Most prized book you own

[statomattic]

This one is mine... my absolute favorite children's book ever...

Little Old Man Who Could Not Read  

[amillio]

@txannie thanks I got the idea because I couldn't find one of my beloved books and started to freak out a little. My husband made fun of me and was like it's just a book don't get upset and I was like no you wouldn't understand. He isn't a reader at all. So a missing cherished book just couldn't register for him. Luckily, after much searching today I found my book and it is safe and secure where it belongs. I don't own many physical books because I don't tend to reread or have space for them. The books I do keep around are special and significant for there own unique reasons.

Recently, I was blessed with a baby niece. At her baby shower my sister requested everyone bring a book instead of a card with there gift. I saw this as the perfect time to inscribe and give up one of my own childhood favorites. I gifted her with an original copy of Where the Wild Are and my sister literally cried when she read my inscription. Hopefully, my niece will enjoy reading as much as I do. 

[Arctic_Ranger]

I have several comics/graphic novels that have both monetary and sentimental value to me.  For purposes of space I will limit myself to my autographed copies of Frank Millers The Dark Knight Returns.

As a kid I loved Edgar Rice Burroughs and read all the Tarzan, Pellucidar and John Carter of Mars books.  Also a big fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, the Foxfire books, anything written by Jacques Cousteau

and this book is one I value and wish was taught in every civics class.

I'll Take My Stand

  

Besides the Bible, the books that have influenced me the most would be:

Mere Christianity

  

Great Divorce  

Darwin's Black Box  

Life Is a Miracle  

The Unsettling of America  

Hannah Coulter

  

I guess I'm not very good at narrowing it down.

[JohnP51]

I have two.

The 50th anniversary edition of Gone WIth The Wind in a slipcase cover.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings also in slipcase covers and issued by Book of the Month Club when I first joined back in 1977.

[asgalbraith]

My signed copy of Tanith Lee's Blood of Roses

[RedRapier]

When I was located in South Florida, Brad Meltzer came in to our store,  My manager introduced us and in short time we were talking comics, and she was lost.

A few months later she went to the national meeting of managers where Brad was speaking.  In their goody bags they got a copy of the Identity Crisis graphic novel, which she got autographed for me.   According to her, he handed the book to her, paused, and asked if it was for the guy he talked to at the store.  she said yes, he pulled out another copy, personalized the inscrition and handed that to her as well.

I think she was as excited to give that to me as I was to get it!

[TNS]

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Gtriever wrote:

Hard to pick one favorite, but my most re-read ratty old copies would be:

The Mote in God's Eye (Niven & Pournelle)

Legacy of Heorot (Niven & Pournelle)

Lord of Light (Roger Zelazny

Starship Troopers (Heinlein)

The Past Through Tomorrow (Heinlein)

 and I really, really wish I could find  ebook versions of the last three.

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Probably my most treasured books are some signed copies of Asimov's books I own.

Some of Heinlein books are being released thought Baen as eBooks.  The Past through Tommorow is actually a collection of his stories that were previously collected and at least two of these are now released by Baen.  Baen also has released many of the books from NIven And Pournelle including The Mote in God's Eye and related books in that "universe".

I also would like to see Lord of Light, but very few of Zelazny's books are in eBook form.  Both of my paperback copies, are in shreads and pieces from rereading them over 30+ years.  Another book in shreds is Brunner's "Stand on Zanzibar"

[StephieJo]

Two - both physical books.

Little Women - the copy my mom got when she was a little girl and passed on to me.  It's torn and mended with packing tape, but still has all the lovely color illustrations intact.

And my signed copy of Farenheit 451.  I cherish it mostly because of the lovely conversation I had with Mr. Bradbury while he signed my books. 

[bluedaze]

My favourite Little Golden Book from childhood, called Four Little Puppies.

The Bible my mom gave my dad in 1973.

A copy of Shakespeare's soliloquys and poems I had signed by Sean Bean when he was doing Macbeth in London.

Two books my husband found for me in used book shops- an old copy of the works of Daphne du Marier and Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever.  Because I'd never mentioned either of them to him, but he somehow just knew.

And my beautiful facsimile edition of Shakespeare's First Folio from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.

[Rav_Bunneh]

The most prized book I ever owned was an absolutely beautiful hardback copy of The Stand by Stephen King. Sadly I had lost it and everything else I owned when an apartment complex I lived in burned down. :/ le sigh

As for ebooks however.. hmmm. They are so new I don't know that I have a favorite. Maybe if Lee Hollander's translation of the Poetic Edda came out in a kickarse fully indexed epub format. 

[CyborgQueen]

Signed copy of Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. It was the book that started me to get reading fantasies.  The ONLY book (my comic series such as Calvin and Hobbes, don't count), that I read more than 3 times...I read it 5 times.  Very well read copy and I refuse to get a new one. EBOOK EBOOK EBOOK!! :-(

A UK version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first edition of first printing of the deluxe edition. It's NOT the original first edition...those are impossible and expensive. I found a price that roughly $8k for a signed copy of this. Perhaps I should find JK Rowling and have her sign this book. LOL! 

I do have other very old editions, but not sure how valuable they are. Maybe someone can chime in?

The Scarlet Letter - 1894 edition

Little Women - 1915 edition

Heidi - Albert Whitman & Co. edition from 1924 (kind of special to me because my deceased grandmother owned this when she was a little girl, and the only one that she claimed was hers "This book is owned by..." with her address. 

Prized eBook: The Stand by Stephen King.  The reasoning why I wanted the Nook!

[reba115]

Holy Bible and To Kill a Mockingbird

[DiAnneInDover]

I'm an avid Stephen King collector (and in the case of Cujo, that'd make me a "rabid" Stephen King collector, but I digress).  I've got first editions of all of his books and several limited editions, as well.

The most valuable is probably Six Stories which is limited to only 1100 copies and signed.  It's running about $1,000 right now. 

I also have a first edition of the Gunslinger which is in just fair condition as it was a discarded library copy.  A fine copy would sell for about $1000, but mine is probably about half that.

My favorite "book" of his is a photocopied manuscript of Bag of Bones.  I love it because it was his working copy and has comments from his editor throughout. 

Now, if only I could convince Uncle Stevie to abandon Simon & Schuster, I'd be a happy camper.  They're the jerkwads who not only are part of the Evil Agency Model, but they took it a huge leap further by saying they refuse to let libraries buy their ebooks.   King is a huge supporter of libraries and I'm so disappointed that he is a part of this anti-library scheme. 

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

I actually don't have a most prized book.  I'm a "reader" not a "collector"...

[Rufus_T_Firefly]

My most prized book is also of EA Poe.  It is the complete works (stories and poems), and is a well-worn, leather-bound, octavo-sized book published by Walter J. Black Inc. (New York) in 1927.

[Philothea]

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is my ablsolute favorite and prized book.

I read it every summer as a way of kicking off my summer reading.  I just love it!!!

[CyborgQueen]

Totally forgot until I saw the name "reba".  

I have the manuscript for Reba's biography Reba: The Country Queen that came out in 1991 or 1992?  Not sure if it's valuable though.

I think this was my first eBay purchase the year eBay started. 

[ScoutNJ]

My most prized book would be my signed copy of Untamed by Gunther Gebel-Williams.

[Melissa89]

My most treasured book is from my mom. It's called the "I Hate to Cook Book" and many of my favorite childhood meals are recipes from this book. She passed it on to me after I had kids. It's very well used, but I hope to keep it in good enough shape to pass on to my daughter! The recipes are mostly pretty awful actually, but I loved them as a kid, especially the casserole of macaroni & cheese mixed with tuna and the meatloaf with Swiss cheese chunks in it.

I also have a signed copy of Outlander from 18 years ago, when I met Diana Gabaldon at a book signing. It was the first time I ever met an author in person.

[scoozi]

My autographed copy of Beach Music, by Pat Conroy, as well as my 1st edition of The Prince of Tides, same author. I hadn't gotten my hands on TPoT yet, or that would have been autographed too.