#their awful 30-dollar gilded leather paperweight of the complete works of shakespeare (w no notes and unreadably small text) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

britneyshakespeare · 9 months ago

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you know i don't use amazon but something i often think about. several years ago my mom ordered me some books for my birthday on amazon and one of them i asked for was the oxford world's classics edition of the rover and other plays by aphra behn edited and with an introduction by jane spencer. it was supposedly new but when it got to me, the cover (paperback) was folded at an angle and the edges of the pages were dirty like they were left somewhere contaminated. and you see i don't mind like a not-pristine book at all; most of my books are used. but what the fuck was that.

#that's still the edition i read out of and everything but wtf #i get that it is not a popular book at all #it probably has been sitting in the warehouse for a very long time #how is amazon treating their rare-selling inventory? that things get neglected like that?#i suppose it's a bit of a bummer bc it's damaged and i could've had a nice new one #but i never made a fuss or anything #tales from diana #fun fact it is listed as the 593456th best-selling book on amazon #act fast!!!!! grab a copy now!!!!!!!#no but you really should grab a copy. aphra behn's works are so under-recognized for how influential they were #and they're just funny fucking plays. the feigned courtesans? bruh #its the 880219th best-selling book according to barnes and noble's website #their awful 30-dollar gilded leather paperweight of the complete works of shakespeare (w no notes and unreadably small text)#is 2429th in sales. when it deserves to be negative a millionth #srsly the existence of that book pisses me off since it CANNOT be a good way to be introduced to his works #if anything it must be so frustrating. if u are someone or theres someone in your life curious abt shakespeare buy any other edition #it's not hard to find the arden or the oxford or the riverside shakespeare etc. for less than $30 secondhand online #or buy the plays individually or rent them from a library if you're just getting your feet wet/don't want a big unwieldy tome #literally that gigantic copy-paste w no new or useful supplementary material they've been selling for years. i cant imagine #how many ppl have bought it and tried to read through it and been so discouraged. makes me sad honestly #and frankly. on top of it. their design is just so ugly #there's no thought in it at all it's just a fancy pattern w a first folio engraving smacked onto the center. yawn #my riverside shakespeare 1973 is in really rough physical condition but the vestiges of its beautiful design remain #and that's that on that #also if there's anyone in your life who is interested in shakespeare please also turn them onto aphra behn. pls and thank you

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