Does anyone know where I can buy supercheap books...

[Snglo-Aaxon]

Aside from book depository, Abe, Amazon prime, betterworldbooks? I still find that they are quite costly.

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

Garage sales. 

Sucks though because they hardly have the books you're looking for.

[novacancy]

I've actually had good luck at thrift stores!

[meowth]

half.com (the ebay for books)

[ProfLorax]

I heard about http://www.thriftbooks.com/ here a while ago. Best part? Free shipping in the US! 

[Loric]

Aside from book depository, Abe, Amazon prime, betterworldbooks? I still find that they are quite costly.

 

A library..? I hear they're free and can get pretty much anything.

[repentwalpurgis]

Hey, sometimes people want to own books - write in them - put them on a bookshelf.  I hear there is a difference. 

[Loric]

Why would you want to deface a book..?

[champagne]

Why would you want to deface a book..?

Marginalia is not defacing a book. It augments you, the text, and the relationship between those two.

[Snglo-Aaxon]

Marginalia is not defacing a book. It augments you, the text, and the relationship between those two.

 

Personally, I love finding old textbooks with marginalia: as you say, it augments the text, or at least, it engineers new layers on the text. 

 

Of course, I know that there is such a thing as a library. But Loric, once you enter grad school, you will find that there are texts that you return to time and time again. It's easier to have the texts in front of you than to borrow them constantly.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Snglo-Aaxon

[qwer7890]

monoskop.org/log/ and aaaaaarg.org -- but I have to say, oftentimes even when I am able to get my hands on a PDF, especially if it's important for my thinking, I usually can't resist buying the book too... so at the end of the day, it's not really a money saver... 

Edited December 26, 2013 by qwer7890

[Loric]

Personally, I love finding old textbooks with marginalia: as you say, it augments the text, or at least, it engineers new layers on the text. 

 

Of course, I know that there is such a thing as a library. But Loric, once you enter grad school, you will find that there are texts that you return to time and time again. It's easier to have the texts in front of you than to borrow them constantly.

 

Well.. that was unintentionally condescending (i'm giving you the benefit of the doubt).

 

I spent christmas morning getting tweets from people who got my books, the ones I wrote, as gifts. I find your defacing of the work annoying and couldn't give two craps about your relationship to the text. Go wank that out in fan fiction, not in my carefully designed margins, thanks.

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

Well.. that was unintentionally intentionally condescending (i'm giving you the benefit of the doubt harboring deep resentment).

 

I spent christmas morning getting tweets from people  mom who got my books, the ones I wrote vanity published, as gifts. I find your defacing of the work annoying and couldn't give two craps about your relationship to the text. Go wank that out in fan fiction, not in my carefully designed  industry standard margins, thanks.

 

;-)

pardon the defacing.

[Loric]

No, not vanity published kiddo, but thanks for trying.

 

And if you knew anything about the industry you'd know there aren't "industry standard margins."

Edited December 26, 2013 by Loric

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

No, not vanity published kiddo, but thanks for trying.

 

And if you knew anything about the industry you'd know there aren't "industry standard margins."

If you knew anything about my age you wouldn't call me kiddo, but thanks for trying.

You're right I don't know much about the publishing industry - I don't want to be a publisher. I don't want to be bothered carefully designing margins, certainly someone else can take care of that.

I don't know what the dimensions are for julienned veggies. I think they're supposed to be matchsticks, but I don't smoke and my parents always used a lighter! Woe is me.  I can still whip up some delicious meals though.

[Loric]

I have about as much faith in your cooking abilities as I do in the wittiness of the average margin scrawling.

[repentwalpurgis]

I'm going to patent Loric's claptrap.  I will call it...Loriclaptrap.

[champagne]

 I find your defacing of the work annoying and couldn't give two craps about your relationship to the text.

That's a shame. What are you writing for, then? If you aren't trying to make people better through their relationship to your writing, then it all seems like a futile endeavor of ego-boosting and salary-making. There's nothing wrong with that, but I would find it shallow and unfulfilling.

 

Also, once a person buys a book that has been published, it becomes their property, at least in a free-market economy. Therefore, they can "deface" it however they please. That's how capitalism works. It's not socially acceptable, but I would be okay if someone took my published work and went to defecate on it on the National Mall. At least it would be some sort of performance art.

 

This is petty, but I couldn't give two craps about your delicate sensitivities to the inch of white space that doesn't constitute your work. In the end, it should be the other inches of the page that you actually care about.

[Snglo-Aaxon]

I really would rather not feed the troll. This thread was really about find alternative sources for used books, and I have received some wonderful, helpful suggestions. I've been curious about thriftbooks. However, the company's reviews have been less than stellar (books not turning up). Has anyone else had success with them?

[ProfLorax]

I have used thriftbooks three times. I never ordered books I needed right away, though, and perhaps that's why I never had a problem with TB. Hopefully others can share their experiences with you as well! 

[heliogabalus]

Sorry to stir this up anymore, but there's something funny about when people anonymously refer to their vague but great achievements, and expect this to sway people's opinions on a completely trivial and personal feeling. So let me add to the debate with some made-up achievements of my own:

Hi, guys, I'm a famous writer. You've probably never heard of me, but who knows, maybe you have. My name rhymes with Ron Bebillo, and I'm really worried about my chances of getting into Cornell to study Piers Plowman--do you know if the analytical writing portion of the GRE is all that important to AdComs? Oh, and I LOVE when people write in my books--especially the one that rhymes with Blight Poise.

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

I really would rather not feed the troll. This thread was really about find alternative sources for used books, and I have received some wonderful, helpful suggestions. I've been curious about thriftbooks. However, the company's reviews have been less than stellar (books not turning up). Has anyone else had success with them?

What sort of program are you in?  How specific do the books need to be?

If you're already attending why not ask your advisor or check out the local bookshops.

[Snglo-Aaxon]

What sort of program are you in?  How specific do the books need to be?

If you're already attending why not ask your advisor or check out the local bookshops.

 

Yes, I know exactly what I am looking for. I also know I can look at local thriftstores.

 

I am also asking here in case people know of other online stores that I may have missed.

[m-ttl]

Perhaps try Daedalus Books? http://www.salebooks.com/ . A mentor of mine has had good luck with them before. Or maybe Powell's?  http://www.powells.com/ . Also try The Strand online http://www.strandbooks.com/index.cfm . Depending on where you live, there may also be nearby or local specialized/used bookstores. Unfortunately some of them don't offer their titles online, but others do or will let you call and ask, and hold them for pick up. 

Edited December 28, 2013 by m-ttl