I have just returned from The London Book Fair clutching my
signed copy of Howard Jacobson’s book ‘What Ever it is, I Don’t Like it’. At
£18.99 I had to think twice before handing my money over to the tiny Foyles
bookshop at the rear of Earls Court’s ocean of publisher’s trade stands. £18.99
is a typical full price for a hard back, but these days you would expect to buy
three books for the price of two or a discount of a few of Howard Jacobson’s
smackers.
I could have bought it at Amazon for £12.34 free delivery,
but the chance to have a few words with the self styled ‘Jewish Jane Austin’
got the better of me. He was just about to leave; a few copies still remained
on display. My credit card was produced and I bought one. Folyes would not even
honour the 5% discount to London Book Fair delegates available at their main
stores. In one minute thirty seconds, Mr. Jacobson not only provided me with
his inscription, but also gave me permission to be Jewish, even though I am
only on my paternal side. As a Welsh born, Irish, English, Maltese, Latvian,
Jewish Gentile, I’ll probably stick to calling myself European.
The last time I attended the fair was in 1990, when I also
returned with a signed book. That time it was John Mortimer's latest novel. I paid
£13.99, the ‘going rate’ for a new hardback at the time.
According to the website, www.thisismoney.co.uk, £13.99 in
1990 is the equivalent of £27.42 now.
Suddenly I feel I’ve robbed Howard and Foyles of nine
valuable smackers.
We can ignore the half price offers at Tescos, and need not
wait a year for a 75% discount at The Works. A full price book is value for
money.
References accessed 18th April 2012.
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