My Collection of Jane Austen's Books

   Hello dear Janeites! Today has been a good day for me because I was able to purchase all of our beloved author's work in paperback. I already have a hardbound of her 7 novels (as you can see in the photo), but I feel that I should have a pocket book so that I can read anytime, anywhere, and I don't want to open the hardbound collector's item, so that it will not wear-out easily. It is still unopened, with its plastic seal on it.

   Moving along, I didn't really buy Ms. Austen's books with the same publishing company. The reason is I want to see which publishing company, and  the design of the book is the best. So here's my review per book title.

1. Pride and Prejudice (Collector's Library, UK) - this is my first Jane Austen's book. I love

the movie version which stars Keira Knightley, I still have yet to see the version of Colin Firth as the dashing Mr. Darcy who is every woman's fantasy and everyone who has read Jane Austen's novel. I'm not a Mr.Darcy's super-duper fan, I prefer Mr. Tilney over him. I like this book because it is hardbound, and it has a nice jacket, also it has a red ribbon attached that is used for bookmark. I also like the size, it's small, and it can easily fit in your bag, and you can easily carry it anywhere with you. Plus, I like the fact that it is hardbound, it will indeed last long! It's also very classy.

2. Persuasion - (Vintage Classics, UK) I really enjoyed watching the BBC adaptation of the novel.This one is paperback, and it has a extended flap-jacket. The design is really nice, as they say it's vintage.

3. Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey (Penguin Popular Classics, UK) - both of these books are priced cheaply, maybe equivalent to $2.00. I am excited to read Northanger Abbey because it is my most favorite book among all of Austen's work, next to Persuasion. What I've noticed here is the quality of the paper, and the way the words are printed, it's not beautifully done compared with the previous books that I reviewed. But it's okay for those who want to read a classic literature, it can be considered a wise-buy.

4. Sense and Sensibility (Bantam Classic, US) - This is the lone copy that I saw at the bookstore. I was a bit disappointed because the book looks old, when you open it, you can see that the front and the back part, has that old look, they call it foxing or browning. I believe this book was stocked for a long, long time. The price, is on the normal range P235.00, the price is higher than the real conversion $1 = P 47, maybe because of the value added tax, etc.

5. Emma (Collins Classics) - I like the look of this book, the front cover is a beautiful woman. Clean printed words, compared to the Penguin Popular Classics style of printing. The fonts are just smaller compared to the other paperbacks that I bought. Nice features of this book are the Life & Times (of Jane Austen), and the Glossary of Classic Literature. The glossary is indispensable since, most of us are not familiar with classic literature words and phrases.

6. Lady Susan and Sanditon and The Watsons: Austen's Unfinished Novels (Dover Book, US) - These are other works of Ms. Austen. The books are very thin, but priced expensively. (P315.00). The paper, and the printed words are okay. These books are a great addition to anyone's collection.
   
       Over-all, my favorite paperback is from Collin's Classic because it has special features. While the hard-bound from Collector's Library, we know is a real-winner, nice packaging of the book, and its really worth the price, I also like the book from the Collector's Library because it has added illustrations. So there we go, take your pick. Happy reading!

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“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” 
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey