How to Empty Your Wallet on Special Editions

I’m a special-edition addict, okay? I’ll see a beautiful book and just buy it instantly. I haven’t read it yet? Not a problem, I’m right there counting the money I need with my wallet fully open. I know it’s a pretty great skill, and I’d like to spend a post teaching all of you how to empty your wallet on special editions! It’s a pretty great love-at-first-sight experience until I go home and wonder “why did I buy this in the first place,” but we can just go ahead and ignore that.

1. Become a Book Box Addict

Book boxes have some of THE BEST limited edition books and I literally want to cry tears of happiness every time I see them. I follow a ton of them on Instagram to get those instant notifications and mentally prepare myself for the pre-sales. There are so many companies, and they each offer special editions throughout the year. I bought the Fairyloot Cruel Prince editions (no, I couldn’t get a full set but whatever, they’re pretty enough for me to just buy two) literally right after I saw it on sale. I have absolutely no chill. But just LOOK at them! The stenciled edges, decorated cover with foil, and ribbon bookmark are to die for. So uhhhh yeah, that got me paying around $60 because of how expensive US shipping is, but I know in my heart that it was totally worth it.

There are like 234732084 more special editions I could show you right now, but here are some editions of Uprooted I found from Illumicrate’s Instagram just one day ago! They’re going on sale in August and I’ve already got all of my alarms set and ready to go. They are the original UK hardcovers AND sprayed edges?? Yes please, I need it right now! They do a TON of special editions outside of this one, so they’re one of my go-tos. It’s always the British companies with the best editions, of some reason, which is kind of annoying for me, a US citizen (BUT, this actually follows through with my guide quite perfectly because of the increased shipping rate and my emptier wallet)!

So yeah, just follow a ton of these companies on social media so you can get extreme waves of excitement and happiness each time one of these new editions are released. Some of the larger book boxes (think Owlcrate, Fairyloot, Illumicrate, Litjoy, and a ton other that I am blanking out on) do special editions every month and I would have totally bought one if I got off the waitlist. But I’ll just pretend to be okay as I see all these amazing editions pop up on my Instagram feed.

2. Stalk Every Book Store You Know

Book stores will usually have special editions, and my absolute favorites are Barnes and Noble in the US and Goldsboro in the UK. They each have a ton of books either in their actual stores or on their websites themselves. As for Barnes and Nobles, there aren’t too many ones with cover changes but there are SO MANY signed books, which is a huge weakness of mine.

BUT here are the Barnes and Noble editions of the Cruel Prince that I found, which I will forever be obsessed. I seriously have no idea why there are so many special editions of this book, but I’m not complaining. Sooo, here is them compared with the originals for those of you who don’t know the series.

Here are the special editions!

And here are the originals!

I am all for the dark vibes of the Barnes and Noble editions and I want the set so badly but can’t rationalize spending more money on more copies of The Cruel Prince (but wait until I buy it like next weekend or something) haha. I actually don’t even have a matching set of the Cruel Prince, which is horrible, but let me explain. I bought The Cruel Prince in the UK originally because I saw it was signed, but didn’t realize that it was different until I bought the Wicked King and realized that a) the font is like way bigger and b) the size of the book is different. That means that on my bookshelf, if I put the series together, The Cruel Prince is just slightly smaller than The Wicked King, which I’m pretending does not bother me as much as it does. AND, I saw a signed copy of Queen of Nothing at Barnes And Noble, so I decided to buy that, but it had the exclusive edition cover. So yeah, if I want matching sets I need to buy 6 more books to do so.

Okay, that was a long tangent, but let’s go to Goldsboro! Goldsboro has an INSANE amount of signed and exclusive copies. Like please come to the US, I need cheaper shipping. They literally have a book subscription where you can get a surprise signed first edition at your door every single month. I’m like crying on the inside because I can’t get it. I literally have no idea what any of these books below are or are about, but just look at these editions! All the stenciled and sprayed edges match the cover perfectly, and they’re just so beautiful.

3. Totally Neglect Any Budget of Yours

This is the final and most important step to this guide. Now I know that these special editions can cost a lot, so just totally neglect any rationale inside your mind. This is a really important step, because without it, you won’t be able to empty your wallet on all these special editions. I know that I was once worried about my budget, but I feel free knowing that I’m spending way too much money on these books now.

Reach into your wallet and grab that credit card. Don’t worry about the money you’ll be spending, and just focus on that beautiful special edition you’ll be getting instead. Think about holding that copy in your hands, and that great feeling of scoring a great deal. Whenever I purchase a special edition, I will seriously go on Instagram to see if anyone posted about anything like it so that I can literally visualize it in my hands, on my bookshelf, and in my collection.

But…like seriously, if you can’t afford the books, don’t get them! Your finances are more important than this silly guide.

Anyways, I hope you found this entertaining! I found out that posting every other day is not the most fun, so I’ll probably be doing it every week or something. I don’t have enough creativity and willpower to post any more haha and I have some other projects that I want to focus on! Hopefully my lessened presence doesn’t bother any of you.

Let me know if you enjoyed this post or tell me about your favorite special editions! I’m always on the lookout to add some pretty covers to my bookshelf.

Happy special edition finding!

-Allison