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Does anyone else collect Folio Society books?


Ooshie

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Does anyone else collect Folio Society books? If so, I would love to hear which ones you have bought, which genres you prefer, which you have read and how you have enjoyed them.

 

I particularly enjoy the modern classics, and my last two purchases were "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguru, and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" by John Le Carre. I have already read both books several times in paperback and enjoy them thoroughly, but was really pleased that I could buy them in Folio editions to appreciate too. :friends0:

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They are a bit expensive, and my guilty pleasure :friends0:. I do mostly read paperbacks (hundreds a year), but find the tactile pleasure of a Folio Book adds an extra layer of enjoyment to my reading. And they do look so lovely on my shelf...

 

You do have to buy four books a year, but there are usually a couple that friends/relatives would love and so I buy them to keep as gifts, and a couple for myself. They also have one or two sales a year that you can sometimes find real bargains in. You also get a presentation volume (sometimes more than one) free each year when you rejoin.

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Aww, do you have to be a member to buy any of them? That's a shame - I couldn't afford the expense of committing to buying a set amount of the books at that price. I think I shall have to stick to looking for them 2nd hand instead. :friends0:

Edited by Kell
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At the moment I can't afford to join (I keep hoping that someone will get the hint and buy me the membership for a Christmas or birthday... the leatherbound Oxford English Dictionary has to be mine), so I've bought a few on ebay - rigorously ones that were out of print, as I admire Folio's work too much to buy elsewhere books I could still get from them. My Wit of Oscar Wilde got supremely battered in the post though, so I'm mightily depressed; hope The Once and Future King meets a better fate.

Edited by BookJumper
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Thanks for the link to that site, Vladd. As well as looking like a good source of second hand Folio books, there was a link to an interesting article about the Folio Society which I hadn't read. :D

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  • 1 month later...

Just discovered my Dad was a member of FolioSociety, so I had a look, not cheap but very desirable for any book lover/collector. I reckon if I treated myself to even one a year for the rest of my life it would be a lovely collection to pass on, and I'd like to think I've got another 70-80 good years left :)

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You are making me feel very guilty for my profligacy, BookJumper! :)

 

You do often see FS books in excellent condition in secondhand book shops, and I do have a few of those, but I can't resist them all new and beautiful. (Hello, my name is Susan, and I'm a Folio Society addict...)

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Skirnir - as far as I know you have to be a member and I don't know if they send abroad. Their website is http://www.foliosociety.com/

 

I have a few of these beautiful books. Several Thomas Hardy novels; some historical books including 'The Great Plague' and 'The Black Death', plus a couple of George Eliot's and a Bronte or two. I recently popped into a second-hand bookshop and came away bearing a (pristine) Folio copy of 'The Woman in White' for the princely sum of

Edited by Ophelia
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Like Ooshie, these are my guilty pleasure - I've got a fairly large library of the books, with volumes I absolutely adore and read avidly. No you don't have to be a member to get hold of FS books, because are lot are available second hand through ebay, abebooks or specialists like the Ardis link above (although specialist shops tend to be a bit pricier than other sources). I've bought a fair number that way at very good prices (sometimes less than a new paperback). I am a member and spend far too much, but the pain is lessened by the fact that they have various sales throughout the year which can bring the prices down big time. I tend to renew my membership by buying 4 books at the cheapest end - there are plenty that are barely more than the price of a standard hardback, and FS books don't deteriorate with time in the same way!

 

Skirnir - yes they do send abroad, and there are loads of members around the world. There's a LibraryThing interest group (Folio Society Devotees) which has a lot of members in the US and Australia, and elsewhere.

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  • 6 months later...

I just found a Folio edition of Chekov's The shooting party on a stall at our local market for £5, not one of his better books but being a folio book it looks good on the shelf. Also I found these http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=sr_st?keywords=folio+society+books&qid=1289731114&rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3Afolio+society+books&sort=price however just being able to order one at the touch of a button takes away the pleasure of finding one tucked away in a second hand book stall/store.

Edited by Vladd
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I love folio books and have been a member for 25 years. For many of those years I was fairly skint and could only buy the minimum 4, oftrn using money from Christmas or birthday. They are lovely to read (am reading Middlemarch, War and Peace and a collection of Hardy's short stories in Folio at present). A good tip for buying is to check local auctions and second hand bookshops. Auctions are particularly good.

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  • 1 year later...

I came across a link for it via the Goodreads newletter through my emails today. Found this wonderful copy of The Hobbit.

 

Lots and lots of beautifully bound book, not cheap but imagine having a room full of them :D

 

http://www.foliosoci...book/HOB/hobbit

 

xHOB.jpg.pagespeed.ic.PvVLZm6kR0.jpg

Edited by Michelle
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  • 8 months later...

I was looking for prices for some of my mothers books, Floio Society, and found you via google. I myself have a collection of the Fairy books, they are just so lovely to look at, and add colour to my shelves. I recenly moved so packed away for a bit, will have to find them and start to read and admire them again. I admit they are costly but they are soooo worth it for the enjoyment  they bring.

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I was looking for prices for some of my mothers books, Floio Society, and found you via google. I myself have a collection of the Fairy books, they are just so lovely to look at, and add colour to my shelves. I recenly moved so packed away for a bit, will have to find them and start to read and admire them again. I admit they are costly but they are soooo worth it for the enjoyment  they bring.

 

You are right, sandysue, they are very lovely to look at.  I quite often manage to find a bargain on Amazon or eBay as well as buying some full price (or, more often, asking for them for presents!) and always love opening them up and enjoying the covers and illustrations as well as looking forward to reading them. :)

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