I found a complete six edition pocketbook collection of Shakespeare plays from 1813 and I’m OBSESSED! I’m an English teacher but I don’t have anyone to who’s equally as excited about these as I am :( geek out with me!

As of yesterday (10/17/2026), this is the stock on the floor at Words to Live By, a used bookshop in Moorhead, MN.

The owner is planning a "Folio Event" in mid-November (I believe 11/13/2026?). She did one of those last year, during which she pulls far more Folio editions from her storage unit and back-rooms and puts them all on the floor at once. Multiple drool-worthy Limited Editions and sets are in the mix.

I have spent way too much money here, lol. My shelves are overflowing.

I've got a small collection of antique literature, including old letters, magazines, etc. My passion is traditional English folk music, and I'd love to find some original, 19th or 18th-century printings of Broadside Ballads.

Does anyone know how I might find them?

Hello, all! This weekend, I found what seems to be an early edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’ve done some looking around but am having a hard time confirming the age of the book, so I’m hoping someone here will have some more insight. I’m confident it is NOT a first print edition, as it has green end pages and a 5 line colophon. It did not come with a dust jacket so I don’t have any info there. It does refer to the oompa-loompas as “pygmies” so it was before that change. Based on a few resources I’ve found, I think it might be a third-ish print from the first year of publication? Can anyone confirm or help me pin down a print date? Thanks so much in advance for any info/help!

How do you stop paper-backed Mylar dust-jacket covers slipping up and down while reading, without using tape?

I protect my hardback dust jackets with library-style Mylar sleeves with paper backing, fitted by folding rather than using adhesive.

The issue is that the entire covered dust jacket slides vertically against the hardback boards while I'm reading. The paper backing doesn't seem to provide enough friction to prevent this.

Has anyone found a reliable, non-adhesive way to stop this happening? I'd prefer not to attach anything directly to the book or original dust jacket.

I came across this book and cannot find another record of a 1st Edition anywhere. Some second editions same year. Looking to see how I can determine how many first editions were printed. Is this a true "rare" find, or just a odd book with little collectability?

Snapped this 1954 edition up for 50p last night.

I just ordered this book knowing it wasn’t new, and this book came out around 2012. However I’ve noticed this weird substance which I can’t rub off with a makeup remover wipe, only was able to slightly clean the remains on the inner book jacket. I don’t actually like to collect books (despite the name of this subreddit), however do you think it’s acceptable to donate to a library? I can’t even tell what it is…

But the Quarterly Film Magazine “Wide Angle”. I found these together in a rack on the street in front of a bookstore. It was their $3 section. I bought them all - 18 copies.

They are really cool esoteric film essays and interviews. But the cool thing was they are signed inside by Antonia Lant who turns out was an NYU Professor.

The Gone With the Wind is pretty neat. It's a library copy from 1936 that was last checked out in 1954.

This is, as far as I know, every US and UK first edition of the works of William T. Vollmann. I’ve chipped away at this collection since 2009, culminating last weekend in a 20+ hour cross country pilgrimage to Sacramento to meet Bill in person, who could not have been cooler, kinder and more generous with his time for his fans.

I stuffed roughly 45 pounds of books into my carry-on bag (broke down to 19 volumes) all of which he agreed to sign for me. I am still sore days later but it was worth the damage.

Curiously, despite being an American author all of his fiction books until the mid-90s were first published in small editions in the UK. After that, it seems the publisher simply exported the US edition (besides Uncentering the Earth). Also, curiously I found the later titles to be considerably harder to find than the earlier ones.

Every single book on the shelf is signed, including all seven volumes of Rising Up and Rising Down, probably the centerpiece of my collection. I have a few doubles that are additionally inscribed to me tucked away. No remainder marks!

I suppose there are things I don’t have (galleys, small editions, etc) but I feel this is pretty close to complete, at least as complete as these sorts of things can be.

Tried to post on Wings of Fire Subreddit but it was taken down because it was ‘Low Effort’ :(

A local independent bookstore chain had one of their occasional warehouse sales today, with books heavily discounted. Although I'm low on storage space and trying to cut back on accumulating books (ha!), I still brought home these seven. It's a mixed bag, but nothing that would be surprising to anyone who knows my tastes. You'll notice that I lean toward books about language, and I was especially thrilled to find books about international languages.

• Henry M. Hoenigswald, Language Change and Linguistic Reconstruction (Second Impression, 1961).
• L. Frank Baum, Ozma of Oz (Copyright 1907, but a post-1935 Reilly & Lee printing).
• Interlingua-English: A Dictionary of the International Language Prepared by the Research Staff of the International Auxiliary Language Association under the Direction of Alexander Gode, Ph.D. (1951, opened to the title page because the cover is nondescript).
• Rev. Eugene O'Growney, Simple Lessons in Irish; Giving the Pronunciation of Each Word, Parts I–V (1912).
• The Pursuit of Grouchiness: Oscar the Grouch's Guide to Life (First Edition, 2019).
• Eliphas Lévi, Le clef des grands mystères (1971).
• Pierre Burney, Les langues internationales (1^re édition, 1962).

Alan Garner, the English author and folklorist, turns 92 today.

Amongst his most recognised works are the 'Alderley Edge' trilogy (The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, 1960, The Moon of Gomrath, 1963*, Boneland, 2012*) and The Owl Service (1967) which won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British author. It was later adapted into a successful TV series in 1969.

'Conciousness is on the move. Something is at work in the world: a general recognition of the crisis of the spirit, of the banal and shoddy, in human affairs. It is universal and it must be met'

I've just started collecting them and was wondering what you do?

Hello im new to this community and reddit overall I wanted to show you guys my favorite book there is not alot of reliable books on Palo Mayombe translated to English so I really truly appreciate this 1 as it has mambos, a dictionary, recipes, sigils, and even chants thank you for your time

From my local charity shop - 10p each.

Snagged this first edition, first printing hardcover of A Game of Thrones for $18 the other day from a well-known used bookstore that, honestly, should know better. The dust jacket (especially the back) has a little wear and tear, but nothing a mylar dust jacket cover didn't fix. Otherwise it's in great condition. I've found some good, inexplicable deals on novels I like better before, but never with a pr*ce/current v*lue disparity like this one.