Folio Society Edition of The Shining

Stephen King is one of my favorite writers. Few, if any, other authors have given me the hours and hours of joy, thrills, and excitement that he has brought to my life. His early books are especially important to me. Not that I don't enjoy his recent books. I do. I think a lot of King's output from the past decade has been as good as he has ever given us. But those early books--say, up to It, I suppose--mean the most to me. My love of the horror genre was new and untarnished then. I tore through every one of his books when I started reading him. This was about when Pet Sematary was published. I read them all nonstop and I not only did not grow tried of King's writing, I was heartsick when I was caught up.

The first one for me was The Shining. Not only is The Shining one of King's finest novels, it is special to me for being my doorway into his world.

I like having nice books, but I cannot generally afford the Stephen King collector's editions. Too pricey for my budget, I'm afraid. I did, however, just receive a gorgeous edition of The Shining in the mail.

Established in 1947, The Folio Society's aim has always been to publish the world's greatest literature and nonfiction. They produce roughly sixty books a year in luxurious, beautiful editions. I have a few of them on my shelves and they are among the finest books I own.

I recently learned of a half-price sale from Folio, and I looked over their offerings. Even at the reduced price the books are pretty expensive. I saw they had published The Shining in 2016. I wanted it, badly, and I added it to my shopping cart. I talked myself out of buying it due to various financial challenges I have experienced of late.

Earlier this year I bought a copy of Heinlein's Starship Troopers from The Folio Society for my son-in-law's birthday, as it is his favorite novel. So they had my information stored at an account I had made at the site. I had a birthday last month, and Folio sent me a fifteen dollar off coupon. I was able to add the coupon to the half price discount, which made the Shining purchase irresistible.

The book had to come across the pond, so it took a little while to arrive, but arrive it did. It was safely packed and in immaculate condition. This edition of The Shining is as stunning as I knew it would be, complete with slipcase, lavish endpapers, and numerous illustrations.

It puzzled me though. When a small press like Cemetery Dance or PS Publishing offers up a deluxe Stephen King edition, sales are immediate and they typically sell out very quickly. All these small presses do wonderful work, but the Folio Society editions are things of wonder and beauty too.

So why hasn't the Folio Society edition sold as well as if it had been done by a press that specializes in horror? Maybe because collectors like to keep in in the family? Or maybe general horror readers and collectors have not even been aware of the Folio Society edition of The Shining.

I can't say, but if anyone is looking for a magnificent edition of The Shining, look no further than The Folio Society. They have also done such milestones as I Am Legend, The Exorcist, Dune, as well as titles by Bradbury, Dick, Le Guin, Ballard, Gaiman, Lovecraft, and many, many others.

Written by Mark Sieber