My Classics Collection

[@juliae.8237]

I love looking at people’s book collections- thanks so much for sharing!

[@caolila181]

Hear hear

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@jcparks2]

She gets it. She loves books AND she loves reading . Two different things. How she explains why she likes the Penguin "Black Spines" resonates with me. When I'm in bookstores, I look at every one of these that I see.

[@ToastNox]

Penguin Classics are my next aim after I’ve done collecting in Collins Classics and Macmillan Collector’s Library’s edition. They are all utterly gorgeous! 😍❤️

[@katiejlumsden]

They are such lovely editions :)

[@laurac56]

At 62, I am giving up getting hard copies of classics I want to read, and going with the kindle version. The ability to set the type size is everything! If I truly love the book, I may purchase a nice hardcover copy. I also buy Persephone books in hard copy. I have most of Angela Thirkell’s & Miss Read’s books in hard copy and hesitate to replace all of those with ebooks. Maybe someday when I downsize more.

[@katiejlumsden]

I do love being able to increase the font size on kindles! Persephone books are really nicely typeset though.

[@LuminousLibro]

I have a couple of Collector's Library editions, too, and I love them. I wish I had more of them. I have some of the Penguin black spines too, and I love how they look all matching on the shelf. There's something so wonderful about a floppy paperback!

[@katiejlumsden]

Agreed :D

[@skeller61]

Nice teacup! I’d hate to have a bad brew in there… Thanks for sharing.

[@divinedia]

I love the penguin classics they have such beautiful covers including gorgeous paintings

[@inthebookwoods818]

Love your video! Love Penguin Classics! You have a wonderful classics collection Katie. I discover some writers that I'm looking forward to read.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@novellenovels]

I have a lot of Wordsworth classics which I love as they are small and not too expensive. I also enjoy my penguin black classics too. Tom got me a cloth bound classic and it’s so special to me. Love all your gorgeous classics 😊😍

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks Emily :) I do enjoy the Wordsworth classics too - I used to have some of them when I was younger I think!

[@jenniferbrooks]

😍😍 I loved this, Katie!! Oxford World Classics font also really bothers me and I’ve never been sure why. I must finally get some Persephone classics-they look lovely and well made. The Vintage editions are stunning and I’m obsessed with their Dickens collection. I wish they’d release all of his titles in that style.

[@katiejlumsden]

Yeah, the font just isn't right, is it?! The Vintage ones are lovely, but I always want a collection I can get more books in!

[@glencochrane901]

Wow!! I'm floored, you have a lot of books.

[@katiejlumsden]

Ha yes, I do.

[@apocalypsereading7117]

i see "introduction" and my mind says "afterword"

[@katiejlumsden]

Exactly!

[@katietatey]

Yeah I hate spoilers and when I'm starting I just want to start the book! It's after I'm done I want to read the intro or google reviews. :)

[@meghanthestorygirl4581]

I really like the Penguin black spines too. An all around appealing and useful edition!

[@katiejlumsden]

Agreed :D

[@aditisachdeva1652]

You're right. The Penguin English Library edition doesn't come with notes, which is a shame because I absolutely love their covers and the striped spines. I wish they change that and include notes in it. But what a collection! My resolution this year is to try and read at least 5 classics.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! I like the look of Penguin English Libraries but I don't think I'll ever collect them.

[@Tasha9315]

I understand your feelings about the Collector's Library switching covers. I would feel the same way if the Everyman's Library (my favorite edition to collect my favorites) switched covers while I'm in the midst of collecting them. I loved looking at your classics and hearing about the various editions:)

[@jamestong8080]

I like the Everyman's Library best for classics. Hardback! A real plus. Great introductions. Good type. A+

[@katiejlumsden]

I do enjoy them, though I don't have very many.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

That is some collection. I, too, like the Penguin "black spine" Classics.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@yess23a]

I love the World Cloud Classics editions from Canterbury Classics. Libraries in my country don't bring that many versions of classics in english (I live in a spanish speaking country), so the moment I saw them I became obsessed haha. Not only do they look so pretty and colorful but feel good in your hands as well.

[@katiejlumsden]

I haven't come across them before, but I looked them up, and they look beautiful!

[@caolila181]

Also, thank you for this tour. It was highly enjoyable 😁

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@janeheath6310]

I want to thank you so much for recommending Our Mutual Friend. I am a new fan! Also can you please do a review of Notre Dame when you do read it? It's my favourite book and I'm sure you'll like it (especially if you enjoy reading about characters like Bradley Headstone)

[@katiejlumsden]

I have indeed read Notre Dame, and did enjoy it. It was a fair few years ago now, and I don't have an individual book review anywhere, I'm afraid!

[@janeheath6310]

@@katiejlumsden oh well. Thanks so much for your reviews and for bringing more attention to Our Mutual Friend. It's been a long time since I've been as excited about a book and story!

[@Alan-tk2jj]

I love the Penguin black spine classics too, I think they are my favourites. I do have quite a lot of the red spine Vintage ones but that's not through any conscious decision to collect them, I just seem to acquire them!

[@katiejlumsden]

I do quite like the Vintage red spines, though I don't own any.

[@johncrwarner]

Font, words per line and layout have become increasingly important to me - because I have learnt that i am more likely to finish something with a nice font, words per line and layout.

[@katiejlumsden]

Exactly - it does make a difference!

[@lisa60932]

I like the Penguin Black Classics as well - I’m just really old fashioned and like the paintings vs the more modern Penguin English Library! The Macmillan’s Collectors Library are lovely and so handy - however I’ve read my copy of North and South 4 times now so maybe for the 5th read a version with notes would be nice 😊

[@katiejlumsden]

Agreed :)

[@takingteawithcatherine]

I used to get Collector's Library editions at Barnes and Noble. Still a favorite - maybe it's universally appealing to small-handed persons with astigmatism?

[@katiejlumsden]

I think that must be it!

[@whatpageareyouon]

ahhh I love what you said about sometimes the mindset of the approach to classics being that it's meant to educate oneself instead of for the plot and.....what??? haha. What a nice collection!

[@katiejlumsden]

I know, right?! Many classics have the best plots!

[@gemmabonham959]

Totally agree about Forewords and Afterwords

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

I'm really loving these ones published Sweet Water Press, which I think is based in the U.K. I love the Word Cloud classics editions and these ones with illustrated brightly colored covers. I just bought Jane Eyre and now have two Dickens in those editions. They are actually published by Arcturus Publishing

[@katiejlumsden]

Never come across Sweet Water Press, but I'll have to look them up!

[@CathyFrontier]

Awesome vid! Nice collection. I swear by the old stripped Collector’s Library myself. Actually, the first video of yours that I watched, I clicked on because I saw Collector’s in the back. XD

[@katiejlumsden]

Yes, I love those editions!

[@caolila181]

My favourite editions are Everyman’s library and Oxford world’s classics for the exact reason as you love the black spines. I’ve fallen slightly out of love with the blackspines because of their varying quality and also because I have been spoiled by the notes in the book. In North and South the notes kept referring to something that was to happen in chapters ahead ☹️ I want to like the persephone books, but the only one I have is so tightly bound (glued) that it’s hard to read it.

[@katiejlumsden]

Yes, the black spines do vary a bit, though generally I love them. Persephone books are generally very good - I've never had the tightly bound problem and that'll probably be a one off/printer error, so I do recommend more of them!

[@caolila181]

Books and Things I’m glad you say that (about the binding) because that has honestly put me off. Now I just have to decide which one is going to be my next read 😁

[@allancowley2254]

I have quite a few black covered Penguin Classics but they must be a different edition as they don't have the white band - Mine were all published around 1976-79 ( reprinted from the originals published in 1955 and before !). In terms of pretty books - I have a couple of the Folio Society editions and they are really nice - but too expensive for me to fill a library with !

[@katiejlumsden]

I do love the Folio editions, but you're writing - definitely too expensive to have many of!

[@ChaoticBibliophile]

What a soothing video! I love the look and feel of the Collector's library ones but my hands are a bit too big for them, haha. Penguin black spines are great feel-in-hand- and note-wise, and I also love the Penguin Modern Classics. Lately I've become a fan of the Modern Library, which I didn't expect but it just sort of happened.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! Penguin have such nice classic editions!

[@sarahel19]

Beautiful collection Katie! I also have quite a lot of Penguin black spines, they are the first English classics I started to buy. The catalogue is very large and the notes are indeed very interesting but I’m not that fond of how they look on shelves and the spines tend to break in the middle when you read the big ones. I really like the Oxford World Classics, I have a lot of them and love how the spines look on my shelves but as you say the font and type-setting are the main drawbacks at least in some of them. I was really disappointed to see how old fashioned both font and type-setting are in their edition of The Netherworld when I ordered it. At first I didn’t really like the Penguin English Library books much, mainly because of the stripes on the spine, but the covers are beautiful and above all I love the font and how floppy they are. Floppy paperbacks make for a very confortable read for me. So I started buying a few of them and plan to add some to my collection. For example I would love to own all the main novels of Jane Austen in this collection.

[@katiejlumsden]

Yeah, Oxford World Classics I just can't stand the font of - but Penguin Black Spines I love the look and the reading experience of, though some of them are more floppy than others!

[@danieljackson3367]

I like Penguin Classics too. I also like Wordsworth Classics - in my experience, they tend to be the cheapest editions available but still look nice and have good notes and introductions. Have you read any of theirs? I have a lot of old editions because I have bought many classics from a big second-hand book fair held every year where I live. Some are from the 19th or early 20th century!

[@katiejlumsden]

That's fun! I've read a couple of Wordsworth classics but not for a fair while.

[@vehement-critic_q8957]

I'm really into introductions and Explanatory notes and additional information and background. And if they offer questions that would be spectacular. Well, let's see, the editions that are most available here are New York Classics and Oxford Classics. I somehow find Oxford's much interesting, but I have set books of Penguin's classics and they are just marvelous!!! No way I would start with the introduction before reading the novel Lol That would be a spoiler as you mentioned.

[@katiejlumsden]

The Penguin classics have read notes and extra material - I really find them great!

[@ElaineHowlin]

Great collection 😍 I love the collectors library ones. I have three of those so far...bit behind you haha

[@katiejlumsden]

Ha they are beautiful. I've had most of mine since I was a teenager!

[@alphabarryshow]

Our company just subscribed to this channel. Keep it up! :)

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@katietatey]

Love your collection! I have a lot of the penguin black spines and my only complaint is how easily the spines get cracked from reading. I also have a number of Barnes and Noble classic paperbacks, which are similar in size and in that they contain notes and intros, but their spines are various colors and they don't crack even after many readings. For that reason I usually try to get the B&N versions now. I think the cover art on the penguins is often a bit nicer, though. The B&N are often a lot cheaper, too. I can usually get a used one for $4 or $5 on Ebay. Since they hold up well I'm not wary of buying used. They may not be available in the UK though.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! I don't really mind a cracked spine - they look well-loved to me! I've certainly never seen a Barnes and Nobles edition here - I expect you can get them somehow in the UK but they're not often in shops.

[@marty9011]

Oh to have collections. I have a hotch-potch of second-hand paperbacks which I like but no one can call them attractive ! Never having had a lot to spend I am just thankful to have what I could find cheaply. I must say that thick paperbacks that won't stay open are a pain to read.

[@katiejlumsden]

Agreed - I like a floppy paperback!

[@arunmuralidhar6391]

I was wondering if you have any videos on PG Wodehouse . Since you are talking about collections.

[@katiejlumsden]

I've read a few of his books recently, so do look at my wrap ups :)

[@misssavvyliterature5977]

I love your content❤

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@sausana2501]

I encourage you to read more translated works. French classics are really good. I enjoy Camus, Sartre, and Simon. Russian Classics are on another level. Dostoevsky is my favorite. Latin literature is what i’m trying to read more of these days

[@katiejlumsden]

I have read some Dostoevsky, which I enjoyed. I've got plenty of translated classics on my list!

[@gabrielcardoso8512]

👏👏👏 Good night 🌕

[@davidpercival6326]

Have you read the great illustrated classics they are for younger readers but they introduce people to classics think there from usa I imported them from there many great stories many made into classic films like Oliver Twist the Jungle book and Snow White

[@LanaCelebic]

I buy Wordsworth Classics, mostly because they are available in bookstores in my country. I think they're good for the first read, if you didn't like the book, at least it was really cheap. Peguin Black Classics are better though.

[@katiejlumsden]

I do see them here and there, though I love the Penguin Black Classics more.

[@KevTheImpaler]

I have quite a few of the clothbound Penguins. They look great. I have a few of the orange spine Penguins. They had better covers in terms of texture and material when they first came out. I think I slightly prefer the Oxford World Classics to the Penguin black spines. Sometimes the text differs between the Penguins and the Oxfords, e.g. Tess of the d'Urbervilles. I thought the notes were fine. I have several of those Collectors Editions from before they changed the covers. They were cheap compared to other hardbacks, but the print was very small. I have one Barnes & Noble copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, which is beautiful to look at, although it has no notes or introduction.

[@katiejlumsden]

I think I just don't love the typesetting in the Oxford World Classics ones - it's so subjective!

[@katietatey]

I have a number of the B&N paperbacks and mine all have good notes and intros. Maybe it is just that title? I went to look but my Count is a penguin black. I actually love the B&N ones.

[@arunmuralidhar6391]

Also I have not come across any of your lovely videos on Somerset Maugham

[@katiejlumsden]

Nope, not read anything by him!

[@kingnevermore25]

Hello. You said that reading the introduction may spoil the book, does that also apply to Penguin black edition? I want to read some of Dickens's novels in Penguin black but i am afraid that reading the introduction may spoil the book for me. P.S. love your videos.

[@katiejlumsden]

Yes, the Penguin Black Spines introductions and blurbs can be a bit spoilery - just skip the introduction and read it at the end :)

[@kingnevermore25]

@@katiejlumsden Thank you very much for your reply. You saved me from spoilers lol

[@LilTheLah]

Have you ever read a Norton Critical Edition? They include loads of notes. I do prefer Penguin Classics though just because they look more beautiful haha

[@katiejlumsden]

I think I had one or two at university!

[@Toastwig]

By coincidence last week, out of boredom and fun, I ranked some classic editions by giving them scores in categories. I figured I may as well comment the results lol. Black classics are my favourite so it’s no surprise they are at the top. But the rest of the results aren’t necessarily how I would rank them without the categories. PENGUIN BLACK CLASSICS The range selection 5/5 Aesthetics 4/5 Formatting & Additional information 5/5 Durability 3/5 =17/20 PENGUIN CLOTHBOUND CLASSICS The range selection 3/5 Aesthetics 5/5 Formatting & Additional information 4/5 Durability 2/5 =14/20 MACMILLIAN COLLECTOR’S LIBRARY The range selection 4/5 Aesthetics 3/5 Formatting & Additional information 2/5 Durability 4/5 =13/20 VINTAGE CLASSICS The range selection 4/5 Aesthetics 4/5 Formatting & Additional information 1/5 Durability 3/5 =12/20 OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS The range selection 5/5 Aesthetics 1/5 Formatting & Additional information 3/5 Durability 3/5 =12/20 PENGUIN ENGLISH LIBRARY The range selection 2/5 Aesthetics 2/5 Formatting & Additional information 2/5 Durability 3/5 =8/20 Some notes on my rankings: I made durability a 3/5 for a standard paperback, but subtracted a point for the clothbounds because their covers wear off and added a point for the McMillans because they’re hardcover. Aesthetics is completely subjective. I really don’t like the orange stripy spines of the English library edition despite their nice covers. I don’t own something from every edition so the formatting & additional information points were based on what I could learn online.

[@katiejlumsden]

Oooo interesting! I agree with lots of your ratings. Aesthetics is definitely subjective - I think I find the Penguin Black Spines more beautiful than a lot of other people, and sounds like you do too.

[@katietatey]

I love that you did these ratings! My beef with the penguin clothbound is that they aren't true hardcovers, they are bound like paperbacks. And the penguin black classics are good but I hate that the spines get cracked so easily.

[@izabelbrekilien9658]

Just like you, I read on Kindle and when I love the book, buy a physical edition - and I hate spoilers in classics ! Postfaces are good. I like the Penguin English library, though, and there are no notes ;)

[@izabelbrekilien9658]

Today, I finally made it : I watched almost all of your videos during the quarantine ! Not all because I skipped announcements and things like that, I also skipped the spoilery sections of books that I intend to read, but I wanted to say a huge thank you ! I'm a huge victorian literature lover, I discovered your channel last year and I learned a lot of things with you - and increased my TBR pile in an Everest kind of way. Thank you for sharing so much with us !!

[@katiejlumsden]

All of them!? I am impressed, thank you - there have been so many! Really appreciate your support :)

[@PawsR_us]

I collect the McMillan collectors library but the blue ones… which ones are the ones u mentioned ? Did they stopped making these ? Am confused lol

[@katiejlumsden]

The ones I have are older. Collector's Library used to be independent, and when it was taken over by Pan Macmillan, they redesigned them.

[@ellenkingsley]

I have a mix of Collectors Edition and the Penguin Black Spines I've managed to get most of them from charity shops I've noticed you haven't got A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson or Dracula by Bram Stoker

[@katiejlumsden]

So, I haven't actually read all three of those - I'll admit that I didn't really like Treasure Island or Dracula. A Little Princess I haven't read for a very very long time, so I don't remember it that well!

[@temsujamir3256]

Among these classics, The Count of Monte Cristo is my favourite and it hurts that you havent read it :)

[@katiejlumsden]

If it helps I'm literally half way through it now :)

[@temsujamir3256]

@@katiejlumsden Yasss! :):):)

[@BeatrixOnyx]

I agree with you about Oxford World editions. They annoyingly don't translate passages where the characters are speaking a foreign language. Having to get my phone out to translate lengthy dialogue ruins the reading experience.

[@katiejlumsden]

I know, I never like that either!

[@BookishTexan]

It hurts my heart to hear you refer to a book printed in 1987 as "very, very old."🙂

[@amandalavelle2638]

😂 I turned 40 on Tuesday- I wasn’t feeling too sensitive about it until then! 😂 xx

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

When I think of old books, I think pre ww2

[@robynfindley7623]

I agree with you when about 1987 is considered old. I graduated high school that year and I was born in 1968

[@katiejlumsden]

Haha I'm so sorry XD Old for books, not for people!!! I guess I just find it weird that I own books that were printed before I was born.

[@katietatey]

I have the exact same older Withering Heights. It's in good shape for an older paperback. I hope the trade type paperbacks I'm collecting now will stand the tests of time and rereading. A lot of my mass market type paperbacks from the 1960s had the glue eventually fail and I replaced them over the years.

[@gemmabonham959]

And what is written on the back of books which I never read until the end

[@katiejlumsden]

Agreed! I always read them afterwards out of interest.

[@racheldemain1940]

I have never found the blurb or introduction spoiled the book for me.

[@nehalaleem277]

Thanks for that now I am not reading introductions I thought they were necessary to understand the story and info about author 🤔

[@sidra884]

13:16 wait.. r u Hermione Granger!

[@folksurvival]

Unfortunately Penguin have slightly changed the style of the Classics now and they don't look as nice and don't quite fit with the previous style.

[@katiejlumsden]

I know - it does bother me!