What are your most cherished pbooks?

covingtoncat73 · 10-29-2013, 01:03 PM

Hear me out, this is in general and not recommendations for a reason, I don't mean reads you love (though you may love the story, too), but stuff that is important primarily because of its physical nature.

I was thinking about this because of the ebooks v. used pbooks thread but, I do have a history degree and done some archives work, so I think about preservation. I love technology and I love ebooks but I do have concerns about how quickly the formats and devices will be rendered obsolete.

Anyway, mine are...

1) Jungfrau von Orleans a (very old) book about Joan of Arc that was my great-grandmother's and with an inscription to her. Her Swiss relatives called her "Jungfrau" because there is a Swiss mountain of that name they said was as hard as her head (she was stubborn). It is in German, so I can't read it.

2) A book that is a slim volume with a long poem about Pocahontas that my greatx2 grandfather's army buddies gave him. The pages are good but the binding is falling apart. I need to donate it to the HNOC.

3) My physical copy of Ocean at the End of the Lane, signed by Neil Gaiman! I have this one in ebook, too.

4) A totally falling apart volume of poems about New Orleans by Brod Bagert, signed by the author when I was 10, A Bullfrog at Cafe du Monde.

HarryT · 10-29-2013, 01:12 PM

A 1720 edition of the complete works of Cicero ("M. Tullii Ciceronis Opera Omnia Uno Volumine Comprehensa"), simply because I like to think of all the different people who must have owned it over the centuries. I wonder if I'll be the final owner - the market for books in Latin is rather small these days. I bought it for next to nothing from a charity shop.

sufue · 10-29-2013, 01:32 PM

An old CRC Math Tables that was my dad's...definitely NOT something to read, but just cool because of the old timey paper and binding, and because it was my dad's....

BeccaPrice · 10-29-2013, 01:35 PM

My hardback copies of Lois Bujold's books. Wish I had all the Vorkosigans in hardback too.

covingtoncat73 · 10-29-2013, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

A 1720 edition of the complete works of Cicero ("M. Tullii Ciceronis Opera Omnia Uno Volumine Comprehensa"), simply because I like to think of all the different people who must have owned it over the centuries. I wonder if I'll be the final owner - the market for books in Latin is rather small these days. I bought it for next to nothing from a charity shop.

Very nice, Harry! I, unfortunately, just read English and a (very little) Spanish. My mother went to Catholic school pre-Vat-II, though, and might be able to read some.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sufue

An old CRC Math Tables that was my dad's...definitely NOT something to read, but just cool because of the old timey paper and binding, and because it was my dad's....

Yeah, I like old bindings, too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

My hardback copies of Lois Bujold's books. Wish I had all the Vorkosigans in hardback too.

A nice first edition hardcover of a book you love is definitely something to hold on to.

Nancy Fulda · 10-29-2013, 01:42 PM

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid -- I love the illustrations and the little dialogues at the front of each chapter.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis -- it's mock-old-style, with golden trim and textured maroon covers. I love just holding it in my hands, and it's nice to have a book with an exterior that actually reflects the value of the interior.

Dinotopia -- Actually, I don't have this one anymore. I lent it out to a 9-year-old and never got it back. I hope the magnificent illustrations are still being enjoyed.

covingtoncat73 · 10-29-2013, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nancy Fulda

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid -- I love the illustrations and the little dialogues at the front of each chapter.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis -- it's mock-old-style, with golden trim and textured maroon covers. I love just holding it in my hands, and it's nice to have a book with an exterior that actually reflects the value of the interior.

Dinotopia -- Actually, I don't have this one anymore. I lent it out to a 9-year-old and never got it back. I hope the magnificent illustrations are still being enjoyed.

Oooh, Nancy, I wonder if they have that edition of Screwtape on Amazon. It sounds lovely.

treadlightly · 10-29-2013, 01:43 PM

My grandmother's copy of the Joy of Cooking, well-used, with splatters throughout.

covingtoncat73 · 10-29-2013, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treadlightly

My grandmother's copy of the Joy of Cooking, well-used, with splatters throughout.

My mother is still in possession of my grandmother's Times Picayune Creole Cookbook and that is definitely something to treasure.

sneakyspider · 10-29-2013, 02:05 PM

My mom's copy of the Judy Bolton series, by Margaret Sutton. They used to belong to my Grandmother, and then they went to my mother, and then to me. I used to take a whole stack of them with me when we would go on vacation.

Nancy Fulda · 10-29-2013, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Oooh, Nancy, I wonder if they have that edition of Screwtape on Amazon. It sounds lovely.

It's the Christian Library edition, published by Barbour and Company, Inc. in 1990. Amazon seems to be out of stock on the hardcover, but some of the independent sellers have it.

Yapyap · 10-29-2013, 02:54 PM

There was a series of adventure and science fiction books by foreign authors (think Alexandre Dumas, Jules Verne H. R. Haggard, Mark Twain, but also a number of Russian & Soviet adventure & SF authors - full list here for anyone interested; in Estonian but author names should be clear enough) published here in 1955-1962, fifty five books in total.

We had a number of them when I was a child, thanks to my grandma having bought them when she was young and my mother was little - but most of the ones we once had fell victim to water damage (flooding caused by bad plumbing) when I was a baby, so we only actually had maybe a quarter of them left; the rest I had to get from the library to read.

Once they finally started showing up in used books shops in early 1990s, and I had my own income, I embarked on a project to collect the entire series. It took me quite a few years, as some books were considerably rarer than others (huge differences in print numbers) and some ended up costing me what was at the time a small fortune, but I have the entire series now and it's really one of my most cherished possessions as far as books go.

Out of newer books, I'm increasingly pleased with my growing collection of Skulduggery Pleasant books by Derek Landy - in particular with having managed to acquire both the US and the UK uncorrected proof copies / ARCs of the first book. I've also got them both signed, in person, to me, with some extra doodles in the UK proof copy. (Additionally, as a person fairly active in that fandom, I was fortunate enough to get a completely unexpected cameo appearance in the latest book - and got one copy signed to me by my character name, which, well, makes that particular copy one I do cherish.

)

The oldest book I have is ... well, I'm sort of in two minds about whether to count it as a cherished paper book or not, as it's a copy of the Bible, printed in 1903, left to us by my great grand aunt - so as a "family heirloom" thing, it's rather cool; on the other hand, I don't think we've ever had a religious person in our family (including said great grand aunt and her family) so there's no particular emotional significance attached to it other than being passed on through several generations. As an object, though, it looks quite awesome, with its Gothic script and yellowed pages.

dwig · 10-29-2013, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

... I like to think of all the different people who must have owned it over the centuries. I wonder if I'll be the final owner ...

Exactly what makes me choose my copy of The Wrong Box by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was printed shortly after the first edition and is custom bound in "half leather", probably to match the first owner's library style. There is a box plate inside the cover indicating the original owner was John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey of RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania, and RMS Empress of Ireland fame. The plate reads "John C. Bigham, Q.C. M.P".

Catlady · 10-29-2013, 03:15 PM

My tattered paperback copy of Gone with the Wind, bought when I was in high school and read and cried over more times than I can count. I have several other copies, but that one is special.

QuantumIguana · 10-29-2013, 03:40 PM

For new books, I must have Terry Pratchett's Discworld books and C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner books in paper. I'll get them as an e-book and then get them again when they come out in paperback. I wouldn't normally do this, but these are my exceptions.

I have a 10 volume set of great orations published in 1900. I also have a copy of Burroughs' The Gods of Mars, printed in 1920. I have The History of the Great War, published just after WWI. I've never got around to reading it, but it might be interesting to see a perspective on the war from shortly after the war than our usual perspective. I also have a propaganda book from before the US entered WWI, giving reasons to go to war.

My wife has an old encyclopedia that we are going to put in storage. What we plan on doing it to seal it up in a garbage bad with a pack of silica gel to absorb any moisture, and put it in a box in the basement. We also have an old collection of the complete works of Shakespeare that she's thinking of getting rid of. The pages are fine, but the spines have mostly worn off.

10-29-2013, 01:03 PM	#1
covingtoncat73 Wizard Posts: 2,745 Karma: 83407757 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Moto e	What are your most cherished pbooks? Hear me out, this is in general and not recommendations for a reason, I don't mean reads you love (though you may love the story, too), but stuff that is important primarily because of its physical nature. I was thinking about this because of the ebooks v. used pbooks thread but, I do have a history degree and done some archives work, so I think about preservation. I love technology and I love ebooks but I do have concerns about how quickly the formats and devices will be rendered obsolete. Anyway, mine are... 1) Jungfrau von Orleans a (very old) book about Joan of Arc that was my great-grandmother's and with an inscription to her. Her Swiss relatives called her "Jungfrau" because there is a Swiss mountain of that name they said was as hard as her head (she was stubborn). It is in German, so I can't read it. 2) A book that is a slim volume with a long poem about Pocahontas that my greatx2 grandfather's army buddies gave him. The pages are good but the binding is falling apart. I need to donate it to the HNOC. 3) My physical copy of Ocean at the End of the Lane, signed by Neil Gaiman! I have this one in ebook, too. 4) A totally falling apart volume of poems about New Orleans by Brod Bagert, signed by the author when I was 10, A Bullfrog at Cafe du Monde. Last edited by covingtoncat73; 10-29-2013 at 01:06 PM.

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10-29-2013, 01:12 PM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A 1720 edition of the complete works of Cicero ("M. Tullii Ciceronis Opera Omnia Uno Volumine Comprehensa"), simply because I like to think of all the different people who must have owned it over the centuries. I wonder if I'll be the final owner - the market for books in Latin is rather small these days. I bought it for next to nothing from a charity shop.

10-29-2013, 01:32 PM	#3
sufue lost in my e-reader... Posts: 8,082 Karma: 61341458 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: sunny southern California, USA Device: Android phone, Sony T1, Nook ST Glowlight, Galaxy Tab 7 Plus	An old CRC Math Tables that was my dad's...definitely NOT something to read, but just cool because of the old timey paper and binding, and because it was my dad's....

10-29-2013, 01:35 PM	#4
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,146 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	My hardback copies of Lois Bujold's books. Wish I had all the Vorkosigans in hardback too.

10-29-2013, 01:42 PM	#6
Nancy Fulda I write stories. Posts: 700 Karma: 16437432 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern Germany Device: kindle	Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid -- I love the illustrations and the little dialogues at the front of each chapter. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis -- it's mock-old-style, with golden trim and textured maroon covers. I love just holding it in my hands, and it's nice to have a book with an exterior that actually reflects the value of the interior. Dinotopia -- Actually, I don't have this one anymore. I lent it out to a 9-year-old and never got it back. I hope the magnificent illustrations are still being enjoyed.

10-29-2013, 01:43 PM	#8
treadlightly Wizard Posts: 1,370 Karma: 6957792 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Ottawa, ON Device: Kobo H2O	My grandmother's copy of the Joy of Cooking, well-used, with splatters throughout.

10-29-2013, 02:05 PM	#10
sneakyspider Ereader Addicts Anonymous Posts: 329 Karma: 1071692 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: USA, FL. Device: (2)KO2, PW7thGen., KT2, iPadMini1	My mom's copy of the Judy Bolton series, by Margaret Sutton. They used to belong to my Grandmother, and then they went to my mother, and then to me. I used to take a whole stack of them with me when we would go on vacation.

10-29-2013, 02:54 PM	#12
Yapyap Guru Posts: 861 Karma: 3543721 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Estonia Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	There was a series of adventure and science fiction books by foreign authors (think Alexandre Dumas, Jules Verne H. R. Haggard, Mark Twain, but also a number of Russian & Soviet adventure & SF authors - full list here for anyone interested; in Estonian but author names should be clear enough) published here in 1955-1962, fifty five books in total. We had a number of them when I was a child, thanks to my grandma having bought them when she was young and my mother was little - but most of the ones we once had fell victim to water damage (flooding caused by bad plumbing) when I was a baby, so we only actually had maybe a quarter of them left; the rest I had to get from the library to read. Once they finally started showing up in used books shops in early 1990s, and I had my own income, I embarked on a project to collect the entire series. It took me quite a few years, as some books were considerably rarer than others (huge differences in print numbers) and some ended up costing me what was at the time a small fortune, but I have the entire series now and it's really one of my most cherished possessions as far as books go. Out of newer books, I'm increasingly pleased with my growing collection of Skulduggery Pleasant books by Derek Landy - in particular with having managed to acquire both the US and the UK uncorrected proof copies / ARCs of the first book. I've also got them both signed, in person, to me, with some extra doodles in the UK proof copy. (Additionally, as a person fairly active in that fandom, I was fortunate enough to get a completely unexpected cameo appearance in the latest book - and got one copy signed to me by my character name, which, well, makes that particular copy one I do cherish. ) The oldest book I have is ... well, I'm sort of in two minds about whether to count it as a cherished paper book or not, as it's a copy of the Bible, printed in 1903, left to us by my great grand aunt - so as a "family heirloom" thing, it's rather cool; on the other hand, I don't think we've ever had a religious person in our family (including said great grand aunt and her family) so there's no particular emotional significance attached to it other than being passed on through several generations. As an object, though, it looks quite awesome, with its Gothic script and yellowed pages.

10-29-2013, 03:15 PM	#14
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,418 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	My tattered paperback copy of Gone with the Wind, bought when I was in high school and read and cried over more times than I can count. I have several other copies, but that one is special.

10-29-2013, 03:40 PM	#15
QuantumIguana Philosopher Posts: 2,034 Karma: 18736532 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch	For new books, I must have Terry Pratchett's Discworld books and C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner books in paper. I'll get them as an e-book and then get them again when they come out in paperback. I wouldn't normally do this, but these are my exceptions. I have a 10 volume set of great orations published in 1900. I also have a copy of Burroughs' The Gods of Mars, printed in 1920. I have The History of the Great War, published just after WWI. I've never got around to reading it, but it might be interesting to see a perspective on the war from shortly after the war than our usual perspective. I also have a propaganda book from before the US entered WWI, giving reasons to go to war. My wife has an old encyclopedia that we are going to put in storage. What we plan on doing it to seal it up in a garbage bad with a pack of silica gel to absorb any moisture, and put it in a box in the basement. We also have an old collection of the complete works of Shakespeare that she's thinking of getting rid of. The pages are fine, but the spines have mostly worn off.

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