cover has deteriorated noticeably in less than 24 hours having been hardly handled in that time! All I've done is give it a very quick, careful inspection and put it on my shelf, but when I took my hand off the book, significant patches of the printed pattern came away stuck to my fingers! My hands were clean and dry and I handled the book carefully; why did so much of the pattern seem to stick to my hands more than the book itself?! Supremely dissapointed in this, especially considering the cost

such a beautiful collection, omg 😍

Dear Mara, we are two near-fanatic book collectors (and readers, mind) and you have convinced us of collecting as many books from this series as possible. The video is lovely and we have to admit we are a bit envious of you 🤭😏. Hugs from Spain.

That edition of The Hounds of the Baskervilles is the prettiest book I have ever seen, I don't want it, I need it.

Such a beautiful collection, and the way you've arranged them is so aesthetically pleasing

Beautiful books! My favorite book of all time is also Jane Eyre. I first read it at age 11, and with each subsequent read, I found more to love.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Hooray for Jane!!

I cracked up at the Don Quixote move. It looks so much better now!

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Haha I think so too :)

Absolutely stunning collection. I only have a handful of these, but swoon every time I see your shelves in the background of your videos. Thank you so much for sharing

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!! I've really enjoyed building my collection- it makes my space happier for me :)

Love! My favorite book in this collection and my second all time favorite Classic is 20000 leagues under the sea! All so gorgeous

Oh my god! I’m starting to collect these too!!! I didn’t know there were so many I’m missing!

My OCD is battling between color coding and alphabetizing. Can't stand that each author wasn't in the same color range.

Wow!!!💕💗💕 just gorgeous books & how you organized them. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Have an amazing 2020 reading books some great books!😀

This makes my heart 💓 skip a beat, it is stunning 😍

I am glad you love these books, and boy do they look amazing all on the shelves but I myself find they are not very high quality, so will usually only pick these up if I can’t get other editions. The pages are glued and run the risk of falling out if you crack the spine and the block pattern rubs off on your fingers just from holding the book to read. I much prefer the quality of the Everyman’s Library series for classics. Sewn pages and the covers don’t get ruined. But I’m glad they bring you delight.

@Astyanaz

4 жыл бұрын

While I haven't seen any of these I also enjoy Everyman's Library.

@TwoMiceOnMyBookshelf

3 жыл бұрын

Everyman’s Library is the best bound and produced for its price range. At least this is what I think. It also has some of the best introduction sections and of course those time lines. I’ve been meaning to share last year why Everyman’s Library is one of my favourites, if not my favourite edition for books. But life gets in the way. So I am glad to hear today that I am not alone in this 😁 It is no longer independently published though. Random House bought it I think? They did try to sneak glue binding apparently in 2008 (?) and there was an uproar. Rightly so!

I’m so glad I found your channel! I love these editions so much. I have two so far.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Every journey starts with a single step

I love these editions so thank you for a collection video!!

Your shelves look so good with these editions! I have 4 so far, Great Expectations, The Picture of Dorian grey, Dracula and Little Women.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! I hope you enjoy collecting them - I've enjoyed growing my collection over the last 2 years

Ah, I'm so jealous I would hope to one day have a library like your own. I cant even imagine how expensive those books were. One day, one day :)

Awesome collection !!! I just subbed and would like to see more in depth analysis on meanings and themes on some of the classics . I think you'd be good at it .

Ugh...talk about book envy, lol! I only have 4 of these gorgeous books so far and I look forward to adding more to my shelves. My favorite is probably Frankenstein, which I just read for the first time in September. Oh my gosh, I loved it *so* much.

@missblink4611

3 жыл бұрын

Total book envy ❤️

Beautiful collection! I very rarely buy cloth bound editions as I like to scribble/highlight/mark up my books, but I still put them on display with gusto. Don’t mind the hundreds of multi-colored tabs sticking out of all of them 🤣 I just discovered your channel and you definitely have a new subscriber! (Love those glasses too!)

@bookslikewhoa

4 жыл бұрын

Welcome! And thank you :)

Ahh gorgeous collection! Yes, they are expensive. I have two atm.

Love the video. (Hope you'll do an updated one once the collection is complete!). The most beautiful of the bunch to me was the Odessey. My oh my, what a pretty book! I am also very partial to Alice in Wonderland in terms of the aestethic matching the content.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

I love the Odyssey, too! So lovely with the line work

Also the Don Quijote is stunning. Beautiful artwork squared.

I have a few Barnes & Noble classics editions. I love them! I have The Scarlet Letter, Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories and A Treasury of Irish Literature (contains full text of The Dead and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man). I mostly rely on others to buy me those as gifts. Haha

Yay!! Been hoping for this!!!!!!

Thank you so much for this video! Looks beautiful 🤩

Beautiful! I love these (and have a few), but I started out collecting them in the rainbow paperback versions so that's what I've stuck with. My dream is to be able to own a bunch of the Folio Society books one day...droolworthy!

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

YES, I'd love that, too... someday, when we are people of leisure & endless disposable funds :)

@buchdrache1409

5 жыл бұрын

Oh yes... The folio books are insanely gorgeous! I dream about them too... one day, hopefully!

This is a beautiful collection. I only own three from this set: Jabberwocky, Anna Karenina and Les Misérables. None of which I've yet read, but Les Misérables is on my tbr this year. I just discovered your channel. Now I'm following you here and on social media. Can't wait to see more.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Ooo, yes, Les Miz is one of the last ones I need to get! So beautiful! Glad to have you along for the ride :)

Great ‘walkthrough’ - some of those covers are 😍. I only have four CBCs at the moment: Don Quixote, The Day of the Triffids, Jabberwocky and The Woman in White. Alice’s Adventures in... will be next. One thing I have experienced with them though - and which is DEEPLY annoying (in a wholly middleclassproblems way) is that sometimes the foiling comes off when the price label is removed. I’m near pathological about removing sticky price labels from everything I buy and am irrationally bothered if they leave any residue (MCprobs #2) but damaging the book cover is equally egregious! Get it together Penguin! Anyway, enough of my trivialities. Hope Santa brings you some of your outstanding titles. 🎅🎁😊 (Unrequested $0.02 on the moving of Don Quixote. Shifting that book to the end was a sharp move - looks great in its new place. But somehow I think Little Women now needs to motor on up to the head of the line or before the Iliad! 🙈📚😂 Yep, I’m shutting up and off to mind my own business now - haha! Have a great week.)

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Haha, yes, Little Women will move back to be with its brown friends once a couple of new editions arrive - so no worries, it is not a permanent home for it!

Thank You for this video! Love the books

Beautiful collection! I especially loved The Great Gatsby cover design. 🙂

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

It really is gorg

that library its all i want in my life. Awesome!

The most beautiful video 😍

I picked up Essays and Aphorisms by Schopenhauer on holiday 2 years ago, and the designs were all so beautiful they haven't left my mind since. I am now attempting to slowly gather the full collection.

@fabiancalderon6729

2 жыл бұрын

Any thoughts on the content?

I'm so proud of you!

I have a few cloth bounds and I love them but I’m all about the penguin drop caps, they are my favorite.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Those are lovely as well! I hope to get a few more of those

@montanasoon4895

3 жыл бұрын

Mine too! Order by author and colour already done for you. 18/26 so far

Wow so beautiful books. I wish I could have that.

Nice Collection of Lovely Books!

Such a beautiful collection 😍😍😍

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

you're living the dream 😍😍

Marvellous!

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I’m also collecting these, but so far I only have 11😊 But I have one I didn’t hear you mention: The Hound of the Baskervilles , it’s sort of light-brown and it’s covered with butterflies. Very nice. I’m sure you could still get it somewhere.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! I hope you enjoy building your own collection as much as I've enjoyed mine :). I do have Baskervilles (hopefully I didn't leave it out! :D), and yes!! It is a lovely one-- really like its print

@saraseidel7

5 жыл бұрын

@@bookslikewhoa Oh my God yes of course, I'm sorry, I see now that you absolutely included it! :D Sorry, I missed it the first time! :P

These are my favorite classic editions and I've just begun collecting them. (I bought that edition of The Great Gatsby for a friend and it is indeed beautiful!) I really like the edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Very whimsical. I read it for the first time this year and fell in love with it. For pure aesthetics, I love The Picture of Dorian Gray. The silver and black is timeless. Where do you purchase yours? Who offers "points"?

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

I mostly get mine from Amazon & The Book Depository. Between them, I tend to get pretty significantly discounted prices from retail. I have Amazon points that I use

Great collection.❤️ Middlemarch @5:25 wanna start with this.

Great video and collection! I would love to get some of them at a certain point. Does the print(?) of the book cover comes off easily, or that's what I've heard?

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

I've heard that as well, but it's never been a problem for me, so can't say for sure

I think my favourite cover design must be Shelley’s Frankenstein

Hello! I have been contemplating buying The Iliad and The Odyssey. Could you please tell me who the translator is? And is the translation in verse? Thank you. Your collection is to die for!

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed! Translator = EV Rieu, not in verse

thanks for rekindling (see what I did there - hehe) my interest in the printed word. I've subscribed.

@bookslikewhoa

4 жыл бұрын

Welcome!

Oh....how Suggestive that copy of Homer's Odyssey. I studied classical languages, so all my copies are dog-eared devastated drawn and scribbled-in paperback greek study versions. That cover is stunning. Homer deserves to be housed so beautifully.

The Picture of Dorian Gray deserved a better design...

Those books are sooo beautiful. Are they the complete novels or are they like the Reader's Digest books, shortened?

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Unabridged - the whole thing! :)

How do you keep these collections clean from dust? I just started collecting these editions

@bookslikewhoa

4 жыл бұрын

I don't :D... just kidding, I don't do anything special beyond dusting occasionally

Hello! I’m wanting to collect these editions to build up my classics collection but I’ve heard that the pattern on the Clothbound classics starts to fade very quickly and they are overall bad quality. Please let me know if this is correct. I want the books not just to display but read as well. I love the look of them and I want to build up a collection but I’m super worried now seeing people say they are bad quality and fade

Have you bought all of these individually, or in sets? I have the Bronte and Austen sets in my Amazon cart, but I’m afraid of the stickers ruining the back, as commentators have pointed out.

@bookslikewhoa

4 жыл бұрын

I bought the sets where I could (Austen, Bronte, & Dickens) but most you have to get as one offs :/

Totally off topic, where did you get your gorgeous glasses?

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I'm actually not totally sure- it was a brand I never heard of from my eye doctor. But I enjoy them!

Might be a good investment in years to come, to be honest. The “best” books are by Folio Society, but I can’t afford one of their books, let alone a collection, so I went down the Clothbound route myself.

Are the larger clothbound classics comfortable to read with, like War and Peace or The Count of Monte Cristo?

@bookslikewhoa

4 жыл бұрын

I've been reading from my Monte Cristo copy right now without issue :)

@Le_Samourai

4 жыл бұрын

@@bookslikewhoa thanks (｡◕‿◕｡)

Entendi poucas palavras, mas é uma linda coleção.

How do you find these are holding up? Have the designs faded or the pages loosened in any? Thank you.

@bookslikewhoa

4 жыл бұрын

Mine have held up quite nicely! No issues with fading, etc. so far

Does the hardbound edition of victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas contains original illustration

How many sonnets are their in the Shakespeare sonnete books? Also can you suggest a hardcover book of ALL of shakespearean sonnets

@thomasthompson6378

2 жыл бұрын

Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets. They're all collected together with all of the plays in G. B. Harrison's one-volume work.

girl I'm jealousssss

Would you show what one looks like on the inside? Are they as beautiful on the inside?

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Oh good call - yeah, the next time I have one in a haul, I'll open it up. I wouldn't say it's beautiful, but I find it very functional in terms of font size, page weight, etc.

May you please show us all of the Jane Austen books together

I saw that a lot of classics are "edited and notes by". What doest it actually mean? Is it meaning that the book's text is different of the original. I know that a lot of Penguin ClothBound are edited by someone else that the original writer. Have it a way to know how for the edit are and what is it conscited? I cannot find any good answer to this question online

Beautiful book shelf, but your color organization needs some revisions. I am tweaking on it!

Girl this is crazy!!! They are really stunning though.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

It is a sickness and a blessing all in one

So pretty....!!!!

@bookslikewhoa

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😊

What is the font like inside these? Is it very small?

@bookslikewhoa

4 жыл бұрын

I find it to be a pretty comfortable size- maybe a little smaller than standard but not enough it bothers me?

Just so you know, the author of Brideshead Revisited is "EVElyn Waugh," not 'EV-e-lyn" Waugh. It became transmogrified to "EV-e-lyn" only after some parents used it as a girl's name. Today, of course, neither formulation of the name is likely to be used for males.

Are they all clothbound?

They are pretty. But to me they are difficult to read. Bindings are tight and seems to me books don’t lay open easily at all and have to keep them pried open- I’ve avoided these for reading copies/ perhaps they’ve changed since a few years ago. My copies I exchanged- the pages/binding are glued in - and felt like the pages would come out of you tried to open the book flat on a table- if they were sewn bindings they would be worth the price

❤

Hi Is The Count of Monte Cristo annotated?

I'd recommend trading 'The Art of War' for 'The Analects' by Confucius.

May I know the price range of these kind of books?

@bookslikewhoa

4 жыл бұрын

Depends, but mine are usually between $12-22

I am not wild about these modern designs, in any case it is the book that counts. The only one I really liked was great expectations and bleak house maybe a couple of others. Doubtless lots will criticise me

Have you read all of these?

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Not all of them (hoping to get through some of them as a part of resolutions this year), but I'd estimate I've read ~60-70% of them at some point

@buchdrache1409

5 жыл бұрын

@@bookslikewhoa That is incredible! I am jealous of the absolutely lovely experience you must have had, not just reading such incredible stories, but also reading them out of such gorgeous editions! 👍🏽

I collect Penguine Drop Caps, but this really makes me wan't to collect the Classics as well.

@bookslikewhoa

5 жыл бұрын

Penguin has an abundance of gorgeous editions!

Awesome enjoy little woman what is the price for one👌

@thomasthompson6378

2 жыл бұрын

I believe that book is called "Little Women."

I think libraries should start to arrange all their books by colour. In fact, take away all the writing on the outside of the books. The author and title of each are just confusing. People can ask the librarian for a red book or a blue book.

Never trust someone who shelves their books by color. ;)

I have quite a number of those clothbound classics myself, but they have not improved my sex-life, and I'm not a better person neither.

Don't judge a book by its cover? Especially if it costs an exorbitant amount of money.

Hmmm... the communist manifesto? Before I go on about what I think about Karl Marx and his book, would you please give me your opinion on it and how much you agree / disagree with it.

@hiigghhggg9150

3 жыл бұрын

I’m, like, 100% sure She’s not a communist, lmao. Do you think she would participate in this much consumerism if she was communist? The communist manifesto is an important part of world history, like it or not. And it’s a pretty edition of it.

@tiandao8503

2 жыл бұрын

You don't have too be a Communist to appreciate Marx's critique of Capitalism. However, I have less appreciation for his proposed "solutions."

I do not buy Penguin books.