Thoughts on Books & the Mail

[singedsun]

I get very annoyed about pre-ordering books when they then don't actually arrive on or around the date the book is released. For me one of the whole points of pre-ordering is so that I can have the thing in hand as soon as it comes out (without the whole standing in line thing no one really does anymore). TBH I don't pre-order many books, usually it's books that are likely to sell out on day one if stores near me carry them, books that won't actually get carried in stores near me, or special editions that require pre-ordering to get in the first place. The most recent of which was last week's release of "Gideon the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir. I pre-ordered it from Barnes & Noble specifically because I am in LOVE with the look of the black edges on that edition and wanted it for my very own. I am also just excited to read the book. Barnes & Noble shipping on pre-ordered items has been slow before, but I'm really disappointed that it took me an entire week to get the book. That said, it's just as pretty in person as I'd hoped it would be.

It's here and it's so very pretty.

— Elizabeth 🐺 Don't forget to love each other (@singedsun) September 17, 2019

I wish I'd taken a picture of it outside the dust jacket too, the embossed skull on the front cover is so cool. This is only the second book I've seen with black edged pages. "Burial Rites" by Hannah Kent is the other. I know it's likely expensive, but I really wish more books did colored pages. Like, I was picturing how neat it would be if the Wicked Saints books by Emily Duncan had red edges. The books are already stunning to look at, but red edges would just looks so neat.

I also pre-ordered Rainbow Rowell's book, "Wayward Son" earlier this year because as much as I'm not usually into mlm romances, "Carry On" just hit me in such a very specific fandom part of me when it came out. (Which like, I'm not even a Harry Potter fan, nor do I generally enjoy this kind of AU.) I just love it a lot and I'm very excited for the sequel. They did a TON of special editions for "Wayward Son" with different covers and endpapers. I'm getting the version from Barnes & Noble for that one too because I loved the look of it the most. It's the 'moon' edition with silver-foil and I think it has the flowery endpapers that match Baz's suit from the UK covers of the book. This one comes out next week, though based on the way it went with "Gideon the Ninth" I'm guessing it'll take an extra week for me to get it.

Does anyone else pre-order special/specific editions of books? Do you order from somewhere specific?

These days I'm usually pre-ordering from Amazon just so I can get the books within a day or two of release. A few fluke times I've gotten it ON the release date which is how I wish pre-ordering worked more often. I know there's an issue with release dates and breaking street dates but there's definitely something not working right if it's taking a week, given that I live in the middle of the country and shipping from the USPS does not take 7-10 business days if I'm paying for shipping.

While I've been off recovering, I got to read one of the other books I'd pre-ordered this year, the new TAZ graphic novel. The Murder on the Rockport Limited arc is so funny. I haven't listened to anything from The Adventure Zone in probably 9 months or so? and reading this volume reminded me how much I loved listening the McElroys tell this story. The way the graphic novels frame their storytelling is just so perfect. As an aside, I know the Critical Role comics aren't told this way, but reading these makes me wonder a little what it would look like if they were. Specifically, I wonder what they'd look like with Scanlan interjects. Or just generally if they were told in a way that made them as funny as they can be watching live, with the jokes and asides from the cast. *shrugs*