Okay, so maybe I didn't throw away my post about how much hardcovers suck. In attempting to finish it, which I still haven't managed, I did a little poking around and discovered that I'm not the only one recently complaining about prices:

Condalmo: "A recent post here once again highlighted my preference for the paperback over the hardcover, and lamented that publishers always release the unwieldy, overpriced hardcover first, and then make us wait for the paperback. If only a publisher would step up to the plate and launch a simultaneous release system, thought I."

Literary Kicks: "For now, let me just state an obvious fact as simply as I can: $28 for a book is absolutely ridiculous. We live in an age where hit singles cost $.99 and new albums cost $9.99. Publishers wish that literary authors could be as popular as top bands, but they price their best talents out of that market."

The Dream You Dare to Dream: "We topped off the evening by heading to the bookstore to catch up on our magazine reading. I also looked at "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, but it was too expensive. Why are books so expensive anyway? I mean, I get the whole supply/demand analysis, but are books really that popular that they can charge like $20 for a hardcover?"