Show us your bookshelves!

[Mervi]

So let's talk about collecting Hobb/Lindholm books a little. What are your personal "requirements"? Do you only collect hardbacks, or first editions, or US editions only? Or just about anything that you come across?

I have a very mixed lot in my bookshelf. All my Lindholm stories are paperbacks, and most of them are UK and/or reprint editions - a couple are second hand copies purchased from ebay because they're out of print. My copy of the Gypsy is a mass market paperback, and I don't like how it's in different size than the rest of them... but it was difficult enough to get a new copy of it, so I shouldn't complain.

When I first started buying the Elderling trilogies, the most recent book was (I think) Fool's Errand or the Golden Fool. So what was available in bookstores here were paperbacks up to those new ones. I chose to collect the UK paperbacks, mainly because I'm a huge John Howe fan and I didn't like the US covers for the LST trilogy. The first hardback I bought was Fool's Fate, and I've since then tried to slowly rebuilt my collection to hardbacks so they might survive the continuous re-reading better. (I need to find a better paying job to ever get a chance to purchase the UK hardback of AA, though! )

I'll try to take a photo of my humble collection soon and post it here.

What have you got?

[Nast]

Wow, Mervi your collection is very impressive!

My collection is very small, because it's really hard to get Robin Hobb’s books where I live. There is only one store chain that sells them and they only have US paperbacks. And there are no Lindholm books anywhere.

On my bookshelf I have the US paperback editions of The Tawny Man trilogy, Shaman's Crossing and Forest Mage. I’m planning to get The Farseer and The Live Ship Traders trilogies soon.
The most prized book in my collection is UK hardcover of Renegade’s Magic which I won in a giveaway.

I also have some translated versions of Hobb’s books. I have The Live Ship Traders in Hebrew (I regret buying these. The translation is horrible…) The Tawny Man in Russian and Wizard of the Pigeons in Hebrew.

[Sini]

I first read AA and RA in Finnish, when those translations came out (in 1996 and 1997). The ending of the RA made me buy a UK paperback of AQ to find out what happened to Fitz. Then I bought the two previous books to match my AQ paperback (with Howe covers). I continued buying the UK paperbacks of the Liveship Traders, but got tired of waiting the pb so I switched to hardbacks with Tawny Man. I like Howe's covers, so my Nevare-books are UK editions as well. I also have a signed US edition of Golden Fool which I won in a competition

My Lindholm collection is all paperbacks, UK re-prints from the beginning of the 2000's, except the Gypsy, which is by Orb Books in April 2005. I got my favourite of them, the Cloven Hooves, signed in 2004.

The only anthologies I have are Legends 2 (pb), Voyager 5: Collector's Edition and Meditations on Middle-earth. I'm really looking forward to the Robin/Megan short story collection

[talloakslady]

I have The Farseer series, LiveShip, and the Tawny Man. The first book I bought at a used bookshop, which only had the Assassin's Apprentice. It is the oldest copy I have, the rest are current printings.
I love the international covers of the books-- I have a JK Rowling in Italian, and British copies of Anne McCaffrey. International copies make me wonder if they tell more or less of the story as you first pick up the book.
Last weekend I tried to find used copies of Megan Lindholm's books, as I look forward to how her other books are.

[chriSchaeffer]

My most treasured book is my signed copy of AQ from when I met her in Austin. Other than that, I just have mostly paperbacks. Here's a few pictures of my bookshelves.
[Image: 2488140192_c2d3f17654.jpg]

[Image: 2488188340_b551ac30ed.jpg]

[Image: 2487363625_e5ebcc650c.jpg]

[nTrader]

Those are some pretty shelves you have there, chriSchaeffer. Suddenly I feel inspired to paint my walls a similar color.

I have a habit of buying whatever I find, though I prefer the UK hardcovers. John Howe's work is astounding. I was very proud to recently attain copies of the AA and RA hardcovers, which I watch over like a hawk. Now my UK collection is only missing AQ, SOM, and FE. I have several of my books signed, thanks to thesignedpage. Regretfully, I have yet to meet her, which somewhat cheapens the novelty of having books signed. >.>

My Lindholm collection, on the other hand, has a long way to go...

[LEGOscum]

Hi

I've been reading Robin Hobb since the first paperback came out in the UK in 1996. I had read a review of the Assassin's Apprentice when it first came out in hardback but didn't pick it up. I enjoyed the first Farseer book so much that I bought the Royal Assassin in paperback, but decided to switch to hardback for Assassin's Quest, Liveship Traders, Tawny Man, and Soldiers Son trilogies.

A couple of years ago I started looking for hardbacks of the first two Farseer books. Now I have a complete first edition collection of all twelve Robin Hobb titles, as well as The Inheritance and Homecoming in their original formats.

I'm very proud of my collection and hope one day to get them all signed. I won't be crushed if I don't manage to meet her though, because I once met another of my favourite authors at a signing and it turned out to be a miserable experience.

Jeremy

[Cecilyk]

I have all the US paperback versions of the Farseer/Liveship/Tawny Man books. I have the UK paperback version of the Soldier Son trilogy. I have NO Meghan Lindholm, but I think that's a topic for another post.

[Tintaglia]

Well, I have UK paperback edition of Farseer, Liveship Taders ad tawny Man trilogies; I also had AA and RA in Italian Hardcover edition (really nice, but poorly translated), but I gave them to a friend that doesn't read English, so that se can became an Hobb fan.
The, my Soldier son trilogy is a mess: paperback edition for the first book, soft cover but hardcover size for the second, and hardcover edition for the third: I couldn't wait for paperback...
My Megan Lindholm's book are not so mixed: Harpy's flight ad Rendeering people saga are in paperback, like The Windsinger, which has a strange story: I found it at a sale in a London library (In Italy libraries can't selle thier stock, so I wanted to have a look. I was curious), and it has the library stamps anda plastic cover. I love it!
Now, I'm expecting The Gipsy froma n Italian site, and I'm hoping that my order to play.com will get me Alien earth, two Ki and Vandiens books and Wizand of pidgeons, but I can't find Cloven hooves...

[Tintaglia]

I just ordered Cloven hooves! A friend'll bring me it fron NY!
BUAAAAAHHHH! [evil laugh]