I quite enjoyed my first go at this nice little meme, thought up by Paula, where we post about what we’re Reading, Looking and Thinking. So I thought I would share again where I am – a little snapshot of my state of mind today, you might say!
Reading
Choices, choices…
I’m dipping into a number of books at the moment, mostly shorter ones after the epic, mammoth, involving and wonderful read that was “The Aviator”. There are the next couple of Penguin Moderns and a pair of lovely review classics from Ampersand. Also on the immediate TBR is “Flights” and a very interesting-sounding British Library Crime Classic, “The Division Bell”. As well as books, I’m trying to catch up on the issues of the London Review of Books which have been massing on the coffee table, along with copies of the TLS (a Russian special) and the latest “Happy Reader”. Plenty to keep the avid bibliophile amused….
Looking
Great excitement chez the Ramblings, as BBC4 (finally!) decide to repeat one of the Documentaries that Distracted last year – and probably my favourite. The three-part “Utopia: In Search of the Dream”, written and presented by Professor Richard Clay, was one my viewing highlights of 2017, so I’m glad to see it getting another airing. The series was a bracing and eclectic mix, looking at utopias, dystopias, repressive regimes (from both sides of the politic divide), architecture, art, music et al – very broad indeed. I’d recommend catching the series while you can if you have access to BBC4 or the iPlayer – thought-provoking stuff!
Which obliquely leads on to…
Thinking
A topic vexing my mind lately has been the cost of books. Not just ordinary new books, which do of course vary according to where you buy them, and in what format; but older, out of print or rarer titles that seem to fluctuate madly according to the day of the week.
Of course, we all know that a certain big river store’s prices are often slashed wildly and that real bookshops struggle to compete. There’s the issue also of local shops not always stocking what you want, but as they now all seem to be able to order in quickly I’m finding myself drawn back to Waterstones and the like, and if I have to order online I tend to go for Wordery nowadays who seem quite a decent lot.
The iconoclasm books continue to breed…. =:o
However, old or rare books are a different kettle of (vegan) fish. It was the “Iconoclasm in Revolutionary Paris: the Transformation of Signs” book by the aforementioned Richard Clay which got me thinking about values. As I’ve posted about on here before, I had been unable to find this one at a sensible price anywhere, so I resorted to getting Youngest Child to borrow it from her University library over Christmas. With second-hand copies going at over £1,000, I wasn’t going to be owning a copy any time soon.
But I set up alerts on a number of online booksellers and one morning, ping! A load of messages starting to come in with Reasonably Priced and Brand New copies available at under £100. So as I’ve posted, I picked up a copy and was dead chuffed. However, the interesting follow-up to this is that I never got round to cancelling all the alerts and messages are still rolling in with copies for sale – and the price since I bought my copy has been gradually creeping up and up, until a recent email dropped in offering a second-hand version for an eye-watering £8,792.58…. Yes, really…. And it seems to keep going up…
One of my rarer Viragos…
So WHY is it that some book prices vary so intensely and what sets the value? I know this one is an academic book, published in limited quantities by a smaller publisher, but is it simply the rarity value? It’s not only academic books that can have rare prices – I know Jane at Beyond Eden Rock has written about Margery Sharp’s “Rhododendron Pie” which is almost impossible to find at a decent price; and when I first wanted to read A.A. Milne’s “Four Days’ Wonder” it was prohibitively priced so I didn’t bother. I guess it’s some kind of complex calculation of the rarity of the book vs the amount of people who want to read it; when Simon at Stuck in a Book first blogged about “Guard Your Daughters”, the price of second-hand copies rocketed; and Anne Bridge’s “Illyrian Spring”, long sought after by Virago devotees, commanded silly prices before its reprint by Daunt Books.
I guess the moral is simple: if you want a book, and you see it at a price you’re prepared to pay, grab it. Certainly, I’m very glad I got hold of my iconoclasm book when I did – because there’s no way I could afford getting on for nine grand!!!!
*****
So there’s a snapshot of where my head is at the moment – full of books, magazines, documentaries and iconoclasm – the usual rambling and eclectic mix! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 07:30:41
I also try to use Wordery or Better world books when I buy online. Plus Wordery sends you a lovely bookmark as well!
Jul 04, 2018 @ 08:12:08
They do! And the free postage plus comparable prices gives them the edge over a lot of other online sellers!
Jul 04, 2018 @ 08:14:57
I heard good things about Flights. So hope you enjoy the read. x
Jul 04, 2018 @ 08:42:02
I’m very much looking forward to it! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 09:54:07
I’d like to read the new copy of The Happy Reader, but the Man of the House picked it up just to see what it was, read it from cover to cover, told me it was very good and then asked if I had any back issues! Hopefully I’ll get it back one day.
The book price thing baffles me. Before ‘Illyrian Spring’ I remember ‘The Brontes Went to Woolworths ‘being the highly desirable but stupidly expensive VMC. I know this is not a great time to be a purveyor of used books and dealers have to make money where they can, but who buys these stupidly expensive tomes? And why do dealers just list them rather that auction them if they really think there are buyers out there who will pay those prices?!
Wordery and Hive are my online booksellers of choice these days, but I will buy things through my local bookshop wherever I can. So many shops have disappeared – I can’t buy decent wool or much in the way of clothes locally – so I’m doing as much as I can do keep my local haberdasher and my local bookshop in business.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 10:59:51
LOL! Try and wrestle it off him – it does sound fascinating!
The book price thing is really weird – I know booksellers have to make a living but sometimes it just seems exploitative and that there is no real reason for the high price. Certainly, with the Iconoclasm book the crazily priced editions are graded as fair – used copies presumably with annotations, whereas the one I got was shiny and brand new. Most odd.
And I do try to support my local shops – we have an Ohh Deer stationery shop where I spend much too much, but I don’t want them to shut down! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 10:00:53
Well am really interested in your coming review of Aviator since I have a copy of the book.
well am looking forward to read your magnificent reviews .
Jul 04, 2018 @ 10:57:49
It’s wonderful – one of my books of the year! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 11:00:59
I hope you share with us the link to your review
Jul 04, 2018 @ 11:04:27
Oh, I certainly will. It will be on Shiny New Books and I’ll post a link on the blog! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 10:16:43
Wordery was a new name for me. Just looked them up: interesting. Will try them soon. Meanwhile, I noticed in one of their frequent ‘sales’ that the Book People had a bundle of AA Milne paperbacks on offer, including the one you mention, for a ridiculously low price.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 10:57:38
I’ve had mostly good experiences with Wordery. Occasionally their packaging has let things down, but they do rectify any problems pretty quickly. And oddly, I may just have picked up the Milne set recently – a review of “Four Days’ Wonder” is in the offing! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 11:06:25
£9,000!! Dear me, that’s a fair bit of dosh! Excellent Three Things…, Karen. Plenty to get one’s teeth into. The Utopia doc sounds good, too. 👍
Jul 04, 2018 @ 13:48:17
It’s not cheap, is it??? =:o And yes, give the Utopia doc a look if you can – some very interesting stuff in there!
Jul 04, 2018 @ 11:08:27
Great topic, Karen. I always feel slightly bad raving about a book if it’s *completely* unavailable/unaffordable – but lovely when the sought-after books are then reprinted and everyone can enjoy them at a reasonable price. I remember the same happening with Mollie Panter-Downes’ London War Notes and various Shirley Jackson titles.
I’ve often seen extortionate prices at A****n and much cheaper at abe, though I think latter might be owned by former now anyway? I guess lots of booksellers have algorithms that change the price based on availability from other sellers.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 13:04:43
Thanks Simon! It *is* difficult if you feel strongly about a book if it’s hard to get hold of, but we’re blogging simply because we love our books and no other reason. And I think several of us (you and Ali spring to mind particularly) have been responsible for getting these books back into print, so that’s actually doing a favour for others who want to read them.
Like you, I used to find Abe a bit better, but now it seems the prices are pretty consistent across the big river, Abe and eBay and even places like Alibris (where I set up one of my alerts). It’s just luck, I guess, and continually checking. I’d missed that “Four Days’ Wonder” had become available, so that was a nice surprise! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 16:11:29
From what I can gather, S/H prices are driven by price-matching algorithms. There are some unscrupulous buyers who will list a cheap copy of a rare book they want to buy – wait for price-matching algorithms to kick in so the available copy’s price drops, then they buy the book and delete their ficticious listing and sell the book on at an inflated price. I learnt this from Shaun Bythell’s Diary of a Bookseller). But that doesn’t explain all those US books at silly prices.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 16:20:10
Wow! That’s a bit scary! But no – I can’t really follow what’s been happening with this particular book, especially as I got hold of a brand new copy – it’s almost as if the publishers found a few copies and made them available and then they sold out. Most odd…. =:o
Jul 04, 2018 @ 17:36:15
What an interesting post! The price thing is weird – I think on Big River some resellers just pounce on every book that’s listed new and pretend they are offering a second-hand copy, often for a ridiculous price – I k now this because it’s happened with all the books that I’ve published – often before I’ve sold any copies myself, so it can’t be second hand! I think Simon’s right, though – if we talk about those rare and expensive ones it can trigger lovely reprints.
There are no independent bookshops in Birmingham, horrifically, so I tend to buy used or have a splurge in Foyle’s, which almost counts as an indie, doesn’t it. I hadn’t tried Wordery so will have a look – I liked Hive but they almost always don’t have what I want.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 18:48:34
Thanks Liz! Yes, I *am* a bit suspicious of the Big River and it seems that the sellers list the same item across all the platforms at the same high price. Fair enough, they want to make a living, but it does seem quite exploitative at times. But I’m happy to try to get attention for lost books – if we can get them republished that’s great. I mean, look at what Ali achieved with Mary Hocking! It is a bit shocking that Brum has no indies, but you have a Foyles which is pretty much the same – I always spend hours in the Charing Cross Road branch! 🙂 Wordery have pretty good stock – I’ve had occasional issues with packing, but they’re a better alternative to the BR I think! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 17:57:13
The Division Bell sounds great, I like the idea of a parliamentary murder mystery. 😉
Book pricing for second hand editions is a complete mystery, and often very frustrating. I was looking for a book recently (the title escapes me) and found several very fragile looking editions available for what I thought was too much. I know it is about supply and demand, but some pricing is absurd.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 18:46:03
I’m very intrigued by DB myself, particularly as it’s written by an early woman MP! Hopefully I’ll get to it soon. As for the second hand books, it *is* frustrating, isn’t it? No rhyme or reason, and often no idea why a book costs much more than others. And as you point out, so often the quality can be dodgy. If we had more bricks and mortar second hand shops at least we could see what we were buying! 🙂
Jul 04, 2018 @ 18:47:39
Nothing I love more than a good second hand bookshop. None I know of in Birmingham.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 18:48:44
Shame…..
Jul 04, 2018 @ 19:04:28
Hive is a decent choice for buying books online; for every purchase a proportion goes to a local bookshop of your choice. It’s not much, but better than nothing. Wordery I have found pretty good too. Also both Hive and Wordery give cashback via Quidco, if you’re into that kind of thing. I miss buying books. I was very tempted with a signed copy of Crudo today but managed to walk away (with much self-pride). No doubt I’ll kick myself for that later on.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 19:07:07
I’ll definitely have to check out Hive although I don’t have a local bookshop to have the proportion – I’ll have to think of somebody suitable. You’re being very strong – although I haven’t bought anything for a week or so (which is good for me), but the review books do keep coming in… 😀
Jul 04, 2018 @ 19:55:52
No purchases since 30th March. It’s a record.
Jul 04, 2018 @ 20:37:25
Very impressive!
Jul 06, 2018 @ 00:57:45
Really looking forward to your thoughts on the Division Bell Mystery. The talk on it at the Bodies form the Library conference where they launched it was incredible. I can flesh out more of you like.
Jul 06, 2018 @ 09:33:04
Oooh yes – it sounds fascinating!
Jul 07, 2018 @ 09:49:19
Great post Kaggsy! I’m not sure how they sell second-hand books at such high prices. Rhododendron Pie seems to always be around £500, but then the copies I see listed never seem to sell, they just sit there at that price, so what’s the point?
I also shifted to Wordery (before the book-buying ban) and I think they provide a good service, It’s nice to find an online supplier that isn’t a big river, and once the ban’s over I’ll be supporting the independent bookshops too 🙂
Jul 07, 2018 @ 14:36:15
Thanks! It is odd – as you say, the books don’t shift at those inflated prices so what’s the point? They might as well reduce them and try to sell. As my OH often comments just because they’re listed doesn’t mean they’ll ever sell at that price…
And yes – I like Wordery, though I actually bought a brand new book in my local Waterstones today just to be radical and support the high street!
Jul 07, 2018 @ 14:33:52
I use “speedyhen” on the extremely rare occasions that I buy books (primarily a text book).
Jul 07, 2018 @ 14:37:31
I’ve used them myself but didn’t have a particularly brilliant experience – I think they might be affiliated with World of Books and I’ve had issues with them too…
Jul 07, 2018 @ 14:43:09
Oh that’s bad luck! I managed to get one text book I wanted (brand new copy) at about 30% cheaper than the publisher list (which was the Amazon price too)
Jul 07, 2018 @ 14:46:45
Well, I’m always willing to shop around, and I don’t mind a slightly grungy second hand copy. My biggest beef is when a book is misdescribed – very good does not mean tatty and smelly with browning pages to me, but apparently does to some sellers!
Jul 07, 2018 @ 14:41:50
Just a thought folks, if by “Big River” you mean “Amazon” then perhaps you might choose to use that company name. There are a number of companies called “Big River” and although it is unlikely that in practice there is confusion with most of them given that you are making comparisons it might be better to use real company names. Perhaps particularly so in view of the existence of the US company “Big River Books” whose aim is “To provide a good workplace and resell or recycle new and used books.” !
Jul 07, 2018 @ 14:44:49
Oopsie… well, let’s call it as it is then. Amazon – and I feel guilty every time I use them which is why I try to go for alternatives and actually bought a full price new book in Waterstones today. I just wish I had a local indie…
Jul 07, 2018 @ 14:49:20
Totally agree with you! I also try to source from other retailers everything I buy over the internet (and I try hard to use “real shops”) BUT sometimes it is really very challenging.
Jul 07, 2018 @ 15:23:36
It certainly Is! I could no doubt have got the book I bought today cheaper online but I feel good from having bought it from a real shop! 😁
Jul 11, 2018 @ 04:26:41
Yes, books are much too expensive! I splurged on several new books this year, most of them paperbacks, but still at least $16.00 each, and it adds up fast. Good idea to borrow from a university library. So far I’ve never wanted a book at the $1,000+ price, but I’ve been startled to find out-of-print books priced at over $50. And who is going to pay that, since the books may be rare in that none many copies were printed but they are certainly not classics, and are usually musty things with yellow pages?
Jul 11, 2018 @ 11:30:00
Exactly! Some of the Iconoclasm books have been described as fair, or with annotations, and who on earth would pay hundreds and thousands for it?? I think the booksellers are just having a laugh, really….