Every once in a while, something beautiful shows up in the mail pile (well, every book is beautiful—but it’s relative!).
Sometimes we feel generous and share those things with you. Today we’re giving away three books from Everyman’s Library Pocket Classics series: The Art of Angling, Leonard Cohen and Emily Dickinson Letters.
TO ENTER: Tell us what the most beautiful book in your collection is in the comments on this post.
CONTEST DETAILS: The prize is the three books from Everyman’s Library Pocket Classics series pictured above. Contest open to North American residents only. One winner will be chosen using random.org from among the comments received by 6 p.m. CST on June 3.
Good luck!
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ETA: Congrats to Janet, this week’s winner! Janet’s most beautiful book is The Beatles: Illustrated Lyrics, not just because of the bright yellow color but also because it was a gift from her son!
Contest is now closed.
The Secret Knowledge of Water by Craig Childs immediately sprung to mind when thinking of the most beautiful book…and I don’t even recall the cover from the copy I first read many years ago. The vivid imagery overflowing throughout the book was enough to permanently sear it’s beauty into my mind.
My autographed copy of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Its beauty lies in the fact that this was a gift from a student in appreciation for my having stayed after school for weeks with a group of fourth grade boys, reading the first Harry Potter to them. This young man was already in Middle School when he presented it to me ~ the fact that this made an impact on him will be a memory to treasure.
The most beautiful book I have in my collection is actually a text book about the Virgin of Guadalupe. It’s in Spanish, but I’m pretty sure there is an English version available. It’s stunning. The picture just doesn’t do it justice!
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott continues to be my all time favorite – a beautiful book about sisters and their family!
The many children’s books my mother gave me that I have read to my children and grandchildren.
My favorite book is Anastasia by Peter Kurth in terms of beauty. The cover shows a beautiful young girl destined for death (or maybe not) during the Russian Revolution. The pictures inside of Anastasia and Anna Anderson (who many claimed she was the surviving Anastasia Romanoff – though she never did) are amazing in similarity.
I have kept my collection of children’s books that I had for my kids and am now using with my grandkids. They love them. They especially like all the I Spy books and Dr Seuss.
My copy of “Medium Raw” by Anthony Bourdain…because he is on the cover!
What a beautiful and special giveaway today. The most cherished book that I have is a book from my late father which I treasure. The collection of Churchill’s memoirs.
A first edition of John Steinbeck’s first book – “A Cup of Gold.”
The Shell Seekers
I agree all books are beautiful and I think the memories that go with them make them even more beautiful! I just recently got Nikki Sixx’s This is Gonna Hurt and it is about beauty in all unconventional forms and I think it is my most beautiful book!
The Secret Life of Plants– maybe I feel that because I just stepped out of my garden
The Shell Seekers, Right after my mother passed away, I read “the Shell Seekers”. I cried a lot, but the book was wonderful.
“The Beatles: Illustrated Lyrics” edited by Alan Aldridge. It is beautiful to look at because it is gold in color with the Yellow Submarine illustration on the front. It was a gift from my son and that makes it special to me.
I own a lovely collection of Emily Dickinson’s poems that I love. I hope I win this collection to receive her collection of letters.
I have many autographed books, which I proudly display. My most recent is Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.
without a doubt it is “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” by Dr. Seuss
As a young boy I used to run into our public library at least once a week and hunt it down to read over and over. My mother made me check out other books or I would have probably just checked it out all the time.
About 3 years ago at Christmas my daughter gave me my own brand new copy and nothing could have made a 75 year old happier!!!
Georgia O’Keefe’s One Hundred Flowers–That book is so big and beautiful it almost qualifies as furniture.
The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew
The most beautiful book in my collection is a very battered, worn and dog-eared copy of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s about 35 years old and has been read at least 25 times (13 times in grade 4 alone!).
The Beatles book of collected memorabilia published in the 90s.
The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths Secrets
This is a tough question. I really like the book “White Fang” by Jack London though many will say it is not a beautiful book. I do have a hardback version of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” that is embossed on the outside of it and I think the book looks beautiful on a shelf. Thank you for a wonderful giveaway!
My scrapbook of my trip to Ireland.
Walden by Henry David Thoreau. The cover is embossed with fall leaves and words from the book.
I have two beautiful copies of favorite childhood books with amazing illustrations and lovely covers! The books are: The Little Princess and The Secret Garden, both by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
The three books in the giveaway are beautiful. Thank you for a wonderful contest. Some book lover is going to be very fortunate!
~ Amy
Aimala127(at)gmail(dot)com
I have a beautiful copy of War & Peace- pristine because it’s unread!
MICHELANGELO – the massive, full-plate illustrated book of art and sculpture, that my dad and I pored over together.
The most beautiful book I own is American Lighthouses, a coffee table book. The photographs are by Wernher Krutein. The lighthouses are so majestic and powerful knowing they are built to keep people safe. They are our answers to Europe`s castles.
My most beautiful book(to me) is titled AMONG TREES by Sean Kernan ,intro by Anthony Doerr,the cover is self explanatory,it is so beautiful in&out,I can look at it over&over,in black&white
“The Story of My Life” by Helen Keller. She is admirable, positive and inspirational and through all her handicaps was able to distinguish and fathom such beautiful thoughts. I recently completed studying about Emily Dickinson and have become enchabted by her poetry. I would love to read her collection of letters.
My Illustrated copy of Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”
My very very favorite beautiful book is Jericho, The South Beheld,(Shuptrine&Dickey) I feel in love with it in a thrift store,before I opened it,it is 16 1/4 x 12 3/4,(wide burgundy spine binding,rest off white,kinda yellowish tint)it is sepia colors inside,all hand drawings,and info about the drawings,I paid all of $15.00,I have enjoyed this so much..
the most beautiful book to me is “Wish you Well” by David Baldacci
To me the most beautiful book is Gone With The Wind. My aunt had given me her original hardback to read when I was twelve. She felt that I was ready to read “adult” fiction and what a terrific beginning. I have always loved this book and have read it many times over the years.
Betty Crocker’s New Good and Easy Cook Book (1962) – the cover is faded, the binding is frayed, smudges of long ago dropped sauces and other messy items captured for posterity – because it brings back so many happy memories when my children were young – and first learning how much fun it is to create something. I have so many cherished books; this just lept off the shelf!
Or should it be ‘leapt’???
The cover of Maeve Binchy’s book (paperback), “The Silver Wedding.”
I would LOVE to be the winner of these three books. Here’s hoping!
The most beautiful book in my collection is Masterpieces of the Louvre. Every time I get a spare minute I browse through the works of art. It’s almost like be there again.
The most beautiful book I have is “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. I gave this book to my mom when I was growing up, as she was my true “Giving Tree” and when she passed away, the book came back to me. I will always love this story!
A recent children’s book about Audubon titled A Nest for Celeste, by Henry Cole. It’s a beautiful story mostly about Audubon’s assistant, but the illustrations are gorgeous pencil sketches.
Hmmm well, beautiful books… there are several absolutely gorgeous books in my collection. Two of them even have the exact same title, but were written by different people.
The Impressionists by Gabriele Crepaldi may be my favorite.
Then again, I am very partial to Vincent van Gogh’s work, so the two volume set, Vincent Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings by Ingo F. Walther is right up there too…
And then, there’s over 50 books published by the Folio Society, many of which are ornate on the outside and fabulous on the inside. Each of these Folio Society books is a work of art in itself…
Bottom line, it’s just that hard to choose one beautiful book over another.
My Gray’s Anatomy book. It’s leather-bound, and has a beautiful human heart on the front. The illustrations inside are simply stunning.
A children’s book that I haven’t seen in a long time but loved when I was younger: Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The most beautiful book is always the one I am currently reading!
The Little House on the Prairie book collection that I’ve had
since my girls were small. I kept them to read to my
grandchildren, and now they are old enough.
I have a first edition, leather bound illustrated copy of Edgar Alan Poe’s The Bells, it’s beautiful.
Elements, the Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray has spectacular pictures throughout.
“Emil Nolde, Unpainted Pictures” is my favorite beautiful book for its gorgeous color plates.
I have an old illustrated copy of Alice in Wonderland that has an embossed cloth cover and wonderful color plates inside.
I have a large volume of poetry published in the 1800s. It’s so old…and gorgeous!
“Watercolours and Drawings from the Collection of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother”….Quite a nice book if you can get the hardcover
My most beautiful book is my daughter’s thesis when she received her doctorate from Harvard–dedicated to her parents.
Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove Cookbook.
The Art of the Bookstore, Gibbs Smith
I have an older big bible that is filled with beautiful pictures that I cherish.
my most beautiful book is juliet by anne fortier
My most beautiful book is “The Best Loved Poems of James Whitcomb Riley”Because I can still hear my mother’s voice as she read to us, ” O! The Raggedy Man! He works fer Pa, An’ he’s the goodest man you ever saw !”
An oversized World of Opera from the early 1900′s – the cover has the most fanciful depictions of the works contained therein.
Gooberz by Linda Goodman… the most beautiful book I’ve ever owned. 1081 pages of prose with the prettiest cover! I bought two copies– one to read, and one that is sealed in plastic because I love it so much!
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories by Susanna Clarke is a beautiful book:)
Anything by Nick Bantock, esp. the Griffin & Sabine books.
Close 2nd – Love Letters, an anthology of Passion, compiled by Michelle Lovric
E.E. Cummings: The Complete Poems…a gift to me from my grandfather, from his collection. The inside is filled with his hand-written marginalia. Now that he’s gone, these notes are little hidden treasures in all the books he left behind.
My most beautiful book is The Artful Teapot, a coffee table book.
A slip covered edition of The Boxcar Children.
My most beautiful book is “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton. I’ve had it over 20 years and looking at that book always makes me smile.
The Story of Archaeology – because I read it and dream of faraway place and forgotten times
“The Complete HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” – black leather cover and gold-edged pages, and so very functional too
I have an original copy of Gone With The Wind and also Marjorie Morningstar!
My most beautiful book is a memory book of all my 1st grade daughter’s paintings and poems. She is really talented and each time I look at her work, I see something else beautiful about it and realize how beautiful and talented she is…
Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky, everyother page is a map
My most beautiful book is Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. The way it looks, sounds, reads, just sings Florida to me!
My most beautiful book is my original copy of Lois Lowry’s “The Giver.” Over 15 years old, it’s been read more than any other book in my collection, and I find every worn bit extremely beautiful.
“The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World” (Abrams Books). Opening it to a photo of one of the twenty-three libraries instantly transports me away from any stressful setting.
I have a beautifully illustrated copy of Grimm’s fairy tales that was given to me many years ago that I just love.
There have been several occasions when I’ve begun reading a library book or one borrowed from a friend and realized quickly that the copy I read had to be mine. I’d put down the book and make a trip to the bookshop. But only once has a book had that effect on me before I’d read a word and that was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, the one book that had me when I opened it and saw the end papers.
My most beautiful book is IN AND OUT OF THE GARDEN by Sara Midda. Brilliantly illustrated in minute watercolors. It must be seen to be believed!
Barns of Illinois, a coffee table book that if full of gorgeous pictures of barns!
A copy of Hansel and Gretel my grandmother gave me.
The Family Bible, of course.
The most beautiful book in my collection is a signed copy of “Flotsam,” by David Wiesner. I was fortunate to have attended the 2007 ALA Conference and Caldecott Awards Banquet where he was honored.
Wildflowers of Indiana, a book of original paintings by Maryrose Wampler—even the author’s name bespeaks floral beauty.
My most beautiful book has no pictures but has great memories in the food stains. It is a 1947 edition of The Joy of Cooking held together by a rubber band.
The Divine Comedy illustrated with woodcuts by Gustave Dore
I have a copy of Gone with the Wind (that was my Mother’s) with photographs. It is beautiful.
An Invitation To The White House : At Home With History by Hillary Rodham Clinton written when she lived at the White House as First Lady. I remember receiving it for Christmas in 2000 when it was first published and just devouring the beautiful layout of the book and the photographs. I still love looking through it and rereading another tidbit of White House history.
My copy of “Roses” by Leila Meacham is both beautiful on the outside and the inside because the story is also a gorgeous read!
Connie Fischer
The most beautiful book in my collection is the entire collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s works. It’s lovely.
My beautiful copy of “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” in its own slipcover was given to me by my Aunt Carol when I was thirteen years old. She had it for many years and said “You’re old enough for this now. I want you to have it.” It’s the most prized book in my collection.
Easily the Penguin rerelease of Henry James’ “The Portrait of a Lady”. I’ve still love to look at the portrait they selected on the cover.
My copy of Peter Rabbit. Have had it for ages.
My most beautiful book is a 1939 The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Really beat up but still beautiful.
I think it’s a tie between my hardcover of Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and my hardcover of Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves.