Holly Ordway's review of Collected Poems was released today. I thought it was a very helpful review that discusses both the content of the set as well as the development of the project and the editorial work that went into it.

https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/a- ... d-poems-of-j-r-r-tolkien/

I usually order from awesome books to the USA for the HC imprint. Is it best to hold off until the printing errors are corrected?

DarthBane wrote:

I usually order from awesome books to the USA for the HC imprint. Is it best to hold off until the printing errors are corrected?

All of the first impressions were done at the same time. There is no guarantee that this set will go to a second impression, or when. I don't think there is a need to wait for a second impression, but instead to order from a retailer that handles returns, and be willing to go through the return process if you get a copy you are not satisfied with. There is no guarantee that any impression will be completely without any print errors, the process just isn't ever perfect.

Does anyone else find that the slipcase for Collected Poems doesn't fit very well? I ordered it from HarperCollins.com shortly after it released and the slipcase doesn't appear to be damaged in any obvious way, it's just really loose. There's a good half-centimeter or so of slop in it which largely defeats the mechanical purpose of a slipcase. I jammed an issue of Amon Hen into it to fit better.

US (William Morrow imprint) edition

That’s been detailed in pages 6-8 (out of 20 currently) of this very thread.

Eye_of_the_Black_Tower wrote:

That’s been detailed in pages 6-8 (out of 20 currently) of this very thread.

Yes I read that, on pages 6-8 it's all discussion/speculation from photos pre-release. I'm wondering what folks' experiences are with their actual books. Mine has a substantial gap.

rosshm16 wrote:

Eye_of_the_Black_Tower wrote:

That’s been detailed in pages 6-8 (out of 20 currently) of this very thread.

Yes I read that, on pages 6-8 it's all discussion/speculation from photos pre-release. I'm wondering what folks' experiences are with their actual books. Mine has a substantial gap.

Extensive discussion in the earlier part of this thread.

https://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/n ... t_id=58691#forumpost58691

Thanks all. Nice I suppose to know I didn't get a dud, but it's unfortunate this is evidently a widespread issue. It sounds like Collected Poems has been selling pretty well so maybe there will be a "deluxe" release that fixes some of the shortcomings.

My experience is similar to Tuor son of Huor. My HC UK copies came to the US via Awesomebooks, although they were a Christmas gift so I did not open them until a little while later. Thankfully there is no discernible color difference between the three volumes. After a careful inspection I cannot find any imperfections in my copies. No fading or ink distortions. No rips or miscuts. No missing or repeated pages. I will say the odor is faint but it smells more pulpy than some of my other books, but it is not distracting or anything IMO. Also, based on the photos and measurements I have seen, my box is perhaps slightly tighter than some of the others I have seen here and in Reddit. I have no more than a 1/16th of an inch gap - still enough to have the books slide out if I tip the box upside down. Overall I am very happy with this collection and excited to dig in!