Judging a Book By Its Cover: Classic Holiday Editions

I admit it, I'm a total sucker for cover design. I've come to realize I have a particular soft spot for special editions of classics. I am occasionally disappointed to remember I already own an earlier edition of a particular book when I see some dazzling new version is being released. The rate at which I have accumulated classics far outpaces my reading of said classics, but I think I can live with that. They are just so darn pretty on my shelves! And they remind me of the infinite possibility still awaiting me in the form of books yet to be discovered for the first time. (How's that for a glass-half-full explanation of my bulging TBR shelves?!?)

Anyway, this morning I found out about the beautiful new Penguin Christmas Classics thanks to an announcement on their Facebook page and it was love at first sight -- I want all of them!

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

The Nutcracker, by E.T.A. Hoffmann

A Merry Christmas & Other Stories, by Louisa May Alcott

The Night Before Christmas, by Nickolai Gogol

Christmas at Thompson Hall & Other Christmas Stories, 

by Anthony Trollope

I am not the kind of person who likes to rush the holidays. I don't like to skip over Halloween and Thanksgiving in a hurry to get to Christmas, but I have to say I'm glad I found out about these now. Now I have some time before December rolls around and I am ready for all things Christmas to decide if I want to add them to my collection. Wouldn't these make a fabulous bookish Christmas gift?!

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But to get a little more in line with the current date on the calendar, I thought I would also mention some other Penguin Classics I've been pining over: the Penguin Horror Collection -- perfect for Halloween!

American Supernatural Tales, edited by S.J. Toji 

& Guillermo del Toro

The Raven: Tales & Poems, by Edgar Allan Poe

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

Haunted Castles: The Complete Gothic Stories, by Ray Russell

The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories, 

by H.P. Lovecraft

I currently have American Supernatural Tales borrowed from the library, but am sorely tempted to pick up a copy of Frankenstein which I don't have and would like to re-read. And maybe a few of the others too, though I'm not as much of a fan of the last two listed here, from a strictly visual perspective.

So, I'm curious -- does anyone else have a particular line of classics they love? I am partial to Penguin in general (Threads and Clothbound and Drop Cap, oh my!) but there are so many other fabulous ones out there -- which ones are your favorites?

NOTE: This is not a sponsored post, I just really like these editions! I couldn't resist talking about these books after I found out about them :)