Sicily - Kindle conundrum (3rd edition releases halfway through our trip)

Posted by Tripecac (New Zealand) on 12/26/25 11:20 PM

We go to Sicily every couple years to visit family. I'm a long-time fan of Rick, and bought his Sicily book (1st edition) as soon as it came out, in paperback format.

For our 2026 trip, we're leaving paperbacks behind (too much weight!) and are only bringing kindle editions. For some mainland travel, I've already bought Rick's Italy on kindle (and it looks great on my phone). However, since his Italy book omits Sicily, I need to get Sicily on kindle as well. And here's the issue:

The latest version (second edition) came out in 2023, which would normally be a straightforward choice...

...except a third edition is due to be released mid-April, which is about half-way through our 2026 Sicily trip.

I have a collector's mentality, so I know that even if I buy the 2nd edition, I am likely feel the itch to buy the 3rd edition once it comes out, even if 95% of the book is the same.

So part of me wants to wait for the 3rd edition (to save money)... but I also realize that the first edition came out in 2019, which was before COVID and White Lotus had their effects on tourism in that area. (Here in New Zealand, Lord of the Rings and COVID had huge effects on tourist options in many areas.)

So what are your thoughts? How much do Rick's books change from edition to edition? How much in them (particular Italy ones) changed due to COVID? How much do you think changed in Sicily since the December 2023 edition? 496 vs 504 pages. What's in those 8 pages?

And what motivates the creation of a new edition? Is Rick (or his company) worried that the amount of obsolete information in a previous edition would put the series' credibility at risk? Or is it more of a way to get some customers to pay multiple times, almost like a subscription? (I'm familiar with that tactic, because as a music collector I tend to buy the same albums multiple times as long as each time there's a little something "new" even if it's just a barely perceptible sonic improvement.)

So if you had to advise: get the 2nd edition now, or wait for the 3rd edition?

(I wish there were a discounted update price for 2nd to 3rd edition on kindle.)

Posted by Tripecac OP

New Zealand

12/27/25 12:48 AM

26 posts

Thanks!

I went ahead and got the 2nd edition.

And the Tuscany book.
And the Food Lovers book.
And the phrase book (even though I have been studying Italian for years).
And "For the Love of Europe".

Lots of good kindle reads. :)

And as for the concept that Rick is out to make money, he has stated emphatically that he is a businessman (and a very good one at that). And selling (slightly) repackaged content is a very lucrative tactic. The music, movie, and video game industries do it all the time (via remasterings, upscalings, director's cuts, etc.). Even board games are commonly getting 2nd editions now... Why shouldn't authors and book publishers do the same thing? And why should the subject be treated as taboo on here?

The Sicily updates page has about 1 printed page of errata. Maybe 2. I wouldn't normally think that a page or two of errata would justify an entire new edition of a 500 page book... However, maybe RS has got the publishing flow so optimized that when it's time to do another print run, the estimated cost of sending a new edition to the printers (no matter how minimal the edits) is outweighted by the projected increase in sales. Maybe for him, minimizing the number of print runs per edition is the best business strategy. So when COVID ended and White Lotus started making Sicily [more] popular and the Sicily books started selling out, necessitating another print run... rather than print another batch of the same edition, it made more business sense to apply the errata, put a new cover on it, and label it a new edition.

People like me will naturally feel compelled to "collect them all" but rather than think of myself as a "target" or "victim" (ha) I acknowledge that that's just part of the game. The way we "win" is to get so distracted by other hobbies (and completing other collections) that we forget about the 3rd edition until our next trip, at which point there might be an upcoming 4th edition, and the cycle repeats. :)

If you are not a compulsive collector, then that last paragraph will probably not resonate with you. And I realize that a travel forum, focused primarily on ephemeral experiences, might not have a lot of completionists on it. And that's okay, there's always Steam, BGG, and the Hoffman forums to keep us collectors distracted! :)