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Oxford University Press or Penguin

Ises

Who do you think publishes the better edition?

Reply 1

Tyler Durden

17

It varies. Best bet is to have a read of both (especially if it's a translation!) On the whole I go with Oxford ones though.

Reply 2

Catsmeat

13

Hmm, interesting debate.

I usually plump for the Penguin Classic (good tradition in their treatment and translation of classical texts under the supervision of E.V. Rieu)

Which has a better range...any idea?

Reply 3

hobnob

14

Both are good editions as far as I'm concerned. I usually tend to go for OUP editions when I want detailed introductions and notes (their usually - though not always - better for this than the Penguin Classics), but when it's just the text I'm after, Penguin is equally fine.

Reply 4

Phillip

2

Hmmm, I have a variety, I don't usually have a preference.

However, my Penguin copy of Middlemarch is a bright green and brilliant!

Reply 5

rottcodd

3

I like OUP purely because they look a little bit nicer on my shelf than the penguin ones :smile:

Though if there's a cheapy wordsworth £1.50 edition of it, that's the one I will be getting.

Reply 6

Catsmeat

13

steerpike

I like OUP purely because they look a little bit nicer on my shelf than the penguin ones :smile:

Though if there's a cheapy wordsworth £1.50 edition of it, that's the one I will be getting.

Ah yes, Wordsworth classics are fantastic for a cheap classic. Not as pretty as the Oxford or Penguin - but as they say, "don't judge..." etc etc.

Reply 7

Cambyses

Yeah, for notes I think OUP is better probably. But I tend to prefer the look of Penguin and the feel of the pages and the fonts are nicer. :rolleyes:

Reply 8

Alan Smithee

Whichever is cheapest. :biggrin:

Reply 9

abc88

I like the penguin editions. They look nicer in my opinion. However, if I am looking for the cheapest option I always go for Wordsworth editions. I got War and Peace for £1.50 and for the size of it that is a bargain.

Reply 10

Phillip

2

abc88

I like the penguin editions. They look nicer in my opinion. However, if I am looking for the cheapest option I always go for Wordsworth editions. I got War and Peace for £1.50 and for the size of it that is a bargain.

I got it for 99p! Ha!

Reply 11

Catsmeat

13

I had to stop myself buying stacks of Wordsworth's on Amazon...damned tempting when you are just a few clicks away (and only a few banknotes) from a massive set of classics.

Reply 12

Zebrastripes

13

Wordsworth! Just because there is a shop down the road that does 3 for £4.50. Really hard to stop buying them.. i now have a huge pile awaiting to be read!

Reply 13

Catsmeat

13

However there is the little caveat that the quality of the book will be better the more you pay for it. But books have never been anything to do with looking good on the shelf. For example, that's why I don't employ any real library system - they just stand where they get put (although all my Penguin's are lined up together, I must say...)

Reply 14

the_alba

12

I don't buy books just so they'll look good on the shelf (some of my favourites are tatty paperbacks from the 60's!), but at the same time publishing standards (or lack of them) do get to me. I like a book with legible, attractive font, good quality paper, no skimping on margins, as few typographic errors as possible, and a binding that isn't going to fall apart after one read. Overall I prefer Penguin classics, but I try to get both Oxford and Penguin editions if I can (finances allowing). As you can see, my booknerdiness renders me practically autistic. But so what :wink:

Reply 15

Phillip

2

Also though, I feel the pages to see if they are soft or coarse. Sometimes the Penguin edition has the soft pages, and sometimes the Oxford one does, I think that both are extremely good editions to buy anyway, so I don't really have that much of a preference.
I just hate coarse pages!

I hear you buddy.

Between Penguin and OUP, I normally go for Penguin editions.

But if I can get a book in an Everyman's Library edition, I will.

Reply 18

Les_Miserables

the_alba

I don't buy books just so they'll look good on the shelf (some of my favourites are tatty paperbacks from the 60's!), but at the same time publishing standards (or lack of them) do get to me. I like a book with legible, attractive font, good quality paper, no skimping on margins, as few typographic errors as possible, and a binding that isn't going to fall apart after one read. Overall I prefer Penguin classics, but I try to get both Oxford and Penguin editions if I can (finances allowing). As you can see, my booknerdiness renders me practically autistic. But so what :wink:

Oh my gosh. I thought I was the only one with those weird preferences in books. I like my book to have good quality paper, legible font (something which many of my Wordsworth classics - and believe me I have a LOT - would do well to take up), and a good binding. Notes are a plus of course...

I usually go for the Oxford editions...I like the notes, the paper, the binding and the intros better. Aren't I fussy? I know I should only be thinking of what I actually read (and I do - I love reading) - but it's nice to make it as enjoyable as possible, no?

Reply 19

Andy Peters

I have about an equal mix of both actually. I think the oxford ones have better notes but the penguin ones look good next to each other on my shelves :smile:

Oxford University Press or Penguin

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