“It’s time to fight back,” said the encyclopedia.
Photo by Dylan Schmidt
Class reading materials from nationwide university-run bookstores have begun to organize en masse in reaction to mounting prices at bookstores and online retail sites. Last Saturday, class materials broke free from the UC San Diego Bookstore and started marching on Library Walk demanding that their costs be lowered. Their cause and the protests surrounding it have been dubbed the Affordable Book Movement (ABM).
“This is an outrage!” The Odyssey declared, leading a congregation of classic literature. “If we remain this expensive, who can afford to hold us dear? Who will flip through us on a rainy day, hot chocolate in hand? Who will validate the very reason for our existence? We demand that any barriers that keep students from reading us be destroyed at once!” According to eyewitnesses, the protesting tomes stood in a ten-inch-tall line, aiming to block Library Walk. Despite moderate wind, they remained upright.
Protestors have exercised a strong digital presence on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. On a YouTube livestream, Microeconomics: Theory and Applications with Calculus called for unity among languages, creeds, and religions in their quest for lower prices: “From baby books to the smuttiest romantasy imaginable, we all have to work together to fight injustice. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the millions of digital books out there, all yearning to be clicked on. You’re in my heart!”
Some students and university faculty have aligned themselves with the books to strengthen their protests. “Our beloved books are the backbone of society,” declared Liber Consum, a librarianturned-chef-turned-influencer who has been speaking out passionately on the behalf of ABM at libraries and restaurants. “Books make great snacks,” they said. “You can fry ’em, dice ’em, eat ’em raw…” Following their statement, Google searches for “grams of protein in leather binding?” reached an all-time high, and student participation in ABM has reportedly skyrocketed.
However, other students have expressed less enthusiasm about the unrest. “All the books are out there protesting and now I can’t get my hands on anything!” third-year UCSD student Frieda Reida complained. “I’ve been saving up for so long to read about yuri in antiquity, and right when I’m close, it slips out of my fingers!” The book Reida was reportedly seeking, Sexuality in Greek and Roman Culture, is among those who have sworn to not return to shelves until their demands are met.
According to experts on Reddit, the price of most textbooks has doubled in the last 15 years, making them an “expensive investment for college students.”
“Sucks to be a student without financial support, sure, but what about our feelings?” Campbell Biology Xeeted. “Look at us. Give us attention. Feed us.”
The movement has been criticized for directing ire at universities and retailers as a whole without acknowledging the “root causes.” ABM cites the “true reason” as publishing companies setting high prices on textbooks that courses force students to buy and overcharging on non-academic books to minimize potential losses. In an interview, self-help book The Power of Reading acknowledged that “[the movement is] kinda throwing our anger at the wall and hoping something sticks.” But Reading remains hopeful that humans will come around. “Literacy is part of the human experience. I hope that you remember that.”
Due to the decline in available books, the Regents of the University of California have announced that they will “allow AI-generated summaries to serve as supplemental course material” for the foreseeable future. UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla mused that “this is actually a lot easier. Why weren’t we doing this before?”
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