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Comment by coldpie | Hacker News Reader

I keep meaning to read this, but the price tag (~$100) keeps putting me off for something I'd just read mostly for enjoyment. One of these months I'll bite the bullet and order it.

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The investment of effort and time you would need to put into the study of a serious book, whether for enjoyment or self-education, especially of an over 1000-page book like this one, seems to me incomparably bigger than a few dozen dollars you would have to pay for it. If, on the other hand, all you want is to have it on your bookshelf - just in case, then, of course, the book may end up being merely an expensive souvenir.

Eh, it's a leisure activity for me: I read Principles and Practice for fun. It's a question of whether I want to spend a good chunk of this month's leisure budget on this book. It's out of impulse-purchase range, so I keep putting it off. One of these days... :)

It is well worth the money. I still have my first edition copy on my desk, the second edition on my nightstand and the money ready for the third edition. It easily replaces several other, pricey books.

If you are an ACM member, it is also available to you as eBook: http://learning.acm.org/books/book_detail.cfm?id=1854996&typ...

The book is expensive, but it's worth every dollar in my opinion. I'd recommend waiting a few months though, the third edition will be released before the end of year.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep an eye out.

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