Mudlady -

I think the question of "how much to pay" depends on what value you assign to the act of reading and the actual book/document etc that you want to spend your time on.

I am with you in that I have few expensive hobbies and so do not feel fettered in how much I can spend on a book. However, one of my hobbies is being frugal so if I can find a book cheaply somewhere on- or off-line, then that makes it all the better. I do have a Kindle now, but am getting off to a slow start with it. I think that it's more expensive to download contemporary fiction, and also, I have a tendency to prefer books that haven't been made Kindle-friendly just yet.

I *rarely* pay full price for a book and take a sort of perverse pride in that. I'm not against it by any means, but it's part of that "being frugal" game I play with myself.

Once I have read and am done with the book, I usually (90% of the time) give to the FoL book sale people. There are only a handful of books I have kept, which means that the shelves that are currently bursting at the seams are all unread future pleasures (I hope)...

Another frugal person here! I have always made good use of the library system wherever I have lived. Only recently have I actually bought a few books (mainly because of long waiting lists and they are cheap at Target or similar stores) because I now only have myself to keep. Even so, I have space limitations in my retirement villa and have been passing most of these bought books to my daughter who has a big home but now she is protesting! I offered to get her another bookcase but she just groaned!
The answer to your question, Nancy, is whatever I think is reasonable to my need. If I cannot wait to read the latest book by a favourite author or the library system in the whole of the state cannot get what I want with the inter-library loan system, then I buy it at the cheapest possible amount.

My case is a bit different, because I am an ardent re-reader. I can think of dozens of books that I have read not twice, but four, five, six or more times. In fact my definition of a good novel is one that I will want to read over and over again. For this reason I archive books I love. I want to own them so that they will be available to me when I want them again, and I frequently buy them after I have already read them free. In addition I want to own them in an edition that will stand up to repeat use. I do use the library extensively, and donate books I don't keep to help support them. I also buy a lot of used books.

So how much will I pay for books? Well, the mortgage and the bills get paid first, and any obligations I have incurred. Then books and plants (gardening is my other passion). So I am willing to spend money on books that another woman might prefer to spend on an extensive wardrobe, spa visits, night life, or something else that matters more to her than it does to me. It's all a matter of what we like best, and I do not mean to imply that one use of our personal discretionary money is better than any other.

I don't own an electronic book reader, but I could see the point for read-once books when I travel. I could pack a dozen novels for the weight and space of a single trade paperback. As it is, I discard books as I travel, but worry that I will run out of reading material before my trip is over. My personal definition of hell is to be trapped somewhere without anything to read!

Rosefolly

I understand your dilemma. I, too, have a Kindle, but I try not to buy too many Kindle books. I also use the library and frequent the FoL sales twice a year. Also, we have a great used book store nearby that I often visit.

I must admit, though, I feel somewhat conflicted about not buying more books. I don't want my favorite authors to quit writing because no one is buying their books.

Those of you in the US who think books are expensive should know the price of books in Australia. A mass market paperback that is $7.99 in the US is about $19.95 in Australia. A new trade paperback is $30-35 depending on the publisher. Bear in mind that the Aussie dollar is almost at parity with the greenback at the moment. It seems to me that your minimum wage jobs are much more poorly paid than ours (minimum for an adult here would be in the $15/hr range - it depends on what industry you work in, whether you are full or part time or casual etc) but a teacher here gets about $50-75k, the Prime Minister gets about $350 000 and the head of a bank what they can con people into, but always in the millions!
I like to live carefully, and always shop for bargains, but I do buy the books I want. Our other extravagance is wine.

Rosefolly, I endured your hell once. The pilots were on strike so I had to make a 24 hour train trip. It was crowded, I could not get into the small restaurant carriage and although I had a sleeping compartment to myself, there was just a snack bar which ran out early on and I only took two paperbacks. I read them several times... You can be sure I loaded up with books and snacks for the return journey!

Kath, if I lived in SA, I would be interested in a wine collection too. I have seen the Barossa Valley! I want to visit Margaret River WA sometime. Not a bad drop from there either! I spoil myself occasionally when 'fine dining'.

Ann, we live only 20 minutes from McLaren Vale and maybe 40 minutes from the Adelaide Hills wineries. The Barossa is on the other side of Adelaide from us, so we don't go there very often, although we have been to the Clare Valley, right next door several times.
I love wine :-)

The idea of an e-book reader is really only of interest to me for travelling. As Rose said, being able to travel with several books only taking the space of one is very tempting.

I agree about an e-book reader for traveling on business, esp if you do it frequently. But if you have traveled to a hotel with a beautiful beach...do you just leave it on your beach chair when you go for a swim? to the "facilities". Someone takes a book - only out a few dollars, but a reader, may just be too much worry for me.

Now that I live in Maine, where small business and hard-working independence is alive and well (to be honest, struggling a bit, but far from terminal) I like to do what I can to support local businesses. Many authors live here and often sell their books at fairs, festivals, the local small bookstore, and the library. If it is something I am interested in and I can afford it, I usually buy it. I am also appreciative that these places are willing to host authors and that the authors are willing to brave the public and sell their books and do readings. And the reality is that these events cost money, and if we readers don't offer our custom, they will be no more. Obviously I'm not worried about Stephen King's finances, but most authors don't make oodles of money. I've met several people who write mysteries for a living - they are normal middle-income folks. I have set a goal for myself of buying one book of some sort every month at the local bookstore, usually for a gift but sometimes for myself. Often it is a paperback or a bargain book, but it is still a purchase.

Now that I live in Maine, where small business and hard-working independence is alive and well (to be honest, struggling a bit, but far from terminal) I like to do what I can to support local businesses. Many authors live here and often sell their books at fairs, festivals, the local small bookstore, and the library. If it is something I am interested in and I can afford it, I usually buy it. I am also appreciative that these places are willing to host authors and that the authors are willing to brave the public and sell their books and do readings. And the reality is that these events cost money, and if we readers don't offer our custom, they will be no more. Obviously I'm not worried about Stephen King's finances, but most authors don't make oodles of money. I've met several people who write mysteries for a living - they are normal middle-income folks. I have set a goal for myself of buying one book of some sort every month at the local bookstore, usually for a gift but sometimes for myself. Often it is a paperback or a bargain book, but it is still a purchase.

Astrocath,
If you chose a used book from an Amazon seller, how much would the shipping cost to Australia? In the States I often find recently published used books for anything from 1 cent to just a few dollats. S+H here is $3.99 so I have bought many books for around $5. Would that work for you?
Nancy

I am with Rosefolly-I will often take a book out of the library, and if I like it enough to read it again, then go buy it. I reread about of a third of my reading time. I like old friends.

I turned my iPhone into a Kindle with a free application, and have downloaded about 30 books. I like classics and old mysteries more than I do most contemporary fiction, so the most expensive book was around $3. Many were free or .99. I am never without something to read-even in traffic jams or when standing online-although the sight of me reading my phone has started several conversations.

I also use paperbackswap.com and bookmooch.com to trade books for the cost of shipping. bookmooch.com is international.
Shipping to Australia is pretty pricey, because the US no longer has surface mail, just air. But I have sent and received books from there, as well as Brazil, England, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada.

I buy through Amazon (many times used) and the Mystery Guild and the Literary Guild, which offer less expensive books by using a lesser quality paper and covers, and some paperbacks. As a last resort, I buy from bookstores at full price. For some authors, I pay what I have to. I read a great deal from the public library, but when I total book expenditures at the end of the year, it is astonishing. I consider myself a pretty frugal person, but the numbers don't lie!

Siobhan, I agree that it is a good idea to patronise local small traders. When I helped set up a small library in a tiny fishing village, we encouraged local amateur artists to exhibit works which were for sale. I bought several as they were so cheaply priced. Often just to recoup the cost of the frame and canvas! One artist is now well-known and his work sells at around two thousand dollars, not that I would sell mine. I bought it because I loved it.

Postage costs to Australia have stopped me from buying some books I would like but I am now occasionally ordering from places with free shipping.

I made a vow some years back to never again buy brand new books and pay full price. I only broke my vow once, when I purchased a book of Mary Oliver poems. I frequent yard sales, Friends of the Library book sales, and find treasures. As some of you wrote, I will only purchase a book if I know I will be re-reading it many times over, having first discovered it through the loan of a friend or through a library.

I agree, Aussie wines are superb!

Nancy, I don't use overseas second hand dealers as I work in a book shop here in Australia and really like my job! If too many people start using the internet to purchase books, I won't have a job much longer. I completely understand why people don't like to pay high prices for new books, but I hope some will continue to do so.

Astrokath--
My 37 year old son, who is extremely poor but loves reading and owning books, buys from a small, local store and pays full price on every book because he believes in supporting local businesses.
Nancy

I do buy a lot of books mail order, but generally look in my local bookstore first. I do want to keep bookstores open so that I can continue to have the pleasure of browsing. I'm not willing to pay full price for special order, but sometimes I will pay it for immediate gratification. Many of the books I want are not available at local stores. I buy a lot of books on sewing and gardening that are beyond casual interest, and they are just not stocked anywhere. Also, my local semi-independent (local chain of half a dozen stores) offers a frequent buyers club. After ten purchase at full price, you get a discount on the eleventh purchase.

Rosefolly

I am shocked at the price of new books of fiction. (For some reason I don't begrudge spending as much on non-fiction.) I buy fiction after it has been remaindered, or sometimes online through second-hand dealers like Alibris. I have noticed, however, that the postage on books seems to have really gone up in the last year or so.

I'm frugal. In fact, I'm probably much more frugal than most of you, having lived on a writer's income for 25 years.
But I buy the books I want, when I want them. My only rule is that I do not allow myself to buy any books until I have finished my "to read" pile. I purchase new and used books, in fiction and non-fiction, soft and hardcover. I do not buy mysteries, fantasy, romance etc. in any format. After I read them, I give them away, unless the book is a reference book, or I am sure I will read it again.
Life is short. Consider the cost of a book in terms of the time it takes you to read it.
We do not buy or rent movies, have high speed internet, cable, cell phones, etc. I have no interest in collecting books, only reading them.
About every 3-4 months, after I have read through my "to read" pile, I head off to the bookstore and stock up again.

Braved a snowstorm to visit a local library book sale this morning. They were selling all books, hard and soft covers, for 10 cents each ! Apparently they had received so many books from donations that they needed to clear the shelves.

Another frugal person here. But I always tell my kids, "we are frugal so when we want to spend, we have the extra." I like to frequent used book stores and library sales where I often make the cashiers very happy indeed. But then, books are more than entertainment to me. Being surrounded by books gives me a certain security, I suppose you could call it.

As for e-readers, I got one for Christmas. I am having a devil of a time with it. I cannot bring myself to spend money on a "book" I will never hold. It isn't real to me. My compromise thus far, has been to load it up for free at gutenberg.org. I do love classics and now I can take many with me for free. Perhaps someday I will be able to justify paying money for a virtual book.

PAM - who is actually off to Border's right now to enjoy some shopping with holiday gift cards.

When I happily pay whatever is asked for books:

DS-in-L's best friend (and Best Man) is Army, and in November was reposted to Afghanistan for his second tour of the Middle East. Limited luggage, as you can imagine. DS-in-L suggested that several of us go together to buy him a Kindle and load it with a lot of books. We did, and he got it yesterday. I woke up this morning to find an estatic thank you from him. Yes, it was costly-but worth every penny.

As w/ Siobahn, Mudlady's son, Rosefolly, Astrokath -

I want to support local bookstores ... especially "mon-&-pop" ones.

Unfortunately NY City doesn't have many of those left. There are some genre bookstores -- mystery; travel; gay; spiritual/mystic; etc. But general fiction and non-fiction stores owned by a private person are almost unheard of here anymore [sigh].

Most of the time I buy books at Borders (I know it's a big chain but there are only a few in Manhattan, so it's not a crushing behemoth), and it's right by my favourite subway station -- so convenient. Another place I buy at is The Strand -- owned by one family since the early-1900s -- chock-a-block w/ used, new, and reviewers' copies, and out-of-publication books. Plus, they give you cash for books you bring in ... Now there's a bargain!

Ten years ago I decided to NEVER buy another book from a certain infamous US bookstore chain which has ruined so many independently-owned shops ... and have lived up to that promise.

I was stunned when I visited The Strand last time I was in New York. My bored traveling companion bustled me out of there after about a half-hour. I was able to get a hardback copy of Denton Welch's journals, but that was all.

If you are a reader, and visiting New York City, you must go to The Strand.

Well you won't have any "bored companion" dragging you away if you use strandbooks.com! Timallan - Why were you stunned in there...was it not up to expectations?

BTW: Who is Denton Welch? I LOVE diaries, memoirs, correspondence -- "Belles Letteres" is the section they were shelved in. Alas, that department has disappeared from all the stores I go to.

Forgot to include this in my above post --

R.I.P. :

To the late, THE GREAT-- Coliseum Book Store !!
We all miss you -- NY and out-of-NY book lovers -- one and all !!

I think all of us come up getting books for as cheaply as possible. However, I do love books, so, to have a brand new hardcover was always worth a lot to me and I didn't mind paying the price. I often read a soft cover or free copy and then when I found it to be a classic for me, I'd go and buy the hardcover.

I recently published a novel on Amazon's kindle and was shocked by all the free books. What a turn of perspective! Rather ironic... now that I had spent all that time writing and rewriting, I did want to make some money at it as well--and all the free choices made it seem like I would not, could not. Even at $2.99 I thought many might not risk a writer they'd never heard of. Perhaps that will play out to be true, though it is doing well enough for a new author. I now spend my own good money on any book I choose. I may look for a good deal, but I also want to support art and now have a better consideration of what 'poor artist' means. LOL. On the subject of kindle--it seems to have young people reading again...?

Patrick

Here is a link that might be useful: Across the Desperate Miles

Just looked over your book at Amazon -- the customer reviews were ecstatic. Good luck!

And, I agree w/ your comments about spending real money (instead of cut-rate prices) on books. It's important to support writing artists. Most often I buy books brand new at book stores. Even my paperback purchases are expensive because they're the "trade paperback" editions. It's only because of the affect this financial downfall has had on my job search that I've begun buying at Amazon ... for now.