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> Adding the other batch of books that I have elsewhere, it seems that I possess altogether nearly 900 books, at a cost of £165 15s. In 1946, one pound was ~$4

> Adding the other batch of books that I have elsewhere, it seems that I possess altogether nearly 900 books, at a cost of £165 15s. In 1946, one pound was ~$4 [0], making 165.15 roughly $660. Using a US dollar inflation calculator [1], $660 in 1946 dollars is $8534 in 2018 dollars. Fudging a little, this works out to about $10 per book. Later, he estimates his annual reading expense as 25 pounds, which works out to about $1300 annually. That's more than I spend on books+e-books+subscriptions, maybe by about double, but this is George Orwell we're talking about, I'd expect he'd be a better reader than I. [0] http://www.miketodd.net/encyc/dollhist-graph.htm http://www.miketodd.net/encyc/dollhist-graph.htm [1] https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

xyzzy123 8y ago
To put another spin on it: In Australia, at $56 for 40 grams of loose tobacco at Coles, the 170 grams or so he smoked would cost ~$240/week in 2018. If you added a pint at the pub per day at city prices that’s another $70/week. That’s $16000/year and would buy you a lot of books. (This comparison for amusement purposes only... sin taxes seem to have increased much faster than inflation!).
- zeveb 8y ago
  > sin taxes seem to have increased much faster than inflation I think that's because back then, everyone smoke & drank, and rather more than we nowadays do, whereas now it's common to look down upon smokers in particular. They're a despised minority, so the ruling class see no problem increasing their taxes. After all, they're free to quite any time they like!
  - posterboy 8y ago
    Smokers often overestimate the numbers, and underestimate how much of a minority they are. I read a number of ca. 10% (of adults I guess) for Germany. In some circles it feels like 99% and on average like 50%. Observation bias persists.
- hprotagonist 8y ago
  > sin taxes We call them "public health accommodations", now.

xyzzy123 8y ago

To put another spin on it: In Australia, at $56 for 40 grams of loose tobacco at Coles, the 170 grams or so he smoked would cost ~$240/week in 2018. If you added a pint at the pub per day at city prices that’s another $70/week. That’s $16000/year and would buy you a lot of books. (This comparison for amusement purposes only... sin taxes seem to have increased much faster than inflation!).

zeveb 8y ago
> sin taxes seem to have increased much faster than inflation I think that's because back then, everyone smoke & drank, and rather more than we nowadays do, whereas now it's common to look down upon smokers in particular. They're a despised minority, so the ruling class see no problem increasing their taxes. After all, they're free to quite any time they like!
- posterboy 8y ago
  Smokers often overestimate the numbers, and underestimate how much of a minority they are. I read a number of ca. 10% (of adults I guess) for Germany. In some circles it feels like 99% and on average like 50%. Observation bias persists.
hprotagonist 8y ago
> sin taxes We call them "public health accommodations", now.