Unable to purchase books on and attend one-time skill classes (Steam, No mods)

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone has experienced the same issue or knows what might be causing it. I'm playing The Sims 4 on Steam (Windows PC), and I've run into two problems that seem to be related.

Issue 1 – Purchase Books

When I choose Purchase Books from a bookshelf or computer, the purchase menu opens, but almost all books are missing.

For example:

only a few categories are available (Show All, Skill, Homework),

under Skill books I only have Handiness Vol. 1,

all other skill books are missing.

Sometimes the "Purchase Books" option disappears completely after restarting the game.

Issue 2 – One-Time Skill Classes

When I use the phone and select:

Business → Attend One-Time Skill Class (250 Simoleons)

my Sim takes out the phone, looks at it for a moment, and then the interaction immediately cancels.

Nothing happens:

no travel,

no notification,

no money is charged,

the class never starts.

Normal skill gain works perfectly. My Sims can learn skills by reading, painting, cooking, etc. The problem only affects the one-time skill classes.

What I've already tried

The game is purchased through Steam.

I don't use any mods or custom content.

Steam Verify Integrity of Game Files reports that everything is OK.

I deleted localthumbcache.package.

I renamed my Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4 folder so the game generated a completely fresh user folder.

I tested the game with a completely new save.

I created a brand new Sim.

I tested in a different house and a different world.

The problems still occur in the fresh save.

Other phone services (repair service, maid, etc.) work normally.

Normal skill gain works correctly.

My game version is 1.126.73.1030 DX11.

Because the problems also occur in a completely fresh save with a newly generated user folder, I don't think my save files are corrupted.

I'm not really a computer expert, so I'd rather avoid randomly modifying or deleting game files unless someone knows that is the correct solution.

Has anyone experienced these two issues together, or found a solution?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!