books
welisc: opposite part of Europe yes, Hungary. In 1999 a 300 page fantasy paperpack would cost 3 euro, now a 200 page local sci-fi is about 3.6. Tolkien LotR illustrated hard-cover, ~1200 pages, about 24 euro (a bit cheaper than a current DVD); this C++ book should be about 40 euro (and paperback if I saw correctly). Books were expensive when they were half this yes. But anyway prices are hard to compare between countries, it does not sound cheap to me. Maybe it's still a nice country to live in :) Still might be a good investment for C++ addicts, indeed. But the language is prohibitive for people wanting a good buy, possibly. I rather buy 6-10 pulp sci-fi nowadays :)