Hi, my name is Cat, and I collect books.
To be fair, the books I actively collect are fairly limited in number. By that I mean the books that are considered ‘collectable’ or books that I have more than one edition of.
I’m sure every book lover out there has that one weakness, be it pretty collected editions, or a favorite series they’ve just got to own. It’s a commonality, right?
For me, I have a couple of weaknesses. I love the pretty collected editions, of course, and I even have a few. But I’m trying to limit how many of those I buy, because I feel like that’s an easy way for me to get out of control. As it stands I have a few Barnes and Noble Collected Editions (I love their binding, can’t help it!), some of the Penguin Drop Caps as well – I’ll confess that I actually do want this full set. I just haven’t gotten around to buying them all yet. Right now they’re just the occasional treat thing for me.
My biggest weakness would be my Harry Potter collection, obviously. I’m a major fan of the series, and there are just SO MANY different editions out there. I haven’t caved and gone for the illustrated editions yet (because of cost) but boy are they tempting.
I’m actually pretty proud of the collection I have so far. I have my beat up and well-loved set – the set that I read and reread when each one released. I have the set in the chest, and I’m working on getting the 20th Anniversary sets as they come out (you know the ones where they make one per house – so pretty!).
Lastly I’m trying to collect some of the series in different languages. I haven’t been actively working on this one lately, so what I do have has been pretty much pure luck. Though Book Depository is a huge help as well, of course.
My final collection is probably the one I’m most proud of: I collect Pride & Prejudice editions. Basically any fancy Jane Austin collection I’ll buy, plus the various printings of Pride and Prejudice itself. I wouldn’t say I have an amazing collection yet, but I’m really happy with what I do have. Mostly because almost all of the copies I have so far have been gifts, and thus they’re very sentimental to me.
I know it’s important to limit the collections I allow myself, because otherwise that way lay dragons, so to speak. I may have a slightly larger collection than normal, but likewise I’m sure that I’m not the worst offender out there.
So, what is your book weakness? What book will you always buy a copy of, given the choice? Or what series/collected set?
