The 5 prettiest Folio Society books that I own

[@Ben55583]

Excellent choice. Your love of books is obvious. I have been a member of Folio Society for many decades. I can think of no other society dedicated to the written word, that consistently produces books to such a high standard. The texture of the paper, the smell, the art work and illustrations are all superb. I love sitting and spending time in my library surrounded by my books, reading and browsing through my collection, in which FS books take pride of place.

[@librarybooks]

Thank you! Yes, I do love my Folios. They're usually very thoughtful about their design choices, and it makes a difference when reading.

[@B-RollBooks]

@@librarybooks Couldn't agree more. So many people on BookTube say that their Folios are display-only. What a shame. The tactile experience is half the joy.

[@Ellary_Rosewood]

Wow, what a collection! All of them are so beautiful, but I must say that Beowulf is stunning and has to be my absolute favorite. I must get my hands on a copy one day. ❤️

[@librarybooks]

Yes, it's really impossible for me to make this list!

[@T-M123]

I bought Roald Dalh’sets , and I’m fascinated by how textured they are

[@ThaKid14]

The Wind In The Willows Folio is absolutely stunning. Wow that's a special piece, its utter perfection.

[@LegendarySquoth]

I think I have about 200 Folio Society books and if I were to do the same thing with my collection Beowulf and Wind in the Willows would also be in my top five. Some other top picks would be Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake (original 1992 edition) and The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Their Myths and Sagas collection and the leather bound Dickens collection from the turn of the millennium are also very pretty. They really do make very beautiful books all round.

[@librarybooks]

They really are pretty. As for the other ones that you'd choose, I don't have any of them! I'll have to keep an eye out for them. (I do have a couple of those DIckens editions, though).

[@dlphcoracl9645]

The vast majority of serious Folio Society collectors would consider the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf and the Limited Edition of Moby Dick with the incomparable illustrations by Rockwell Kent to be amongst the finest (and most sought after) FS books in their bibliography.

[@librarybooks]

Well, I don't know whether I'm a serious collector, but I definitely love those two books!

[@inanimatecarbongod]

Damn, that Beowulf is something. I don't collect books any more like I used to, but if I had just a bit more shelf space I'd definitely invest in that. Very handsome-looking printing of a great translation. Also kind of blown away by that Moby Dick edition; I have a Folio printing of that book (a 90s reprint of their 1974 edition) but that one blows mine out of the water, as it were.

[@librarybooks]

"out of the water" Well done. 🙂

[@routex1]

I have a few of those Folio books, but not Moby Dick. A quick search shows it selling for $3165.00 on ebay... um yeah. Looks like I'll just have to appreciate it from afar with your video. Thanks for sharing!

[@librarybooks]

Wow! As I'm sure you know, Folio Society books don't often appreciate in value, but some of the "Limited Editions" do. I bought that Moby Dick directly from FS when it was still in print, and believe me, it didn't cost anything near that amount!

[@dustymetso]

I really like how the Beowulf has the Old English script on the other side too. Beautiful editions, thanks for sharing.

[@B-RollBooks]

Wonderful choices all. That Moby-Dick limited edition is my book collecting white whale, if you'll pardon the pun. I'm so happy to see yours is rightly cherished.

[@Evelyn-zn6td]

Oh no! I had no idea how nice Sun Tzu was. Now I really want it. The translation they selected looks pretty good too.

[@librarybooks]

I can't say much about the translation, because I've never compared it to a different one. But it seems readable to me. :)

[@jknuttel]

The illustrations for _Moby-Dick_ were done by a superb illustrator named Rockwell Kent.

[@t0dd000]

I love their books. My only criticism of FS is that they tend to publish far too many books with simply a paper cover.

[@Sams911]

Your video got me the bug for that Moby Dick, I had to have it... I was able to find a like new copy for the "Bargain" price of $1800... to add to my collection of Limited Edition Folio Society books... 2022 Lord of the Rings, 2023 James Joyce Ulysses, 2024 Beowulf, 2024 Origin of the Species, and 2024 Thucydides... Suffice it to say, I got the bug...

[@librarybooks]

Wow, I hope you love it as much as I love mine!

[@skeller61]

Very nice! I was going to think about getting The Art of War, but I noticed that the names are in Wade-Giles, instead of Pinyin, which I really don’t like (Peking is W-G, Beijing is pinyin). It is a beautiful edition.

[@librarybooks]

Well, at least I helped you make the decision one way or the other (if I did). That means there's some value to the video! 🙂

[@Evenhurst]

What year and edition of the wind and the willows is that? There seem to be a few that Folio put out but yours is beautiful

[@librarybooks]

Hello, I'm not sure what you mean by edition, but mine was published in 2005. Hope that helps!

[@LegendarySquoth]

As far as I know the Folio Society has produced three editions of The Wind in the Willows. The first was in 1995 and it is bound in a pale green ripple silk with a gold stamped riverbank scene on the front cover. It is a very pretty book but the illustrations are a real let down. None of the animals are anthropomorphised so they are just pictures of, for example, a normal toad on the grass next to the wheel of a yellow caravan. Then the 2005 edition (as featured in this video) which is one of the prettiest books they have ever produced in my opinion. After that they did a Limited Edition in 2008 which was similar to the 2005 edition but with better quality materials. It had the same illustrations but they were tipped-in and it had gold page edges and came in a clamshell box amongst other improvements. Personally I think the 2005 edition is the one to go for.

[@australianpatriot]

beowulf is very nice

[@godofchaoskhorne5043]

How much does the average folio society book cost? Can anyone buy them? And are their releases only limited? I thought these books were like 500 a piece at least but I'm.not sure

[@librarybooks]

Anyone can buy them. You just go to their web page and click your wallet away. They're mostly not limited editions. They have books ranging from about 50 USD up to the thousands. I'd guess that most of them are between 60 - 90 USD. The problem is that the books go out of print, and then you have to find them on the secondary market. Usually, they're a bit cheaper than new, but in some cases they get much more expensive than when they were published.

[@suncat5160]

You sure those characters are cut out of the silk? Isn't it just gold foil stamping like on any other book?

[@librarybooks]

Haha, of course I'm not sure. Even in the video I waffled a bit. I don't about "any other book," but for this one, I'm sure you're right.

[@gyatak200]

art silk is artificial silk's nicer name

[@librarybooks]

Aha, thanks!

[@T-M123]

Only a Folio Society book would entice to read The Art of War,