One of the few instances when the adage "don't judge a book by its cover" is not applicable is in the world of book collecting. When I say that I love books, I mean that I love what's inside of them but also the actual book itself. If I read a good book, I want to own the most beautiful, original copy that my budget can afford. I have a small collection of my own, and when I look at the shelf, it warms my heart. Collecting books is like collecting art. You can admire them, read them, and invest in them!
And if you're a writer or interested in a particular subject, building your own collection can add a whole new dimension to your research. (As if you needed another reason to procrastinate actually writing.)
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| My very modest book collection |
Thrift stores, antique stores, and secondhand book stores are great places to begin. You can also ask family members for heirloom books from your childhood or see if there are old books they want to get rid of. Whenever a cover or title catches your eye or piques your interest, that's a great place to start.
The world of book collecting can be intimidating to the uninitiated. Really, though, there isn't a "wrong" way to do it, and you don't need to know the technical terms for things to be able to make good decisions about what to buy.
A few general rules to keep in mind:
Hardback > Paperback
Hardback with a jacket > Hardback without a jacket
Older publication date > Newer publication date
First Edition > Anything Else (second, third, fourth edition; first edition in another country)
Signed Author Copy > Non-signed copy
Pristine Condition > Scuffed, ripped, marked-up or water-damaged
The holy grail of fiction book collecting is a first edition, signed author copy in pristine condition. Hardback books are always a better investment than paperback for several reasons: they are more durable, usually better made, and are more likely to be an earlier edition. A "first edition" means the very first printing of a book. Any subsequent editions can have changes and are thus further from the original. This is another great reason to go to author signings and buy the first edition of an author's book. Who knows how much that book could be worth in a few years?
Another great resource is AbeBooks (abebooks.com). It's the best used book site on the web and can be helpful when you're trying to find information on books and their value. If you want to collect books on a specific topic or are looking for a particular book, it's the place to go. You can filter by first editions, arrange search results by date and price, which can help you find the best copy in your price range.
Now, if you'll indulge me, I will pick a book from my lovely little shelf and show you how it came into my possession.
A year or so ago, I went to a local consignment store to help my mom look for furniture. We didn't find anything for her, but a slim book caught my eye. If it was a guy, it would have been love at first sight. It was a copy of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Right away, I saw four important things: it was hardcover, it had a colorful jacket, it was old, and it was in good condition.
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| Hello, gorgeous! Want to come home with me? |
I flipped open the cover and the price was $5. Next, I looked at the title page and copyright page. These pages should tell you who the publisher is, when it was published, if it is a first edition or not, and other vital information. In this case, it appeared to be a first edition, although not the first printing. All excellent things...and at $5, I was head over heels. If only finding good men was so easy.
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| Title page |
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| Copyright page |
When I got home, it went right onto my shelf next to its new friends. Just for kicks, I wanted to find out more about my purchase. A little browsing on the Internet revealed that I had obtained a UK first edition, but the US first edition of this book is much more desirable. I then headed over to the AbeBooks site to see if I had made a good investment.
I searched by title and author, then put the name of the publisher in the keyword section. Sorting those results by price, high to low, quickly showed that if Hemingway had signed this book, my investment would have paid off big time.
I could have bought a lot of chocolate bars for $6000. Sigh.
A little further down the page, I found some results that were more in line with the condition of my copy. The prices ranged from the one below at $123 to others around $60.
The thing about collecting books, much like art and real estate, is that a book is only worth what someone else will pay for it. Even if I sold my copy for $50 to undercut the competition, that would be almost a 1000% profit or 20 chocolate bars. Not too shabby.
Are you ready to get out there and scour the shelves for hidden treasures? If you could own any book in the world, what would it be?
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