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Buying a classic from Amazon - how do you decide which edition


Lumo

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I'm going to buy Jane Eyre (I have wondered about reading it for ages now, but am finally getting around to buying it).

 

However on Amazon there are many editions, Penguin Classics, Penguin Popular Classics, Wordsworth Classics, Oxford World Classics et cetera.

 

Odd question, how do you decide which one to buy? There are even two editions at the amazingly cheap price of 2 pounds so going with the cheapest doesn't solve the problem.

 

In a shop I would look at the text size, the paper, even the smell, but on Amazon I'm left squinting at a tiny picture of each and wondering.

 

I know it's probably too much thought for such a small issue, but it has happened to me before and I'm wondering if others experience the same thing.

 

Now which one to order...

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My tuppence:

 

- Oxford World Classics (the new white banded ones): good paper/ink, excellent introductions

- Penguin Classics (the new black banded ones): decent paper/ink, good introductions

- Wordsworth Classics: average paper/ink, usually no introduction

- Penguin Popular Classics: ghastly paper/ink, usually no introduction

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I would go for the one you think is prettiest - thats what I do.:tong:

 

I do this too! :lol:

 

If I'm buying paperback, I always go for the Oxford World Classics. They're the only paperback editions that I can get along with! Penguin Classics are good, like BookJumper said, but the

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Definitely the new Penguin Classics range (black ones). I actually have their version of Jane Eyre and it has a fantastic introduction and brilliant appendices, with clear references to parts of the book. (I tend to read all the appendices of a book if they have them! Very interesting. :D) The JE appendices are fascinating!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi :lol: I have merged your thread with a pretty similar one whose posts should hopefully should help explain the kind of differences that do indeed exist between editions - I've done my best to break down the basic features of various editions in my reply on Page 1.

 

Basically, with books that are hugely popular and/or over a certain age you are almost always going to have a wealth of different editions. Some will offer just the text, others the text and accessible introductions, others yet the text and more academic introduction/footnotes/extra material, etc. Paper/ink quality will also vary greatly, which is something to keep in mind if you're a collector as well as a reader.

 

In some cases (with Shakespeare, for instance) different editions will reprint different versions of the same text, so as a rule of thumb the further you go the more important the choice of edition becomes.

Edited by BookJumper
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Hi :lol: I have merged your thread with a pretty similar one whose posts should hopefully should help explain the kind of differences that do indeed exist between editions - I've done my best to break down the basic features of various editions in my reply on Page 1.

 

Basically, with books that are hugely popular and/or over a certain age you are almost always going to have a wealth of different editions. Some will offer just the text, others the text and accessible introductions, others yet the text and more academic introduction/footnotes/extra material, etc. Paper/ink quality will also vary greatly, which is something to keep in mind if you're a collector as well as a reader.

 

In some cases (with Shakespeare, for instance) different editions will reprint different versions of the same text, so as a rule of thumb the more far back you go the more important the choice of edition becomes.

 

Thank you :lol:

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Um... pssst... "the more far back"???

 

Ouch BookJumper. I'm surprised at you! Quick edit: "the further back"!

 

100 lines of the following:

 

When posting in the wee hours, I must read, reread and reread again before I click Submit.:lol::lol:

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  • 2 weeks later...

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