; "VMC")
I don’t consider myself a bibliophile – normally.
A book-lover, yes, but I don’t normally care so much about what format they come in. How else would I be so tolerant of these unassuming, yellowing editions I receive through Bookmooch, with torn pages, creased corners and weak spines. I’m okay with whatever book I get from libraries, and I have been known to write into books when I was a student.
But during the holidays (yes, those that happened eons ago), I found myself in front of those magnificent Virago Modern Classics, and these are the loveliest books I’ve seen for ages. I’d heard Danielle (among others) say great things about Virago, but never before had I had those pretty darlings in my hands.
This is where my lust for notebooks and nice stationery collides with my love for books. Especially the lush blue Liberty cover art from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. Sigh.
In my next life I want to be a Virago Modern Classics.
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January 24, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Nancy
Like you, I go for content and can read anything that holds itself together and doesn’t smell bad. (One has to have some standards and not smelling bad is my minimum requirement.) Still, when a beautifully finished volume comes to hand I have the same reaction you do. I want the books you show!
January 24, 2012 at 7:32 pm
Emily Barton
Oh yes, I normally go for content over book design, but I’ve been known to fall for a lovely design from time to time. And yes, definitely lust for notebooks and nice stationery definitely collides with books here, judging from your picture.
January 29, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Michelle
Couldn’t agree more – usually I don’t care about format, but certain publishers have wooed me recently. Pereine Press in London do absolutely beautiful little novellas-in-translation, and I couldn’t help it, I subscribed to their catalogue. Such fun.