Does anyone get their books unbound?

Published

Hi All,

I am looking forward to starting NS in a few weeks (aug 23). I went to the bookstore at school and the books are huge!:eek: A lady told me she has her books unbound at OfficeMax and just carries around the chapter that she is working on and this save having to lug the books around. Has anyone else done this? It sounds like a good idea and I dont plan to sell my books back so it may be an option. Just wanted to know what you guys think?

I just got a micro book unbound in 3-ring binder. It was used, great price, good shape. But i don't care much for it. I won't buy anymore like this.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiology.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the OP of the debinding the textbook idea. :yeah::yeah::yeah:

You are my hero.:bowingpur:bowingpur:bowingpur

Really.

My husband took my 1500 page nursing fundamentals book to Kinkos/FedEx yesterday and for the vast sum of $4.75(ish) got the binding cut off my text and holes drilled in it. I have several readings due for class on Monday, and I am so thrilled that I don't have to lug that 82-pound thing to work every night to read during break. After putting the whole thing in a big binder, I pulled the three readings I have left this week out and put them each in an individual folder. I marked the place to return them to with 3M Durable Tabs.

I have to work full time while in school, so being able to take out the pieces I need is a huge help. I can always keep my binder in my car in case I discover on my dinner break that I need to refer to something, but at least this way, I'm not lugging that thing all over creation (which is about how far I have to walk from the parking garage to my desk, which are about as far apart on the hospital campus as they can get.)

Seriously, thank you. I tried to find the OP so I could "personally" thank them, but there are so many threads on the subject that I just didn't have the time to dig back through and see which was really the first.

Awesome idea.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in student; help!.

I did this too, but had them rebound by section/unit, so I can just haul that in and not have to have an extra folder. It is teh ossim!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Great idea!!

But, I really like being able to sell back textbooks at the end of the semester. As much as I say I will refer back to them, I rarely do. I have an old textbooks that my husband had while in nursing school that I look at sometimes if I need to reference something, and I sell back my newer books. Otherwise, I would do this in a heartbeat.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Yeah, I thought about doing this too with my fundamentals book, but there is just so much pride to owning this book or any other books for that matter (to me anyway) the thought of doing this to a book makes me sad:( It's like, looking at a flower and taking all its petals apart! IDK, I guess there might be some people who prefer petals to a flower...:w00t:

I know, I know... FLOWERS? PETALS? WTH???

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Operating Room.
Great idea!!

But, I really like being able to sell back textbooks at the end of the semester. As much as I say I will refer back to them, I rarely do. I have an old textbooks that my husband had while in nursing school that I look at sometimes if I need to reference something, and I sell back my newer books. Otherwise, I would do this in a heartbeat.

Same here. I can't just throw that $100 or so away . . . especially in this economy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

Interesting idea. Several of my textbooks are hefty enough to qualify as weight-training equipment sport-smiley-003.gif but this seems like a viable alternative if one plans to keep one's books. I tend to highlight my books so the bookstore would likely not buy back any of them.

If I decide not to build my biceps, I might try this idea. Thanks, Kimberlina!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in care for my grandma with Altzheimer's.

heartnursing, I used to feel EXACTLY the same way you do. People were always asking if I'd actually read the hundreds of books on my shelves because aside from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Bridge Across Forever, all the rest of them looked brand spanking new inside and out.

Now, maybe because of little guy and me having to tone down some of my OCD tendencies to get through the day, I'm more about what works ;-} I actually found this googling this binding idea since like the rest of u, my Fundamentals book is 1500 pages. The fact that it is new, but I got it cheap from India probably makes the idea of messing with it more bearable :clown: However, like someone else mentioned, we use some chapters over and over and others in weird orders so it may be tough getting it all in the order I need it, plus it's the same book for 3 separate classes with different reading outlines, but I still think I may do it.

And I must say, I bought the 3 ring binder version of my Anatomy and Physiology book because it was cheaper (I got it direct from Pearson) and I really liked it. And I took both A&P 1 and 2 over the summer, so I went through the entire book in a bit over 2 months ... Not sure if that made it worse, since I was lugging the book 4 days a week, or better since it was like half a semester :smokin:

I didn't attempt to put it all in one big binder, that would defeat the purpose. :p I just took out the 5 chapters we were doing for each test, put those in a binder, along with the TOC, index, and appendix, all with dividers between.

I do think it's crucial to put dividers, particularly at the beginning and end, and I am fairly gentle with my books, but the only ripped 2 pages I had were the TOC (which my 13 month old did) and one page in the muscles or bones (which my 14 month old did) ;)

I started freaking the last day of class when I asked someone to find a page for me while I was doing something and he starting furiously flipping through pages I was sure they were all goners then.

If this binding really is in the under 10 $ range, I may have that book bound now.

PS - the pages for that book were definitely no thinner than for the regular book, it was obviously the exact same pages, I checked after I got it. But my Fundamentals book is quite thin, and for MedSurg, I haven't been to the campus bookstore, but it lists an ebook. I'm hoping that means both, but I fear it's only the online version, and as much as I love the net I CANNOT get used to reading whole books online. :uhoh3:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in care for my grandma with Altzheimer's.
I had my book cut (the spine is cut off only) at Kinkos, and then I took the cut book home to get what I need separated and put together how I want them. Then I am going to bring them back to rebind. Basically, they're going to put a plastic cover front and back and spiral bind the book together. This is $5 per book.

How much was the unbinding (cutting) ?

And did you notice how much the other options were, I really love the look of the strip or bookbinding options they have ...

And why am I bugging you when I can just call them in a couple of hours ? :lol2:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED.

It didn't cost anything to cut the book. They did give me a problem at first because the book was too thick, but all I had to do take the hardcover off, and they would cut it.

Then it was $5.25 per book to put a front and back cover on and do the binding. I'm not sure about the other options, but mine was basically a spiral binding, think "notebook" style, just plastic spiraled coils and a little thicker. I turned my med surg book into 4 books, so that was a little over $21.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in care for my grandma with Altzheimer's.

Mine doesn't have a hardcover, so that's not a problem, I'm definitely going to have to go do it now. Our Fundamentals book has 10 units, each with approx 5 chapters, and we're not even using 3 of the units at all.

I'll probably just keep the units together, that's what I need to decide. We're literally going chapter 39, 42, 29, 10, 50, 33, etc in one class, and 31, 44, 29, 46, 30, 50, etc. in the other ... It took me an hour or so just to figure that all out last night since the Syllabus only has page numbers :uhoh3:

thanks so much sunraygurl !

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in student; help!.

I'm a book whore, and have texts from my early days of CC, so I totally get keeping them. But I am LOVING my rebound books. I just grab the units we're on, the TOC, index, and appendix sections, and off I go. Each section has a front and back cover and a spiral binding, so they're still living happily together.

I didn't do all the books, but I may still decide to.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion