Well so is Kristen Ogden. Her piece over at the Kenyon Review blog, “Antiquarian Book Collector Wanna-be”, gives us a worthy peek into the process.
Ogden says: “As it turns out, book collecting is pretty easy. Book Collecting As A Hobby by P.H. Muir offers a pretty good justification for buying first editions rather than spending half the cost of a first edition on a cheap paperback. If you know it’s an author or subject you’ll like, you might as well buy the good stuff because it’ll last longer, and if you ever get rid of it, you’ll get some sort of return on your investment.”
She goes on:
“First editions are mostly well-crafted, well-made, and put together with care. Much different from the quick-print paperbacks on newsprint paper that yellows after a few months and almost surely has a “NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING ‘INSERT HOLLYWOOD STAR’S NAME HERE” sticker on it. The reading process is just. . . different.”
Now if we can only find a term that is a little more user-friendly then Antiquarian…