It depends. For some people, it's all about the reading, and not about the book. For some, having a collection of rare and beautiful things can also have importance.
For me, it's a mix. If I really love a book, I often find I have it in multiple editions, or that I'll have an extra "reader" copy that gets loaned out to friends who don't care for books as fanatically as I do, (e.g., turn down their corners, break their spines, drop them in the tub, etc.)
In addition, it's sometimes fun to show an author that you're enough of a crazy fanatic fan to have gotten some of the weirder, rarer versions of their books. DD was very amused that I had the UK paperback of Door Into Fire, which has one of the worst cover illustrationss ever.
The thing is that when a book first comes out, particularly if it's from a new author, the first edition is typically rather small, because the publisher doens't know how many people are going to want it. You can always reprint a book, but you can't sell excess copies that nobody wants.
With Harry Potter, JKR initially only sold it to a small press house. The UK first is something less than 500 copies. That's it. It's really rare. So, it's valuable. Do you need a copy? No. But would you like to have one? Depends on who you are, and whether it's worth the money to you or not. Is it different from the larger-press version? Possibly. Does it matter if you get the UK or the US editions? Well, if you care about the words, then, yeah, because they have several (if miniscule) differences. Do you want the "adult" covers or the YA covers? The ribbon-marker, gilt-edge special editions with slip cases?
Having choices is a good thing if you care. And if you don't, does it matter?
For me, it's a mix. If I really love a book, I often find I have it in multiple editions, or that I'll have an extra "reader" copy that gets loaned out to friends who don't care for books as fanatically as I do, (e.g., turn down their corners, break their spines, drop them in the tub, etc.)
In addition, it's sometimes fun to show an author that you're enough of a crazy fanatic fan to have gotten some of the weirder, rarer versions of their books. DD was very amused that I had the UK paperback of Door Into Fire, which has one of the worst cover illustrationss ever.
The thing is that when a book first comes out, particularly if it's from a new author, the first edition is typically rather small, because the publisher doens't know how many people are going to want it. You can always reprint a book, but you can't sell excess copies that nobody wants.
With Harry Potter, JKR initially only sold it to a small press house. The UK first is something less than 500 copies. That's it. It's really rare. So, it's valuable. Do you need a copy? No. But would you like to have one? Depends on who you are, and whether it's worth the money to you or not. Is it different from the larger-press version? Possibly. Does it matter if you get the UK or the US editions? Well, if you care about the words, then, yeah, because they have several (if miniscule) differences. Do you want the "adult" covers or the YA covers? The ribbon-marker, gilt-edge special editions with slip cases?
Having choices is a good thing if you care. And if you don't, does it matter?
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