Beware the Omnibus
A few years ago when I worked at a used book store, I was excited to come across omnibus editions of some of my favorite books from childhood, such as Curious George by Margret and H.A. Rey, Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne, and George and Martha by the late, great James Marshall. All the good books in one nice volume; what a great idea!
Except, of course, that it’s not. Omnibus editions, for both kids and adults, have the same problem. They are too much of a good thing. Bigger books are harder to handle than smaller ones. Smaller books are more likely to be taken hither and yon and actually read. Yes, there is the problem of smaller print, but most of us bookworms have corrective lenses already.
My husband G. Grod recently read an omnibus edition of Le Carré. That was an ideal omnibus situation–he was going to read a bunch of short, related books very quickly. Our 21-month-old son Drake struggles mightily to haul the Curious George and George and Martha omnibuses (omnibi?) off the shelf and to the reading chair. A commendable effort, but, oh, the poor parent who is now faced with reading the entire omnibus aloud!
Eschew the siren call of the omnibus edition, that Costco version of literature. Instead, spend a little more on individual, human-sized books that can be read one at a time.
(NB Comic books vs. graphic novels are a related, but different, discussion.)
May 20th, 2005 at 2:06 pm
some books it seems like ONLY the omnibus is being printed now - impossible to find the singles! so sad!