Curling up by the fire with a good book

Via Mish, comes this story from the U.K.:

Some cash-strapped British pensioners are buying books from charity shops and burn them to keep warm as freezing temperatures gripped the UK, a London newspaper reported Tuesday.

Workers at a charity shop in Swansea, in south Wales, told London newspaper Metro that pensioners were looking for thick books such as encyclopedias — which are sold for a few pennies second hand — as a cheaper alternative to coal.

"Book-burning seems terribly wrong but we have to get rid of unsold stock for pennies and some of the pensioners say the books make ideal slow-burning fuel for fires and stoves," the paper quoted one shop assistant as saying.

"A lot of them buy up large hardback volumes so they can stick them in the fire to last all night."

Energy prices have soared in Britain in the past years, with some estimates showing gas prices up by around 40 percent since January 2008, and electricity tariffs rising by about 20 percent. ...

Article here. This might be coming soon to a fireplace near you, especially if the FedGov passes Cap and Trade (which will seriously raise energy prices) to please the Global Warming gods, and their fervent true believers. Of course, if inflation takes off, it'll probably happen anyway, particularly for those on fixed incomes.