rifle paper co x classic novels = a pretty bookshelf

Earlier this summer, I dug out my original Harry Potter books to see that they were all falling apart - due to an extortionate amount of use rather than poor storage - and so, I ordered some replacements (but still keeping the old ones just because). This got me thinking: what other books do I want to have on my bookshelf? What are some classics that I know I will read time and time again? This led me to purchase the following four books: Little Women, Heidi, A Little Princess and Anne of Green Gables. Partially influenced by the fact they came in a 'set' where all four have covers designed by Rifle Paper Co, I succumbed and entered my credit card details whilst vowing not to spend needlessly next year to compensate for this spree!

I first read Little Women in my early teens and I remember loving it. Looking at it, I can't believe I had an attention span that kept reading a book this long! Although I vaguely remember bits and pieces of the plot, I'll have to read this again in the near future as a refresher.

Anne of Green Gables was another classic that I read but for the life of me, I can't remember a single thing about it! This needs to rectified and quickly. And it's a good job that this edition has a wonderfully illustrated cover - one that will look pretty on my bedside table where it will entice me to read a chapter or two before sleep comes knocking.

A Little Princess is another book I can't remember much about! Recently, I put together a spreadsheet of all the books I've read since mid-2012 (with some gaps as I didn't keep a proper record in 2012) and I've read 130 but that's no excuse for forgetting a book's plot. However, it gives me a reason to read A Little Princess again and with a cover like this, it's likely that I'll read it over and over again.

When I first read Heidi, I remember having a vivid imagination about the mountains and the goat. I remember trying to imagine the taste of goat's milk - I hadn't tried it before at this point and imagined it to be quite sweet - and also the smell of fresh mountain air. At the time, the air wasn't hard to imagine as we lived in the Highlands of Scotland where we were surrounded by green fields. I think this was the book that made me fall in love with reading because it was the one that got my imagination whirring. It was a hard read for me but I persevered and the end result was worth it.

My 'to be read' pile is outrageous at the moment and adding these to it surely won't help. However, I'm hoping that these cute covers will keep me from the temptation of buying other classic novels in pretty editions. I might even have to adopt a 'one in, one out' policy just to ensure I get through this pile!

Do you get influenced by beautiful covers? What's your favourite book design?