Why Some Books Cost €2 and Others Break the Bank

In Berlin, I came across entire shelves brimming with classics like Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov and Goethe’s Faust. Not just literature - there were political, social, and psychological works too.

Imagine picking up Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment for just €2, while a modern thriller like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sets you back €20 or more. Why this massive difference?

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1. Public Domain Classics

Books like Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov or Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice are now in the public domain, making them easy to reproduce at low cost. A publisher doesn’t pay royalties for these works, which means you can enjoy Raskolnikov’s moral dilemmas for the price of a coffee.

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2. Modern Copyright: Protecting Creativity (and Costs)

Contrast that with modern novels - like A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. These books are still protected by copyright, meaning authors earn royalties, and publishers bear higher production, distribution, and marketing costs. This makes new releases significantly pricier.

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3. Reader Value and Market Forces

Take Dostoevsky: While his works are literary treasures, they’re no longer trending. Publishers and sellers keep prices low to attract more buyers. Meanwhile, a best-selling self-help book or a recent Booker Prize winner is marketed as a premium product - an "experience" worth paying for.

Real-Life Examples

Crime and Punishment might sell for €3 at a second-hand store, but a first edition could fetch thousands at an auction.

The Gutenberg Bible was once worth a fortune and now resides in museums, while contemporary e-books sometimes sell for cents on Amazon.

During the pandemic, demand for escapism surged. Classics sold for pennies, while self-published works on platforms like Kindle saw skyrocketing prices.

What Does This Say About Literature Today?

Dostoevsky wrote about poverty, morality, and human suffering - themes as relevant today as ever. Yet his books cost less than a modern thriller you might read once and forget.

Is accessibility helping preserve great literature, or are we undervaluing it?