Looks like you would be "collecting" it unintentionally 
. Have you tried Google's digital book service? You could at least read a selection. They call it a snippet.
http://books.google.com/bkshp?tab=wp
And are you familiar with their digital book project? It's quite amazing.
. Have you tried Google's digital book service? You could at least read a selection. They call it a snippet.http://books.google.com/bkshp?tab=wp
And are you familiar with their digital book project? It's quite amazing.
Everyman wrote:
(Though I'm still waiting for a copy of Asimov's Annotated Paradise Lost to show up for a reasonable price; the only ones I can find are priced between $350 and $650, which IMO is absurd for a book I just want to buy to read, not to collect.)
I borrow it on interlibrary loan when I need it -- am always tempted to "lose" it and pay the $25 for a lost book, but I always wind up being honest and returning it.
I am vaguely aware of Google's digital library, but haven't spent any real time there. Maybe I should.
I am vaguely aware of Google's digital library, but haven't spent any real time there. Maybe I should.
foxycat wrote:
Looks like you would be "collecting" it unintentionally
http://books.google.com/bkshp?tab=wp
And are you familiar with their digital book project? It's quite amazing.
Everyman wrote:
(Though I'm still waiting for a copy of Asimov's Annotated Paradise Lost to show up for a reasonable price; the only ones I can find are priced between $350 and $650, which IMO is absurd for a book I just want to buy to read, not to collect.)
The library my library got it from through ILL charges $150.00 if you lose that book. I ended up sending it back rather quickly, because it does not have line numbers and I like the Hughes/Kastan notes better than Asimov's.
I guess the publishers don't want to risk printing too many copies of a book like that that because the text is of interest to mostly universities but the notes are not done by a scholar in the field. One of similar price range that i would really like to get hold of is the works of George Herbert with Helen Vender's notes.
I guess the publishers don't want to risk printing too many copies of a book like that that because the text is of interest to mostly universities but the notes are not done by a scholar in the field. One of similar price range that i would really like to get hold of is the works of George Herbert with Helen Vender's notes.
Everyman wrote:
I borrow it on interlibrary loan when I need it -- am always tempted to "lose" it and pay the $25 for a lost book, but I always wind up being honest and returning it.
I am vaguely aware of Google's digital library, but haven't spent any real time there. Maybe I should.
foxycat wrote:
Looks like you would be "collecting" it unintentionally
http://books.google.com/bkshp?tab=wp
And are you familiar with their digital book project? It's quite amazing.
Everyman wrote:
(Though I'm still waiting for a copy of Asimov's Annotated Paradise Lost to show up for a reasonable price; the only ones I can find are priced between $350 and $650, which IMO is absurd for a book I just want to buy to read, not to collect.)
Hello Daniel - I am Choisya from Over the Pond!
A student over here has just auctioned a hardback copy of a rare edition of The Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowlings for £7200/$14300 and there has been a lot of speculation about values amongst my young grandchildren, all of whom own first editions and are already planning exotic holidays!
I wonder if you could give a guide to the value of such editions, especially as there is a strong HP club here. Also, is there a difference in value between th UK editions and the US ones?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/622761
A student over here has just auctioned a hardback copy of a rare edition of The Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowlings for £7200/$14300 and there has been a lot of speculation about values amongst my young grandchildren, all of whom own first editions and are already planning exotic holidays!
I wonder if you could give a guide to the value of such editions, especially as there is a strong HP club here. Also, is there a difference in value between th UK editions and the US ones?http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/622761
Choisya wrote:
Hello Daniel - I am Choisya from Over the Pond!
A student over here has just auctioned a hardback copy of a rare edition of The Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowlings for £7200/$14300 and there has been a lot of speculation about values amongst my young grandchildren, all of whom own first editions and are already planning exotic holidays!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6227616.stm
Hello Choisya, thanks for bringing this up. You're absolutely right -- a first printing of the UK edition of the first Harry Potter did sell for that amount recently. This is an incredible fact, considering how recently the book was published. Remember collectors: your next purchase could be the next Harry Potter.
There is a strong market for rare Harry Potter books right now. I am not an expert on all of the many many editions, but I know a thing or two and am happy to share. The UK hardcover first editions are generally the most valuable and collectible Harry Potter books. In the case of the first book at least, the UK edition was issued first so it takes priority over the US edition. I think that later editions were issued simultaneously in both countries, but since Rowling is British the UK editions are considered the real originals. (US first trade editions of the early books are still worth quite a lot). The books have been issued in larger and larger print runs (the first print one of the last book was truly enormous, possibly the largest single printing of any book ever). Meaning that of course that the more recent books are less valuable. But any first printing of any Potter book in US or UK edition is worth holding on to. The later printings are much less valuable than the firsts, although in the case of the first volume, a second printing could still be worth several hundred dollars I would imagine.
As I recall, the real difficulty is that some of the first printings appeared in several states -- meaning there were slight differences between earlier and later copies of the books within the individual print runs. Missing punctuation on the dust flap, etc, is used to establish priority. I believe that one of the most notorious points in the first printing of the Philosopher's Stone involves a mis-spelling of the author's name. So before you start planning your vacation, you should make sure that you have a true first printing in your hands. Unfortunately I can't tell you all of the points -- I recommend a google search if you're interested, or if you tell me which title you have and whether it's UK or US I could look it up (as long as everyone doesn't ask!). If your book has a number row on the copyright page and the number "1" isn't present, then it definitely is NOT a first printing (i.e. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9). But it's possible that the early books don't have number rows at all (which doesn't mean anything). Also don't trust a "first edition" statement on the copy right page. If you read my "first edition" posts, you know that not all "first editions" are real first editions - the publisher could apply that term to the 100th printing of the first edition, which isn't worth more than the cover price.
I know less about the fancy limited editions, but I believe there are some Potter deluxe editions that are valuable.
And needless to say, anything signed by J.K. Rowling is worth its weight in gold.
