I also want to focus on keeping the costs reasonable, so I’m working on collecting what I’m going to call “semi-fine” editions: books that are a step or two above the standard hardback, trade paperback, or regular paperback versions. What I want for my personal library now is books that are decent quality and a delight to look at and feel. Then there are the struggles of actually reading paperback books: the books resist being opened all the way and are also hard to hold open, so reading them is uncomfortable for me the spines crack while you read them, so they start looking unappealing partway through the first reading and worst of all is that they’re liable to have chunks of pages fall out when the glue gets dried out. After college, I wanted to keep some of the books for the contents, but having to look at their ugliness made me not want to read anything on the same shelf as them. Functionally, this worked out fine, but it was aesthetically taxing to see all the crummy paperbacks on my bookshelves. Having taken many literature classes in college, I bought used copies of the books I would need for that semester. However, I’ve also been horribly disappointed by the quality of books I’ve owned. It’s been a dream of mine throughout my life, even as my tastes have grown or changed.
I’ve wanted a collection of awesome, wonderful books that would stretch from floor to ceiling in a room of my house (preferably a tower room) since I first learned to read. If you love beauty, reading, and old-fashioned charm/elegance, then you likely have dreamed of having your own beautiful library one day.