# Buying Textbooks



## Notthemama1984 (Aug 1, 2010)

When you were in seminary did you buy all your textbooks or use the library? My textbooks are going to cost me 240 this semester from Amazon. If I wanted to buy through the school it would cost me nearly 400! I am trying to see if I should buy these books or just use the library.

On one hand I save a lot of money, but cannot highlight and take notes in the book. On the other hand I can take better notes, but have books that I will probably never read again.


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## Scottish Lass (Aug 1, 2010)

Unless the books you need are on permanent reserve, what happens if the book(s) you need are checked out during the time frame you need them? If more than a couple classmates have the same idea, I think you'd have a problem.


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## westminken (Aug 1, 2010)

It depends on the textbooks. Language books, of course, buy and keep unless you can get them through Logos or Bibleworks. Theological books, again maybe. Commentaries, yes buy them hardcopy or electronic version. 

I bought the books I needed for classes, if they were core books I would use in other classes. If they were something that the professor wanted us to read for comparison or contrast (i.e. "unorthodox") I would use the library books that were on reserve and make copies. 

That is what I did and worked for me. Buy the ones that you will need for later classes or would be of use for putting together teaching series or sermons.


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## Wayne (Aug 1, 2010)

The idea of not buying textbooks would depend largely on how much time per day you can be in the library. If you don't have to work an outside job and can spend 4-6 hours a day in the library, then you will probably be able to avoid buying many of those books on the required reading list. You will have to purchase the language texts however.

My suggestion would be to keep your money, read the book first, and if it seems like something you would continue to use, only then spend the money. By that time, you might be able to pick it up used from a classmate.

And I agree about not buying unorthodox works--use the library.

Leave the purchase of commentaries till the end of your seminary years. Then buy only one set, Calvin, and then carefully select others one at a time as you need them, researching carefully for the best. Sets are always uneven, with some good and some not so good. Best to select from among them. Adopt the approach used in industrial manufacturing, and try to buy "just in time".


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## Steve Curtis (Aug 1, 2010)

I agree that there are some (such as language texts) that should be purchased because you will refer to them again and again (and mark them up, too!). However, even those that must be purchased (or those that you simply want to have in your personal library) can often be found in unconventional places. Amazon is great, but I have often done online searches for books and found the ones I wanted in the most obscure of places, and for far less than elsewhere. I found that it is certainly worth the extra effort!

The flipside of this is that you can also sell those books that you decide you don't want to keep and offset some of your costs.


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## 21st Century Calvinist (Aug 1, 2010)

I tend to buy most of my books. However, I do research the cheapest source. I usually end up doing a combo between Westminster Bookstore (Philadelphia), Amazon and the seminary bookstore. 
Try and find anyone at seminary who is selling books and get them when you can. Try and find a friend and buy specific books together, or find someone who has already done that class and may lend you the book for the semester.
Relying on the library is not always a good idea. Limited supply of books, other students, etc. can make it difficult to check out a book. Photocopying can be expensive depending upon how much you need to know from a given book.


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## billy.leonhart (Aug 2, 2010)

What I do is I go to Amazon.com and look up the ISBN # to the book I need. I highlight the ISBN #, right click on it, and click copy. Then I go back to my search engine, search Deal-Oz, go to dealoz.com, right click on their search bar, and click paste. DealOz searches all online bookstores for me and gives me the best deal on the book for which I'm looking. It even factors in virtual coupons (and tells me how to redeem them), and it factors in shipping. So, if someone is offering free shipping, and they have the second lowest price, they will likely be tagged as the best deal. They search Amazon, eBay, Abebooks, and a whole bunch of other online bookstores with which people are less familiar. It is the best website ever!

In Christ,
Billy
SBC
Texas

ps. I don't work for dealoz.com, and neither does anyone I know. I'm just a very satisfied customer.


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## SemperEruditio (Aug 2, 2010)

I bought all the books. I also have a fulltime job which pays well. If I were on a limited budget I would do what has been suggested. The other thing is talk to a previous student and see which books were must haves and which were just filler. Once had to buy a massive book and all we read out of it was a sliver of a page where our professor was mentioned. I nor a bunch of the other classmates were happy about that one. This semester that book is no longer on the booklist.


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## Notthemama1984 (Aug 2, 2010)

SemperEruditio said:


> I bought all the books. I also have a fulltime job which pays well. If I were on a limited budget I would do what has been suggested. The other thing is talk to a previous student and see which books were must haves and which were just filler. Once had to buy a massive book and all we read out of it was a sliver of a page where our professor was mentioned. I nor a bunch of the other classmates were happy about that one. This semester that book is no longer on the booklist.


 
I have heard a similar story. A class on Psalms required some mammoth commentary. it cost in excess of 50 bucks or something. The class only referenced it on the first day and the reference was, "I had you buy this commentary because I believe every minister should have it in his library."


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