enomisyeh t1_j1c8ec2 wrote on December 23, 2022 at 5:44 AM

A lot of books in new zealand are now definitely in the $30-40 range. And some that are popular adult fiction are often in the 40-50 range (new zealand dollar of course). I remember not all that long ago young adult fiction or the fiction that wasnt necessarily YA but also not fully considered adult level writing styles could be around $25 which is pretty good for a book. This is another reason why my first place to look is the library. Loan over buy

Jack-Campin t1_j1cn21l wrote on December 23, 2022 at 8:41 AM

NZ books have always been expensive (I grew up there). The big change has been in international freight - I bought a few books direct from India and Poland when I was a student in the 1960s, not a cheap option any more.

NZ copes by having an unusually good second-hand book sector. Books get used efficiently.

HammerOvGrendel t1_j1di5da wrote on December 23, 2022 at 2:33 PM

Absolutely. We moved from Aus to NZ in 1988 as my mum took up a position at the national library. She was always complaining about how expensive books were comparatively. I've been back in Australia for 20-odd years, but I did occasionally travel back, ironically to sell books to the universities. One of the last times I was there I was struck by the fact that there was only one bookshop I could find in the Auckland CBD, and while Unity books is by any objective standard well stocked and curated, it was outrageously expensive.

enomisyeh t1_j2csib7 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 7:42 AM

I love second hand book stores, but it can be hard when they dont have all their stuff on the shelves and you have to go ask, especially when youre me and you go with lists of books youre looking for, or the books you want are super weird lol. Like its not always the most fun asking for 10 books all the do with forensic pathology, death, and murder, and not look like youre planning something.