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Penguin's Little Black Classics


chesilbeach

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I received The Beautifull Cassandra by Jane Austen for my birthday, and it was the first time I'd see one of the Little Black Classics that Penguin have issued.  Looking into it a bit more, Penguin are releasing 80 of these books, priced at 80p each, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first Penguins being published.

 

They've set up a website for them: http://www.littleblackclassics.comso you can see the full list of books available.

 

Beware: far too tempting to want to buy the whole series! :lol:

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I'm checking the website at the moment, haven't gotten around to any of the actual titles yet, but I'm loving the website :D Clickety click, penguin! :D :D

 

It's like a Wheel of Fortune! :D

 

What... I only just realized that they are all 80p, for reals! 80x80... Who's brave enough to do the maths! :D

 

 

Edit: I'm not sure where to see what the covers are going to look like... 

Edit: Ah yes. Not too enticing, but ... Still, very tempting!! 

Edit: Oooh you could get The Communist Manifesto for 80p!

Edited by frankie
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I saw the Penguin website yesterday, and they are beautiful (but the wheel of fortune thing is a bit annoying :blink: )

I have bought 2 Kindle editions just now  :giggle: A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry Trees by Kenko (prose) and Lips too Chilled by Matsuo Basho (haiku poems) .

And they are 49 pence each  :smile:

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They are very tempting .. so tempting to add one or two of those when you pick up your book purchases. I mean .. for just the price of a bar of chocolate and so much healthier :D Took me ages to access the wheel of fortune  :blush2:  :D I was confused between the actual penguin and thinking they meant book (as in Penguin books) .. really .. I shouldn't be allowed the vote :D 

Ooh .. Dostoevsky .. The Meek One  :smile: 

Edited by poppyshake
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Ah, the Kindle folks are always getting a special treatment :D

:D   I really can't have any more tree books, as there isn't any space now, not even little black penguins :blush2:   :giggle2:

 

That's a great price for the Kindle editions, although I have to say, even as an ardent Kindler, I do love seeing series of matching books liked up on the shelf, all looking organised and neat. :D

They would look great in a bookcase :smile: , but I have no space at all :blush2:  not even these minimalistic beauties! But they do look lovely as Kindle versions too.

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:D   I really can't have any more tree books, as there isn't any space now, not even little black penguins :blush2:   :giggle2:

 

When it comes to books (and life), a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do :D If there's a great bargain and an opportunity, who am I to stand in the way. Stand in the way of a person and books? Not me!!! :D 

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When it comes to books (and life), a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do :D If there's a great bargain and an opportunity, who am I to stand in the way. Stand in the way of a person and books? Not me!!! :D

 

That's very true indeed!
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Fortunately, I don't think I'd want to read all of them, so a small selection would look smashing on the shelf.  I'm sure I can release a few others to the charity shop to make space! :smile2:

 

And just think, releasing only a few medium-sized books would make enough room for about a dozen black Penguins! :D

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:D What did you get?

Philosophy and poetry this time with Michel de Montaigne's How We Weep and Laugh at the Same Thing and Sappho's Come Close  :smile: . I have managed to restrain myself from buying any today, but there are still a few more hours to go, so.... :D  

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Philosophy and poetry this time with Michel de Montaigne's How We Weep and Laugh at the Same Thing and Sappho's Come Close  :smile: . I have managed to restrain myself from buying any today, but there are still a few more hours to go, so.... :D  

 

Sounds good! I was tempted by the Sappho, too. I mean not that I would've actually bought any, because should not buy any books, but the Sappho was an appealing one. I hope you enjoy! :) (What, was it just a one day offer?)

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Sounds good! I was tempted by the Sappho, too. I mean not that I would've actually bought any, because should not buy any books, but the Sappho was an appealing one. I hope you enjoy! :) (What, was it just a one day offer?)

It seems that the Kindle editions are still at a lower price than the tree book version. The Sappho one is good, though I have never read her poetry before. I think that her style is very minimalist, and it reminds me a lot of Emily Dickinson's poetry. I think that these are a good 'taster' for a poet's style. I think I will look for more of Sappho's poetry in the library. I have just been browsing at Amazon's Kindle edition of Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments of Sappho (Penguin Classics) as that is tempting... :giggle2:  

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The temptations of Kindle... :D I'm a bit surprised to hear you're liking Sappho and find her very minimalist. For some reason I thought she might be hard to understand... I mean her poetry. I'm not sure where I got that idea from! I might have to check her out for real some time! :) 

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I was a bit worried how the exchange rate to Australian dollars would go. Knowing our luck, I thought they might be priced at around $5, but they're only $2! Hooray! I think I need to go to the bookshop soon. :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

The Little Black Classics have proven very popular - I saw one author publish a clipping from the bestsellers top 10, and the Tolstoy book was the number 10 bestselling paperback last week, and Waterstone's show two of them in the top 20 at the moment.

 

There's also an interesting article today about what message it sends to publisher -> http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/29/little-black-classics-carry-penguin-to-new-heights

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