I liked Station Eleven the novel, but I loved Station Eleven the miniseries. Highly recommend.
I’m in the minority in Children of Time; most people hail it as a modern classic, but it left me cold. I’d love to elaborate after you’re done, so as not to yuck your yum (or commiserate over shared yucks)
Huh, I’m halfway through Sea after finishing Wayfarers 2. Small world! I’ll share full thoughts here, but I’m loving it so far.
I'm also really into it! About 65% of the way through, I think.
I didn't believe it at first either and then immediately called a local to put in a pre-order.
I read Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel last year, but haven’t done Sea of Tranquility yet. I enjoyed the series of Station Eleven, but didn’t completely love it. The book was pretty different which was nice. The Glass Hotel on the other hand…really worked for me. I enjoyed it a lot more. It’s kind of similar structurally and stylistically, but the characters and situations I just gravitated toward more.
Very excited to read it.
I tend to stick with Penguin classics or Vintage but I only buy on Kindle so the physical uniformity isn't so much an issue for me. I was tempted at first by the free and very cheap editions but read so many user reviews that suggested they appeared to be translated into a foreign language and then back again using a computer translator that frequently make no sense and certainly aren't true to the original so I gave them a miss.When it comes to books that are classics/public domain and thus available in several editions - do you have a preference or loyalty on which edition you buy?
This goes for both books in print and ebooks. For ebooks, I have a really hard time paying $10+ for a penguin edition of something that's public domain. I usually go for the Delphi Classics editions that have all of the author's works bundled together in one ebook for $1.99 or $2.99. They often seem to include other ephemera: illustrations, photos, articles written by the author on other topics, printed criticism of their work by other famous writers, or printed biographies of the author. If I see an individual novel ebook on sale for $2.99 or less with a really nice cover image, I might buy it, but otherwise it just seems like a waste of money.
For books in print, I'm kind of a sucker for a deckle edge and thus, often end up with Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions. I wouldn't hesitate to just say that those are unequivocally the best if it weren't for the bizarre cover art that a good chunk of them have. I'm not at all interested in a book cover that tries to illustrate the plot of the novel as if it were a graphic novel:
Or the set of covers that look like they were designed for angsty goth teens:
Like I said, many of them are really nice covers that I love, but I wish that they'd go for a slightly more consistent aesthetic.
I used to like the regular black penguin classics, but they recently changed the cover design on those so that the both the author's name and title now appear in white text and both in all caps and they seem to have increased the font size of the author's name - like maybe it will grow on me, but after so many years of seeing the author's name in orange and the title in italics, this just looks wrong - I could see someone looking at this edition of Jane Eyre and thinking that Charlotte Brontë was the title of Jane Eyre's novel:
the way that I'm used to:
There's also the newer set of Penguin Clothbound Classics that are hardcovers with patterned designs on the covers:
they're kind of cool - but they're anywhere from $15-30 and I got of few of them and the way that the design is printed on the cloth kind of looks like it will wear off easily. They don't look quite as clean and precise in person, and some of the color combinations or images also just seem odd to me:
There are also Modern Library Classics editions, which feel like the paper is a little heavier somehow:
They also have updated covers on these which appear quite simple and elegant to me:
besides these, there are the hardcover Everyman's classics editions, vintage classics (another one of my favorites though there seem to be different versions between the US and the UK for these), and the red-and-white Oxford World Classics.
I'm torn on this because currently my collection is a smattering of different editions, and part of me wants to see a little more uniformity from the spines on my bookshelves, at least when it comes to the classics.
I love this topic!When it comes to books that are classics/public domain and thus available in several editions - do you have a preference or loyalty on which edition you buy?
This goes for both books in print and ebooks. For ebooks, I have a really hard time paying $10+ for a penguin edition of something that's public domain. I usually go for the Delphi Classics editions that have all of the author's works bundled together in one ebook for $1.99 or $2.99. They often seem to include other ephemera: illustrations, photos, articles written by the author on other topics, printed criticism of their work by other famous writers, or printed biographies of the author. If I see an individual novel ebook on sale for $2.99 or less with a really nice cover image, I might buy it, but otherwise it just seems like a waste of money.
For books in print, I'm kind of a sucker for a deckle edge and thus, often end up with Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions. I wouldn't hesitate to just say that those are unequivocally the best if it weren't for the bizarre cover art that a good chunk of them have. I'm not at all interested in a book cover that tries to illustrate the plot of the novel as if it were a graphic novel:
Or the set of covers that look like they were designed for angsty goth teens:
Like I said, many of them are really nice covers that I love, but I wish that they'd go for a slightly more consistent aesthetic.
I used to like the regular black penguin classics, but they recently changed the cover design on those so that the both the author's name and title now appear in white text and both in all caps and they seem to have increased the font size of the author's name - like maybe it will grow on me, but after so many years of seeing the author's name in orange and the title in italics, this just looks wrong - I could see someone looking at this edition of Jane Eyre and thinking that Charlotte Brontë was the title of Jane Eyre's novel:
the way that I'm used to:
There's also the newer set of Penguin Clothbound Classics that are hardcovers with patterned designs on the covers:
they're kind of cool - but they're anywhere from $15-30 and I got of few of them and the way that the design is printed on the cloth kind of looks like it will wear off easily. They don't look quite as clean and precise in person, and some of the color combinations or images also just seem odd to me:
There are also Modern Library Classics editions, which feel like the paper is a little heavier somehow:
They also have updated covers on these which appear quite simple and elegant to me:
besides these, there are the hardcover Everyman's classics editions, vintage classics (another one of my favorites though there seem to be different versions between the US and the UK for these), and the red-and-white Oxford World Classics.
I'm torn on this because currently my collection is a smattering of different editions, and part of me wants to see a little more uniformity from the spines on my bookshelves, at least when it comes to the classics.
Yeah, this felt like an entirely unprovoked hit piece. Likening him to Card in the first few paragraphs primes you to think that there's something deeply problematic about Sanderson and look, we all get that Mormonism isn't the most progressive religion, but the worst thing he has to say is that Sanderson is boring. Not being personally profound or charismatic is not a justification for this treatment, IMO.As a Sanderson-allergic nerd in a literary world dominated by Sanderson (my last job was with a Mormon company, and every other software engineer was stoked for the new Stormlight book), I get some giddy schadenfreude from seeing this Wired columnist fold him like a card table:
Brandon Sanderson Is Your God
He’s the biggest fantasy writer in the world. He’s also very Mormon. These things are profoundly related.www.wired.com
I will say some of the things said are low blows (what nerd hasn't worn a blazer with a graphic tee? It's a mistake we must all grow through).
edit: In finishing the full article, I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth. While I really dislike Brandon Sanderson on the basis of his work, he's an overall generous presence (I've listened to his podcast and watched some of his writing lectures) and the piece belies Frank Grimes levels of resentment from a writer who can't square disliking the art with liking the artist's guest shower.
Yeah, I'm not really a fan (read the first mistborn trilogy and thought it mid, and the first stormlight was okay but maybe 400 pages too long), but this is probably unnecessary. Mormonism is gross, sure, and part of why I don't like his work (mainly for how sterile it feels rather than him inserting his religion, which I don't think he does), but if a lot of people are enjoying it then so what. By all accounts, he's still a nice guy. He's open and communicative with both his fans AND critics online, and hears them all out, which I appreciate it.
As a Sanderson-allergic nerd in a literary world dominated by Sanderson (my last job was with a Mormon company, and every other software engineer was stoked for the new Stormlight book), I get some giddy schadenfreude from seeing this Wired columnist fold him like a card table:
Brandon Sanderson Is Your God
He’s the biggest fantasy writer in the world. He’s also very Mormon. These things are profoundly related.
I will say some of the things said are low blows (what nerd hasn't worn a blazer with a graphic tee? It's a mistake we must all grow through).
edit: In finishing the full article, I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth. While I really dislike Brandon Sanderson on the basis of his work, he's an overall generous presence (I've listened to his podcast and watched some of his writing lectures) and the piece belies Frank Grimes levels of resentment from a writer who can't square disliking the art with liking the artist's guest shower.
Ex-bookseller here too! Our bookshop put on loads of author events, mostly because it allowed us to have a stock of wine in the shop at all times! Think we had a reputation for being a little chilled out, so loads of authors came to our shop.
I would love to work in a bookstore, even more than a music shop, I think. Just being surrounded by the smell of books all day would be so therapeutic. I'd have to interact with people, sure, but only people who wanted to be in a bookstore, and I'd only have to help them find books to read, right? It just seems like a wonderful way to pass the hours. I feel like I'd learn a lot, too, just hearing about books that other people are reading and interested in.
yeah but imagine having to poop all day
GETTING PAID to have to poop all day