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.

It's a bit unusual to buy 1k worth of books in one go, is he planning to read then all or does he just want them for decor in the new bookcase?

Naaa....that's not bad. If he can afford it then why not. I spent £240 on my kids book advent calander. Some books can be £60 or more each. We've got a gigantic book collection, it really needs it's own room in our house now and we've no intention tion of not buying more.

I have tons of books but I could easily spend £1,000 on more. It must be lovely for him - a real treat.

It sounds lovely... I wish I had both space and budget 😊

It sounds like a lot, but if I were to add up the cost of the books I currently have (real ones and Kindle ones) it'd probably be eye-watering. You just don't notice when you buy them here and there.
I do find it a bit of an odd way to buy books, unless I suppose you had some books in mind you particularly wanted and knew you'd treasure rather than giving away or selling on, like reference books, some beautiful Folio Society editions of books you love, or art/wildlife/botanical/whatever books that you'll look through over and over.

I love books but wouldn't choose to spend that much all in one go, as I like to choose books as and when I want to read them.
Is this budget more for 'show' books to make the bookcase look good, I wonder? Lots of expensive hardbacks and books to present a certain image?

Yes, but is he an academic? Have I missed some updates. Even so, wouldn't an academic just buy books related to his subject, rather than to fill a book case?

I mean I spend a lot on holidays, some people spend a lot on clothes/shoes etc, so if that's his passion then why not 🤷‍♀️

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

You can click ‘see all’ on the OP to see her updates.

As a lifelong bookworm, English graduate and English teacher I find this odd. Books are something I buy constantly but not in bulk. Does he not already own books?

It’s alot to spend on books all at once. I can imagine that being the worth of all of their books.

I could easily spend this in a day. I have a list of books which I can't afford. eventually these turn up in charity shops, and I search on eBay and Amazon etc. I don't think it's a lot. Rather that than spending hundreds on a handbag which isn't even good quality

It’s a lot of money considering books are typically under £25 each, but even at top whack, £1000 is only 40 books. If he reads one a week and reads them over, as well as getting pleasure out of seeing them on display, it’s not really an expensive hobby. My DH’s hobby frequently costs him £1000 per month; I’d love it if it was a one-off cost of £1000.

The sneery comments about ‘aesthetics’ are shitty. Before I had my own place I moved quite frequently and used to dream of my own bookshelves. I had a wish list of the books I wanted to own. I couldn’t afford to buy them all in one go when I did finally have my own place and my own shelves but I would have happily done so if I could, and it wouldn’t have been for the ‘aesthetic’.

@WitchWithoutChips I think it mostly isn't about aesthetics for him.

He is from another European country and left a lot of books when he came here three years ago.

Now he is settling in and here for the duration. Anyway I'm excited to see what he buys 🙂

Would it not be cheaper to ship over his books? It can only as low as £1 per kilo.

Worlw, yeah me too. Definitely! Even though my 2 bookcases are more than full!

I've seen some really fancy Harry Potter books in Waterstones that I can't afford. I would buy them.

I will get them if I get a bonus this year

I could easily spend that much on books at once if I had the money! I spent 150 euros on books for Christmas but wanted to buy so much more.

It's relevant enough that it should have been in the first OP. Also, see my sentence starting 'Even so...'
I would have thought that academics buy books for their research usually and not with a particular bookcase in mind.

Yes, this. I’ve had book allowances of different magnitudes in various jobs.

Having said that, I’m an academic, DH is an ex-academic, and our house is full of bookcases and books that we’ve built up throughout our lives (cull underway atm). It seems a bit weird for an academic to say ‘I’m going to buy a bookcase and spend £1000 on books!’ Doesn’t he already have lots of both bookcases and books?

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!

Ahhhh… this used to be my job! Lovely when they arrived and there were no issues with the order and it was all orderly and delicious!!!

Could you justify spending on a hobby of yours? Or a few weekends away or new clothes and shoes?
His thing is books

The amount is not coming from a research grant and won't be used at work.

This is books for his pleasure only. I love books too, but I wouldn't have that spare cash to spend. Maybe at some point but current has to go to less glamorous stuff like house repair.

Been nice to see others posters passion for books 🙂

When I was growing up my parents would spend at least 2K on books a year - there were four of us and all of us are big readers. I could easily spend 1K on books right now but as new books came out I would spend more on those throughout the year.