Used Books? E-books?

Published

Specializes in None yet.

Does anyone pinch pennies and use used textbooks for their RN program?

Do those of you using new textbooks use the 'accompanying material' that might not come with the book if used?

I am thinking of getting used books to save some money but I do not want to miss out on cd's or companion websites if those contribute to learning. However my computer is from 2005 and really slow so I do most of my studying with books even for online courses.

This leads me to the next question: Does anyone use e-books? Is it worth the money you save? Can you burn them to a usb thumb drive or cd to use on more than one computer?

Thanks for all the help:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have a couple of ebooks. Yes you can definitely save them to a thumb drive since most are pdfs.

Here are the pros/cons for me:

pros: cheaper, able to read on my laptop, do not have to carry around a heavy book, able to print out individual sections if wanted

cons: can not highlight (if you are the type to highlight), takes longer to get to desired location

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I won't start classes for another month so I can't say how this will all work out but here's what I did.

The books list I received would have cost me around $900 at the bookstore new. I researched the books based on what the booklist said regarding access codes, CD's, and such. I bought many of my books new (because I needed a recent edition) but from online sources - I really like alibris.com b/c you can find promo codes online easily and once you order from them they send you coupons. I can always manage to save 10% from them plus the books are cheaper to begin with. Just don't buy all your books at one time. Divide them up so you meet the minimum for the coupon code. You never know when they might send you and even better % off. At the very worst you use the same one again - they ARE reusable. I bought one book used from an online retailer but made sure it had the accompanying CD.

As an example of my savings by buying online . . . the Taylor's video set was around $70 from the bookstore. I got it for $12 (NEW). It was still in the wrapper.

I got one or two books in kindle version for my iPad - can also use on my mac and my iPhone. You can highlight with kindle books. I got three of my larger text books from vital source bookshelf. They are e-books but via their platform that's a lot like kindle. You can highlight makes notes and such. Vitalsource is one my iPad, phone, and mac. The notes and highlights sync up wirelessly. I got Taber's via skycape. Might end up buying that one in hard copy too.

Overall I saved about $200 - $250. Most of that was not because I got ebooks. Most of the time the ebooks cost about the same as the hardcopy. I'm leery of those "free ebook download" sites. Not only is it illegal but I always worry that I'll screw up my computer.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I absolutely buy the used books and I usually buy the cheapest one I can find. I've never gotten one in poor condition! I have never used CDs that come with them except for the Virtual Clinical books and I've never had to have a special code to access the websites.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTAC, ICU, ER, Informatics.

I use ebooks whenever I can, most for nursing school have been with Elsevier, their program lets you read them on any computer or iTouch/iPad/iPhone. eBooks aren't great if you like to highlight/annotate your books. They are great for searching for particular topics/words and depending on whether you like to read on a screen, are great for carrying around and reading whenever. My primary use is on my netbook, where I also take notes from classes.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion