The Festive Collection 2023

Appreciate such comments are based exclusively on individual taste, but what a wonderful collection.

Thank you for including the year in the title! I wish more Devotees would remember that for threads concerning annual collections.

It seems that in this collection we have our first book with fluorescent spine titling (The Nightmare before Christmas). Literally a book to keep you awake at night.

For those not aware, there's a link that will show you the entire collection it is:
The Night Before Christmas
The Avengers
Beloved
Bring Up the Bodies
Charmed Life
Dune Messiah
The Enchanted Wood
Frankenstein
The Buried Giant
Invisible Cities
The Planets
Ordeal by Innocence
Tales from Earthsea
The Divine Comedy
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
No Country for Old Men

This is a GOOD collection. Looks like we're actually getting a standard edition of Invisible Cities. And there is just a lot of stuff in general that I either already want or am excited to learn about.

>4 Jason461: The link is included at the top of Post 1 ;)

Wow, at least three books for me... probably more!

The Divine Comedy SE is incredibly exciting for me. Couldn’t justify the recent LE, nor the Blake/Dalí/di Paolo versions on the secondary market.

>7 PJ-Reads: I agree, I'm excited about a standard edition of the Neil Packer-illustrated Dante set. I wasn't attracted to the limited edition at the price, plus I didn't care for the gimmicky box and print ensemble. A set of three cloth-bound SE volumes in a regular slipcase would be hard to resist. If it's a single volume (which it sadly appears to be counting the number of volumes in the teaser pile above) I'll have to wait and see what it looks like.

Together with the Autumn Collection that's a minimum of seven for me, which is a new personal record. Surely there's something even for Willoyd and Joshbooks here?

On the darker side, having thought The Flower Fairies were the lowest that Folio could possibly go for Nursery entertainment, what do we have but Enid Blyton, whose work makes the deathless poesie of the Flower Fairies seem like Ezra Pound.

>7 PJ-Reads: Divine Comedy was one of the SEs I was hoping for (I like Packer's work) but not as a thick, single volume. I'd rather have paid more for individual SE volumes - ideally available seperately as I mostly want Inferno.

I suppose I could go for the older version as the price for a single volume of that will probably be close to the price of this SE but the older Inferno has the Blake illustrations. If only Folio had done the Dali for all three - his Inferno versions are really great.

>10 LeBacon: Most people seem to prefer Inferno. I presume that's why we have the governments we have.

>10 LeBacon: If it were multiple volumes it wouldn’t be sufficiently different from the LE.

>9 red_guy: What’s with the hate, many adults enjoy beautifully made fairy tale books. Some have themes that are admittedly more adult, but there’s also room for straight up nursery tales like this one. I hope it’s a big success, and they publish other stories of hers.

>12 What_What: Having cloth rather than leather covers and standard slipcases rather than the elaborate box would have been enough to differentiate the versions.

>13 LeBacon: are we sure it’s cloth and not paper?

>14 RRCBS: I was describing my ideal SE that's not happening. I can't really tell from the pics what materials any of the bindings have - we'll see tomorrow.

No 'The Player of Games' - I was so hoping that they might continue the series.

Does anyone remember if the Fall/Autumn collection releases typically with shipping discounts? There's a lot in this collection that look like buys for me, and I know they won't be discounted within the next year because they're new. But, I suspect I'll have to wait until the December holiday sale to get free shipping on them.

>12 What_What: Not really. Three cloth-bound volumes in a regular slipcase is a big step away from three leather bound volumes plus a signed print inside a fold-over box.

>16 DukeOfOmnium: I'm still not sure that Consider Phlebas sold well enough for them to continue the series. As far as I recall, the rest of the Culture was 'under discussion'

>17 icewindraider: I think that last year the last collection was released with 'buy 5 get free shipping' or something.

Definitely want some of these. I had been begging for some Enid Blyton, but i can't believe that they actually listened. However, i am not a fan of Burton as an illustrator at all, so i will have to see. Maybe i will just buy somevintage editions available online instead. Would have to see some more of the illustrations first.

Definitely getting No Country For Old Men, Beloved, Bring up the Bodies, Ordeal by Innocence, and The Divine Comedy.

Good collection, but i still wish for something better from the 19th century than Frankenstein.

Charmed Life and The Enchanted Wood could work for me. I have yet to read either of those. Others look interesting as well, depending on the pricing and the production. Will have to wait for more details.

However, regarding "The Enchanted Wood", do folks expect this to be the bowdlerized edition, or is there any hope for Dame Slap. Out of personal beliefs, I will have to pass if not.

The Divine Comedy SE looks great. I passed on the LE b/c of the price. Hopefully the single volume won't be too heavy. Dune Messiah is a pleasant surprise.

>22 MobyRichard: I agree, that is definitely on my watch list.

As are No Country for Old Men and Ordeal By Innocence

>10 LeBacon: I’m in the opposite boat where I am most interested in all 3 as Inferno is the only one I’ve read, though I agree a 3 volume (combined or separate) version would have been nice for readability. That is also my hesitation on the previous versions due to the rarity and cost of Purgatorio and Paradiso.

The Kirkpatrick translation and Packer illustrations are also a big draw for me here. I’m hoping for cloth sides at least, but ultimately this is going to be a purchase for me regardless.

The Murakami was the only real draw for me from the Autumn collection, but with this new collection suddenly I’m looking at Divine Comedy, Dune Messiah, Bring up the Bodies, Frankenstein, maybe Ishiguro, maybe Calvino, maybe Le Guin… ouch

There is a lot in here for me. Best collection in ages.

Definites:
Bring Up the Bodies
Dune Messiah
The Buried Giant
Ordeal by Innocence
Tales from Earthsea

Maybes:
The Night Before Christmas
The Planets
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
No Country for Old Men

I’ve already got the LE Divine Comedy, which I’m likely going to sell as soon as I finish slogging my way through it. (I love the physical books themselves, but am not enjoying the read. Apart from not being particularly interested in the subject matter, I find not having the endnotes in the book very frustrating, as I’m having to go to my kindle copies at the end of each canto to understand what I’ve read. FWIW, I find the endnotes in the single volume Everyman Divine Comedy better than those of the single volume Penguin, even though the Penguin uses Kirkpatrick’s translation.) I’ve also got a copy of Frankenstein with the Lynd Ward illustrations which I’m perfectly happy with, so I don’t need either of those two offerings from the collection.

This is a bumper collection indeed, though apparently missing the next Bond? Anyway, at least eight of those are definitely on my wants list but, depending on the usual constraints of production values and cost, there could be as many as thirteen, qualifying very easily as a new record for me. Well done Folio!

>25 jsg1976: I hadn’t thought about the lack of notes in the Folio version, that could be problematic but the rest of the package will probably make it a purchase for me anyway.

>25 jsg1976: I hadn't realised that the Folio Dante LE lacked endnotes. That's very disappointing to hear. I do wish Folio would pay as much attention to substance as they do to style.

>28 cronshaw: >25 jsg1976: The world of Dante is so strange and so alien to the modern reader -i.e. are you up on your White Guelphs, Black Guelphs and Ghibellines? The Divine Comedy is about settling old scores as much as anything, I think a separate commentary volume is essential, and probably outside Folio's remit. The same with Shakespeare. It seems right that the text is presented in the most beautiful form Folio can manage and the continually changing scholarship should be in a paperback (or something) of your own choosing.

Dune Messiah and Invisible Cities are definite buys for me. It's a shame they changed the illustrator for Dianna Wynne Jones. I'll have to see what the inside illustrations look like, but the cover really lacks the charm of the previous trilogy. A nice collection, much better than September. However: The final Bond isn't there. I really hope they won't leave us hanging with an incomplete set.

It will be interesting to see if it's yet another version of the same edition of Frankenstein, or if they picked the first edition this time. From what I read, it is in some ways preferable to the later editions where Mary Shelley changed some things based on public reactions to her novel.

>30 SF-72: Did you see that Dune Messiah has a different illustrator? I checked out her website (https://hilaryclarcq.com/) and think we are in safe hands. I was impressed by the way that Sam Weber focussed on people and faces rather than being distracted by building a world ( and I think Herbert is not really a visual author so there are few clues anyway, and the temptation is always to fall back on David Lynch) and Ms Clarq seems to work the same way.

Trying to guess the bindings here…

- No Country for Old Men will surely be paperbound, much like Blood Meridian

- Frankenstein: the LE was leatherbound. Will this be clothbound? Seems it is.

- Charmed Life will be paperbound, like the Howl books.

- The Divine Comedy seems that will be priced at £80 or higher, which generally means at least cloth.

- The Buried Giant, from the picture alone, seems clothbound

- Tales from Earthsea will be bound in buckram as the rest.

- Invisible Cities… as there will be a LE this will be way less fancy. But how less? It’s quarterbound, and the spine matches the slipcase material. This seems to indicate full paper. Hopefully it will not as it’s the one I like the most from this collection.

Any other?

>32 dyhtstriyk: I'd hope and expect that Dune Messiah is cloth in series with Dune, even if that means a higher price.

>31 red_guy: I hadn't seen, but agree we seem to be in safe hands (although I would appreciate some more world-building illustrations as well as the intimate character portraits that Weber indeed does so well).

I expect to buy
Dune Messiah
The Buried Giant
No Country for Old Men
Bringing Up the Bodies
Maybe Frankenstein

Plus, from earlier releases
Trainspotting
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle
Wolf Hall (don't like the illustrations, but I hear the book is great and want in now that it seems Folio will do the series).

Lots of interest. No guessing game which is nice.

Definites:
Dune Messiah
Tales from Earthsea

Of Interest:
Divine Comedy (Looks really great at first glance but will wait and see as to how it looks internally as a one volume. Also not sure from the picture what the binding material is.)
Invisible Cities
The Buried Giant
Frankenstein (I have and love the Brockway edition but also have the matching Dracula so may get it also at some point)

>32 dyhtstriyk: The SE of Dracula was clothbound so I would be very surprised if Frankenstein was not.

I wish they would finish the Bond series.

>29 red_guy: Indeed. Though I think the beauty of endnotes, as opposed to intrusive footnotes, say, is that they shouldn't really impede with the presentation of the text on the page. Of course, the volumes would be slightly thicker, but to my mind that would be more than compensated for by having notes to hand which will immediately enhance my reading pleasure - without the need to resort to some companion volume or ChatGPT. As I don't know my Black and White Guelphs from my Ghibelines, I think I may prefer Penguin's presentation here.

>35 Mr.Fox:

Same here.

>31 red_guy:

I hadn't noticed that, but judging by the cover and slipcase, I do hope that her work will fit in well with Sam Webber's for Dune.

>33 ubiquitousuk:

"I hadn't seen, but agree we seem to be in safe hands (although I would appreciate some more world-building illustrations as well as the intimate character portraits that Weber indeed does so well)."

That's the only thing that disappointed me about the FS Dune. I really enjoyed the character portrays, but this is such a fascinating world that more in that area would have been great. Centipede Press are doing a very fine job in that regard.

>29 red_guy: Inferno is about settling old scores. Paradisio is about ... Neoplatonic waffling? (This is why people find Inferno more entertaining.)

>29 red_guy: I think it would have been nice to put the endnotes in the package somehow - even if it was a commentary volume like they did with the letterpress Shakespeare that was not executed to the same level but still a nice (and useful!) package.

>28 cronshaw:

I completely agree. A lot of older texts (or in some cases also those from other cultures) just aren't accessible without some commentary / annotations, and I wish FS wouldn't do without those so often. It has stopped me from buying editions from them and other publishers.

>9 red_guy:
Surely there's something even for Willoyd and Joshbooks here?
It's certainly a much better collection than most recently, but, the answer really has to be at best, 'possibly'. I can't say I'm wowed, sorry, although I can see why it has strong appeal to others.
To explain that reaction a little bit more clearly (if not too boring!): I'm nowadays completely uninterested in most fantasy, children's or comic books, or fine copies of golden age detective books, so that cuts almost half the collection out straightaway. I already have perfectly decent editions of the Morrison, Dante and Shelley (they're pretty much core volumes and FS rehashes), first editions of the McCarthy and Mantel, and good quality trade hardbacks of the Fraser (yet more Tudors!) and Planets, with no instant desire or motivation to 'upgrade' any of them (that's been happening an awful lot of late, especially when it comes to history). That leaves the Calvino and the Herbert. I haven't read the Calvino, and at FS prices am unlikely to risk it, so may get a library copy, read and decide (so it would have to be very good to warrant the space having read it!). The one volume that is a distinct possibility is Dune Messiah. I have Dune (the SE), and it's an outstanding edition - love it. Have never read further, but am certainly prepared to consider paying a bit more to partner it up, but will wait and see what FS are now charging; am quite prepared for my copy to be a standalone! If I do buy it, it'll be the first fiction for several years. I'll also take a look at the other volumes and see whether any are worth upgrading. The most likely would be the Mantel (along with the first volume), but I no longer trust the FS to publish complete sets, so until The Mirror and The Light comes out, would be hesitant to buy (although reckon both would sell for enough not to lose out if they don't publish the third); the Dante is another possibility, the Morrison almost certainly a non-starter.

But, given that my main current interests (and recent FS buys) are classic and "world" fiction and travel/exploration, and that all the books are pretty much mainstream popular*, it's for me actually rather thin pickings, and there's a good chance I'll pass.

*That's not to decry them, but it usually means that if I want a copy, I'll have probably already bought a decent enough hardback already, often new, and rarely see a need to expensively upgrade for relatively little gain.

>43 Willoyd: I'm with you. How much one likes this collection depends on how much they like what Folio is already offering as the majority of the titles are continuations of series. Not a whole lot where you can't point to an existing title that's close to the same thing.

I would recommend reading Dune Messiah before you buy. It amplifies some of Dune's narrative issues. Frank Herbert was good at world building but not so good at describing action so much of the book is characters sitting in a bedchamber somewhere reflecting on action that has already taken place "offscreen."

>44 LeBacon:
Thanks for that - I will!

Dune Messiah is a worthy sequel, but only when taken together with Children of Dune. Compared to the original Dune, each one feels more like a novella that doesn't quite stand on its own very well. Was kind of hoping that FS would release them together, but very excited just to see the series continue and hope they make it to God Emperor of Dune (my personal favorite and very much worth the wait).

>3 cronshaw:

“It seems that in this collection we have our first book with fluorescent spine titling (The Nightmare before Christmas). Literally a book to keep you awake at night.”

I clicked on the link, expecting to see Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie, and other characters from Tim Burton’s dark imagination. I spent a few moments wondering at the images on the cover, until I noticed the title! :)

>30 SF-72: With regards the Wynne Jones, funnily I much prefer both the new illustrator (Alison Bryant) and the new cover style as opposed to the trilogy, which I never liked in the slightest much as I love the books. Never quite fitted the world I had envisaged.

The Bryant cover and illustrations capture some of the spirit and charm of the Paul Slater illustrated covers they used to bear from my schooldays.

>43 Willoyd: Whilst not a guarantee when the FS released Wolf Hall they did state that they planned on releasing the trilogy, so I think it is likely that this will happen

>49 DMulvee: I'm certainly hopeful, but I've learned to wait and see!

Glad to see Invisible Cities will have a standard edition. It's one of my all time favorites but I would have had to pass on an LE.

And agree with >30 SF-72: >35 Mr.Fox:, where is the last Bond? I really hope Folio isn't balking at the prospect of publishing a book called 'Octopussy'.

>32 dyhtstriyk: Given that there will be a SE of Invisible Cities, do you think there will also be a LE?

>47 betaraybill:

Same here, though I didn't realise until your post that my expectation wasn't some auto-correct in the part of my brain (I love that film), but based on a post here.

>52 Dr.Fiddy:

McKean mentioned working on a limited edition for FS, and both I am Legend and Roadside Picnic had a choice between LEs and SEs. Hopefully, it will be like that again - something for everybody.

So, out of 16 books in this release only two are non fiction. I was hoping for more non fiction.

>54 SF-72: Thanks, I'll have to wait and see then. Btw. ended up getting both I am Legend and Roadside Picnic as SEs...

Not a bad slate of titles! Glad to see an Invisible Cities SE, very likely I'll be getting that. Probably will also get The Divine Comedy too, though my favorite English translation remains the Ciardi. May also get Dune Messiah for my partner, I got her the first book, and the art style looks just as nice.

The Buried Giant sounds interesting, so it's a possibility as well. And I really feel like I should read Beloved at some point, though I don't think I need the FS edition of it. I still appreciate them bringing it out though, it's clearly a novel with significant acclaim and impact.

>50 Willoyd: If ever there were a trilogy which would be a definite buy for me these days then this would be it, but I'm tempted to wait and see as well, given that Folio's plans may have been complicated by Mantel's death. The Terry Pratchett estate situation deprived us of what was shaping up to be a super set of books.

The Autumn and Festive collections, taken together, cover a good range and provide plenty of tempting titles.

>51 SolerSystem: where is the last Bond? I really hope Folio isn't balking at the prospect of publishing a book called 'Octopussy'

I contacted Folio on this matter (they don't bite, usually) and was assured Octopussy/The Living Daylights is scheduled for release next year. There is a straightforward, practical reason for the delay which I have been told about but I'm not allowed to mention it publically.

>58 HuxleyTheCat: Hello! Very glad to know you're still with us!

>59 folio_books: Glad to hear it!

So Dune Messiah isn't about Paul Atreides anymore?

>12 What_What: For Enid Blyton, it's more disdain than actual hate. Even if you can manage to put all the poisonous racism and xenophobia to one side, her books are just so drearily second rate - but if you write 50 books a year, quality is bound to suffer. This is one of the Faraway Tree books from the 1930s, so she may have spent a bit more time on it.

When so much superb children's literature exists, Folio could do much better. Like all Folio children's books this one is for nostalgic adults, but even they may be disappointed as it is not going to have the original illustrations, and like most of her books will have to have been substantially rewritten to make it publishable. So no Fanny and precious little chance of Dick, Golliwog-free and probably Dame Slap will run a Wellness Centre . As for Mr Pink-Whistle, thoughts and prayers ...

>61 Ragnaroek:

I think the Wikipedia article on Dune Messiah will tell you all you need to know.

>61 Ragnaroek: It is about Paul Atreides, but he's sort of sidelined as a character. He's more distant.

>63 folio_books: I don't want to get spoilered. That's not often so easy, when you google something.
But yes, thank you nevertheless, I could have guessed that myself.
>64 LeBacon:
Thank you.

>62 red_guy: Dick and Fanny and Mr. Pink-Whistle! I'm rolling on the floor. Perhaps I found a new nickname for my dog.

>59 folio_books:

Thank you very much, that's excellent news.

>65 Ragnaroek:

I found that the style of Dune and later novels in the series is very different. The series definitely takes quite a turn compared to the first book. Personally, I preferred Dune to the other books, but that's very much a matter of taste.

As for your question: Paul isn't at the centre, but still present. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune are closely connected, and the title of the second book gives a clear hint at who's at the centre of the books then.

>68 SF-72:
Thank you.
I think I will start to read Dune very soon.
I'm at Folio 3rd Game of Thrones right now though , that a hell of a page count still to go and Dune is no small book either.

I thought all Dune Books build on each other, like a big series, like GoT for example.

>69 Ragnaroek:

They do, but the main characters from the beginning don't stay around throughout the series, and the tone is quite different after book 1. The planet / environment changes a lot, too. A lot of people actually make do with either just book 1, or books 1-3, but some prefer the later novels. It's impossible to predict what someone will prefer. Personally, I really enjoyed book 1, the rest of the series not so much, until I quit in the middle of book 6. That being said, I read books 4-6 in German long ago. A re-read of Dune in English a few years ago was a real pleasure, books 2-3 at least more appealing than the German versions had been to me, though I didn't like them nearly as much as Dune. I look forward to reading the whole series again - and in English throughout - when the Centipede Press editions are complete. I expect that to be a different experience and it will be interesting to see what impression the books will leave then.

I thought Dune was okay genre lit, but not exceptional. Given that Messiah is, apparently, "different", I'm not sure whether that bodes well or ill for my liking it. In any case, I will give it a go from FS, in part because I expect it to be a really nice edition.

>71 ubiquitousuk: It's very much the same writing style - it's just a much smaller work that serves as both an epilogue to the first book and a prologue to the third book, so it feels very underwhelming when read after the original Dune. Readers weren't overly enthusiastic about some of the plot choices as well but they do pay off when taken as part of the full six book cycle.

>4 Jason461: unless I am mistaken there are 16 titles on the list but the picture has 17.

>75 Geo135: you have good eyes . There are indeed 17

It is probably an LE ?

I think the stack photo includes a reprint or two (which I don't think they've announced)

>62 red_guy: Thanks for replying. I only know a handful of the books from early childhood, and remember them fondly. Going through the Wikipedia article gives me a much better sense of what the disdain is fuelled by, and I get it.

This is a good looking collection. A little more Cormac McCarthy is always welcome.

>62 red_guy:
For Enid Blyton, it's more disdain than actual hate. Even if you can manage to put all the poisonous racism and xenophobia to one side, her books are just so drearily second rate - but if you write 50 books a year, quality is bound to suffer. This is one of the Faraway Tree books from the 1930s, so she may have spent a bit more time on it. When so much superb children's literature exists, Folio could do much better.

Enid Blyton retains an interesting position in my reading life, being of a generation where she was ubiquitous when I was a child. Whatever her 'racism and xenophobia', she had a profoundly positive impact on my reading and love of books, and was certainly not regarded by most at the time as either racist or xenophobic, so I suspect simply reflected societal norms. I have absolutely no desire to own fine editions of pretty much all of her work - like most children's writers she is a part of my history and I have moved on (with a few exceptions!). I say 'pretty much' because one book of hers is one of those few exceptions: Enid Blyton's Nature Lover's Book, a copy of which remains on my shelves, representing my introduction to natural history and a lifelong enjoyment/commitment. The whole idea of a near stranger (a man at that!) taking children out on walks might seem profoundly dodgy today (!), but it wasn't then (and much of my life was equally dodgily from today's perspective spent roaming our 'edgeland' neighbourhood). It was a book that changed my life for the better; for that I will always be grateful.

>62 red_guy: that woman was born 1897 and survived 2 World Wars...
The world was racist and misogynistic to that time.
Many books from that time are different to ours today, because it was a total different life and world.

>82 Ragnaroek:

Exactly. Her books really gave me something when I was a young kid. I'm sure I'd roll my eyes at some of it today, but then we're living in a very different world.

Not about the books as such, but: I really enjoy this preview. It's so much more fun than the guessing games of recent years and makes it possible to specifically look forward to attractive books in the new release.

With Enid Blyton, I re-read a Noddy book a few years ago, and it was definitely racist (Noddy's car develops a fault and it has to go to a garage to be repaired which takes time. An outsider turns up in Toy Town and he offers a taxi service. Noddy then gets his car back and offers his taxi service, in response the outsider then drops his prices, this is an affront to Noddy who luckily rounds up all the locals together and forces the outsider to leave and never return)!

However I would be tempted with the Secret Seven or with Mallory Towers. I'm on the fence with this one, and won't buy it next week but might consider it at a later date

Out of curiosity for what the next Mantel book might cost, I looked at Wolf Hall and noticed it is now 150 USD, up from 125 when I bought it in February. I personally think it’s a great production, but that feels like a substantial increase to an already “premium-priced” book. And more expensive than Dune and the PKD Short Stories?

Can you recommend The Wolf Hall Trilogy to anyone that isn't familiar with the Tudor era?

>75 Geo135: I think the book unaccounted for is the 7th from the top (assuming the blue sprayed pages are for The Planets), which doesn't give much to go by given it's got a dark cover.

Could the unaccounted-for volume be the second slim volume of The Avengers set, that apex of World Literature?

>89 cronshaw: thanks, the last part of your sentence made me laugh!

>85 DMulvee:
Racist? That sounds more like FSDs urging people to buy from their local book shop rather rather purchase from Amazon!

>89 cronshaw: It's the concordance volume. Vital for finding all occurrences of "biff", "pow", and "oof".

Could it be about SE and LE of Invisible Cities?

>81 Willoyd: Yes, Enid Blyton occupied a similar position for me. I devoured most of the 'Finders Out' (?) Mystery Of __ series, also some Secret Seven and Famous Five, and particularly The ___ of Adventure, which were my absolute favourites - all from the local library. My mother gave the lady's work short shrift, thought they were thin fare and would never buy them as gifts (and so giving them a hint of forbidden glamour) but she would never stop me from reading anything and everything I wanted. I am sure this is the same for a lot of us, and explains why we are here.

I spent most of my working life as an early years teacher in east London, and consequently have taught several hundred children to read (if with varying degrees of success, although I did my best). When in school, children are always being pushed, stretched and extended, working on the edge of their ability and the pace of learning to read can seem relentless. While reading for relaxation is a concept that adults don't have a problem with, there never seems room for it in the curriculum. For our generation Blyton's work gave children a chance to switch off, relax and read at or below their reading level and to practice actually being a reader - a lifelong skill more useful than some of those taught formally. So I do not have any problem with reading pulp or trash fiction generally, more with why Folio would want to publish something which has no literary merit, will have been extensively rewritten , and on top of that have new illustrations? Not even the drivel of our youth, but ersatz updated drivel. This particular is aimed at very young children, and so it will be soppy and wet into the bargain. If anyone it tempted by this, I do advise looking at the pages of text Folio will show in the website preview just to make sure what you are getting into. Unlike other, better authors of the period (e.g. Richmal Crompton, Frank Richards et al) Blyton's books are actually quite hard to get through as an adult. Try one and see...

Of all the books on the festive list, Dune Messiah would not be the one I would have predicted you might choose. I was guessing the Calvino. It's been a long time since I read the Herbert, but have a feeling there are diminishing returns as you travel through the series. The first series, anyway. I think I rather liked the second lot, before they were farmed out to family members (always a bad sign). Very much relaxing pulp for reading on the tube though, even if rather better than Ms Blyton, and with fewer exclamation marks and no continuous repetition of 'queer,' 'silly' and 'darling'.

>82 Ragnaroek: >83 SF-72: Well yes, but according to Enid Blyton Ltd, she still sells at least one book a minute even today, so concerns about some aspects of her output are still relevant, and just as with the Roald Dahl Story Company, Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, Agatha Christie Ltd, and many other dead profitable authors, copyright holders do what they can to ensure continuing profitability - and while authors may have lived in racist and misogynistic times, we do at least try not to do the racist thing today (misogynistic thing perhaps needs more work) and so the sensitivity readers go about their craft.

Here's an interesting page I found which details changes in texts which we may be familiar with:
https://worldofblyton.com/updates-to-blytons-books/

Although a fan, the writer is very even handed. If you want to know why a boy with a bell on his head doesn't bed down with an older overweight bearded gentleman nowadays, this is the place!

Unbelievably, Blyton's two most notorious books (both for very young children) were first published in the 1960s. The Little Black Doll in 1965 (Black doll called Sambo is ostracised for its “ugly black face”, and only accepted when its face is washed “clean” by the rain) and The Three Golliwogs in 1968 (Golly, Woggy and N****r are very naughty and "because they all look the same no one can tell which is which").

The gal sure had a way with names, didn't she ...

>95 red_guy: Unbelievably, Blyton's two most notorious books (both for very young children) were first published in the 1960s.

If your disbelief is that these books were relatively recent, perhaps it's less shocking when you know that the BBC aired The Black and White Minstrel Show right up to 1978.

Gobsmacking indeed.

I had a fun time with Enid Blyton a few years ago. A well-meaning (I hope) relative bought a copy of one of her books for me to read to my children. Imagine my surprise when together we encountered a character whose name was a racial slur — one which had been directed at me on the street that same week, no less.

>95 red_guy: okay that are some crazy examples.
The world is crazy...

There are plans to change Ronald Dahls Chocolate factory, because of some words like fat and stupid...
And to change some things in Ian Flemings books, but I hate such things, because an Book is an piece of history and often reflects the time and thoughts people had in that period of time. Nobody changes something on the Mona-Lisa picture, because the nose is too big for example ( the example is stupid though) .

>96 Shadekeep: Gosh, as late as that.

I was a young teacher in Hackney by then - maybe 30% of my class were black ... I can't imagine what parents thought when watching it on TV (we only had three channels in the UK so it would be inescapable). Even stranger was that (now Sir) Lenny Henry, the actor and comedian was on it and used to tell jokes between numbers - a real black man appearing with pretend black men. I know he has made his thoughts clear about that now. When the show was finally cancelled, there was general blank incomprehension from the public.

I always assumed the books must have been from just after the war because the names were so old fashioned, even for slurs. We definitely didn't have those (or any Blyton books) in any of any schools I worked in, just on literary grounds - it wouldn't have crossed your mind.

>98 Ragnaroek: It's just commercial concerns maximising their properties.

More intriguingly, nowadays sensitivity readers work on books *before* they are published, so you will never know how they were when the author submitted them!

>99 red_guy: Yes, the ignoble past is never as far behind as we like to think. Heck, the 2020s are creating a fresh batch of material for later generations to shake their heads at in disbelief. Assuming there are later generations, at this rate.

As you point out, her writing definitely has that immediate post-war feel, and I suspect it was her part in sustaining that exact nostalgia that led to much of her popularity. The feeling of "cozy home" is an unexpectedly complex beast, and it combines the noble inclinations of camaraderie and bonhomie with the less savory desire for a small world where everyone looks and thinks like oneself.

If you haven't seen the movie Bamboozled, I can recommend it. It's an acerbic take on minstrelsy in which a Black television planner brings back the minstrel show as a joke, only to see it rapidly embraced by the public without irony.

I haven't read any Blyton for years although, like others here, I read a lot as a kid. From my vague memories, what appealed was that her tales involved children going off and having wonderful adventures and foiling international plots without any interfering adults. Which is what we all want as self-obsessed kids before we grow up and learn about real life. When I tried reading some after I had reached adulthood I gave up after a few pages. Pretty awful stuff.

>97 gmacaree: That's horrible. I'm so sorry you had to deal with both those things at all, let alone in the same week.

>101 Shadekeep: Tell me about it - some of the speeches that have been made in the UK this week are making me feel profoundly depressed.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with Blyton and nostalgia. In fact you could even say that the majority of British fiction both for adults and children since 1919 is in some way concerned with restoring certainties and finding order in chaos. I was fascinated by the idea of a Blytonesque club or society with passwords, codes, meetings and of course adventure. But even though I had a Blyton diary with all the instructions, sadly it never happened.

Bamboozled - Spike Lee! This passed me by on release and doesn't seem to be streaming here at the moment, but I will keep an eye out. I'm sure I would like it.

>94 red_guy:
My experiences pretty much echo yours, as I was a primary teacher too, if not early years - mainly KS2. My main aim with my classes was to raise enjoyment levels, and was very saddened to read early this year that English children are now ranked as technically the best readers in the western hemisphere, but have amongst the lowest enjoyment levels. Says a lot about our education.
I would also agree about Blyton being 'drossy', and what role her books most usefully perform. As I said, I can't imagine anybody wanting to actually buy pretty much any of her books as an adult -but then I feel the same about most children's books.

Unbelievably, Blyton's two most notorious books (both for very young children) were first published in the 1960s.
Well, I remember collecting Golly labels from Robertson's in my childhood, and having a golly soft toy, which was the 60s. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, it wasn't retired until 2001.

Totally agree about the tenor of the speeches this week. Utterly depressing.

No Country for Old Men was released early today: https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/no-country-for-old-men.html

Screen-printed cloth binding, which matches The Road, but not the paper bound Blood Meridian.

>106 icewindraider: It's good they went back to cloth but the McCarthys still won't all match unless they change Blood Meridian in the next printing and I could see that really upsetting everyone who already bought it.

>106 icewindraider: Upgraded to cloth but the same price? Maybe they took the criticism to heart? Or it was some temporary spike in costs they could negotiate down? Or it's that it's 100 pages shorter than Blood Meridian?

I wasn't too bothered by the change but now I'll be wondering about this incongruence when I look at them together.

>108 A.Godhelm: my guess is that at the time Blood Meridian was to be produced there was an issue cost or otherwise with the screen printed cloth used previously.

While I did see criticism online about textured paper being used I am not sure it was so overwhelming that it would have caused them to change it for this release.

>108 A.Godhelm: It certainly made a difference to me, I was so disappointed about the paper binding on Blood Meridian after I had waited so long for FS to print it that I have not bought a book from them since. If NCFOM is cloth I will purchase and hope they redo Blood Meridian.

I have read bm through not being careful at all and the paper binding looks fine. Sure it will degrade And is flimsier than cloth but I think it will hold up fine for a good while.

For those interested, I asked FS why the McCarthy bindings were not consistent and the response was that for all volumes, the choice was a design choice made by the artist.

>112 RRCBS: the choice was a design choice made by the artist.

Hmmm ...

>112 RRCBS: This makes sense to me! I have yet to read McCarthy but I was very attracted to the FS Blood Meridian specifically because the cover art and paper binding really seemed to work well together, in my opinion.

>112 RRCBS: It's not a reason I'd have put on the bingo card. Seems to me nothing about the Blood Meridian cover suggests a different treatment is warranted; they're all three fairly abstract blotchy designs. If it was incredibly detailed in comparison I might understand. The answer also suggests there will be no future printing bringing them all to the same state either.
You took the time to get an official answer so many thanks there.

>16 DukeOfOmnium: I am keeping my fingers crossed. Not bought Phlebas yet, as i was hoping for 'Player of Games' and 'Use of Weapons' - would make a decent trilogy, even if they don't do the rest of The Culture.

>116 arpd71: I'd be hoping that they get to Excession at least (as that's my favourite), but any progress beyond just Phlebas would be very welcome.

>116 arpd71: >117 DukeOfOmnium: I really hope that Folio carry on for as long as sales are good, and then some.

On the one hand, Banks and the Culture have rabid fans, and I am sure a lot of Consider Phlebas' buyers will be one off purchases from people who don't normally buy Folio, but then the illustrations in Phlebas are I'm afraid, a little bit dull. Not bad by any means, and Daniel Taylor has lots of impressive stuff on the Directory of Illustration website : https://www.directoryofillustration.com/artist.aspx?AID=12892 , so I can quite see why Folio chose him - just not so much in the book...

Did you know about the edition of Banks's own designs and schematics for Culture artifacts that is coming out next month? Only £50 for the standard edition, and the Special Circumstances deluxe version anticipated to be around £250.

https://www.iain-banks.net/landing-page/iain-banks/the-culture-the-drawings/

How important is it for Folio to remain consistent in design and illustrations across a series?

I've read complaints about the Phlebas illustrations - so would fans of the book prefer Folio to pick new illustrators for each installment and have them not match or continue with a style they don't like that much? Some on this forum also voiced disappointment in Wolf Hall's sketch type illustrations so it will be interesting to see the reveal tomorrow if Folio will do the same again for Bring Up the Bodies.

Taking another series for an example, the Gaiman books are all different (even American Gods and Anansi Boys for which you might expect a continuation of illustration and design) but those all look really good so no one seems to mind the inconsistency.

So do you want to see more or less consistency?

>119 LeBacon: I strongly prefer consistency across a series. A unified look helps bind it together, and you're not having to relearn how each character is portrayed in each volume. The one exception I can think of are the Bond books, as they each have their own feel of setting, and the cinematic interpretations have already prepped us for different looks each time. I would still prefer a consistent cover aesthetic in that case however, with the books the same size and having matching spines.

One downside to the same style across a series is that if you don't like the style then it lessens your interest in the series. But with a different style in each book you increase the odds that someone won't like at least one of the styles, leading to a statistically higher rate of dissatisfaction with the books.

>119 LeBacon: It depends a bit on what constitutes a series. There's a difference between a clear sequential series of books (like many of the sci fi and fantasy series), and simply a number of independent books by the same author (say the McCarthy series). I think most people want a consistency in the first case and are less particular in the latter.

The Dune and American Gods series could be good examples of an illustrator switch working out mid stream as it were. The rest of Gaiman's novels don't really demand any consistency as they're all independent. It's like >120 Shadekeep: says, if you like the style, consistency is a bonus. If you don't, you'd welcome a change (for instance, the DuBois illustrations for McCarthy have been fine but not extraordinary, I think the books are different enough they could have done different illustrators for each). Sounds like the Le Guin illustrator swap could be a problem, as another for instance.

As an example of the opposite tack I think the cacophony of illustrators in the PKD Selected Short Stories was very fitting, and the wide variety of styles for his FS books is a bonus. But then it fits his style specifically.

As long as the exterior design remains thematically/aesthetically consistent across the board I'm less concerned about whether an artist is retained to illustrate a direct sequel/sidequel or whatever in a series.

>122 wongie: I love 'sidequel' - did you come up with it?

It depends. As for different illustrators: It doesn't necessarily have to be the same illustrator for a series, but then I expect the style to mesh well. It works for the Centipede Press Dune, for example, and I hope it will for the one by FS, too. The cover of Dune Messiah looks like it might. For the Jane Austens in the golden series, one illustrator had a style that I can only call ugly, while the rest was pleasing, so that didn't work at all because the one was just too different from the others. For Gaiman with the stand-alone novels, the three different, but all very talented illustrators were perfect for me, much better than going with one since it just made things more interesting and the books more individual, which fits the content.

As for series with the same illustrator: I do wish they'd change the illustrator for the Heyers since the characters are much too similar in a lot of cases and it's all rather bland. The Bonds - to me - are perfect as they are, the illustrator's style really fits. But yes, in the end, it very much depends on whether you like this particular illustrator. If you do, consistency can be fun, if not, it can really limit your enjoyment if you buy the books at all.

>124 SF-72: I think they are doing a good job with the current non-Poirot/non-Marple Agatha Christies. Different illustrators but with a harmonious style.

>125 dyhtstriyk: I quite agree. The superb atmospheric Olivia Daw illustrations to Pale Horse really lift what is actually an average Christie into something far better. I hope Folio use her again.

>124 SF-72: Agreed, I think that the illustrations of Dune Messiah maintain a good feel with the first Dune without using the same artist. If this kind of thing can be maintained then I feel it's alright. My preference is still for the same artist spanning the series, but I'm not vehemently opposed when it works well like this.

>124 SF-72: I agree about a lot of the Heyer artwork looking similar. I do love the illustrator though so I hope FS can talk her into make her works more dynamic/distinct.

>125 dyhtstriyk: I generally agree but I was disappointed/surprised to find that I didn't like the cover of the upcoming Ordeal By Innocence. I'm not too bummed about it though because saved money is saved money. The three Christie books published previously have perfect interior artwork, but Crooked House and Sparkling Cyanide are the only covers I'm particularly passionate about. Relatedly, I only found out about the FS edition of And Then There Were None after it was OOP, but I didn't like that the illustrations were black and white so that's another one I'm not interested in owning.

>128 BooksFriendsNotFood: same... I didn't buy And Then They Were None because of the B&W illustrations.

>129 dyhtstriyk:

and they are live https://www.foliosociety.com/uk/new

The unknown reprinted book is: A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates

Edit: Just received the e-mail, there’s free shipping when you spent £200 or more. Offer ends at midnight Thursday 21 December.

The prices were either in line or a touch lower than I expected which is nice. No LE of Dune Messiah, but with the Calvino being a pre-order for a weeks time it looks like the LE for that will come next Tuesday

I'm a little disappointed that the Divine Comedy is textured paper. It looks great otherwise.

It used to be (and still is) the case that Folio had two distinct price classes for SEs. Standard editions were normally about £40 (now £50-60), while a few slightly nicer fine editions (e.g., Lovecraft, Dune) were more like £75 (now £75-100). I get the impression that more and more books are going into that fine price bracket.

I wonder whether eventually the two will converge into a single category. Already we see that cloth used to be common for almost all books, whereas now it seems like a reason to go into the fine category.

It will be interesting to see what this all means for pricing and book quality into the future.

>123 red_guy:, unfortunately I can't take credit for coming up with it, I've seen it used now elsewhere.

Divine Comedy does look quite divine, makes me optimistic for Packer's Shakespeare to be converted to a decent standard edition one day.

And seeing Messiah for the first time I'm over the second moon they've reverted to the block lettered Folio logo to match the original design. It also makes me sad they used the horrid monogram for the LE and I'm still curious if they ever release a Messiah LE whether they'll also keep the monogram for consistency, they really shot themselves in the shoot design-wise there.

That price seems absurd though considering it's just a glorified epilogue. Regardless, an instant buy for me along with the Buried Giant and The Planets.

Anyone have the US birthday code for this year? I never got the email. The UK birthday code is different.

Also, is Planets much different than the standard non-FS edition other than different binding/a slipcase?

>137 icewindraider: Not familiar with the standard edition, but the video provides a reasonable overview of it if you're familiar with the non-FS version.

https://youtu.be/LpmvPumDiNU?si=xlL0_MXFui83DtXZ

>132 NLNils: Nice! That's actually a book I'm interested in. A bit ironic that a reprint may be the one to push me into an order, rather than the new stuff. Though I do want Invisible Cities as well.

The only one I was really interested in was Invisible Cities but the paper sides has me leaning towards a "no."

Invisible Cities seems like the Roadside Picnic situation again where Folio deliberately makes an SE with cheaper (and less desirable) materials to contrast with an LE. I did go for the Roadside Picnic SE but it was $20 cheaper than Invisible Cities despite having a higher page count. I guess they will try again to sell me Dave McKean's signature (as if LE buyers need endless copies of that), an unnecessary print, and what is essentially a fine edition at 5x mark up next week.

I actually like that The Divine Comedy has paper binding because readers won't have to worry about rubbing off gold foil with their fingers. That being said, the SE is so nice that I'm wondering why I spent so much on the LE a few months ago.

EDIT: This and the pretty Frankenstein SE make me hope that we'll get a nice SE version of the new Beowulf.

Really surprised to see Dante hit the 100GBP mark and not way north. Does anyone have some insight to offer on the Kirkpatrick translation? I only have the Ciardi translation in an old Franklin Library edition.
Calvino is surprisingly rich at 10 full illustrations plus 27 integrated ones at a mere 184 pages. For 60GBP it seems like a modern day Folio bargain.
The illustrator swap for Dune seems to have worked out well, both similar enough in style not to be jarring.
And the McCarthy collecting will continue (although now the mere 6 illustrations for 224p seems poor by comparison).

>142 A.Godhelm: I read the Kirkpatrick translation this summer and greatly enjoyed it! It's very comprehensible and the poetry flows really well in a way that makes the trilogy a pleasure to experience.

As a Sam Weber fan, I am captivated by the "cinematic" illustrations for Dune: Messiah. $110 though for a SE?
Quiet Please. Caving in progress.

Yes seems like Messiah got hit with some Dune tax.

Are they seriously charging for the Folio Society Diary 2024?!! That seems...strange. I wonder how many people are actually going to buy that.

Very pleased with the free shipping offer! Had been looking forward to this.

>144 Forthwith: honestly I half expected them to charge the same price as Dune so the $110 seems about right.

I was seriously going to lose a battle with myself to avoid purchasing something this month when I saw that Invisible Cities will be shipped starting next week. At first I thought they ran into a supply chain snafu but as everybody mentions it's probably to launch it simultaneously with a LE.

>140 LeBacon: At least it's quarterbound in cloth, unlike Roadside Picnic. It will make a nice set with Borges' Labyrinths, which is also only quarterbound and with paper sides.

Is anyone able to find out if there actually will be a limited edition of Invisible Cities? The answer I got to my email in that regard sounded uncertain (I don't believe there will be), so it's nothing to rely on, unfortunately.

>147 Geo135: The problem is Messiah is one-third the length of Dune (about 60k words compared to 180k words).

>149 SF-72: The source for this rumour seems to be:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/352477
Dave McKean had a panel at San Diego Comic-Con this week where he talked about his current work /.../
I asked at his booth later and he did say it would be a limited edition.
I think everyone else just ran with that as confirmation?

I am struck by how small Invisible Cities is - 8" x 5 1/4" and 128 pages. Somehow I had imagined it would be larger.

If the SE is £60, (£40 short of Dante) what on earth will the LE (if there is one) have to make it cost X times as much?

>152 red_guy: Huh, good catch. I had expected it to be the same dimensions as Roadside Picnic.

Couldn't resist Dune Messiah or The Planets, and then realized that ordering a third book would put me over the limit for free shipping, so essentially a $30 (or $35? can't remember) discount on that title. Went with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë.

>152 red_guy: Wow I didn’t even see that. That’s even smaller than Hill House.

I guess it's the title at the top of the pile in >1 Dr.Fiddy: then? I do remember it being a quick read so I suppose that makes sense.

>152 red_guy:, >153 Shadekeep:, >155 Geo135:

Except the website says it is 184 pages. Where does 128 come from?

>157 affle: Good point.

Interestingly, the small size makes me like it better.

>151 A.Godhelm: I would personally be a bit irked if I ordered Invisible Cities today (which I did) and then a week later they released an LE. I also emailed customer service about this and got an equivocal response that sounded a bit like they just didn't know: "As far as I can see there is no upcoming limited edition of Invisible Cities. I do hope you enjoy your standard edition."

But it would seem like an odd release plan and one that might lead to a number of returns.

>159 Auberon: What would irk you about that situation?

>151 A.Godhelm: on eBay almost any book with a sewn binding is described by sellers as an "LE" simply because they don't know better. It could be a jar McKean made a similar mistake, or lost track of all the projects he had been working on for FS.

At this stage, I'd be surprised to see an LE any time soon. It makes no business sense to release an SE and cannibalise all of your potential LE sales shortly before putting out an LE.

>159 Auberon: "As far as I can see there is no upcoming limited edition of Invisible Cities."

Well, it's invisible, innit?

But that does sound like there won't be one.

I'm the one who asked McKean if it would be a limited edition. He just said yes, so he could have misinterpreted my question's intent. He had done FS LE's so I would think he would know what I meant.

I have been waiting for Dune Messiah since 2017 and finally it’s here! Just ordered this single book, I like the art direction Hilary Clarq took, although no one beats Weber for me. The binding is leaning a bit more to a sand color, will be interesting to see in person. As of the price, it will never be better than right now. Dune started out at £75 and it is now £100 direct from Folio. I really hope the dam has broken and we will see the next installments in the coming years. Thanks Denis Villeneuve, I guess?

>163 vicwong: I could easily see someone (myself) bungling that answer in the heat of the moment, reading 'limited' as exclusive, or fine. Which any FS edition arguably is, compared to a regular hardcover.

>165 A.Godhelm: yeah I think a lot of people got their hopes up with no confirmation from Folio themselves. It would be odd for them to have a SE/LE release but not tell people about the LE.

>146 sekhmet0108: I guess the days of the free diary are gone, then, unless they're saving that for a New Year Sale. No, I won't be buying one.

Do we still get a free magazine? It didn't show up in my basket if we do.

If you're in the UK, free shipping is rather less than the old £20 off for buying £200 deal. If it applies wherever you are then, for once, those of you in the rest of the world seem to be getting the better deal :-)

The standout for me is "Invisible Cities". Very handsome. What is "Gold rules on quarter binding"? Is that those gold lines along the sides. Interesting (gilding the lily?) that they want to feature this.

I found the video for "Night Before Christmas" very funny. "Illustrations on EVERY page!" so, just like any other kid's picture book? I think the illustrations for that one are pretty ugly.

Dante looks very cool, but those heavy books do not hold up well with paper boards. It should have been at least 1/4 cloth. I will be skipping it.

Congratulations to Laura Hope for perfectly capturing the boringness and blandness of "Ordeal by Innocence."

All the rest look good, but nothing I need to have right now. A lot of the focus of this release seems to be on printed slipcases. All my FS books are tucked in bookshelves, so I almost never see that art. Do people like the printing on the slipcases? I would prefer 1-2 more illustrations in the book and a plain slipcase.

>168 PartTimeBookAddict: Is Ordeal by Innocence boring? I was starting to feel tempted to buy the four non-famous-detective Christies they have in stock. I've only read Crooked House.

>157 affle: Except the website says it is 184 pages. Where does 128 come from?

... Apparently from my deranged mind. Sorry about that.

I suspect the diary is priced at £15 so that at the start of December they can do the 'free diary with every order' thing, which I'm sure they do every year, don't they?

>169 dyhtstriyk: I would put it in a distant last place behind the other three. Crooked House and Pale Horse are very fun. Sparkling Cyanide is good. And the two current Poirot novels, "Orient Express" and "Roger Akroyd" are really great.

"Ordeal" has a wonderful opening gimmick of a too late alibi, but goes nowhere with it. The investigator, Calgary, is forced into the plot and kind of hangs around. None of the suspects are interesting. The scenes repeat with different characters saying, "you surely don't suspect me?" or "then one of us must have done it." It also has a lot of Christie's condescension towards the working class. Not that that bothers me, but it means her working class characters aren't motivated in a realistic way. They become cartoons.

Worth reading if you're a completionist, but I doubt it will be something you revisit.

At least the illustrations are accurate to the novel. In one, a character has even fallen asleep!

Having Dune, I expect that I'll cave in and buy Dune: Messiah at some point. I wasn't eager to buy another copy of The Divine Comedy, but that does look terrific, even if the binding choice isn't what everyone had hoped for. Invisible Cities and The Planets also look very enticing - this could be an expensive Christmas gift to myself.

>148 dyhtstriyk: "At least it's quarterbound in cloth, unlike Roadside Picnic."

The description says "Quarter-bound in textured paper with paper case sides" so no cloth. Paper on paper.

I am just not getting why this is priced higher than a lot of the other non-fine SEs. Plenty of their other titles with higher page counts manage to do cloth and are priced less than this.

On Enid Blyton all I remember as a child in the late 1960s is my Grandmother reading the Faraway Wood to me and being fascinated by the story, and dreaming of it when sleeping. I haven’t read Enid Blyton since, and have no interest in children’s books from Folio or elsewhere. However, politically incorrect as Blyton’s writings may be, I’ll buy The Enchanted Wood as part of this series. My Grandmother died in 1977 and the book is an emotional link to her. I suspect the book, after almost 50 years, will be a disappointment. But I’ll still buy it.

Didn’t someone post a code last month? Is it still active ?

>175 copperstatelawyer: WMAG7 should work for older titles (at least in the US).

>167 Cat_of_Ulthar: In the USA, the free shipping appears to be for orders over $300 (roughly 244 pounds), so the barrier is a bit higher for us.

>161 ubiquitousuk: He's done multiple LEs for them before, so I'd give him a bit more credit than a random person on eBay?

For what it’s worth, Bring Up The Bodies appears to accidentally have been coded as an older release, so WMAG7 worked to give 10% off on that (as well as the rest of my order, which otherwise was all older titles), and stacked with the free shipping

>173 LeBacon: The description says "Quarter-bound in textured paper with paper case sides"

Yesterday it read "Quarter bound in blocked cloth with texture paper case sides with the design by Dave McKean". Google cache still has the original version.

This is a bit disappointing to me because I ordered it partly based on this information.

>181 rakkie: This is a bit disappointing to me because I ordered it partly based on this information.

Folio will gladly accept a return if you're not happy with it.

>173 LeBacon: Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that at first it said "quarter bound in cloth" then they corrected it later to the textured paper.

And now I see message 181 so am comforted to know that I'm not going mad.

>183 overthemoon: i was also thinking that I misread, but I was right. This change makes it a non-autobuy for me. I’ll wait to see if there is a LE or not, but in the meantime I think this SE is £15 too expensive, especially with this size and specs

Explicitly returning this one and informing them why is the first step towards getting management to reconsider their slow shift towards paper sides, a major bugbear of mine for a few years now.

>181 rakkie: Good of you to confirm this with Google because I thought I was taking crazy pills.

>182 folio_books: "Folio will gladly accept a return if you're not happy with it."

I returned something last year and they accepted the return but didn't refund the shipping so I ended up paying $18 to find out the item didn't match their website description.

A strong collection I think, with the McCarthy, Calvino and Le Guin definite buys for me. Beloved and The Buried Giant are both titles I plan to read, and I like the editions, so they are wishlisted. I'm reading Mantel's earlier works (slowly) and could envisage eventually investing in the complete Cromwell trilogy. And having ultimately regretted missing the Divine Comedy LE, I will mull the SE, which is nicely done.

Prices give pause but overall I rate the selection and production of the titles I'm interested in.

PS fascinating (in a way) to see how the paper binding "issue" continues to exercise some. I don't know exactly which of my Folios share this (unfairly) execrated material, but the ones I know do, and have read and re-read (specifically, the Kafkas), are all in perfectly fine nick more than 10 years after buying.

I asked again to make sure and customer service confirmed that there would be no limited edition of Invisible Cities. I'm not unglad about it - the standard edition looks great and the price is fine, too.

Does anybody know what this means?

"The truest text to the original 1939 publication, this is the edition that best preserves Blyton’s magical world for modern readers." Is that the bowdlerized version mentioned above or an unchanged one? Not that I'm interested in buying, but I find this interesting despite that.

>188 ian_curtin: I personally think that paper bindings can be a hit or miss. Roadside Picnic SE and Jurassic Park look well and elegant, largely due to texturization or coating. But the Allingham books and Rogue Male are (for me) examples of what Folio shouldn't do. I also feel that the general sense is that moving to paper bindings means they are skimping on quality.

>190 SF-72: In the book description one of the characters is called Fanny, so this is a clue that the most recent changes to the text are not in this edition.

For anyone in need of feeling that £100 for Dune Messiah from FS is a fair deal, a helpful plonker has just listed a copy 'Brand New' on eBay for £140.

>192 cronshaw: If you buy it with Dune (same seller) you only pay £300. I know which deal I'm going to go for.

OK, went with Dune, No Country, Earthsea and threw Frankenstein in to get the free shipping. Early Christmas for me.

>190 SF-72: I see that Fanny is present and correct, so my guess is that it would be the golliwogs. You just could not publish a book for children containing golliwogs in 2023, surely?

The Jonathan Burton illustrations look really rough to me - not up to the standard of his other work for Folio. More like something you might find in an adult colouring book on Amazon that someone has neatly filled in.

>191 dyhtstriyk:
>197 red_guy:

Thank you.

>197 red_guy: You just could not publish a book for children containing golliwogs in 2023, surely?

One would hope not. Otherwise we might expect an LE of Little Black Sambo or the like.

I do find it curious to see the name Fanny censored in certain versions, though. I understand the British slang connotation, but surely it's also a real name. One doesn't see censoring of the commonplace Dick, after all.

>199 Shadekeep: In the UK, Fanny and Dick are two sides of the same coin (as it were). I'm not sure when Fanny became rude slang here. It certainly wasn't when I was growing up, because my friend Valentine's best friend at her school was a girl called Fanny Lowcock. Mind you, being called Fanny would have been the least of her worries...

Plus the whole of the UK lived in the malevolent brooding shadow of the astonishing Fanny Cradock, who is worth an hour of anybody's time on YouTube. There is also an apocryphal tale about her making ring doughnuts.

>200 red_guy: Fanny Lowcock is an amazing name, and if a drag queen hasn't poached it yet, one should. I imagine things only got worse for Fanny when she married Dick Smallwood.

Another famous gal bearing the name is the American writer/actor Fannie Flagg. Different spelling but a homonym. Also a great name.

Fanny just means bum/behind in the US, yeah? Not nearly as scandalous as the UK meaning. And one shan't forget fanny packs, those fashionable things. 😆

The first lady that came to mind for me is Fanny Price from Mansfield Park!

Also found this interesting tidbit: "Further ties place the origin of both words to the title character in John Cleland's erotic novel - the first of its kind - Fanny Hill (also known as Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure)."

EDIT: And this, which makes sense from the US perspective: "The original Fanny Pack was a parachute that the pilot would sit on."

>202 BooksFriendsNotFood: That's correct. Also, just to note: Folio has never published a fancy edition of Fanny Hill

>203 dyhtstriyk: Interesting as well that FS has published a number of D.H. Lawrence titles, but apparently not Lady Chatterley's Lover.

>204 Shadekeep: Well when you put it like that, I guess J.G. Ballard's Crash is never going to happen.

But hey, they had that "cult" section for a hot second and it's still there if you search "cult" on their website so publish it for your phantom cult section and prove me wrong, Folio! I dare you!

>205 LeBacon: The current assortment under 'cult' makes no sense whatsoever. Monkey, Dracula, The Road, 1984, Jaws? What?
They do have a budding collection of controversial or counterculture titles Crash would suit, along with Fear and Loathing, Trainspotting, A Clockwork Orange. I know someone suggested Palahniuk, maybe Bret Easton Ellis would fit here as well. I'd pick Hubert Selby Jr. (Requiem for a Dream or Last Exit to Brooklyn) or William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch). There's something that tickles me about fine editions for this kind of book.

>206 A.Godhelm: I put Naked Lunch as one of my three picks on the last survey.

It would seem both Clockwork Orange and Fear and Loathing did well for them, so hopefully we see more counterculture titles. Unlike sci-fi and fantasy, it's a niche that isn't currently being exploited by a dozen other publishers.

Since they've done one Zora Neale Hurston book, they could expand their cult section with her first-hand account of voodoo, Tell My Horse. It's a worthy addition even without the "cult" designation.

>207 LeBacon: Agreed. Fear and Loathing is one of the best value propositions Folio currently has as well. Clothbound and Abbey Pure Rough paper for $70 usd is solid.

>208 Shadekeep: That sounds interesting. It would be something very different for their non-fiction but still a travelogue by someone they've published so not too risky for Folio.

>209 Geo135: I'm re-reading Fear and Loathing right now. The paper's so thick I often wonder if I accidently turned two pages by mistake, but no it's only one gloriously thick page. And the colorization of Steadman's illustrations perfectly matches his carefree drippy, trippy style. The whole production is perfect.

>199 Shadekeep: >200 red_guy:
My Oxford Shorter says that fanny referring to female genitalia first appeared in the late 19th century, although I understand that it might have been as early as the 1830s. Certainly, neither Fanny Price nor Fanny Hill were referring to the slang which just didn't exist at the times they were written - Fanny being a widely recognised shortening of 'Frances' for centuries and popular until the late 19th century, probably as a result of its coarser useage? Fanny Craddock was probably the last 'celebrity' I'm aware of, but I've enjoyed reading Fanny Burney and Fanny Trollope (amongst others).

>211 Willoyd: Based on the excerpt, my understanding is that while Fanny Hill was not referencing any slang - since as you mention, it did not yet exist - the current association may be, in part, because of that book and titular character.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/fanny#:~:text=fanny%20(n.),is%20a%20diminutive%2....

>212 BooksFriendsNotFood:
Ah! I see. That makes sense.

Yes, in the good 'ol USA, "Fanny" refers to a woman's arse, while, across the pond, it's a woman's frontside, which, of course, makes for some interesting and confusing conversations in mixed company...

>170 red_guy: In my mind, I associate the free diary with the Christmas Collection: given away as a freebie but also available for purchase if you wanted extra ones. But my memory might be faulty there.

>177 HonorWulf: Ah, okay. Not such a good deal, then. I was thinking that the greater shipping charges outside the UK might make it more tempting but I suppose the prices of the books are higher as well so, overall, probably no better.

>201 Shadekeep: 'Fanny Lowcock is an amazing name, and if a drag queen hasn't poached it yet, one should.'

If Round the Horne didn't use that, they should have!

By the way, from 1984-2006, the editor of The Beano was one Euan Kerr. Honest!

>217 Cat_of_Ulthar: The best drag name I've heard recently is Cara van Park, which is just perfection.

I think the diary is given a value at some point, so that when free you feel you've had a £15 gift. They are always very nice, but I've never used one for actually writing in.

>217 Cat_of_Ulthar: If Round the Horne didn't use that, they should have!

Ha! I still occasionally address my dog (a curmudgeonly Dachshund) as Mr. Gruntfuttock.

>216 Cat_of_Ulthar: Yeah, the USA "tax" is pretty steep. Dune Messiah is 75 pounds ($92) on the UK site, but $110 on the USA site. The "free shipping" basically offsets this cost (almost).

Looking to the spine of Mantel's 'Bring Up the Bodies,' I noted after staring for much too long to work out what was off, that on both the spine and the title page Folio has instead 'Bring up the Bodies,' even though the Folio website correctly has it 'Bring Up the Bodies.' Mildly irking.

Unless the uncial font is throwing me off and the 'u' is indeed a capital that doesn't look especially like a capital.

Thanks to scanning by Glenn (Folio-Books) the 2023 Christmas catalogue has now been added to the FSD wiki here.

>220 HonorWulf:
At least Folio ships abroad. More than Library of America does!

>223 Willoyd:
Or Easton Press!

>221 FitzJames: Looks like a case of U or non-U...

>225 English-bookseller: (M. Gustave's voice): Very good.

>200 red_guy: Then there's that French actress called Fanny Ardent. Fanny is quite a popular first name in French.

When I read about titles on these forums I will sometimes look for the ebook on my library app. I just whipped through The Enchanted Wood and had more fun with it than I expected.

It has that old-timey feel with English kids who exclaim "bother!" and a mom who see some odd stranger like the Saucepan Man show up at their door and she's like "sure kids, you can go off with this weirdo." I could see ditching the golliwogs in an updated version since they are irrelevant plot-wise but would be sorely disappointed if they got rid of mean old Dame Slap and her unquestioned ability to go around assaulting literally everyone with impunity. One of the best parts!

The version I read had the original illustrations where the kids looked like they were out of a Henry Darger painting. I preferred those to the Folio ones since they were so 1930s in style they better matched the old fashioned quality of the writing.

>227 overthemoon: That's true - and Fanny Ardent is a lovely name, although not pronouncing the final 't' does nothing to pull it back from the pit of innuendo. I also like the phrase 'It's only pretty Fanny's way' when someone does something odd or annoying but you like them really.

And then there's Fanny Adams....

>230 Willoyd: Oh, she's a sweetie.

Pardon me if this is the wrong thread but in the summer I saw a contest for winning a signed copy of The Shining. Does that mean we can expect to see that book get a proper release soon?

>231 red_guy: :-))

>232 brokenwolf: The Shining was already published: https://www.foliosociety.com/row/the-shining.html
The contest might signal a reprint, or it's a copy they had reserved to be signed for some reason coming up for the contest now (well, months ago).

>232 brokenwolf: I think the contest itself is unlikely to signal a reprint. If the prize book was from a new print run then they would surely have released the reprint in the Autumn or Christmas collections in time for Halloween.

That said, they now have a bit of a King series and know it was a popular book. It's also widely requested on social media. So I think there's about as good a chance of it being reprinted as any edition.

>232 brokenwolf:
FS acquired over 200 small sheets containing signature of author and artist for tipping in to copies of the first printing. 110 were awarded by lot to members of the Society. Several were awarded as prizes at exhibitions. Eventually 100 were put on sale at double the asking price. For reasons which escape me, given that the author seems to have signed anything put in front of him, these "signed" books for a while fetched ridiculous prices on Ebay. Presumably someone has found a stray copy lying around the warehouse and decided to put it to use.
The Shining was one of the first offerings of popular books without literary pretensions at inflated prices; presumably the promotion was to persuade existing customers to try it, and to widen the customer base.

>217 Cat_of_Ulthar: By the way, from 1984-2006, the editor of The Beano was one Euan Kerr. Honest!

"Let us discover that there are even two comic landladies and the second is called Mrs. Wanks..." (Katherine Mansfield, reviewing in 1920 G.B.Burgin's fifty-ninth novel, Pilgrims of Circumstance_)

>218 red_guy: The best drag name I've heard recently is Cara van Park, which is just perfection.

Definitely a good one, right up there with Newcastle's own Ophelia Balls.

Now, what was the topic again...

>236 Jayked: Are you using "signed" because they are plates? Also, isn't that author's signature hard to get, hence the high prices of his signed books?

>238 What_What:
A small tipped-in paper plate containing both signatures. And the author's signature isn't hard to find -- though it does seem to be in demand.

>206 A.Godhelm: I'd be thrilled if Folio published some Ellis! In my view, his works are modern-day classics, and certainly deserving of the Folio treatment.

>235 ubiquitousuk: All good points.
>238 What_What: Stephen King has signed ridiculous amounts of books, he's even written about the cramps he'd get and needing pain relief for it after hours of non stop signing. It's like >239 Jayked: suggested rather the incredible demand that drives the market. I'm not really an autograph hound so I don't get it as something other than a fun extra. I'm sure if you can get that signature in person it means a lot more as a memento of the encounter.

>232 brokenwolf: I recently phoned FS customer services to ask if they had plans to reprint The Shining and they said no. You could give them a call too and see what they say (just in case the person I spoke to wasn't actually in the know).

>241 A.Godhelm: “if you can get that signature in person it means a lot more as a memento of the encounter.”

Yes, that’s the key. Autographs on books and other memorabilia are worthless unless they are guaranteed by the publisher in a limited or special edition. When you watch the author personally sign it, you know it’s genuine, but there is no way to prove it to anyone else unless you go to the trouble and expense of having it certified by a reputable service. There are lots of counterfeit signatures on the market.

Stephen King has signed oodles of books at official signings but has done only a few limited editions. Hence, the high price when you see one.

I have placed two orders recently which should have come with the free magazine.* Neither of them did. I emailed Folio after the first order and they sent a magazine separately so I am not that bothered about not getting a second one but I am curious if I have just been unlucky here or is this happening more widely? I would be surprised if they have run out of magazines already.

*'One free magazine per customer with any order containing one or more titles. Excludes the purchase of e-Gift cards and Limited Editions. Offer ends midnight Wednesday, 20 December 2023 or while stocks last.'

>245 Cat_of_Ulthar: I didn’t get the magazine

>245 Cat_of_Ulthar:

Last year I had the issue that using a discount voucher for older titles automatically removed the magazine from orders. Could it be that again? I hope not, but I'm still waiting for my order and can't say if the magazine is included or not.

>245 Cat_of_Ulthar:

I *think* I got a magazine with my Autumn Collection (so-called) order. I definitely *didn't* get one with my mega Christmas catalogue order, received last week. As you say, not bothered about getting a second one (if indeed I got a first one) but hard to believe they have run out already.

I got a free magazine last friday but my 'Festive' order hasn't come in yet.

I read on the Facebook group that FS has just switched expedited shipping provider from DHL to FedEx and that created some operational delays last week. I haven't ordered anything from this collection, but I read that there were people still waiting for their expedited shipping tracker a couple days after having received a shipping notification.

I ordered on last Wednesday and got my shipping notice with Fedex tracking number next day on Thursday for what it's worth.

>250 dyhtstriyk: "...FS has just switched expedited shipping provider from DHL to FedEx..."

Bummer; for me that means that the shipment will be handed over to a National postal service when it arrives the country, as FedEx doesn't operate within Norway...

It will be interesting to find out what that means for delivery in Germany. With US parcels, FedEx just hands them over to the local courier Hermes, who are doing a great job when it comes to international parcels with pre-paid VAT, but it takes longer than direct shipping with DHL. Still, I'm pretty sure this is cheaper than DHL was, and they mess up quite a bit, so I consider it progress - hopefully.

Oh, I hope I get a magazine with my order ... since I've no idea what kind of magazine it is!

>253 SF-72:
FedEx delivers with Hermes ? 🤯
Then it's time to change to UPS ..
You can't trust Hermes farther then you can spit...

Pretty much the opposite in the USA... Fedex is usually the more reliable option since they deliver directly. DHL uses the US Postal Service, which is very hit-and-miss. That said, I've never had a problem with Folio's direct shipments in the past, but have had USPS lose at least one Folio from a third-party vendor.

>255 Ragnaroek:

They're actually doing a better job than UPS here - by far. Curious King unfortunately used UPS, and they only thing they managed was to cash in quite generously for charging the local tax. My delivery date was changed 5 times - 4 times by them - and in the end they delivered on the one day I'd tried to avoid because nobody would be home then. They switched to that on the morning itself, while I was at work. Despite my asking for a second delivery, they first left it at one of their access points for me to pick up, then picked it back up themselves without checking it out - so my going there was for nothing. And my asking for the missing parcel gave the shop a scare and made them find out what had happened viy their security camera's recording of the incident. Tracking didn't work from then on and the final delivery attempt was completely unannounced - it was pure luck it worked. In the meantime, a friend's package from Curious King that she'd directed to a UPS shop due to her being at work would have gone straight back to the UK if the sender hadn't asked her why she'd (supposedly) refused accepting the parcel. Which she hadn't, UPS just hadn't left it at the shop despite being there. It then took over a week for UPS to get the parcel where it should have gone in the first place, although it had never left Germany. I doubt it's possible to do much worse.
That being said: I think it's a bit of a joke that shops pay for FedEx services and the parcels then end up with a completely different courier / Hermes. I doubt that the senders know that and using Hermes (or Evri, as they call themselves elsewhere) straightaway would probably be cheaper from the start. That being said: I don't yet know if this also happens with UK packages, but it's the way it now works with US parcels. I just had another case today with my Brandon Sanderson parcels from his last Kickstarter.

DHL has always been really fast for me, with Folio Society expedited shipping. But this time it has taken a week to receive notice that it has been shipped out and it is still in the UK. Not at all impressed. I should have just gone with the free shipping.

>257 SF-72: wrote, re: UPS: "only thing they managed was to cash in quite generously for charging the local tax"

Haha yeah can confirm. I don't think I've had an international UPS book delivery where the brokerage fee was less than the amount of tax collected. Total racket, since the person taking delivery is a captive audience. What am I going to do, refuse delivery? It's gotten to the point where I proactively ensure that secondhand booksellers will not ship with UPS when getting a shipping quote before ordering.

It's a shame, because UPS is actually pretty good at the logistics side. But not good enough to justify such business practices.

On the topic of Folio shipping, their standard service to Canada has markedly improved. Always tracked now, and my books from the recent collection arrived in less than a week (six days which included a weekend).

I ordered Dune Messiah on launch. It got delivered in 7 days by FedEx to the Netherlands. I don’t feel there’s a difference here compared to say a DHL. It would be preferable if you could indicate what courier works for your local. The countries in Europe FS still delivers to are all exclusively Express Shipping. I had about the same turnaround with Standard Shipping when it was still available and for a short time we enjoyed tracking on those shipments too. Sadly, that all went away when GB left the union.

>257 SF-72:
Here in the UK, Hermes (now Evri) are notorious. I won't touch them even with a bargepole. Having said that, deliveries have improved since the name change. I haven't risked sending with them, having found DPD vastly more reliable.

>258 Lady19thC: Same, I'm not impressed with the express shipping on this last order. Folio notified me my books were shipped last Wednesday. Still have not heard a peep from whoever is delivering the books and where they are. On previous orders, DHL would've already had the books at my door step by now with plenty of notifications along the way. DHL was great.

I experimented with standard shipping for the first time last month and the order got delivered within a week with fedex and my countries delivery service so I'm not sure what's going on with the express this last round...if there's no discernible difference between express and standard, i will opt for standard in the future.

So is there DHL Express left or did they cancel the work with them ?

I'm worried now.

>263 Dropkickerbob: Mine ended up coming today, and all is well, but it took a long time for them to send them out. With DHL I never had any problems and received my books overseas in a matter of a few days. Very impressive and made that 54.00 worthwhile. Now, not so much.