the sacrifice set

Today, for the third time, I glued the cover back on my sacrifice copy of The Long Winter. That's what I call the set of checkered "Little House" paperbacks I keep by the computer and USE: the sacrifice set. They're starting to show their age (and abuse); most of them have been rubbed clear through at all edges and have tons of separate pages. I should have covered them with clear Con-Tact paper years ago, and I may end up doing it anyway simply in an effort to keep the things together.

HarperCollins has changed the LH trade dress and has different colors associated with each book since this set came out in 1994, and I couldn't tell you a thing about how the new books look. It's gotten to the point that I reach for a LH book from this set by color, not title. The Long Winter? Purple. On the Banks of Plum Creek? Blue. I always wondered just who picked the color for each gingham cover and why they chose the ones they did. Seems to me they leaned heavily towards certain colors (blue and purple) and away from others (yellow and orange).

Even though they're in sad shape, I definitely intend to use this set for reading and reference until they just can't take it any more. I've been collecting newer copies and more recent editions, but I've hardly cracked them open. I just don't think they'd read the same, somehow.
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:34 AM