I just love buying books! I love finding stunning hardbacks to put on display, dusty classics to refer to (or to remind myself to read someday), and style books that always inspire. Most especially I love buying books in the holiday season because they make a wonderful gift. So, when I discovered that Penguin had released a new classics collection of gorgeous clothbound books I knew I could check off tons of names on my gift list. A senior cover designer at Penguin, Coralie Bickford-Smith, has designed these beautiful book covers, and its her admiration for vintage printed ephemera that distinguishes her designs. Whether she uses literal or symbolic references to drive her work, the alluringly dramatic covers are the perfect reason to revisit and rediscover a bit of Jane Austen or Oscar Wilde. The only problem is choosing which title to buy, since they certainly are lovely as a set!

To read an interview with Coralie click here, to snap up the books at Indigo/Chapters click here and, if your a total bookophile check out Penguin's fun blog here. [Image 1: Liam Goodman via Vogue.com. Image 2 & 3: via Coralie Bickford-Smith]

For even more of Julia's point of view check out her cool blog here.