>went inside a barnes and noble for the first time in like a decade>paperbacks cost $20what the fuck
have you not noticed literally everything costs x2 what it did before covid?shit's still skyrocketing.
>>25497407Classics section still has mass market paperbacks for as little as 5 bucks.
>>25497407You voted for this.
>>25497426i looked at some old paperbacks on my shelf and they're all like $5. even the hardcovers are $15 or $20. this is early noughties to early teens
Books are getting expensive in the UK too. Most of the big publishers are the same, so no surprise. My current read is Infinite Jest. Cover price is £14.99 ($20 USD). I'm an oldfag, so the price in my brain is anchored to early 00s. I'm sure a good quality / larger paperback would've been around £8 or 9 back then. A high-volume paperback, .e.g Project Hail Mary, has a cover price of £9.99. Seems like most of the standard paperbacks sit just under the £10 mark these days. At least some some of the publishers are maintaining quality. The copy of IJ has good printing and binding. Some, probably Penguin being the worst, are pumping out absolute shit at these high prices. Barely readable print on toilet paper pages. Back before digitial days they'd sell copies like this extremely cheap for schools. Now that the normal. At these prices I'm picky about purchases now. I stick to trusted publishers (e.g. Oxford World's Classics) or wait to see a physical copy in store.
>>25497434Kek look at this little niggercattle retard thinking voting matters
>>25497447Penguin are fine, they have kept their prices relatively low and their paper and printing is understandable considering their ubiquity.Look at this Oxford World Classics bible I purchased recently (online order), I don't see errors like this from penguin. A lot of the penguin bandwagon hate comes from other countries like the US, not the UK because they produce the paperbacks at a lower quality than our own. I had an American import of a classic before and it smelt like eggs the paper was that sulphuric and cheap.
>>25497553I'm not saying I 100% reject them. I just want to see the book in person first, or buy from a retailer with an easy return policyIt's the variation that's the issue with Penguin. One book can hand decent quality and the other shite.
We are in the End Times, aren’t we?
>>25497407Fortunately they're extremely easy to steal from.
the united states is 40 trillion dollars in debt mostly due to giving gibs to boomers. the only way out is to inflate it away. hence the fed allowing inflation to run above 3% for the last five years.
>>25497407Books are becoming a dated pasttime. Literacy is done and ready as a hobby has completely fallen off. That means the savings of mass production are gone and books will probably in a decade face the same "commodity" pricing that we see in things like vinyl. There will always be mass paperbacks for cheap booktok books, but the emphasis on performative bookshelves has caused Booktok to value hardcover and dust jackets to an insane degree, so prices will go up there too.Just get an eReader and hook it up to caliber and your local library. That's the only way to be poor and read these days.
>>25497547Did you vote for Trump?
>>25497847My dad is a modeler and I sometimes go to the conventions with him when one happens while I’m visiting my parents. It’s a beautiful hobby, but from all the times I’ve gone it’s clear that it has utterly, catastrophically failed to attract younger people into the hobby. It’s to the point that I try to go more often because I’m absolutely certain there won’t be anymore in 15 years so I might as well enjoy the novelty and craftsmanship while I can. I’m not sure if reading is quite there yet. Whenever I go into a big chain bookstore or used bookshop there are always twentysomethings. On the other hand, unlike my anecdotal experiences, the data is far less reassuring.
>>25497407Yeah, I wouldn't be shopping at chains like B&N.I went in one I think last holiday season to buy something stupid for a coworker I needed that night, something to put on thier desk. That was 20 dollars.I think what was most annoying was how much this bookstore has leaned into (mostly left) identity politics. They have a gay flag and other wokie shit everywhere, along with posters about how I'm loved and I matter.Selection was fairly decent, I'm sure I could find something, but there is a lot of milquetoast pussywhipped dad shit in there. For example, you look in the men's interest section and they have stuff about "100 things a man needs to know about being a man". Prices are terrible, but the lines are long, people are buying shit.Me? I prefer the (more numerous) used bookstores in my area. The one I like to go to is run by an old boomer who likes three things: Board Games, Used Books, and Music. There's no political bullshit at his store, just people buying board games, used books, and records, tapes and LPs at decent but fair prices. And his business is booming, he just bought out an older Walgreens and moved his digs into that, so all that board game money is helping, lol.
>>25497847Bullshit. If you actually want to buy books on the cheap there's tons of places to get books.• Yard Sales/Estate Sales• Library sell offs• Thrift shops• University professors• Ironically, gun shows. You get the weird topics though, so expect shit on history, wars, guns, the stuff boomers liked to read about
>>25497447I don't know if Penguin have recently changed their paper quality for new prints but pretty much all the books I own from Penguin Classics, Modern Classics and Penguin English Library had very solid paper and print quality. Only issue with Penguin is are the shitty spines that instantly break and crinkle, but I don't care too much about that. If I can, I also always go with Oxford World Classics over Penguin, but for translated work, Penguin almost always have the better translations.
>>25497665This is the 2026th year the End Times have begun.
>>25497997I read that as "My dad was a molester" at first.
>>25498025>how I'm loved and I matterWe all know that isn't true and assertions otherwise only serve as a grim reminder of the fact.
>>25497407Gotta have books avaliable to teach AI, anon.
>>25498031>Ironically, gun showsWhy is that ironic?
>>25497407I utterly don't understand the appeal of "modern" or "current" bookstoresThere is nothing in them that appeals to meI only go to old, used bookstoresThere is one in my comfy, quiet New England town that I am quite accustomed to. And another in the city a drive away. The last few times I went there I got:- An old book on Uranium Prospecting- A collection of poems from the 1920's from New York artists and playwriters, some of them hilariously racist (ie a blackman singing about watermelon in ebonics) - A collection of "cowboy poems" that are meant to be sung at a bonfire- A 1970s book on learning Japanese for businessmen- Japanese Shodo calligraphy books- A vintage Hebrew children's book from Israel - Some old Japanese to English dictionaries owned by a female Japanese teacher in the US (she signed ownership in all the covers)- A 1950s guide on surviving a Nuclear Attack- A late 60's pamphlet from a midwestern cult (I actually didn't buy this, very interesting and trippy to read though)- Some old hipster playwrights and one-off poems- A book on billiards from the 60's- An old collection of Shakespeare's complete workAnd this is just the tip of it, I have dozens more which I don't care to type out but I thought I'd share the first few that come to mindThese books cost between $2 to $10 usuallyIt's attached to a bookstore that only sells newly printed books, and everything there is not only overpriced, but completely uninteresting to meI just see no appeal. Modern bookstores are all garbage. Yet in used bookstores I find interesting treasures nearly lost to time
>>25498424That's funny. I live in an obscure little town in England and have a sweet older friend who likes to go to antique shops and used bookshops and such all around our county. The selection is positively grim! The antique shops all have piles of utter tat, and I never get anything from them even while trying my best to get into the spirit of the thing. I would read Lovecraft and go to these things expecting all sorts of interesting and cursed antiques, and never see anything of interest.The bookshops are just as bland. A hundred books on birdwatching, a hundred cookbooks, and a whole lot of travel books written by dolts with peas for brains who barely tasted the culture of the places they went to.I always come back disappointed and bored. I'd rather sit on a rock for half an hour while my friend browses all this, and often have.
>>25497877No. Fuck off with your TDS catch-all nonsense, libtard.
>>25498054Penguin have started to get their books printed by Amazon.
>>25497407Go to a local bookstore and buy used. They'll be 7-10 bucks. You do live in a culturally developed city with cafes and bookshops right?
>>25498438That's... very sad to hearMy local bookstores had quite the collection of actual Lovecraft books, but the most well-known copies were usually overpriced and behind glass. I got a real great deal on other lesser known pulp sci-fi books though. They had a whole great collection of decaying detective and Weird Tales/Astounding Stories that I dug into, the better known ones more expensive though. Considering Lovecraft is public domain, I'd usually just read them online and buy the copies of lesser known authors to expand my knowledge of the time.I get what you mean though, there's a part of me who likes to "pretend" I'll find some forbidden tome of long-forgotten arcane knowledge hidden between the shelves, but nothing as such so far. Cult books and a few 1800's or earlier leather-bound books from monasteries are probably the most interesting things I've found. One of my favorite stores has a collection of old drug and "stoner zines" that's quite interesting to read though. Some probably illegal. And old USGI/USMC books/manuals. Those are always fun to buy and read. I'd heavily recommend searching out old used bookstores near college campuses. One of my favorites is in Pittsburgh near Carnegie Mellon. It's right in between Carnegie Mellon, University of Pittsburgh, and Duquesne. So you'll get a good amount of educated people and international students offloading their books. When I travel I always like to find out the local used bookstores and clear them out of anything I find interesting. If you really want to find some hidden treasures, you'll have to travel a bit.
Lol imagine not getting your books at goodwill. Could never be me.
>>25498451Typical MAGA, says we need to elect their candidates before the election, when everything's going to shit they're all "i'm a libertarian leave me alone"
>>25498509We have an enormous book warehouse near where I live, and a major UK university. Maybe it's worth going back there. Some 100,000 books are stored there and they're quite reasonably priced. I would love to browse the collection physically, walking from shelf to shelf, but I think their catalogue is mostly digital and you have to use a computer even when you're in the store itself. Rather disappointing.However, the capital of the county does have a meteorological archive, and I was allowed to explore its depths when my mother and I went there so that she could do some research for her degree. It was wonderful! You'd walk through these tunnels of climate-controlled underground space which, the chap leading us around said, are designed to shut down and remove oxygen from areas in case of fire. The rooms themselves were absolutely chock-full of data. There'd be racks of storage shelving, each with tiny drawers the size of your hand, each a foot deep with data cards based on decades-old meteorological observations. I pulled out a couple of fascinating books about the weather and climate conditions during Operation Overlord. I'll never forget that place. While staying nearby, I tried to knock on their doors to thank me for their kindness in letting me see "behind the scenes" in this way over a decade ago, but I was chased away by officials who thought I was up to no good.
>>25498597To thank them*
Last time I was in a B&N someone had stolen a Playboy and used it to whack off in the washroom. It was lying on the floor covered with semen, and there was shit and cum smeared all over the floor, walls and toilet.
>>25498512People who identify with American political parties like you are the epitome of midwittery. Truly cattle in the most absolute sense of the word.
>>25498626BN bathrooms are notoriously bad. The one in my hometown had a popular gloryhole in it.
>>25497407They were like 16$ before so it doesn't feel like a big change to me. Still a rip off though.
>>25498704the bathroom at the big barnes and noble at union square in nyc is actually not bad compared to any public bathroom where u don't have to buy anything i.e. not counting restaurant bathrooms
>>25498626Based diogenist
>Barnes and Noble and Books a million $17-30 for a brand new book, paperback or hardcover>half prices books (chains of used books)$6-15 used>privately owned used bookstore $0.50-6 per book
https://youtu.be/qdeMTjpzvp0Take me back, bros
>>25498862I personally go to a book exchange where instead of paying you swap books with the proprietor.
>>25498884is there any footy of the borders at wtc?
>>25498899https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e687gZ4jI0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWgalsLhZ8A
>>25498935bro do u have j&r music world?
>>25498935kek did boomers and gen xers reallyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTiKQfind6w
>>25498626I work at a B&N. I still hesitate to go into the handicap stall because some asshole like you was jacking it in there a few months ago.
>>25498960Misread the post. Ignore the "like you"
Indigo is infinitely superior.
