Penguin Hardback/Clothbound Classics

There are some new hardcover editions of select Penguin Classics titles (http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/pubsetpages/clothboundclassics/index.html). I was excited to buy a couple, but after I located them in the store, I found the binding to be rather poor - the books would not stay open and I could feel the binding crack whenever I tried to open the book to a particular page. However, these were in the "Bargain" section of the store, so perhaps this is a manufacturing defect that has been solved in later editions. What is your experience with this new series?

Take a look at these gorgeous "Penguin Threads" editions, to be published this coming October: http://blog.jilliantamaki.com/2011/03/penguin-threads-deluxe-classics/

Lovely designs. I wonder what the theme is. The Secret Garden and Black Beauty might be considered "children's literature", but Emma certainly is not.