Any web sites to purchase instead of rent e-textbooks?

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All I seem to find are rentals, and renting them for the duration I need the books will end up costing me more than less in the long run. I guess I can do it, but we were told these books would follow us through the two year program, so I may not get a second textbook list.

Most of the Elsevier books are available for full purchase in VitalSource format. For some reason, there are certain titles that are rental only. If you need something that's on CourseSmart, try looking at buying just the access codes--they come with the eBook and it's not a rental. Or CengageBrain.com's digital products (not the eBooks, those are rentals).

Personally, an iPad and eBooks have changed my life. They are just as easy to use (and maybe even easier) as hard copies. Once you get the hang of it, the search features, bookmarking and highlighting can't be beat. (Try erasing a misplaced highlight in a hard copy.) Some even let you take notes. You can also use the glossary and other features right there. No more dragging 5 books to class, then realizing you forgot a book. Trying to read the hard copy of an 1100 pg book was torture. Heaven forbid the teacher referenced more than one text during lecture. And after spending $145 for a book, I can't imagine letting Kinkos cut off the spine and hole punch it. Plus, with eBooks, I can discreetly study anytime, anywhere.

Another avenue to consider is just searching for a PDF copy of the textbook (you'd be surprised what you find) and loading it in iBooks. Save your back and your sanity!

Sent from my iPad using allnurses.com

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I'm looking for the .pdf of some of these books. Some are free, yes, but they also are missing images. I thought about downloading them AND purchasing the text books and keeping the hard copies at home. I won't feel like I'm violating copyrights that way and still be able to check out the figures and tables when I'm home. While out and about, I can still load up the .pdf files and study though. It seems like it might work that way.

As for the cutting the binding off...let me ponder. It sounds good in theory, but I'm rough on text books and I have 3 kids that make things rougher (one with impulse control issues). If I can find a way to store them without the kids getting into them I may consider that for things I don't get files for.

Who mentioned the wayward highlighting though? I discovered Staples has an eraseable highlighter a few years back. It has been my lifesaver and makes me geek out something fierce. I make sure I have them even for highlighting lecture notes. :)

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

Outside of working on the occasional project, why do you need to bring them to school?

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eraseable highlighters?!?!?! sounds like a godsend! thanks!

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de2013, with my schedule, I normally bring them with me everywhere so I can study any snippit I get. I work nights and sometimes there is an opportunity to study so I always make sure I have textbooks with me. I just don't want to be carrying everything with me if possible. I will also be staying after class most days to study since, once I get home I will have kids to contend with and their homework to work with. This practice of lugging everything with me has worked well for my grades so it's not something I intend to let go. I am just looking for ways to lighten my load.

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I was about to open a new thread on this subject. I dropped out of nursing school in the 90's and got a degree in something else. I kept all of my old textbooks, though, and they have been great references through the years. I decided to go back to an ADN program in the spring and I'm realizing now that I'm going to have waaay too many books around. It would be nice if Mosby and the other publishers would get with the times and make e-texts available! I have most of my professional references on my iPad and wouldn't do it any other way.

I guess e-texts are a newer phenomenon, maybe things will change by January.

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Specializes in Cardiac intermediate care.

Contact other schools' bookstores. The University of Arizona has textbook bundles (e-only) that you can buy. I don't know if you need to be a current student, but I don't go there.

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I am thinking as far as saving money wise, you might be better off actually buying the books at a discounted price. The book renter website I used in nursing school was book renter.com and the max amount of days they allow you to rent is 125 days.

I always found the best deals online by using the ISBN numbers. Ebay was always a good source to being able to buy books for cheap. I often bought books from amazon as well.

Hope that helps.

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I agree with stephalump! A rolling backpack is the way to go in your situation. E-books are good for reading, but not for studying. There's a difference in my opinion. I got the e-book and the hard copy for my pharm book, and I thought I would be using the e-book more, but it has been the other way around. The rolling backpack has been a lifesaver for me. I can take all my books and study guides to school and whenever I need them I can find them in my backpack. With the iPad you have to pay a fortune to get Internet access and not all the books are available in e-book format.

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I use knetbooks and bookbyte

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