August 15th, 2013 at 10:16 AM
It is true that on the face of it books are not cheep but it is all comparative. When I started out on my 1st career, 40yrs ago or so each text book cost my about 1/2 a months salary (I earned about £30/month and text books were £12 - £25) Now I am starting out on a new career and find that by giving up a daily newspaper I am able to afford about 1 text book a month just from that.
There are also libraries where you can access books 'for free' and get good information on the internet - plenty of peer reviewed stuff free or at a very reasonable price.
I read plenty of fiction too and by combining new and second hand I always have access to more than I need at a reasonable price.
One also has to consider that the authors need to earn a living so best sellers will always be available at a good price where as books prepared for a niche market will inevitably cost more just to cover cost let alone something over for the writers and researchers.
So no, on balance, I would not say books are over priced.
There are also libraries where you can access books 'for free' and get good information on the internet - plenty of peer reviewed stuff free or at a very reasonable price.
I read plenty of fiction too and by combining new and second hand I always have access to more than I need at a reasonable price.
One also has to consider that the authors need to earn a living so best sellers will always be available at a good price where as books prepared for a niche market will inevitably cost more just to cover cost let alone something over for the writers and researchers.
So no, on balance, I would not say books are over priced.
