As bookworms, we often picture what our dream library will look like. Perhaps it will be hidden by a secret door tucked away from the world. Maybe it will have oak beams, spiral staircases, plush chairs, a crackling fire; and you can bet it will have bookshelves reaching to the ceiling with a rickety ladder you can slide up and down all day. But do you know what I hadn’t ever considered? What books would actually be in that collection. The ones I already own, obviously. But if I had the money to create a truly awe inspiring library, surely I would also have the means to acquire some expensive, truly remarkable antique books as well! So when the auction website Invaluable.com contacted me about doing a post on my dream literary collection I thought it was a brilliant idea! Here’s what I came up with.
A 1st edition collection of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
Because seriously, what bookworm could think of anything better than that? For a lot of us, this was the series that started us on our reading journey and captured our imaginations. To own first editions would truly be a privilege, although I would probably shout at anyone who went near them for fear they would hurt the pretty!
A first edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien.
The Hobbit is one of my all time favourite stories, and I know I will continue to return to it again and again because it’s so timeless. I will never get enough of Bilbo’s wild adventures. I also love the artwork for the front cover of the novel too, so having a first edition would be epic!
An antique copy of Wuthering Heights.
Wuthering Heights was the first classic book I ever read and picked up of my own accord, so it has a very special place in my heart. While it’s a story that divides readers I remember loving how wild, passionate and psychotic the story was, and have always liked the idea of collecting lots of different editions of the novel both old and new!
A first edition of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.
I’ve picked this one because although I haven’t read the book yet, I adored the theatre stage show when I saw it in New York City, and I’m a sucker for gothic tales! The phantom is such an iconic character that I think he would be a great edition to my dream library. Plus, I love how creepy this cover is!
A first edition of The Great Gatsby.
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’re probably thinking ‘huh’ at this choice, because this is a book I didn’t enjoy very much and ranted about quite a bit in my review! However, it’s been one of those strange cases where the story has really grown on me, so while I didn’t get on with the book, I can still really appreciate the story, imagery and themes. I also think that iconic cover with T.J. Eckleburg eyes would look awesome featured on a bookshelf!
A first edition copy of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
I think the copy of this from Invauluable.com only has the book cover (which is really awesome) but ideally I would like to own the actual book as well. However, I love the illustration on this and how the fire is emerging from the book with a creepy face! I read this book for the first time last year and thought it was so powerful, so to have a first edition would be amazing!
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So that’s it, my dream library collection! This post was so much fun, and now I’m drooling at all the pretty pictures. 😀 It’s definitely worth checking out Invaluable.com, whether to buy or just to browse because they have a lot of cool stuff and I hadn’t heard of them before!
And now I would like to know, which books would be in your dream literary collection? What would your dream library look like? And which is the most prized book you have in your current collection? 🙂
Blogs-Of-A-Bookaholic 
Great choices! 🙂
Thank you! Glad you approved. 🙂
You have a thing for first editions! Great choices for a fantasy library. I like the sound of a roaring fire and the large sofa. The weather outside would always be terrible, so there’d be no reason to think I’m missing anything. 🙂
My dream library would never end…there are so many books to read and enjoy time after time.
I sure do! I think it’s because I’ve never owned one before, it seems like such an awesome thing to own and I would definitely treasure it!
Nothing beats a roaring and crackling fire. So cosy. 🙂
Ahh, that’s the best kind of library there is! 😉
I too really want the first edition of The Hobbit, but mainly because the initial draft of it has some significant changes because at the time, Tolkien apparently hadn’t connected it with the events of LOTR. As a result, the meeting between Gollum and Bilbo is really different, with Gollum (I think) eventually just showing Bilbo the way out. The chapter most people know, “Riddles in the Dark,” was written afterwards as a tie-in by Tolkien (and he apparently didn’t expect his publisher to go with that chapter as written, he’d seen as a draft of sorts). Which is so funny because his writing had gotten so much better by that point that on rereads, “Riddles” really stands out in terms of writing quality- it’s tense and spooky in a way more evocative of LOTR than the rest of the book it’s in, apparently. So I really want to read it and decide for myself!
I’d hunt down the editions of my favorite books for the prettiest ones and pick those for the other books- other people can chase the first editions, I just want the ones that’ll look nice, ha. I’d also really want to get my hands on the journals and logs of explorers for my dream library if I could, as well as their maps and things. Illuminated manuscripts would also be really cool.
I think I had heard that somewhere before… probably from you! That would be incredibly interesting to read and compare, it would almost be like getting a window into the mind of Tolkien and his writing processes. Riddles in the dark is such a memorable and iconic chapter so that actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Haha, good choice, I would definitely do that too. Oooh, that would be amazing, I love journals and maps and history. I’d be visiting your library for sure. 🙂
Wow, that really is a dream! Excellent choices!
It sure is! Thank you, Amanda. 🙂
Oh I would love an antique copy of Wuthering Heights as well, and a first edition of The Hobbit would be wonderful!
Yay, I’m glad you agreed with some of my choices. Those two will always be in my top ten favourite books. 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Great picks,especially ‘Wuthering Heights”[antique copy].
Marilyn
Thank you, it one of my favourite novel of all time!
Sadly I had three first edition Harry Potters but somehow my whole collection, except for two, got wet during a move and I didn’t know until they were a bit moldy. Total heartbreak. I still haven’t gotten up the heart to throw them out, they’re in a plastic bag in my closet. I’m kinda hoping something magical happens and I find that they’re perfectly restored one day I guess lol. 🙂
NO WAY!!! That has to be one of the saddest literary things I’ve heard in a long time. To have them only to lose them so tragically…. I think I would actually cry if that happened. Like you, I don’t think I would be able to throw them out even if they were ruined.
Hehee, I wouldn’t put it past J.K Rowling, she is very magical. 😉 I will keep my fingers crossed for you!
Oh I did cry! And got really really mad/sad for days afterward, it wasn’t fun…but thanks for keeping your fingers crossed. If Harry Potter taught me nothing else it was that magic exists lol, so I’m holding out hope! 😀
Damn right! LOL.
This post was heavenly :). Sighs of happiness keep eminating from my mouth thinking of your choices, which I totally agree with. I could go on for hours with the possible choices I would make, but I think I would divide it into sections: classics such as Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Black Beauty, Rebecca, The Agony and the Ecstacy, etc., a fantasy section with all your choices and more, a horror section with every book ever written by Stephen King, and probably an historical section with, of course, the entire Outlander series!! Thank you for putting me in such a good mood :).
Yay! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂 I did love putting my imagination to the test when I was writing it! Ahh yes, dividing it into categories would help a lot. I agree that it would be awesome to have the entire Stephen King collection, can you imagine how epic they would look all lined up in a row on multiple shelves? *Happy sigh.* The finished Outlander series would look gorgeous too!
No problem book buddy. 🙂
Every book ever written would be in my dream collection, even the one’s i haven’t liked because there’s some really weird people in the world and I’d be able to say ‘ hay weirdo, read this, you’ll love it ‘, and chances are they will, and even though their weird and like not very good books, maybe they’ll have some funky dance moves or some other interesting something and we’ll have a blast.
My dream library would look like a city, it would smell like a mountain breeze on a sunny day.
My most prized book?, this is the hardest to answer because for me the prize has been in the reading more than the possessing of any, but if I had to choose just one, it would be………………. Um………………Mmmmm…???
Now that definitely solves the problem of having to choose if you you can just have all of them! I agree with you about the books you don’t like as well, I tend to keep hold of mine because like you, someone out there might like them, but also because I find I learn something from every book I read whether good or bad.
It would be cool to have a room that smelt like a mountain breeze!
Haha, it’s a difficult choice. 🙂
Definitely want a nice Harry Potter collection. I think I would also want hardcover versions of every single book I have. The idea would be that I’d donate/sell all my old paperbacks and replace each with a hardcover. I have a newfound love for them (and how pretty they look on my shelves, haha). One hardcover/first edition I want would be for Little Women, as it has always been my favourite classic!
*Internet high five!*
Ooooh, that is a GREAT idea. I’ve also discovered a newfound love for hardbacks over the last year, they can be a bit more difficult to read (Arm ache!) but they look so gorgeous on the bookshelves. I haven’t read Little Women yet, I really should get round to that one!
This is a fantastic idea for a blog post! It’s got me thinking about what I would have. I agree with many of your choices 😉
Thanks Charl, although invaluable.com deserve the credit. It was such a fun idea, I wish I’d thought of it myself!
This is such a cool idea for a post. I saw Phantom on Broadway back in September and had no idea it was a book too (oops). I definitely need to give it a read at some point!
I used to follow you from my old blog, emmarobyn (took a bit of a break from blogging due to a severe lack of inspiration after graduation), and just wanted to say too how much I’m loving the new look of your blog since I was last here 🙂
Thanks, Emma! Don’t worry, I had no idea Phantom was a book either until after I saw it and became a bit obsessed with it and started doing searches about it on the internet. 😛 From what I’ve heard from others, the book is a bit different to the show!
Ohh awesome, I hadn’t noticed you’d moved so I’ve just followed your new blog. 🙂 Awh, thank you very much, I’m glad you like it! I hope you find inspiration with your new blog!
Gorgeous! The only one I own is the Harry Potter Collection, well loved, but mainly first editions. I love all your choices and would just have to add to them, maybe Kurt Vonnegut, Anne Rice, Lewis Carroll, Neil Gaiman and Stephen King 🙂
Ocd reader!!!! I haven’t seen you round here in a long time, I hope you’re well. 😀 I’m super jealous that you own some HP first editions, guard them well, LOL.
Oooh, good choices! Especiall Carroll and King. 🙂
I have been sullen and withdrawn lately, that or like a cat who saw a shiny thing and sauntered away…
Yea, HP is on a shelf all to its own. When I remove books from the collection, those are NEVER contemplated. 😉
Haha I feel you with the shiny, shiny things regularly distract me. 😛
I love all your descriptions of what people’s dream libraries might look like. I definitely would like to have that rickety ladder that lets me slide from one end of the room to the next.
Thanks, Emma, I did get a wistful look go over my face when I was writing it I must admit. 😉
Me too *fist bump* it’s the dream. 🙂
Great list! I agree with so many of the choices, especially Bradbury. I would add this for my collection, Patricia Coffin’s Gruesome Green Witch: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6729786-the-gruesome-green-witch
Thanks, Kelly! Bradbury is definitely a unique writer. 🙂 Gruesome Green Witch sounds like an awesome concept for a book!
Thanks for visiting the blog. 🙂