Where Do Orcs Come From?
3. Melville Predicts 2001 4. Electronic Paper Again 5. E-Mail to the Editor 6. Do You Know Me? 7. Blue Underlined Words 1. Are Books Getting Too Expensive? A December 16 article in The New York Times suggests book retailing is suffering from sticker shock. Customers show increasing resistance to $35 hardcover books and $15 trade paperbacks. The article claims that book sales have fallen off this fall, but it discusses only new book sales. Consumers always cut back on purchases in a recession. It’s especially hard to justify $35 for a book if you’re out of a job. According to the article, large publishers are caught in a squeeze. They have become dependent on the deep discounts of major chains (not to mention giant retailers like Wal-Mart) as a major part of their marketing. If Borders or Barnes & Noble is selling your $35 book for $21, you can move quite a few copies and not worry about how badly you have priced it. The article notes that Wal-Mart and the discount buying clubs can be r
