TGIF: Most Valuable Book

THE QUESTION: 
From your personal collection of books, which ones hold the most value to you?

When I read this question, a few books instantly jumped to mind, so those are going to serve as my answer. I've got quite a few signed books and author moments from over the years (and especially over the past year) that are all cherished, but these are the books I couldn't help but think of...

01. My copy of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER from when I was a teen. I got it as a new book at my local bookstore (after seeing a commercial on MTV -- haha). It's been read many times and has all sorts of writing, highlights, and underlining in it from that time in my life. Back then, I even bought a second copy for loaning out, because I loved the book so much, but didn't want anyone to mess up my special copy or read all of my little notes. (Click here, here, or here for more on my love of Perks.)

02. My Collector's Edition copy of The Tales of Beedle Bard -- It's a reproduction of one of the seven copies of the book handwritten by J.K. Rowling featuring the stories referenced in the Harry Potter series. Amazon bought the 7th copy (for a few million!) to reproduce it in a limited run. They made (up to) 100,000 copies and it cost $99, with the proceeds going to charity. Go here for Wired's detailed look at the big book (case), the drawings, and the little book itself. There are copies for sale on Amazon, but it looks like they're going for $250 right now.

03. Every Jane Austen and Jane Austen-related book I own. And there are a lot. I buy her books every time I see one with a cover I love. Or with extra details that I don't want to miss. And I buy books about her just as much. They take up more than a standard shelf on my bookcase now, so it's certainly my largest collection by/about one author. As far as I can tell, anyone who is a reader, but not a huge Austen fan, just hasn't had the right reading experience of any of her books yet (or old timey, snarky humor flies right over their head). She was witty and brilliant and calling people out on their crappy behavior before  it was cool. (Once you get into her style, I recommend Persuasion. It is a masterpiece of inner monologue.)

04. My signed Delirium! I went to see Lauren Oliver at a bookstore nearby last year and had my best ever author-chat-at-a-signing-table experience. (I also really enjoyed the part before the signing. She's a fantastic storyteller and answers questions honestly.) The note is because we talked about our nail polish. She recommended the shellac, since I like colors on all the time, and is the reason I finally tried it and got totally hooked for months & months.  

What's your most valuable?

#$%

If you're into taking a tiny peek at my living room (seriously -- sofa, ottoman, pillow) or looking at the most delicious fish tacos of my life (with links to recipes), swing by my personal blog and take a peek. (Living room is here. Fish tacos are here.) 

What have you been up to this week? Catch me on Twitter! I basically live-tweeted my reading of MY LIFE NEXT DOOR last night, if you're interested... spoiler free, and full of tons of crazy, fangirling love. (I saved my spoilery freak outs for Ginger.)

TGIF is a weekly feature hosted by Ginger at GReads.