I accidentally came across an interesting read on another blog as to reasons why books are so expensive in Brazil and I thought it would be important to share the link here as well as my response. In order to fully understand my response, its necessary to read other user’s comments (this may take a while) on the link above but in any event, I’ll repost it here.
My Response
Where to start? I’ll try by commenting on the most relevant points. Cost is definitely a major player although Brazil not being much of a reader’s paradise trumps the cost point, as has been pointed out by a few people here.
“You can go to a mid-class house and won’t see a bookshelf but will see a fancy US$2000 LCD TV.”
Books therefore aren’t part of everyday life and normal purchases. Make the choice, food vs. books and its easy. Refine the choice, material ‘necessities’ vs. books and its even easier. Brazilians are resourceful people so if they need a certain book, they’ll find a cheaper way to obtain it (‘camêlo’ which is a street vendor or ‘sebo‘ which is a 2nd-hand bookstore and also Portuguese for pork grease)
Slave culture as well as a social culture may very well play a part in the debate too, as was also pointed out. I do see Brazil being the kind of country the user Jimbino referred to in that post-schooling, education isn’t seen as any type of the highest priority.
Let’s expand on these ideas a little. From what I’ve seen, reading isn’t stressed as an important leisure activity in Brazil although when considering the class load (which I find superior to that of US students), one would think that Brazilians were ahead of Americans in a way (especially when considering the subjects included in the vestibular, or SAT).
The (tele)novela (soap-opera) culture doesn’t help either as we both know that when the novela das 8 comes on, a lot of Brazil stops what they are doing to watch. The conversation in the street turns not to what great book you just read but rather to why did Bia drive off the cliff and “die” in the novela Belissima (ok, that’s old news but it was the last novela I watched). From another view, walk into any LAN house (cyber cafe) and all you find are tons of teenagers yelling and playing video games. Insert the beach/sports club culture and you find more involving things to do than to just read a book.
Speaking of sports, what are they good for and how is that knowledge of use, except when discussing facts with other aficionados?
Ex. A person learns Portuguese and now he or she has a skill that opens them up to an entire world of subjects and experiences, therefore its of exceptional use and benefit to that person. On the other side, he or she spends two hours watching a soccer game with friends and aside from socializing, they now know the score. I repeat, how is this information useful? This however is a whole other can of worms.
As for BR Portuguese vs. PT Portuguese, I agree. Popular writers are easy to understand and don’t put a strain on your brain, but research papers and I’m sure other more academically-minded subjects are a bit stressing. Lets not even get into the difficult type of Portuguese used in the title ‘Os Sertões‘ (The Backlands) by Euclides da Cunha!
On the subject of there being a lot more information in English-language versions of books, that point is moot as a large enough readership of English-language books would have to exist in Brazil in order for this argument of more vs. less to make sense.
I used to be one of the two-hour commuters on the bus from the Zona Oeste to the Zona Sul in Rio and I spent my time between listening to Italian Pimsleur mp3′s on my iPod (I already knew Portuguese) and listening to music. I’m a big believer in taking things in and smelling the flowers when I travel so you wouldn’t catch me reading anything as my face was always glued to the fantastic views of Rio. There’s always something new to notice if one pays enough attention.
My ‘dois centavos’ based on almost 10 years of studying Brazilian culture. If turning the subject on the US, I’d have equally critical views of why we are (not an illiterate country but rather) an aliterate country.
Respondendo a sua pergunta do porque os brasileiros sao tao obsecados com o futebol. Porque para eles isso eh vida!
Pense bem…um esporte em que o Brasil pode dizer que ele eh o melhor do mundo; soh no futebol. O Brasil eh conhecido pelo futebol (e outros tambem…as tres coisas que eu sempre ouco eh: futebol, samba e mulheres). Os brasileiros sao bom disso e eles sabem!
Agora dentro do Brasil a historia ja eh diferente. Tente entender a rivalidade que existe atraz do futebol. Os Corithianos odeiam os Flamengistas, e cada um defende o seu time ate a morte. Eh igual as ganges. A ideia de pertencer a um grupo e se sentir parte disso, eh isso que faz o brasileiros serem tao obsecados com o futebol. Tambem o outro lado eh que, cada estado se acha melhor do que o utro. Se voce for em Sao Paulo eles vao te dizer que os Cariocas nao sao nada comparados a eles, e vice versa. Ai entra mais competicao e mais briga. Para os brasileros a melhor forma de competir. eh com o futebol. Tem logica? Sim. E isso serve para algo? Absolutamente nao.
Eu gostaria de ver um Brasil que se interessase menos por futebol e mais por educacao, mas infelizmente esse nao eh o caso…
* Gostei muito do seu site. Muito bom mesmo!
I do agree that education in Brazil is not where it should be, but I disagree about reading. I see people reading everywhere, even people who surprise me that they’re reading–on the Metro, on the bus, outside office buildings. This surprised me after living in other Latin American countries, in the capitals, where this was not the case. However, I think that due to high costs, less people read books, rather than the other way around.
Hi, I agree with you.
I think that Brazilians do not have this kind of culture. I love to read, and I know a lot of people who love it too. I remember when I was a teenager the library was my second home, everyone knew me there. And commuting in Sao Paulo where I lived, was really a great time to read, I used to have different books to read depending on the mood I was in. We are not as big in reading as other cultures though. In America for example since kindegarden the kids already have some sort of reading sheet where they have to write the books they read with their parents (one every night). In Brazil if you ask that, many parents will be mad at you (specially in public schools).
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Oi Adam!
lendo este seu artigo me lembrei de minha vida no brasil, sempre juntando grana pra comprar meus livros, sempre amei ler muito e sempre livros politicos, entao estes livros sao bem caros no brasil. agora que moror aqui nos usa perdi o amor por leitura vc acredita? por nao ter tempo, por estar sempre cansada e com um montao de coisas pra fazer, a anos atras fiz uma lista de livros que amaria poder ler, comprei todos devo ter lido so uns 3 os outros estao todos aqui. agora no moneto tou tentando ler uns 5 de uma vez. queria muito poder retomar o meu amor a leitura e a politica, este seu site aqui vai me ajudar! um beijo e ja te admiro muito excelente trabalho de pesquisa no seu site!! vou indicar pra varios amigos! boa sorte
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Funny enough, imported (ie in english) books are cheaper. I shuffle off to the English section to get books for my kids, where they are at least 30% off “normal” prices.
Even if you order English language books for on-demand importing, for
instance at Livraia Cultura, it will normally be more economical than buying the local version.
Guess they come under some other tax regime…… Which explains why books are so expensive in Brazil?
This post:
Estantes carregadas de impostos
http://livroetudo.ning.com/profiles/blogs/estantes-carregadas-de
O número de exemplares de livros vendidos tem caído, passando de 225 milhões em 1999 para 200 milhões em 2007. em 1999 para 200 milhões em 2007.
R3
By the way, a better translation for Sebo is “tallow” and, by implication, “dubbin” which is a conditioner for leather
Not sure I´m following you on this one, Rupert. Never heard nor seen the word tallow, nor dubbin (aside from an informal spelling of dubbing, ie voice over).
I agree with you that books are expensive in Brazil; maybe printing houses have to pay high taxes when importing machines and paper, or maybe they simply want very high profits. I have just written a book, and, at the time of launching it, I compared production costs in Brazil and in the US and, guess what: I launched it in the US (Amazon) even though it was in Portuguese language!!! (“Brincando com Filosofia”). Printing in Brazil, on the POD system, would result in a cost that readers would find too high. Buying from the US readers will find the cost low at 12 dollars, and even so my profit will be quite reasonable!