I agree books, in general, aren't too expensive. But, I'm surprised at the variance in book prices. Some great technical books are $30, others $65. Of course, textbooks take that to the extreme.

Also, just do softcover or hardcover - or let use choose either from the publish date. Why do I have to wait for a softcover?

Textbooks are the real killer; soaking of a captive audience that has to buy what the professor/school requires (often after making their own deals with the publishers). It's especially annoying when school adds its own random books to the program.