Favorite Publishers

[Stevie B]

Whether it's their mission, authors, book designs, or production quality, certain publishers stand out to me, and I am more likely to purchase one of their books. One such publisher is Grove Press. In the '60s and '70s, they often published more risqué titles, and I liked how they prioritized bringing international authors to the American marketplace. I also appreciated those early Grove Press dust jackets as they typically featured original artwork that was bright and colorful. Which publishing houses hold a special place in your heart?

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Penguin is too obvious. But, Penguin. ?

 

[Stevie B]

Penguin is too obvious. But, Penguin. ?

I recall leafing through a book at a used bookstore that exclusively featured color photos of books published by Penguin. Fun to browse, but I almost never buy coffee table books because they take up too much room.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Another I just thought of: the old Time Reading Program (1962-66). Wonderfully well chosen (by Max Gissen) titles in lovely trade paperbacks. I collect these, although the stiff covers, intended for durability, do become brittle and crack with age.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Here is my copy of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre in the Time Reading Program edition. The cover arrived in pretty cracked condition (no complaints, I paid very little), so I had to do some taping up. I have been much luckier with other volumes in the series that I ordered.

But in any case, as you can see, the printing of the text is REALLY nice. These are great books to read.

 

[Liam]

Content aside (I mean, those cheap mass market paperback editions from Signet and Dover Thrift offer most excellent content!), I'll focus solely on design (though obviously I only buy those books which I want to add to my collection, I have never purchased a book just because it looked "pretty"):

Everyman's Library Classics (those orange hardcovers)
Macmillan Collector's Library (those small, azure-blue hardcovers)
Zone Books (I don't have a lot of these, just those titles dealing with the Middle Ages, but they are beautifully produced)
New Directions (very minimalist, stylish design, for the most part)
New York Review of Books Classics (I am NEVER disappointed with their choice of cover art, the books are well-made and affordable, and they offer an amazing array of titles)
TASCHEN (again, I don't have a lot of these, but the production values are amazing)
Folio Society (but of course!)
Penguin Orange Collection (I wish they'd actually put out more titles in this series)
Centipede Press (only for those who like weird fiction, fantasy and horror; expensive but beautiful books)
Subterranean Press (same as Centipede Press above in terms of content)
Giramondo Publishing (I buy most of my Murnanes from them; their paperback editions are very handsome and they publish many other, lesser-known Australian authors)

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Dover is a noteworthy publisher in sociological terms, because it always made nice editions of classic and interesting texts available at the lowest possible prices. Kudos to them.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Everyman!

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I used to subscribe to the Folio Society, beautiful books indeed, but you can’t trust them TEXTUALLY, they do all kinds of messing around. Sometimes I didn’t discover I was getting an abridged edition until I had it.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

This website is an invaluable collecting guide for 20th Century hardcover books in series. I could blow several lifetimes of money pursuing angles suggested here.

https://seriesofseries.owu.edu/

 

[tiganeasca]

in the good old days
Heritage Press
Everyman Classics
John Lane/The Bodley Head
Three Continents
Charles Tuttle
Limited Editions Press
The German Library/Continuum
Heinemann's African Writers
David Godine
North Point Press
Sun & Moon
Fjord Press
The Eridanos Library

the somewhat less wonderful but probably sorta okay days we're living in
Archipelago
Deep Vellum
Interlink Books
Library of America
Pushkin Press
Graywolf Press
New Directions
Dalkey Archive
Open Letter Books
Milkweed Editions

EDITED TO ADD: This is sadly but (largely) necessarily a list of American (and a few British) publishers. My reading abilities in other languages are too circumscribed for me to list high quality publishers from other countries. The sole exception that comes to mind immediately are both French: Editions Gallimard and whoever publishes the Pléiade volumes.

 

[Stevie B]

Another I just thought of: the old Time Reading Program (1962-66). Wonderfully well chosen (by Max Gissen) titles in lovely trade paperbacks. I collect these, although the stiff covers, intended for durability, do become brittle and crack with age

I usually avoided buying Time Life books as it was almost impossible to even open one of them without creasing its stiff cardstock cover. As someone with major anal retentive tendencies, I never dog-ear pages or crease the spines of books I'm reading.

 

[Stevie B]

in the good old days
Heritage Press
Everyman Classics
John Lane/The Bodley Head

Great list, especially with the inclusion of Open Letter Books as they're publishing lots of interesting authors as of late. One name I forgot to note earlier is Kodansha, the largest publisher of Japanese books in English translation (or at least they used to be). They use fine quality paper and feature great cover art on their dust jackets.

 

[Ben Jackson]

in the good old days
Heritage Press
Everyman Classics
John Lane/The Bodley Head
Three Continents
Charles Tuttle
Limited Editions Press
The German Library/Continuum
Heinemann's African Writers
David Godine
North Point Press
Sun & Moon
Fjord Press
The Eridanos Library

the somewhat less wonderful but probably sorta okay days we're living in
Archipelago
Deep Vellum
Interlink Books
Library of America
Pushkin Press
Graywolf Press
New Directions
Dalkey Archive
Open Letter Books
Milkweed Editions

EDITED TO ADD: This is sadly but (largely) necessarily a list of American (and a few British) publishers. My reading abilities in other languages are too circumscribed for me to list high quality publishers from other countries. The sole exception that comes to mind immediately are both French: Editions Gallimard and whoever publishes the Pléiade volumes.

Thanks for mentioning Heinemann African Writers Series, so sad it has disappeared.

For publishers, I don't really know much apart from Penguin and Farrar, Roger and Giroux. They published most of the Nobel Laureates in the seventies to early nineties: Solzhenistyn, Brodsky, Soyinka, Canetti, Gordimer, Walcott and I think Naipaul. Apart from this, I don't really know about publishers. I just purchase the books I want to read irrespective of the publishers.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I usually avoided buying Time Life books as it was almost impossible to even open one of them without creasing its stiff cardstock cover. As someone with major anal retentive tendencies, I never dog-ear pages or crease the spines of books I'm reading.

I thought I was bad ?

Actually, I used to be much worse, but as I have described, I have gotten over it in a major way. Life wore me down a little, the results of which are not all negative. I have lost entire libraries and other belongings more than once because of poverty or misadventure, now I’m just glad to have some books.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Great list, especially with the inclusion of Open Letter Books as they're publishing lots of interesting authors as of late. One name I forgot to note earlier is Kodansha, the largest publisher of Japanese books in English translation (or at least they used to be). They use fine quality paper and feature great cover art on their dust jackets.

Seconding the love for Kodansha.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I find Library of America volumes sort of grim. I wouldn’t think that they encourage a love of reading at all.

 

[Stevie B]

I thought I was bad ?

Actually, I used to be much worse, but as I have described, I have gotten over it in a major way. Life wore me down a little, the results of which are not all negative. I have lost entire libraries and other belongings more than once because of poverty or misadventure, now I’m just glad to have some books.

When I lived overseas, I was all about paperbacks that were cheaper to buy and smaller to make for easy transport. When it comes to my "permanent" collection, now that I'm settled back in the States, I'm very particular about condition ("particular" being a euphemism for obsessive/compulsive ).

 

[Stevie B]

I find Library of America volumes sort of grim. I wouldn’t think that they encourage a love of reading at all.

View attachment 1594

The Philip Roth book doesn't fit the pattern. That would bug me if I owned this set. For the record, I think this is a condition I was born with and not one I developed.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I am serious when I say that one reason my OCD abated was having a lot of pets. They chew things, make messes, etc, but I love them so much that I pretty much stopped caring about all that. It was good for me.