Few things in a student’s semester seem to cause as much indigestion as the hunt for textbooks. You have to have them, but their cost has been the subject of debate as far back as… well… let’s just say we’ve been talking about this for a while.Just this week at the Board of Regents retreat in Wichita, several regents bemoaned the fact that textbook prices had been an onus on students’ wallets as far back as they could remember.Some are trying to help. Kansas University Bookstores recently announced that by upping the number of used books it sells in its bookstores last year, they helped save an average of $25 per student.But, when national estimates put the average textbook price tag between $700 and $1,100 per student annually, $25 seems like peanuts.Kelly Stazyk at KU Bookstores said that was why the bookstores were still trying to find ways to cut costs even further.”Certainly we don’t want to say we’re happy with $25,” she said.I’m interested in hearing from you guys, though. If you’re a student, how much are you paying for books this semester? Same goes for you parents. If you pay for your student’s books, are you noticing the pinch?I’m especially curious if the debate over the expense of books may take a bit of a back seat in coming years as more people examine the ominous budget clouds on the horizon with increasing worry.Feel free to post below or shoot me an e-mail.