wrote:

Don Phillipson wrote:


1. Discussion to date seems to omit current preferences,
e.g. the OP did not say he read mostly fiction, non-fiction,
19th century etc.



A good, well-rounded library of books I was forced to read in high
school and can now appreciate, books I never got a chance to
read in college and can now do so, books I've read and enjoyed
before and will do so again... (And a bunch of science fiction,
for the geek in me. William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, the
obligatory Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, etc.)

SNIP

wrote:


only characterize a certain percentage
of people who buy Eastons. Those are
the sort of people who are attracted to
them only because of their very high quality
of manufacture, but never reads the books.


...


ignorant ever to understand what such
a phrase means with respect to book
appreciation. But since you are aware
of that, what is to stop you from being
the sort of collector who actually reads
the books and absorbs the content as
well as appreciating the manufacture?




So, confused, Eastons are a worthwhile purchase then?
(Again, resale value isn't my focus; I want to populate my
shelves with good copies of old -- and yet to be
discovered -- favorites. But I'd also prefer not to have
anyone who "knows books" see half a wall of Eastons and
say to themselves, "ah, you're one of *those*...") Whatever
I get, Easton or otherwise, will be read before being shelved.




The structure of a collection can be almost anything. Ian Fleming put
together a collection of first printings of book that changed the world,
e.g. Watson and Crick, "The Double Helix". I, for instance, love to
put together a collection of Grove Press publications of books that were
banned, e.g. Henry Miller, "Tropic of Cancer".


My best suggestion is to buy copies, preferably firsts, of books that
you really think that you will like. Don't worry about how they look on
a shelf. As you buy and read, a pattern will develop. It does not have
to become apparent tomorrow or next month. You sound as though your
preferences are for traditional American and English literature. But
consider that there is a world of literature outside these two countries
that has much merit and which can alter your viewpoint of the world.
Don't blindside yourself from the start by imposing limitations on what
you will read or collect.


Read, Read more, Read even more.


Then you will know what you want.


Francis A. Miniter