Poll of the Day > What are some interesting physical books you own?

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I have an original 1939 edition of Bambi's Children, by Felix Salten. It's one of several sequels to his more famous Bambi, a Life in the Woods (along with Fifteen Rabbits, which I have as a 1942 revised edition, and Perri).


I have a copy of The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, which takes the entire full-size 20-volume OED2 and prints it in a single (very large) volume using micro print. Each page contains 9 pages of the original and requires a magnifying glass to read.


My oldest book is The Adventures of a Brownie, by Dinah Maria Mulock. Originally written in 1872, my copy was printed in 1933.


I have copies of all nine editions of the Joy of Cooking. My first edition is a facsimile (since only 1000 copies were printed of the original and that was nearly 90 years ago; they're worth thousands of dollars), but my second edition, although re-covered, is an original.

The first edition has the most bad-ass cover ever created for a cookbook. It depicts St. Martha of Bethany, the patron saint of cooking, slaying the dragon of kitchen drudgery.


So what interesting books do you folks have?

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Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley I guess.

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I own a 1908 copy of The New American Encyclopedia of Social and Commercial Information. It's signed by J. Otto McKenzie of Winnipeg Manitoba, 1909.

it teaches you just about everything you can think of, from an early 20th century point of view at least.

it has chapters on learning: writing, european languages, the metric system, US history, geology, painting, music, various musical instruments, making sculptures, brass work, wood carvings, automobiles, various forms of self-defence, first aid, horses, cattle, gymnastics, and on and on.

you can view the book online here: https://archive.org/details/newamericanencyc00homaiala

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I have an Arabic book with a metal cover.

A super mini Koran that can attach to key chain

A starwars book that uses optical illusions to make the pictures look like they're moving

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Sahuagin posted...

I own a 1908 copy of The New American Encyclopedia of Social and Commercial Information. It's signed by J. Otto McKenzie of Winnipeg Manitoba, 1909.

it teaches you just about everything you can think of, from an early 20th century point of view at least.

it has chapters on learning: writing, european languages, the metric system, US history, geology, painting, music, various musical instruments, making sculptures, brass work, wood carvings, automobiles, various forms of self-defence, first aid, horses, cattle, gymnastics, and on and on.

I always find this kind of book most fascinating. That's one of the reasons I have all those old copies of Joy of Cooking, to be able to trace the changes that have occurred over the years and get a nearly century-old perspective on things we take for granted.


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Other than a bunch of 1st edition Vonnegut books there's nothing too interesting in my personal library

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A couple of controversial books that teach you how to bury a dead body, survive an assassination, defuse a bomb, withhold information during torture.

I think they're awesome. I lost them and can't find their names atm though. If someone wants I'll find them.

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I have a signed first edition of A Game of Thrones, bought it long before the show came out and I believe it is worth a good amount now.

The Complete Fiction of H. P. Lovecraft and the Divine Comedy trilogy.

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I have a copy of the Plato's Res Publica (the Republic) written in latin from the 1700's. Probably my most prized possession.

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Do you mean rare/valuable?
If that's the case, only journey to the west.

Now if you mean an interesting read, quite a few: Diary of a Madman, God Makers and World Maker. I have a quite a few more, but it starts getting specific and only interesting for me.

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Absolutely nothing. Just mass-produced paperback and hardback fiction. Some nonfiction but nothing of real value.

I have a Of Mice and Men book that was printed last decade and cost me a dollar

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Something that I can't remember but it's entirely in German and it's from the 1870's

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I have a signed first edition of The Bible

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Mead posted...

I have a signed first edition of The Bible

Was it signed by the blind man who ranted the stories or the crazy person who wrote them down?

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pedro45 posted...

Was it signed by the blind man who ranted the stories or the crazy person who wrote them down?

um its signed by god

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I really liked "Taiko". It's about one of my favorite historical figures, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who rose from basically being a peasant to becoming a general and eventually uniting Japan during the Sengoku era when the country was a bunch of endlessly warring clans.
It's historical fiction/drama since it fills in a bunch of events/interactions that there's no way of knowing if they happened or not, but stays true to the historical record in terms of battles and major events. I like historical fiction in general.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/913zZK0tx9L.jpg

I also have a bunch of works by the Marquis de Sade. Which are certainly interesting, but won't post images of the covers. :p

I have a first edition "I, Robot ." I also have a signed copy of "The Name of The Wind." A signed copy of "The Long Patrol" by Brian Jacques. And I inherited my dad's old copy of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy."


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