| I would correct that to "some books are not remotely too expensive".
A practical example. Just went to my bookshelf and grabbed Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals: A Cookbook by Melissa Clark. It costs $15 rn. Even at $30, it’s worth the money. Why? It’s one of the most recommended cooking books for beginners, it teaches you how to feed yourself in a simple and efficient way (one-pot or one-sheet pan or skillet or casserole dish or bowl) in a world where time has actually the most value. It helps you to save money, and time, as you will eat less takeout, you have more control over what quality of food you actually eat, it teaches you concepts to cook dinner way beyond the hundred recipes provided, and as long as you have one pot or one sheet pan or skillet or casserole dish or bowl, you can make use of the knowledge from that book right away. It provides actual value and a ROI that will pay back the price of the book in tasty, quick, and mostly healthy meals in no time. The Idea Machine, on the other hand, is a luxury item. It’s the same justification perfume makers will tell you their $2 perfume is actually worth $150. The real-world value in reading The Idea Machine is actually close to zero. Never ever did someone ask me to explain to them the concepts in there you pay $34.95 to read for. You can’t eat the book or knowledge about the history of books. When was the last time you tried to impress someone at a party with your book knowledge about books? Maybe in social settings where people buy monocles, but if you have monocle money, you will not even notice the dent it makes in your BlackRock portfolio. So some books are worth the money, others are luxury items. This guy is just trying to justify his own book’s existence at $34.95, which, considered the real value of the book to the majority of humans out there, is too expensive. Not having this printed and the resources used for it, would get it closer to the value of what is written inside. Just because the market is flooded with paperback "shit knowledge" at $30+ doesn’t justify most of that being even worth printing, or even trying to sell it at a premium. The price justifies the cost, but not the value. But that goes for most luxury items produced by entitled people who think what they produce is revolutionary. |