When deciding, I'll quickly look at different sources, then more often than not, go with public domain books, or with a paper book instead.
There are reasons for buying one. New translations, quality annotations. Shakespeare benefits from annotations and fresh editing, and you practically must, or should, go with new translations of books like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, because public domain books are all based on a censored and abridged version stemming from Lewis Page Mercier's flawed translation.
Then there's extra padding to consider, like introductions and essays, some are great, but many of those are actually a reason to go with public domain sources.
I'd also love it if I could put fresh or original illustrations, and maps to this list, but they're generally in horrible low resolution and don't bring anything new or fresh. In fact, I often find much better illustrations on scans on Archive.org. It was there that I found the only version of Ninety-Two Days from Evelyn Waugh with his photographs. Scans were poor, but still better than nothing.
Last edited by jackm8; 08-28-2024 at 12:37 PM.
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