Tuesday, 24 August 2010








Oh well.



  1. I also don't look at the publishers too much. The one exception is that when I was in school I read lots of fantasy and science fiction and in those genres the publisher was generally a good indicator of quality and also of style. They made an effort to establish why they were different from other publishers.

    Actually thinking about it there is one great exception but it isn't in the english language but in spanish. Editorial Porrua a mexican based publisher is probably the best way to get an inexpensive edition of a classic with a very good translation.

  2. No problem. Just go to a shop that sells second-hand books.

    On second thoughts, perhaps not. Most second-hand bookshops I've been in (and that's a lot - I can't seem to walk past one without being drawn inside for an hour or so) can't usually find a specifically-requested book. The usual reaction is along the lines of, "I know we've got it somewhere, now let me think" followed by a fruitless search through every shelf for an hour or so. I must say, though, that they are unfailingly helpful and indeed apologetic.
    That won't keep me out of second-hand bookshops, though!

    Juan's comment also reminds me: Gollancz SF books were published in bright yellow dustjackets and so could easily by spotted on my local public library shelves. Like Juan, I read lots of SF when I was at school and I made a bee-line for those yellow jackets. It saved me a lot of time and introduced me to a number of authors I'd never heard of before.

  3. I never ever would have thought of arranging by publisher. Ingenious.

  4. Terry Waite et al were on BBC Radio 4's The Reunion.

    Waite talked about his time in solitary confinement. He was desperate for something to read and eventually a kindly captor brought him in a book: A Guide to Breast-feeding.

    Waite drew a picture of a penguin and signalled that if his captor ever saw the penguin logo on a book, then he should bring it to him. In this way, his choice of reading matter improved dramatically.

    I tend to enjoy Cannongate books as they have an interesting catalogue.

  5. In theology publishers can be very informative... different publishing houses tend to publish what fits into certain values, interpretations, and viewpoints they hold. you can learn a lot about a book by who puts it out, and what sort of books it cites.

  6. I'm going to have to pack mine up shortly, but I've only got so far as looking at them in mute despair and going and doing something else instead.

    Following this post I went and looked at them more inquiringly, (enquiringly?) and discovered that there's an aviary on my bookshelves. I have the ubiquitous Penguins, but also Pelicans, Bantams, a Kestrel, a Falcon, and several Firebirds. Also some Mammoths, Lions, a Beaver and a Firefly, but a preponderance of birds.

    Why books and birds? A couple of them are Penguin imprints, but the majority are not. Inspired by Penguin, perhaps?