There’s this one thing I have to do when I have a favorite book or author: I need to obtain every edition of the book, whether it’s an ARC, hardcover, paperback, or the international editions of the book. I don’t care if the book went through three cover changes – I’ll still try to collect them all – or if the ARC has no cover art; I just need every single edition of it.
This need of mine is a hard and annoying need to have, especially if you fall in love with a book that’s been released three years ago. ARCs for it will practically be extinct three years later and what if the book went through a cover change? Collecting the book with the original cover in new or like new condition will be pretty hard. Take Poison Princess for example: I bet it’ll be very hard to find a like new to new condition of Poison Princess with the old cover in both hardcover and paperback now.
This need of mine is tiring and takes up so much room on my bookshelf. Let me tell you a secret: my collection of the Pushing the Limits series, which just consists of the ARCs, the paperbacks, and the hardbacks with no international editions, took one-third of a single row of my bookshelf. This need really limits bookshelf space.
Do you have to collect every edition of your favorite books like me? Who you feel my pain? I want to know!
Hmm, I can’t say I have your particular compulsion. I think I’d drive myself crazy, and my wallet out of money if I did! I’m pretty laidback about my books. It does kind of bother me in a niggling, back-of-the-mind-and-easy-to-ignore kind of way when my book series don’t match, but for me it’s the words inside the books and not the covers on the books that are most important.
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My problem is that I feel like I need to own every copy I come across. It’s really bad with Harry Potter.
Elizabeth recently posted…Invitation
I did that with the Twilight Saga and the Fifty Shades saga and it got way out of hand so I try really hard not to do that anymore. It’s an expensive habit. The only time I find myself doing it now is when I’m collecting a series and for some annoying reason they change up the covers in the middle… I have to start over. I can’t stand it when they don’t match. Oh… and I usually end up buying both the Kindle edition and the physical books. I like reading on my Kindle, but I like to have my bookcase filled with my favourite books too. I mean people don’t ask to look over your Kindle, but they do like to look at your bookcases.
I feel for ya! I know what it’s like when you just have to have them. It’s a thing that only other book collectors would understand. The way I personally look at it is… I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I’m not on drugs, I never travel anywhere and books gives me happiness and is my vacation away from reality. So long as I don’t go in debt over it, then I should be able to spend it how I want on my books. If that means buying several editions of the same book, then so be it. Like I said, I try not to do that anymore, but I still buy both Kindle and hardcover or paperback so it’s still more than I need.
You’re not alone. LOL
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I have one series that I could see doing something similar for – the Abhorsen trilogy. This was a childhood favorite that I have reread many times. I still have my original paperbacks (in surprisingly good condition), but I am also trying to collect the original hardcovers. Unfortunately, these were published over 10 years ago so it has been difficult to find them in decent condition. Right now, I have the third book in good condition, the second in okay condition, and can’t find a decent copy of the first at all.
Otherwise, i usually only have one copy of a book, though I may buy a second copy in certain cases. For example, I will buy a hardcover copy of a book I already have in paperback to make my series match. And I have bought a new copy of a beloved book because my copy wasn’t in good condition. I would also consider buying a new copy of a book if I find a cover I prefer, though I can’t think of a case where I did that.
Tanya (Read. Run. Study.) recently posted…Book Review: The Undertaker’s Daughter
My issue is that I feel the need to have my series in all the same format. So, if a series starts out being published in mass market only before moving to getting published in hardcover first, I have a problem. I either have to wait an extra year to buy and then read the mass market or buy the hardcover to devour then buy the mass market when it eventually comes out. :P
Wow! I would drive myself nuts if I had this compulsion, plus I wouldn’t have any money for new books. I do prefer for the books of a series that I own to match though, but I normally don’t buy new copies if they don’t just because I’m kind of a penny pincher and don’t like to spend money unless it’s something that I don’t have. I also hardly ever buy paperbacks because they are more expensive, but I see why some people prefer them!
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OH MY GOSH KELLY THIS IS INSANEEE. I don’t know a lot of people who do this, actually! I can’t justify having so many copies of the same book taking up that much space in my house. They would just sit there and look pretty, but the likelihood that you’re going to read all of those copies is very small! I guess if you love a book enough. ;)
Whoa, Kelly your hobby is definitely interesting. I’m kind of the person who doesn’t care what edition they have. I actually am the opposite, I hate having doubles. I think it’s strange because I like variety on my shelf [more because i have limited space in my tiny cubicle of a room]
I think what you’re doing is really cool and I can totally see you owning your own library and stacking all your awesome editions in it. Like, you should go run a museum of all your awesome editions!
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I wish I had a collection of my favourites but I don’t think I’d be able to get my hands on the ARCs. Your collections are probably all really gorgeous!!
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I meant crazy book “collectors”.
Haha! I TOTALLY DO THIS with my favorite books and authors! Like, ANNE Rice’s Interview with a Vampire (I collect every issue, and hardcover,mothers are so many since it’s such an old book!
And i want to jump up and down over our shared frustration that is the Arcana Chronicles. I Mean, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING changing it in the MIDDLE OF THE SERIES?! Don’t get me wrong, the new covers are pretty and all but smh. I have the first TWO old covers, now the third HC new version. Ok I was freaking out when I had a paperback of book 1, wondering if I should get in paperback or hardback for the whole series. I generally don’t get both of the entire series unless they’re different covers or European editions or something. I’ll have to get Poison Princess in HC with the new cover. of course Im keeping and cherishing the old covers too.
Lolll I think this is what makes us
crazybook “collectors” ….or, that’s the reasoning I always give anyway ;)The only books I have multiple editions are the Anna and the French Kiss series. When the new covers came out I had to have them even though I already had the original hardcovers. If The Sea of Tranquility came out with a different cover I would totally buy that too. That’s an all-time favorite read. I want the Lithuanian cover for that book. It’s so gorgeous and it’s in hardcover!
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yikes! fortunately i don’t have such kind of dilemma…as long as i have a physical copy i am happy enough already since books published in the US are not always readily available in my country. But your obsession with The Raven Cycle series reminded me immediately of my good friend who is just as obsessed about this series as you O.o i think all her copies are HB and signed coz she orders them directly from this bookstore site that Maggie endorsed. And she plans to get a paperback copies as well.
Funny enough…right now i only have a paperback copy of The Dream Thieves (but i have read all four books already)…which is the only one missing from your collection lol!
Haha woah! I don’t really buy double copies of books even though they turn out to be my all time favorite. I just don’t have room for them. I’m so glad you loved TRB though! I didn’t like it, unfortunately. Tsk, I really wanted to, plus the covers are freakin gorgeous! The spines would look perfect on any bookshelf.
Leigh @ Little Book Star recently posted…Stacking the Shelves #12
As much as I would love to do this, it would be impossible. The only books I collect various editons of are the Harry Potter books.
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I don’t really have that compulsion about every single book or author I love. I do own a Kindle and do 90% of my reading through that. But if I really, really, REALLY love a book then I feel the need to own the print and digital editions. There are some books I don’t have the print of that I would like (Sea of Tranquility or To Kill A Mockingbird, for instance). I think that is because I want to make sure I have plenty of books to read in the event of an apocalypse and if my Kindle becomes obsolete. Ha. Yes, these are the things I think of. Haha
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Uhhh so guilty of multiple copy syndrome. It’s hard to get rid of a book, they’re our friends yinno!
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I don’t think I would survive if I did this… My bank is already running on fumes as it is with only one edition of each book. Though that isn’t to say there are other editions of my favourite books that I would love to get my hands on but I believe my money would be better spent on something I don’t already own :)
That is quite the compulsion. Mine is that I like to own the books I read. It results in a lot of books and little room. :P
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I actually don’t have that. There are a couple of books I will make an exception for, like: I really want to get the TOG hardcovers, because they are SO pretty and I want to buy a new box set from Harry Potter, but most of the times I’m happy with one edition :) It feels weird for me to spend money on a book I already own.
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The only book I have multiple copies of is Shatter Me (I have the hardcover and paperback) and it’s because I loved that book so much that I needed the rest of the books to match. Also, it’s funny you mention Poison Princess since I have the original hardcover copies of book 1 & 2 that have been sitting on my shelf, unread, in perfect condition, for the longest time. I read book 1 before and while I want to keep reading the series, I kinda want the new versions instead.
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I was going to say this was an expensive hobby, but then how is it different from any other collection. When I was little, I collected miniature tea sets. They were pretty useless to me since I couldn’t even drink tea from them, but they were so cute, and I loved them! So, I understand why you would want the different copies and covers of your favorite books. I haven’t collected anything for ages, but if I’m honest, I could totally see myself doing this with the Harry Potter series.
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