To think this a huge sum to spend on books?!

[KeiraKnightley2]

My boyfriend is moving into a new place soon (it's early days, so not living together yet). He loves books and so do I.

Anyway he said he's getting a big bookcase and has given himself a max budget of 1k to spend on books of his choice!

I said I thought this was a huge budget (great if he can do it) but he reacted with surprise, as though this is normal spending money. It isn't, is it?

Then again, you might spend thousands on a laptop, so maybe I'm wrong.

Hardback academic books are often £120 each.

This is literally my job. Well part of it. I spend £2-3K a month of other people's money on books every month. 😁The best bit is unboxing them when they arrive, all perfect, new, and unread! Tbf though, a good many of them I would never want to attempt to read!

It’s unusual to go on a book-buying spree, but not unheard of. I normally buy books one or two at a time, but last Christmas asked for specific books as gifts for me, and ended up with more than 10 - that’s the most books I’ve ever had arrive into my possession at the same time, since I did something similar on my 10th birthday and was able to spend over £12.00 book tokens on one book-buying binge!

I did something very similar to this and it did make me extremely happy and I’ve had them for years.

As a student and when I first lived in share flats I have very little space and so all my books were charity shops or library. When I finally bought my first place I got 2 nice bookcases and did go on a bit of a splurge buying both books I’d already read, loved and wanted a copy of to re-read and about 20 new ones to read. I also had a couple of special editions of classics. It probably came to about £500-£600 but 10 years ago. This was a fraction of the space and I’ve continued to buy books at a slower rate since and they are now full! I don’t have designer handbags, a huge TV or other expensive hobbies but I do read between 2-4 books a month.

Does he think books are just for decoration?
Is expecting you to get books of all different colours so you do a rainbow with them but never read them?

Depends on the type of book you are talking about... paperbacks and popular literature- yep it's a lot!
Academic books or special editions can be pricey so need a healthy budget. I think well within range.
Antique books can easily exeed the budget or at least, £1k is very modest.

If that is his hobby, it isn’t much as a house-warming present to himself. I’ve seen people spend that much on fancy espresso machines as a house warming gifts to themselves and understand that a lot less than wanting to have a reading nook with a selection of books.

Do reading tastes change over time? I don’t think mine have. The thought of spending £1000 on books fills me with huge joy.

Also depends what books he's buying. If he's going for limited edition Folio Society stuff then he might not even be actually buying all that many physical books.

It’s not a lot to spend on books (assuming he can afford it). It is a bit odd to set a budget like that- makes it sound as if he’s going to go to the bookshop and order £1000 of their finest books 😂

DH received a £500 bookshop gift card from some friends as a wedding present. It was absolutely amazing.

I have a “to buy/to read” list of books and it’s currently running at about 100 books. I tend to buy about half my books in hard copy, and the other half on my kindle (used to be much more on my kindle but I’ve nearly gone full circle on that)

If I ever came into some money I would definitely have a bulk-buy session; I would love it. Some of the books I want are big non fiction or technical books so I think the total would be more than £1k. I am envious of your boyfriend OP!

Books are becoming more and more expensive. I mean a hardback book for me in my genre is between £15-£30. Easily spend £1000 on books

Well I've got c£350 books sitting in my Amazon basket at the moment just waiting for me to finish the current pile of new books!
I'd love £1k to spend on books. But I would need yet another bookcase. And as it is I'm already overflowing on existing ones. But the joy of placing a big order. And then handling them when they arrive. And finding them a home.... Better than sex and that's before you start to read them 😊

He's an academic. A lot of the books he wants are either in his industry or proper British classics.

I think it is definitely a big treat. For me I couldn't possibly justify spending that (yet) but think it's great he can.

I'm pretty sure DD would spend £1k of my money on books, given a chance!.
I prefer to borrow them on the library app on my phone or pick them up for 50p. I read a lot. One year I read 200+ books. If I'd spent £5 each on them, that's a £1k. I don't, because I don't have that spare but if I won the lottery/was a lot richer than I am then maybe. But storing them for the sake of it seems silly, I don't keep many books to read again.

Does he have a research allowance? Perhaps he's funding some of them from that.

@KeiraKnightley2 Books are a tangible asset, would you care if he spent 1000 on a holiday that lasted 1-2 weeks and had nothing but memories left. At least his books will last a lifetime and can sell on at some point if he likes.

How wonderful! It's not that much, and he sounds like a great guy.

Wealthy and a reader. Basically the ideal man.

@Iluvteandbiscuits on I'm not upset about it! I was just surprised, as I think it's a lot.

He said he didn't think it was, so I was curious to hear other viewpoints.

@commonground yes, so far, he pretty much is. He's very generous to me too.

It seems odd to randomly buy a load of books in one go, just to fill shelves? Surely you want to see what is published in the future, what if you find new things you enjoy. Seems a bit materialistic to me..

With your update op, I don’t think it’s that strange. There are some gorgeous limited editions of classic books that could easily add up. I have a basket on the folio website totalling much more than that, just waiting for my lotto win!

For academic books, some of mine have cost a few hundred pounds for one book, so £1,000 on academic books could mean 3 books he's treating himself to that he really wants.

For paperback novels, it's a lot of books.

Have you watched him make himself a bowl of cereal? Does he put the milk in first then the cereal?
What else is he doing back to front?
It isn't the money which is unsettling me, although it is a lot, it is the order of precedence. You buy a bookcase to house the books that are spilling out into different areas of the house.
Books to me are like chocolate, yes I buy them but with an eye to the side effect (clutter) and attempt to minimise that impact .

I love reading, but hate lots of books and book shelves. I have a kindle. It does not gather dust, and does not make the place look untidy.
I read as much as people with book shelves.