The (Low) Cost of Reading
[image error]Books are my life. Without reading, I'd be lost. Perhaps that's why I'm baffled about the rampant indignation about the price of e-books. Are readers being forced at gunpoint to buy these books? Is there a cabal I haven't heard about? Are publishers from Little Brown to Graywolf Press in cahoots to rob readers?
According to the NYT, "Over the last year, the most voracious readers of e-books have shown a reflexive hostility to prices higher than the $9.99 set by Amazon.com and other online retailers for popular titles." Authors dread the not uncommon one-star reviews given by those who've never read a page of the title they're slamming, reviews based solely on the fact that they consider the price to high. Others dread sniping from authors who choose to publish their own work—authors who rather than talking about the worth of the read they offer, denigrate the price of books offered by established publishers.
Ah, can't we all just get along?
I'm weary of hearing e-books are too expensive, that their value should be based on no more than the barest bones. Some disparage money going to authors (is there any more intrinsic part of a book than the creator? Unlike cooks, designers, engineers, should we work for free?) with remarks made by "The Cheapskate" on CNET: "Now, I understand books cost money. There's editing, publishing, and distribution. Paper, ink, trucks, gasoline. Storage, shipping, shelf space, sales staff. And the countless people involved in all those transactions. E-books, on the other hand, consume zero trees. They weigh nothing, occupy no physical space, and don't get shipped in the traditional sense. Middlemen are few and far between. So you're left with, what, editing costs and the pittance you pay the authors?"
The average price of a restaurant meal in the United States is roughly $10 per person. The cost of individual meals range from $5.00 to $25.00 per person. My guess is the average person eats a meal in less than an hour and spends far longer reading any given book. (The average cost of a meal at a NYC restaurant is 41.76 per person.)
We have food choices. Duck into McDonalds and get a filet-o-fish for three bucks (sometimes 99 cents during Lent.) Shell out $10.99 for a mid-price entrée at a neighborhood restaurant. Anniversary? Get the equivalent of the hardcover and spring for the $30.00 lobster.
Should these meals all be priced the same? Do you see lines of foodies screaming that at the bestselling filet mignon should cost the same as a Big Mac?
In 2010 the average cost of movie ticket (according to the National Association of Theater Owners was $7.89. How long does a movie run? (And don't you usually go with someone else, thus doubling the cost?)
The average cost of e-book on Ipad is $8.00 and though I couldn't find an average across-the-board e-cost, I'm certain that it's close. Some self-published books are available for 99 cents. Others, like the Janet Cromer's heartbreaking chronicle Professor Cromer Learns to Read cost $9.99. The exquisitely written memoir In Her Wake by Nancy Rappaport is $11.92. State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, a wonder to behold, is $12.99 for how many hours of riveting pleasure?
Average no-frills manicure: $10-$30.00
Average cost of a package of baklava: $20-50
Maple syrup can cost anywhere from $3 to $32 a jug.
Around the web there's agreement that the average person takes 8-10 hours to read a book. Even taking into account length of book, varied reading skills, yada, yada, yada, for me the enjoyment received from a good book is longer-lived than the very best of meals and lives on in my soul rather than my waist. For me, books are probably third to food and shelter for what I need to survive and I'd forgo fancy food for books if asked to make the choice.
When my daughters were small, when they were in college, when I was a single mother, when I had two jobs so I could pay for college tuition, at that time I couldn't afford my reading jones—I read too fast to keep up with my need. So I went to the library, gratefully lugging home 10-20 books a week for my daughters and me. I was then, as I am now, indebted to the taxpayers who provided libraries, the publisher who sold to them, and the authors who didn't begrudge hundreds of patrons sharing one copy of their book.
And now, able to buy the books, I don't complain about the money I spend on them: hard covers, paperbacks, or e-books. Instead, I am thankful beyond belief that these books are out there to keep me going, just as they always have.
There's a good chance I'll get some unhappiness from this. I'll be told that I don't understand. I'll get tons of charts and analysis. And I hate to make folks unhappy, so I'll need to relax. The average price of a massage is $60.00. Or I can get another book.
Oh, most of those books above? Bought about half of them twice. Had to have them both ways. Mr. President, I'm working for economic recovery.
