Which editions do you prefer over others and recommend?

[Pollopicu]

I would like to know what are your preferences as far as choosing editions. What has been your experience with choosing one over the other.


Penguin classics
Oxford classics
Modern Library
Barnes & Nobles

etc..

[Adagio]

This should be a poll.

For me it's either Penguin, or Oxford. Great editions. I also really like the Cambridge editions of Shakespeare.

[Pollopicu]

That's good. Cambridge I've heard of, but don't own any.

I didn't do a poll since there are other editions I'm not familiar with, and I thought this would be a way of inviting people to contribute them.

[Desolation]

I really like Penguin Classics, especially the Deluxe editions. I'm also fond of Modern Library, and all the other branches of Vintage/Random House. My favorite publisher, though, is New Directions. When I can, I always prefer to get books by one of those three publishers.

[Pollopicu]

I love modern Library editions too because they're usually hardcovers. You don't see much hardcovers in bookstores nowadays. It seems bookstores are catering more to the "throw in your tote readers" and have forgotten about people who want to collect them for their own personal home library. Which is what I do. Don't get me wrong, I always have books in my own tote, but I have an aesthetic inclination to them as well.

My least favorite would have to be the B&N edition.

[billl]

Some more opinions from quite a few weeks back.

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45929

[Desolation]

I may be in the minority on this, but I really dislike hardcovers. So much so that if I'm in a bookstore and see a book I that I really want, I will not purchase it if it is hardcover. I know that they're built better and are better for personal collections, but I just don't like them.

[Pollopicu]

I may be in the minority on this, but I really dislike hardcovers. So much so that if I'm in a bookstore and see a book I that I really want, I will not purchase it if it is hardcover. I know that they're built better and are better for personal collections, but I just don't like them.

but why?

[Pollopicu]

Some more opinions from quite a few weeks back.

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45929
thank you!

[NickAdams]

It depends on the book.

I like some of the Barnes & Noble editions, like Dante. I like the Longfellow translation and the accompanying notes. Barnes and Noble also has a new series called Rediscover.

I'm a big fan of Library of America (I prefer their Faulkner over Vintage's) and the Viking Portable Library.

I like Vintage for non-US literature.

Grove press also has great editions, particularly their collection of Beckett and Robbe-Grillet.

I go with the Everyman's Library for Dostoevsky, Flann O'Brien, etc.

[Adagio]

oo I forgot Vintage, Everyman's Library and Faber & Faber.

[Pollopicu]

Now that I think about it, what I meant to ask is what are the best translated editions.

For example, those who read Madame Bovary? which edition did you read and love?

[Barbarous]

yes, Vintage International have a wide selection of great titles. I also go for the Penguin Classics, mostly because they're affordable.

[mayneverhave]

My choice in edition is usually determined by two things: a.) necessity, and b.) translation.

I.e. I own Vintage editions of Faulkner because, as far as I know, Faulkner is only printed by Vintage and the Modern Library. I own the Signet editions of each of the Divine Comedy canti because the translation I wanted was printed by Signet.

Only a purely aesthetic basis, I enjoy the art of the Penguin editions, but honestly, things like the sizes of margins and the choice in font is more important to me than cover design.

[sixsmith]

I have a fairly decent collection of Everyman Hardbacks. It has become something of a fetish.

Penguin are pretty sturdy as far as paperbacks go. Vintage paperbacks are, however, banned from my home. They are disgracefully put together and are almost guaranteed to fall apart open opening.

[bluosean]

I like Modern Library perhaps best.

[Nietzsche]

I like the Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading and Barnes and Noble Classics line of books a lot. They are decently priced and they usually have decent introductions and notes.

[billl]

I haven't bought any, but I looked through some of the B & N classics when I was in the store recently, and found little reason to heap as much scorn as I had planned to on them. A good deal in a lot of cases, probably. But I did notice that the 2 or 3 translations that I checked were very old--so that's something to be careful about, although they might very well be great ones.

[mal4mac]

"Wordsworth Classics" are very good for the price. Their English works seem fine, it's difficult to go wrong wth those unless the editor drinks :D But be careful of their translations. Some are very good - they use Maude and Garnett for Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, so you can''t do better there IMHO. Others (Dante, Cervantes...) are ropey old translations.

But all publishers have good & bad translations, so you need to choose carefully for each book you are plannning to read. And the translator *really* matters. I gave up on Penguins translation of Cervantes, but couldn't put Grossman's translation down - the Vintage paperback was a real bargain on Amazon (half price!) Plus nice, white paper & the print size is excellent. Some pages fell out, though, after a few months handling. But that's typical of large paperbacks.

I bought Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" in Penguin's Geoffrey Wall translation, and although the story was great the writing seemed awkward. The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Zlcg29QYnqMC, the best guide to translations!) also says that Wall is awkward. They recommend Francis Steegmuller's translation, as do Fadiman and Bloom. Do people here also rate this translation?