Library Tour Shelf 4: Everyman’s Library

[@BookTimewithElvis]

Yet again some excellent books. I really like these shelf tours, but to be honest I think we would appreciate a wardrobe tour given the amazing shirts we see here :D hahaha. Keep them coming Jack.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Hahahahaha, thanks, Mark. Now that I am at a new school, I get to deploy the full wardrobe arsenal anew. Hope your week is starting well! Best, Jack

[@darioa1345]

Great tour, thank you! I didn’t know about the color coding, cool. It shows also that I am not the only one that finds it difficult to distinguish a modern classic from a ”regular” great book that is a couple of decades old. Radetzky March is a gem that more people should discover!

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Happy to share these, Dario! My favorite part is that there are books bound in red published before some of those in blue, very “contemporary”. Another fan of the Radetzky March!! Have you read Hermann Broch’s Sleepwalkers? That is the work that reminds me most of Roth’s wonderful book. I hope your week is starting well! Best, Jack

[@darioa1345]

I will take a look at Broch as I have not read it. Thanks and all the best!

[@badger7676]

Jack, you got a chuckle out of me because I'm currently at the tail end of a two-month Dostoevsky binge. Drops of pleasure mixed into a cup of anguish!

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Hahahaha, don’t stare into the fire for too long! What has been your favorite from Dostoevsky? I hope this week started well for you. Best, Jack

[@badger7676]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 “Demons” (Constance Garnett’s translation) was striking and memorable. Starting “The Brothers Karamazov” now. Hope you are having a great week as well!

[@Lotta-sk8bi]

My favourite publisher 😍😌

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

They are quite amazing! The books are so durable, and the introductions are usually fantastic, though I always treat them as afterwords. Hope your week started well! Best, Jack

[@aaronfacer]

I had no idea about the colour coded cloth binding on these Everyman Classics! I really enjoyed reading The Glass Key a few years ago. I'll have to read some more Dashiel Hammett before too long.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Haha, glad someone found that useful, Aaron, and congratulations on the subscribers milestone. The Maltese Falcon is probably my favorite Hammett book, but The Thin Man is quite urbane and funny, closer to Agatha Christie, while Red Harvest is non-stop action. Hope you enjoy his books if you have a chance to try another. Have you read Raymond Chandler? Hope your week started well! Best, Jack

[@aaronfacer]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 Great! I think I've seen a film adaptation of The Thin Man and quite enjoyed it. I've read The Big Sleep and really liked it. I have copies of Goodnight, My Lovely and The Long Goodbye but I haven't got to them yet. So I'll probably try to read a little more by Hammett and by Chandler 😊 Do you prefer one over the other?

[@angelohieronymous2692]

Just started my own Everyman's collection some months ago, focusing on ancient and classical texts. So far I have 8 my favorite being the Hindu scriptures copy and Thomas Mann's short stories. Noticed the lettering on the spine and front fades easily, but the jacket makes up for it, I hope. Thank you for this! ❤️❤️

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

I didn’t know about the Hindi Scriptures volume, definitely one to check out! The letters does fade. The spine on my Chekhov is almost completely off, but the binding and paper are great. Hope you continue to find the volumes you want to keep! Best, Jack

[@michaelmoore6481]

Another very enjoyable tour. I am now thinking I should put some of those books on my wanted list. Kind regards.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Thanks, Michael! Which ones are you thinking about? I hope your week started well! Best, Jack

[@michaelmoore6481]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 Revolutionary Road, Continental Op and Bedtime Stories. Here in England they are no doubt published by different companies.

[@gopal72719]

I accidentally found everyman's library's Dashiell hammett book in an old bookshop. I m just replacing all my favourites with these ones. They are an absolute joy to read. Thanks for some recommendations there are some new ones i never heard of.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Happy to share! The Hammett edition is definitely a winner. Do you have a favorite work from him? I hope your week has gone well. Best, Jack

[@gopal72719]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 actually thats the first book of hammett i bought knowing maltese falcon(seeing the movie) is his work. i read thin man from it and was blown away with the dialogues. planning to read the read harvest and maltese falcon by the year end and buy the other book.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

@@gopal72719 very cool! The Thin Man is a trip. If you enjoy The Maltese Falcon, Joe Gores wrote a prequel, Spade & Archer, that is really quite good. Gores also wrote a book called Hammett that has the detective working a final case as he is trying to become a writer in 1920s San Francisco that is also pretty enjoyable and feels inspired by Red Harvest. Best, Jack

[@gopal72719]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 hey thanks will mark them in my tbr

[@GypsyRoSesx]

You have a great library! I ordered my very first Everyman’s today (because Book Depository is closing down). I chose “Beloved,” by Toni Morrison and “The Magic Mountain,” by Thomas Mann. I’ve read neither of those books yet but I’m very much looking forward to them (based on what I’ve heard). Edit: I just noticed that both book authors have the initials: T. M. What a coincidence.

[@Dann-md9eq]

Read your books now

[@tcdrx]

I just read Embers by Sándor Márai, it takes place in the Austria-Hungary Empire. You mentioned that you found that period interesting and I can highly recommend this book.

[@knittingbooksetc.2810]

I love Everyman’s library books. But I only have two books. Let me check their colour. One is grey (Montaigne), the other tan (Donne).

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Are you a fan of Donne, Cristina? I really like the Songs and Sonnets and also his elegies. Hope your week is starting well! Best, Jack

[@jillhbaudhaan]

Learned something new! Never knew about the color-coding.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Glad you were able to enjoy these! I’m always curious about whether or not there is a rationale behind color schemes. Hope you’re having a nice week! Cheers, Jack

[@jillhbaudhaan]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 I am, thanks. I hope you and your family are too. I'm missing my books and enjoying your videos and IG posts. My books are packed away because of a remodel.

[@knittingbooksetc.2810]

Anthony Andrews played Sebastian.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Yes! He was also great playing Albert Finney’s brother in Under the Volcano. Great call!

[@johnoliveira3330]

You wouldn’t happen to know the rules for Library of America color choices would you? I cannot figure out a pattern. Also, your shelf game is outstanding 👏🏼

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Thanks, John! I don’t know if there is a pattern for the Library of America. I will do some light research and see what comes up. I hope you’re having a great week! Best, Jack

[@johnoliveira3330]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 thanks Jack - not sure it makes a difference in printing, but the vast majority of my library of America editions are from subscription. It finally devolved into a Tribble infestation situation a couple of years ago, so I stopped the subscription. They are nice though and they’re available a la carte, so I’m sure I’ll get more in the future as I identify needs on the shelves

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

John, I had a chance to explore this with LoA, and they don’t have an explicit scheme. They do try to ensure that new authors in the collection don’t have the same colors as those of the writers they would be next to when placed alphabetically. Apparently some authors have children or spouses who have also requested specific colors, but that is their scheme. Hope you had a nice week. Best, Jack

[@johnoliveira3330]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 huh… that explains why I couldn’t categorize them. Kinda disappointed they’re not color coded though… I want that level of organization in my books. Thanks for hunting that down Jack - my Google searches only led to either Reddit links or Ads really.

[@felipedim5]

I've been watching your videos from Colombia and I find them fascinating. Only problem is you have triggered my bibliophilia and I've ordered way too many books.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Thanks for the kind words, Felipe. I have the same problem of continually adding to my own library. Any favorite writers from Colombia or the northern parts of South America? Best, Jack

[@felipedim5]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 García Márquez is too obvious (though not for that less amazing) so I want to recommend the Ursúa trilogy by William Ospina. I think it has some of the best descriptions of what the colonization of South America was like. Unfortunately I'm not sure it has been translated into English. Hopefully it has! Thank you for your videos!

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

@@felipedim5 I will definitely explore Ospina. Thanks for letting me know. It does look like most of not all of his works have not been translated, but I keep working to extend my reading comprehension of Spanish, so his works can join Hombres sin Mujer by Carlos Montenegro as part of my reading goal.

[@jackyli257]

I see your Library of America editions, can you do a video on those as well?

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Those are coming. Library of America has so many great editions. I hope you’re having a nice week! Best, Jack

[@emerald777.]

I've only one question about Everyman's Library editions - do they all have notes? Like transactions of French for Jane Eyre, for example. Or other relative to the text notes at the end of each book? Your reply would be very much appreciated! Also, I understand not all books have design on the front of the clothbound? Only on the spine?

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

They all have an introduction, but very few that I have read have footnotes or endnotes. The designs are on the spine, but those with a dust jacket rarely have anything on the front, just the cloth binding. Hope you have a great weekend. Best, Jack

[@Tasha9315]

Great collection:) I just started my Everyman's library collection with Dickens and Austen (Sherlock Holmes and Wilkie Collins on the way). Are your Jane Austen ones older editions? Their covers are different but still gorgeous of course!!

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Thanks, Tasha! I picked these Austen volumes up around 2013-2015, finding them at various used book stores. I think Everyman’s may have published them in the uniform set at some point. Do you have a favorite Austen and/or Dickens novel? I hope you’re having a great weekend! Cheers, Jack

[@Tasha9315]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 Thanks:) I think my favorites of Austen and Dickens would have to be Pride and Prejudice, David Copperfield, Emma and A Christmas Carol. But I haven't read all of their works. What about you?

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

@@Tasha9315 I love Pride & Prejudice and Bleak House, with Persuasion and Great Expectations in second for each.

[@reptomicus]

I got one Kafka volume in blue and one in red. It's the same guy, what's that about? Trolling the reader?

[@girl...124]

I really liked your accent which state do you live in USA?❤ I follow yiu from egypt

[@lokeshparihar7672]

who are the authors of books mentioned in last "bedtime stories and love stories"

[@zelalmedia]

Aren't the letters small? (i mean everyman's library books)

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

I haven’t found them to be particularly small. They’re generally not as small as a mass market paperback.