Hello Booklovers! And welcome to my mid-year review of interesting books and fancy editions
that are on my radar for the second half of 2021.
I’ll add as many links to the titles mentioned below as I can fit. So, this video covers
about half of the books on my list, but if you’re interested in the whole list as well,
I’ll add the website address for that below as well - but there’s plenty here to keep
you entertained today. Oh, and please do share which upcoming books you're most looking forward
to in the comments below.
I'm gonna open with the classics, and most of these are ongoing series of beautiful editions.
First of all, this year’s set of Chilton classics are coming out in July. I love these
books - I've done an in-depth review of my collection before – but basically they are
beautifully made, small sized classics that take their design inspiration from Victorian
times, and they have gilded page edges and textured and tactile designs on the covers,
and overall they are really pleasant to read. As you can see here, the ones that are coming
out are the Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson
Burnett, Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens; The
Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy; A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce;
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare; and I don't have the cover yet but they're also
bringing out 1984 by George Orwell.
Next is another series I’ve covered on this channel, and this is the final set of books
they are releasing in the Seasons Edition series, which feature delicate die-cut jackets,
two-color text and decorative quotes throughout, and matching laser-cut bookmarks. This last
series focuses on books set in Autumn or Fall. The titles are Dracula by Bram Stoker; Anne
of Green Gables by Lucy Montgomery; Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen; and Shakespeare
in Autumn, which is a selection of his works including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, Twelfth Night, the Sonnets and more.
There are some new releases coming in the Wordsworth Collector’s editions – this
is a cheerful looking series of affordable paper-bound hardbacks – and the upcoming
release focuses on the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, with the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; the
Return of Sherlock Holmes; Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes; the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes with
his Last Bow; and the full length novels A Study in Scarlet with The Sign of the Four,
and The Hound of the Baskervilles with The Valley of Fear. Dubliners by James Joyce is
also being released in this series at the same time.
Barnes and Noble also produce quite affordable leatherbound classics, and I have a complete
list of all the books in this series on my website for those of you who collect them.
Some of the upcoming titles in this series later this year include a flexibound edition
of Emma by Jane Austin, and two of their larger format leatherbound treasury editions – a
Christmas collection called A Christmas Carol and other Christmas Tales stories, and a fairy
tale collection called Beauty and the Beast and other Fairy Tales.
There are two more of the delightful Marjolein Bastin classics coming out – Sense and Sensibility
and Wuthering Heights. These feature removable ephemera like letters and sheet music and
dance cards that have been slipped into the book as though they’re special memorabilia
being saved by the by the characters, along with watercolour flower decorations throughout,
and they are delightful. I also recently reviewed a beautiful edition of pride and prejudice
which had all the letters that the characters had written to each other mentioned in the
book, written in period calligraphy on pages that you could take out and read separately,
and the author Barbara Heller is doing this again with Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
which is sure to be wonderful.
Finishing off this section, I want to call out Beehive Books, who do some lovely fine
editions of classic titles which are profusely illustrated, foil-blocked, and slipcased with
embossed and debossed covers. Their upcoming titles include Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor with art by Dave McKean coming out in August – this is a huge volume by the
way, so be prepared – and The Blazing World which is an interdimensional otherworldly
queer romance that was surprisingly written in 1666 by Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess
of Newcastle, and illustrated today with Rebekka Dunlap’s psychedelic work.
Now, let’s jump on over into some of the beautiful upcoming releases in children’s
literature. You’ll have to forgive me here – I started making this video last month
and a couple of the books have already come out. But the first one I wanted to show was
MegaMonster by David Walliams - these are really fun, they're like Roald Dahl books
for kids, and I love that the hardbacks typically have a hidden cover under the dust jacket.
If you watch my channel regularly you’d know I'm an Alice collector and Chris Riddell
brought out a delightfully illustrated oversized edition of Alice book last year, and now we
have the companion book Through the Looking Glass - there's tons of illustrations throughout
and it’s really beautifully done.
The next one I want to highlight is a gorgeous selection of Russian tales by Dinara - I love
her folksy illustration style, and this is part of an ongoing folklore series that's
put out by Chronicle Books - I should to review the whole series because all the tales are
really gorgeous. They are aimed at children, but still interesting to read as an adult
and just beautiful to look at.
Next I want to tell you about an art book, The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen. Their
artwork is just stunning 1950s if mid-century modern style, and anybody who loves vintage
children's books will absolutely recognise their artwork. A lot of people collect their
work, so this new large format monograph that's being brought out has lots of artwork from
their archives including sketches that people have never seen before, drawings that they've
made on their travels, personal paintings, and of course artwork from the most famous
books. And they also reissuing the Provensen’s Book of Fairy Tales, which is great news because
it’s a gorgeous collection and really expensive to buy secondhand. It's being brought out
by the New York Review Children’s Collection so you know it's going to be really well made
- I've actually got a couple of copies of this book already because I adore it, but
I'm thrilled that other people are going to have an opportunity to get the book without
having to pay a fortune.
The next book is by Jen Campbell, a fabulous youtuber that I'm sure a lot of you know,
but if not I’ll add her channel below because she does a lot of really interesting videos
including some on the history of fairy tales. This book is related to that, as it is a retelling
of some classic fairy tales that she's given a bit of modern edge, along with some gorgeous
illustrations by Adam DeSouza. It's called The Sister who Ate Her Brothers and other
gruesome tales.
I love MinaLima’s interactive children's classics and this year they're bringing out
the Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum. Each of these books have nine interactive features
so there are things that you can spin or maps that you can unfold and pieces you can take
out along with their beautiful artwork on almost every page.
Although we’re going to have to wait for the next installment of Jim Kay’s beautifully
illustrated Harry Potter books, we are a companion book soon – again, if you're interested
in artwork this one includes some of his preparatory sketches, along with lots of gorgeous illustrations
from the books he’s illustrated so far. It runs along a calendar year, with little
excerpt that relate to Harry's life at Hogwarts.
The last one I wanted to include in this section is Arthur the Always King by Kevin Crossley
Holland. Kevin has written a lot of Arthur books, so he’s a real expert in Arthurian
legends, and this next one is aimed around middle grade, but also includes fabulous illustrations
throughout by Chris Riddell. I can't wait to add this one to my collection.
Next please jump with me into fantasy and science fiction. This is a genre that I particularly
love, so I have quite a few to highlight. First off we have Any way the wind blows by
Rainbow Rowell - this is the last book in a series and there's a lot of really interesting
editions – we have the UK edition and Waterstones have just a stunning decorative stencilled
edges copy, then there's the US edition and Barnes and Noble have a special cover - and
if you buy from the US there is also bonus pin you can get from participating independent
bookstores. Rainbow’s publishers are also releasing a special “bookshelf edition”
of Carry On, the first book in the series, which is a reprint with a matching dust jacket
for the rest of the series - which is great because I really hate it when they change
series designs partway through a series and they don’t match - and this edition also
has special end papers and a hidden stamp underneath the dust jacket which sounds lovely.
Next up is the 25th anniversary edition of Garth Nix’s book Sabriel. This is the first
book in a gorgeous series about the Old Kingdom, and in fact there are a couple of different
anniversary editions. The US and UK editions both have the original artwork on the cover
but the Australian edition which is the one that I've ordered has different artwork. They've
all got additional exclusive artwork on the inside, and bonus reading content, so even
if you’ve read the book before there's still new things to get in the in the anniversary
edition. A sixth book in the series, Terciel and Elinor, is coming out in November.
Next up is Jay Kristoff’s dark fantasy, Empire of the Vampire. I think this book has
the highest number of different pre-order editions that I've ever seen for a book that
is the first in a series, it's incredible. In addition to the different US and UK covers,
there are another 15 different book club editions and special editions and editions with sprayed
edges and foiled covers and different artwork and so many things I met a whole post about
it on my website just listing all the options.
Next thing I wanted to mention the Discworld Collector’s Library series by Terry Pratchett.
These are affordable paper covered hardback, with lovely cover art. There was a long lull
between titles in this series, but now they are bringing out all the Tiffany Aching books
in September so I think that's really wonderful - we've got the Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of
Sky, Wintersmith, I shall wear midnight, and the Shepherd’s Crown. And they are also
bringing out the children’s book The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents to match
the series. There’s a new companion book coming out later this year, featuring the
gorgeous artwork of Paul Kidby.
I'm looking forward to Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber because I really
love her work - these are the two incredibly different covers for the US and the UK editions
neither of them are what I expected the book would be like but often I'm surprised when
I see covers in real life. There’s a signed UK edition at Waterstones, and Barnes and
noble have a pink alternate cover design in the US.
There's a new Rick Riordan coming out which is called Daughter of the Deep, and this is
actually a modern retelling of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea so it will be really interesting
to see what that's like. I think it's a standalone - Waterstones have a signed edition and Barnes
and noble have a special exclusive cover.
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is already is having a collectors edition release even
though it's only been out for twelve months - I think the publishers are getting cheekily
fast on these collectors editions. The collector’s editions have new artwork, stamped art on
the case under the cover, and a note from the author. The US edition has a lovely bright
blue cover, with an alternate red cover at Barnes and noble, but I'm personally partial
to the UK edition which is silver, signed, has colored text, and forget me nots stencilled
on the page edges - that's coming out in October.
For His Dark Materials buffs, we’re getting an illustrated edition of Philip Pullman’s
novella Lyra’s Oxford that should go well with the rest of the series that Chris Wormell
is also illustrating.
There are two special editions of The Lord of the Rings coming out later this year, which
have Tolkien’s own artwork included with the text. The hardback edition has red sprayed
page edges with elvish runes stencilled on the page edges. And there is also a limited
edition which is quarter leatherbound and has gold stencilled page edges.
Jessie Burton’s retelling of Medusa looks amazing, and it will be accompanied by dreamy
artwork of Olivia Lomenech Gill, whom some of you might know from the illustrated edition
of Fantastic Beasts.
And speaking of Harry Potter, we have MinaLima’s interactive edition of Chamber of Secrets
on the way – the first book was just stunning, so I’m really looking forward to this.
And last in this section I want to call out the graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s
story Chivalry, in which an elderly widow buys the Holy Grail from a second-hand shop,
sending her off on various adventures.
For this last section, I’m lumping together a few different genres. Matt Haig’s The
Comfort Book is a collection of essays to give us new ways of looking at ourselves – there’s
an independent bookstore edition in the UK with blue sprayed edges, or a Waterstones
special with an illustration under the dustjacket.
IF any of you collect the Harper Collins Agatha Christie special editions, we have two coming
soon – a collection of summer themed short stories called Midsummer Mysteries in July,
and The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding in November.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s
founding emperor – I think this is the start of a series.
Joanne Harris’ The Narrow Door is a psychological thriller set in a private school – Waterstones
have a special edition with ivy stencilled on the page edges.
Meet me in another life by Catriona Silvey is a time travelling story about the connection
between two individuals that looks like fun. Waterstones have an edition with sprayed page
edges.
The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey is a mother daughter story told across two timelines – I’m
rather taken by that cover with the face hidden in the flowers.
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker is another Troy retelling which continues the story begun
in the Silence of the Girls.
And keeping in the genre of Greek myth retellings, I’m also looking forward to Daughters of
Sparta by Claire Heywood, which tells the story of Helen and Klytemnestra.
Freckles by Cecilia Ahern is a story about the search for happiness, and you really have
to admire this very fun special edition from Waterstones that has gorgeous dots continuing
from the cover to spill onto the page edges.
Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club was enormously popular, and the sequel the Man
Who Died Twice is out soon – again Waterstones have an excellent special edition with foxes
stencilled all down the page edges.
For the movie buff, there is an annotated anniversary edition of the Godfather screenplay.
Matthew Reinhart has a new pop-up book coming out, this one is from the movie Jurassic World
so we can expect to see lots of scary dinosaurs leaping from the pages.
If you like crazy books with imaginary languages, there is a 40th anniversary edition of Codex
Seraphinianus, and unusual visual encyclopedia. If you’ve got a lot of money to spare it
also comes in a deluxe limited edition with extra prints, solander box and other features.
An anthology of spooky stories called the Haunting Season will be out for Halloween
– again, I really like the Waterstones edition which has decorative branches sprayed on the
page edges.
Also for Halloween, we have Midnight in Everwood by M A Kuzniar – this is a gothic retelling
of the Nutcracker, and the UK and US covers are equally gorgeous, but you have to check
out the awesome sprayed edges on the Waterstones edition, which looks really special.
You might have heard about The Every by Dave Eggers. This is about what happens when the
When the world's largest search engine merges with the planet's dominant e-commerce site
and creates the richest and most dangerous monopoly ever known. Eggers is not letting
Amazon sell hard copies of the book, they can only be purchased from Independent booksellers
which is pretty cool. T here are heaps of different cover designs, so it will be a fun
hunt for anyone interested in this novel.
Although the Dune movie has been delayed, we can still look forward to the deluxe collector’s
edition of the graphic novel adaptation due out in October.
And I’m going to finish here with a callout to this gorgeous poetry volume with Elegy
Written in A Country Churchyard accompanied with full page wood engraving illustrations
by Agnes Miller Parker. This is based on an original volume by the Limited Editions Club
from 1938.
Thanks to those of you who stuck around to the end of this overly long video – you
must love books as much as I do! I really am interested in which books you are waiting
for – whether they are on this list, or if you have some other suggestions I might
have missed. And don’t forget there are more books on the website list if your wallet
can bear the temptation.
Thanks for watching, I look forward to catching up next time! Bye!