Every semester on the syllabus for class, somewhere on the first page, my professors include a section about textbooks. Usually, something along the lines of "Required Reading", "Class Textbook", or "This is $150 and you will never use it".
I'm here to tell you not to do it. Do not buy the "required" textbook. Here are six great alternatives to selling your soul and giving in to the system by buying that hundred dollar book.
1. Do Nothing
In most cases, especially non-math courses, you end up not even needing the textbook. Your teacher's classes will be directly out of the text, meaning they will make powerpoints out of the readings then you will write them down in your notebook. Badda bing. Your notes. No textbook buying needed at all.
2. Chegg.com
resale can help
Okay, so you do have to get your textbook. You have weekly "reading checks" or you have to do "problems" from the book. Don't accept defeat and shell out the dough just yet. My personal favorite bookstore alternative is Chegg, a textbook rental website. Most books you can opt to rent for a semester. They're pretty cheap, you can get all of your book buying done at one place, and they come in a funky orange box usually with some kind of goody. One time I got a can of Red Bull, another time they sent me a single Tide Pod. An adorable surprise every time. Not to mention that every Chegg textbook purchase comes with a free trial of Chegg Study, a very helpful resource with lots of worksheets and textbook answers from past students.
3. Abebooks, Textbooks.com, Ebay, etc.
If Chegg somehow does not have your book, or just if the price is still pretty astronomical, google the book. Literally just google the title and see what happens. It usually will be available from at least a dozen random websites. The sketchier the better. I have ordered some ten and twelve dollar books from super shady sites and have never once been jipped OR bamboozled! It has always been the correct version of the correct book in a flimsy little envelope. It works and it's cheap.
4. .pdf format??
Consider the alternative to an expensive, clunky, ancient textbook! Download the e-version of your book onto your laptop, kindle, or iCloud account. Super easy, infinitely cheaper, you don't have to wait for the book to arrive, and you will always have that thang on you aka no more leaving your textbooks at home on accident, because they are all stored on your laptop!
5. Library!!
Finally, as a last ditch effort to boycott the bookstore, head to the good ol' fashioned stacks. Most universities have every textbook known to man, and then some. You can sit in the library and do your textbook reading. Not only is this option free, but will motivate you to get the reading done in a timely manner. Instead of carrying around your textbook all week just to get one page read a day and spend most of the reading time scrolling on your phone, when you go to the library to intentionally read one book and know that is the only set aside time to get it read you will be much more inclined to buckle down and get that work done.
I hope I got this information to you in time, and that in the future you will not buy textbooks full price at the bookstore, but use a cheaper alternative!
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