The value of reading

I am currently reading a book that can be summed up in two words: bloody expensive.

Let me explain what I mean. Last time I looked on amazon.de, the book was priced at €87.99. That's what I call bloody expensive.

That's not (quite) the price I paid, however. I ordered the book via amazon.co.uk, where it cost £66.50. At the current low value of the pound, that converted to €74.92. A year ago it would have been closer to €100.

Actually, £66.50 wasn't the price I paid either. I had a £30 voucher, so I had to hand over only £36.50 (€41.12). That felt a lot better, but, as an economist, I shouldn't kid myself: the book still cost me €74.92 because I could have spent the £30.00 voucher on other books or CDs.

At this point — if you are still with me — you may have two questions. First, what was the book? Second, what is my point? (You might also have a third question: am I mad to spend so much on a book? I'll come to that later.)

OK, the book was Monetary Economics , by Wynne Godley and Marc Lavoie. Its subtitle is: "An integrated approach to Credit, Money, Income, Production and Wealth". (I've mentioned Wynne Godley here before, one of Britain's most original and unusual economists.)

The book, published in 2007, has more than 500 pages. It is an attempt to understand how economies and economic policies work by tracking all the money flows that take place — between households, firms, banks, the government, the central bank and other countries.

The book is fascinating, but hard going. At times, it makes my head hurt. I can read only about 10 pages an hour, as it demands my full concentration. And looking ahead to future chapters, I can see that there is some maths coming that I haven't got a cat in hell's chance of understanding.

So, why read such a book? First, because it is such an original approach to economics. Second, because I feel it's good for my ageing brain. And third — and this is my real point — because it's excellent value for money.

At ten pages an hour, I will need 50 hours to read the book. That works out to about €1.50 for each hour of entertainment and mental stimulation.

If that's not good value, I don't know what is. A similar point was made in 1946 by the British writer George Orwell in his essay Books v. Cigarettes. This can be found in a wonderful collection of essays, also called Books v. Cigarettes.

Writing about the low level of book consumption in Britain at the time, Orwell said: "...at least let us admit that it is because reading is a less exciting pastime than going to the dogs, the pictures or the pub, and not because books, whether bought or borrowed, are too expensive."

Books v. Cigarettes can be bought on amazon.co.uk for £1.31 plus postage. What wonderful value books are.