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US vs UK editions - do you prefer the edition produced in the author's home country?
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I have some of the UK King paperbacks from the '80s, and the cover art is beyond horrible. They were going for a 'look' that would make all the books look similar in a display rack, and that involved lots of shiny gold foil and awful artwork.
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Originally posted by theenormityofitall View PostOne thing about UK editions, is that the cover art is almost always better no matter who the author is. And of course, the lower print run should make it more valuable,
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Ultimately, I don't care THAT much, but sometimes an Americanization of language is just too noticeable, and it grates on my nerves. For some books it doesn't really matter, but for stories SET in Britain, it annoys me to have a character saying "flashlight" instead of "torch." I think it's just because I'm prone to noticing language that it bothers me. It takes me out of the moment and I start thinking about publishing houses and why/how they decide to change things, and lose track of the story.
But I'm a dorky language geek.
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One thing about UK editions, is that the cover art is almost always better no matter who the author is. And of course, the lower print run should make it more valuable, especially if it's the world's first edition. Having said that though, a man that is a very famous bookstore seller of all things King, told me the other day via email, that King signed US editions are more valuable than UK signed editions
His exact words:sometimes there are fewer signed regular trade editions than limited editions. And UK books usually are always worth less than those in the US. The UK Bag of Bones (numbered 1-2000) can be found for $125-$140 if you look hard enough. A regular signed US trade edition still sells for more than that.
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I realize this wasn't the thrust of your original post, but the UK editions sometimes surpass that of their US counterparts. The limited of Under the Dome is a prime example. The S&S edition was, well, to put it politely, a bit of a letdown given its high $200 MSRP. For example, many of us thought it would at least come with a ho-hum slipcase based on some publicity wording of features, but nope, nada, nothing. And the signature page was just that - a flatsigned signature page with no limitation information (in reality, it was limited to 1,500 copies). Whereas the Hodder & Stoughton edition (through Waterstone's) was superior at roughly the same price (£100) - all the features of the S&S edition except for a dustjacket and belly band, but with a great slipcase and an actual limitation page (S/N of 500). I eventually wound-up purchasing a third-party slipcase from The Collector, but, of course, would rather S&S had manufactured one of their own. The huge downside to the H&S edition was the criminally negligent packing job Waterstone's did, which resulted in quite a few damaged copies for US buyers. Mine was literally falling out of the box when it was delivered, but against all odds arrived intact.
Anyway, just something to consider if you're into collecting King limiteds (or any limiteds, for that matter).
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As a rule, I buy both the US and Uk editions of King's new releases. He's the only author who gets this special treatment.
I usually read the book I receive first - I don't really have a preference for either.
sk
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I have both an AMerican and an English copy of Mother London by Michael Moorcock and the words "colour" and "armour" appear in both.
I guess I always thought the British needed the extra letter to help them sound out the word...
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Originally posted by Tito_Villa View PostThe King books in the 70's early 80's were released at the same time as the US versions i think but with much smaller print runs (& most of them went to libraries i think). For example, a US Night Shift 1st edition had a print run of just 12,000 which makes it a very rare book but still you see quite a few copies turn up on ebay. The UK version however i have never seen on ebay, i don't know the print run but i bet its just a fraction of the 12,000 US copies. I would love a copy for my collection but i can only find one on the internet for $1,500 - LINK
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Originally posted by Dave1442397 View PostI've been in the US almost half my life and I still have to think about some of the spelling differences!
As to rarity, are the UK editions of Stephen King books usually published after the US editions? Does that even matter, or do the smaller print runs make them more valuable to collectors?
One book I wish I'd kept, but couldn't afford to at the time was the UK 1st printing of The Dark Half. I bought it at Waterstone's in Dublin, took it home and found out that close to 150 pages had been printed and bound twice, and the same number of pages were missing from my copy. I took it back the next day and exchanged it, but I should have kept it.
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I've been in the US almost half my life and I still have to think about some of the spelling differences!
As to rarity, are the UK editions of Stephen King books usually published after the US editions? Does that even matter, or do the smaller print runs make them more valuable to collectors?
One book I wish I'd kept, but couldn't afford to at the time was the UK 1st printing of The Dark Half. I bought it at Waterstone's in Dublin, took it home and found out that close to 150 pages had been printed and bound twice, and the same number of pages were missing from my copy. I took it back the next day and exchanged it, but I should have kept it.
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But colour is the right way of saying it, color just looks wrong
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