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Post by Dante on Oct 2, 2017 9:26:27 GMT -5
An update: I never quoted the promotional synopsis for this book before as it told us nothing new, but they've slightly updated it and it reveals an... interesting new tactic. See if you can spot the curious decision made in this text: Well? Did you spot it? That's right: They're ditching the titles of the books, which in this edition will be identified just as " Question 1" etc.
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Post by Hermes on Oct 2, 2017 9:47:54 GMT -5
How very odd. Have they perhaps found that people don't realise the volumes belong to a series? (If they have, I'd suspect it was because of the change of size, but anyway.) They'll have to keep the titles as subtitles, at least, given that they are referred to in the text - 'I asked the question that is on the cover of this book', etc.
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Post by Dante on Oct 3, 2017 11:14:50 GMT -5
I just received a Lemony Snicket promotional e-mail which appears to indicate that the poster image in the first post of this thread is, in fact, the final cover for the new edition.
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Post by Dante on Oct 25, 2017 2:49:41 GMT -5
The new edition should now be out, in the U.S. at least. I'll try and obtain a copy and take a look at it. Edit: You can actually use Amazon's "Look Inside" on this edition. The interior text appears to be identical to the original, down to the formatting and colourised illustrations, so it's just a cover replacement; they didn't even replace the title page, or the titles of the other books when listing other work by Snicket, which means that rather than a retitling this is just a case of them literally leaving the title off the cover. The back of the book does excerpt the first chapter of TBB, however, which must be a grinding concession for LB to make considering they spent years trying to ignore the series's relationship to ASoUE at all. Finally, the copyright page lists the cover photography as being by Jonathan Barkat.
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Post by spookyghost on Oct 25, 2017 9:32:18 GMT -5
My copy came last night. Like you said Dante, not much different inside at all. The spine does have the full title on it, as does the back. I can take a picture if there's any interest, but there's not much to see.
Honestly, the book doesn't feel that great. Kind of... droopy? Cover is pretty cheap feeling as well. Disappointing, since I thought ?1-4 hardcover all were really nice to hold as you read them. Same with the 3 penny dreadful ASOUE books. I knew there wasn't going to be additional content here, but I'm not wild about it.
Still pretty strange to me how the cover doesn't have anything on it indicating it's the first book in the series. Assuming they release the other three in this style, it might be at least a little confusing for someone browsing in a bookstore.
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Post by Dante on Oct 25, 2017 10:24:10 GMT -5
So literally the only place the title isn't displayed is the front cover? Mystifying. I would appreciate it if you could take a picture of the back cover, thank you. Makes it a bit redundant that I'm getting a copy, but I might as well have a full set of weird ?1 novelty covers which they may or may not continue with.
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Post by spookyghost on Oct 25, 2017 11:57:12 GMT -5
Yeah, I'll take some pictures this evening. I pretty much bought for the sake of having a complete collection too.
It has me bummed all over again we'll never get penny dreadful versions of ASOUE 4-13.
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Post by Dante on Oct 25, 2017 12:05:41 GMT -5
In case you're not aware, we did, at least, end up getting the rest of Michael Kupperman's The Spoily Brats, as detailed here.
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Post by spookyghost on Oct 25, 2017 17:29:53 GMT -5
Yes! Thank goodness all that work didn't go (totally) to waste. S'poilies, we hardly knew ye. Here's the pics:
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Post by spookyghost on Oct 25, 2017 17:30:35 GMT -5
One more, couldn't attach all 4 in one post!
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Post by Reba on Oct 25, 2017 18:27:03 GMT -5
what trash
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Post by spookyghost on Oct 25, 2017 18:29:26 GMT -5
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Post by Mr. Dent on Oct 25, 2017 20:32:58 GMT -5
Yeah, I find these... a tad tacky. I'm sorry. I love Seth's illustrations, so I am biased, but I think these look really cheap. Like the paperbacks sold in grocery stores or airports
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Post by Dante on Oct 26, 2017 2:39:24 GMT -5
Thank you for the photographs. Yes, it's not exactly a piece of work to be proud of, is it? I still don't understand why they left the title off the cover when there's plenty of space for it at the bottom there, enough that it's tempting to say that the title was indeed positioned there at some point; instead, the front cover looks oddly unfinished, like a poster. The style clashes with with the interior art quite dramatically. I wonder if the new text on the back and interior - and why is there a kind of second synopsis on the inside? - were both written by Snicket; the interior page with its false clues reads to me more like something which Snicket himself might have written, while the back cover reads a little more commercially. It's nice that they're no longer ashamed of ASoUE, but shilling the (virtually non-existent) connection now is too little too late. I fear that this is a product which will only confuse, as the people in charge of this series themselves appear to be confused. It's such a shame that they just couldn't get the covers for the series right the first time.
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Post by Liam R. Findlay on Oct 27, 2017 11:24:32 GMT -5
I quite like the tacky quality. It looks like a paperback I would have found in my school library among all the other paperback children's mysteries (printed circa 1990), like Nancy Drew and Goosebumps. Not a decorative display piece but promising hearty adventure for me to take around in my backpack and read at lunchtime.
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