To think there’s no hope anymore financially after seeing the price of this…?!

[Suteleynot]

I’ve just been browsing the new books due to be released next year. Hardbacks are now 22 pounds????!!!

I know hardbacks have always been pricey especially when new but I am almost certain they were around 14-15 pounds only recently.

I have quite a bit of disposable income and I love reading but I cannot for a moment get my head around how expensive this is? It won’t be long before a new hardback will cost the best part of 30 quid!

I am paid close to six figures and hand on heart if I lost my job, I know I’d be worse off for sure, but not so worse off that I’d be devastated. In a way it’s quite liberating… I care less about keeping my job than I once did! What’s the point!!!!

I have only just seen this on Amazon so this is my very reactionary post to it 😅

My local library is only open 9-3 Mon-Weds. When I’m at work. I’d love the opportunity to love it 😁

It’s a good excuse to start using your local library - and it’s certainly a case of use them or lose them, so a good way to support the service for other users too. Aside from the books, they’re essential for old folks as a warm safe space, to allow internet access to people who don’t have it at home, for kids doing homework, and so on.

DP has got me 13 books for Christmas, all hardbacks and ranging in price from £6 to £20 each. I don’t think £22 is expensive or any different to what hardback books cost 5 years ago

Mine is 0930-1300 Monday-Thursday. Apart from the holidays my kids never get to go, I can’t leave work during breaks to go, it seems pointless it even being there at all.

Gosh this would be hilarious if it wasn't actually sadly indicative of greater issues (badly paid jobs, cost of living amongst other things)

@Suteleynot sounds like you're saying losing your job wouldn't have much impact on your life? How would you pay for the essentials, housing for a start?

I pay £1.60 for 250g Sainsbury's butter with my weekly delivery.

My friend spent 3 years researching and writing a history book. She gets £1 for each book sold. Even if sales amounted to, say, 5,000 books a year, her "wage" for those 3 years would work out at about 5p an hour. Be grateful for your six-figure salary.

20 years ago Terry Pratchett's Discworld books were £18 for hardbacks (and on poor quality paper, so you weren't buying longevity of the book itself, just quicker access to the book instead of waiting for it to come out in paperback).

If it's a novel, I usually wait until they're reduced or come out in paperback. Waterstones often has a fiver off.

However, I tend to read mainly more specialist none fiction things and £20 would be cheap for that. I currently want a series of three books, the first released being £130

You are right that the cost of everything seems crackers now. I went to buy a jar of instant coffee the other day because my mum likes it and is staying over Christmas. £7! For Nescafé!

Equally, all this chat about you be better off if you didn’t work and didn’t have all the stress seems daft to me. On £100k you can afford a £22 book. On benefits you certainly could not.

Also, who buys hardback books anyway? They’re really awkward to hold. I only read paperbacks and usually then from the library or our local books swap. My book spend is very small – which is probably why the industries on its knees!

I get my books from my local library or more rarely from charity shops.

No need to pay such ridiculous prices.

I've been paying £25 or so for general hardbacks for a few years now and specialist non-fiction can set you back £40+.

Still worth it though.

@Stowickthevast “think my author friend earns 20p for every £20 hardback he sells”

What?! That’s horrific. I had no idea it was as low as that. I’d assumed the author’s cut would be around 10%.

I think in my head, relatively new paper backs at £10-£15 and hard backs are £20. I'm a slow reader so don't buy books very often (and people tend to do well in buying me books I like).

If you're earning 100k and don't have much spare money you are obviously prioritising something else other than books.

For people who prioritise books will find the money.

Or like many pp have said, go to the library, buy second hand or wait for reductions/paperback.

I've just checked the RRP on the last hardback I bought and it was £30. It was the most recent Robert Galbraith book in the Strike series. I pre-ordered and think I actually paid £15.

You’re not wrong with the prices!!! I went into Waterstones this week to look and was shocked at the prices - DD loves reading and I love to encourage this as much as possible but children’s paperbacks were around the £8-10 mark.

We buy a lot of second hand books off eBay otherwise it’s the charity shop. And we’ve recently joined the library too. Amazon also have some really good offers on now and again - picked up the new Harlan Coben book for £4

I asked DP for a book I’d been wanting for a while for Christmas and told him under no circumstances to buy new - even though the new one was on offer at the time for £14.

Yes, hardback books are expensive but I don't get why it's so unaffordable on your salary. It's no more expensive than anything else you might do to treat yourself. I'm on half your salary and buy them a few times a year, although I tend to buy books I know I'll want to keep. My mother only has an income of £800 a month as a pensioner and she occasionally buys them as a treat too. We both love books so we would rather buy that to treat ourselves than many other things. It's not an everyday expense, and you can nearly always get them with money off somewhere too.

What i do is scan the bar code on the amazon app and get it delivered next day with prime,always around 1/3 cheaper.

Do what people do who don't have a 6 figure salary, use a library, buy second hand or read online.

There is a recently released book I really want a copy of on my kindle, at the moment the hardback (not yet released in paper back) is £14, the kindle version is £15, I categorically refuse to pay more for a digital book as the overheads are significantly less

My local library is on reduced hours but there are some mornings, some afternoons and some evenings. Everyone should be able to get there at some time in the week.

Just bought a hardback each for DH and my Dad for Xmas and they were about £11/12.

Books have never been cheaper. A hardback was £20 20 years ago. What you have got used to is discounting. Most new releases are a third to half price for a few weeks and that's when most of us buy them. If you miss the boat then you have to pay full retail or wait for the paperback.

That 14 year olds are getting excited about books has made me feel hopeful!

Libraries are cutting opening hours due to funding but also due less people visiting, which is a catch 22 situation because then more Libraries are closing!