questions → hardcover/paperback college books vs. ebooks

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Hardcover/Paperback College Books vs. eBooks

May 15, 2012 3:58 PM

Seems to be a lot of interest in college eBooks now. On one hand, they are slightly cheaper and take up less space but they are web-based and require an internet connection for the most part (unless you download the whole thing to read offline). The down side to this, to me is that your eyes might strain to see the text, etc.

With actual books, they are large and take up space but they can be sold back to the school for at least some money. Another plus is that they can work "offline."

Does anyone have any experience with eBooks or have any input that maybe I am not thinking of? Thanks!!

discountlingeriedeals discountlingeriede…

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Previous answers -

http://deals.woot.com/questions/details/66d2add9-57fb-4277-b5ee-3709a23309a4/what-do-you-think-about-textbooks-on-the-ipad#7

http://deals.woot.com/questions/details/ec863b89-1df5-48d0-a877-6bea799297ee/does-anyone-here-have-any-experience-with-electronic-textbooks#8

ichigodiafuku ichigodiafuku
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I would much rather spend my money on ebooks. In my experience, about 75% of the paper books I bought during the course of my degree were not resellable after my class either because there was a surplus of the title or the professor changed texts or required a newer version. This is how many professors make money, by updating their text slightly and requiring students to purchase it and they do it year after year. It's a pretty good racket. Those books I was able to resell ended up selling for pennies on the dollar.

zuiquan zuiquan
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eBooks have the possibility of a search function (the thing I miss most when dealing with physical textbooks), and it can be difficult to sell back physical books due to new editions (far as I know, it's not the profs who make money off that arrangement, but the publishing companies themselves).

However, most "new editions" have only minor changes, so if you plan on using them again (referencing in the future, refreshing your memory on the subject, laughing at weird doodles you drew while the professor droned on), physical books do have a good deal of use. If you're a kinesthetic or visual learner, making notes/underlining/etc. in the text itself may help you remember better than notes made in a Word document or notebook. And of course, you already mentioned my #1 issue with eBooks: eye strain (bane of my existence).

I will admit, though, that it's been a few years since I've dealt with eBooks, so they may have grown up some in the meantime. Sorry for any overthinking on my part :)

kalira kalira
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@zuiquan: I didn't consider the difficulties resulting in selling the books back. Thank you for that input.

@ichigodiafuku: thanks

discountlingeriedeals discountlingeriede…
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Most instructors will not allow an e-book if it needs to connect to the Internet. Any access to the Internet can be viewed as cheating.

conanthelibrarian conanthelibrarian
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I have very very very rarely seen the option for an E-book, but I have used one ONCE and it was lovely! I was able to hit CTRL-F and find any answer I wasn't familiar with in an instant instead of scanning around trying to find what I missed or forgot. That kind of direct information I find very appealing.

I tend to get very annoyed with textbooks as they get overly wordy. Yeah, I really need 3 pages to explain to me what "intentions" are in relation to moral theology. -_-

jertyrael jertyrael
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I prefer the physical book simply because I learn better from reading a book versus a webpage. Just me though.

kwenlu kwenlu
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@kalira: I meant the profs who wrote the book. You can bet they're getting a slice. Quite a few of my professors literally wrote the book for the course they were teaching and required the most up to date version of the text. Of course, you're probably not going to run into that issue at community college but at some of the larger universities that's just how they roll.

zuiquan zuiquan
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Hard Copies.

IMO nothing is better than paper and my trusty highlighter.

I also like buying used books because they're cheaper. I've yet to see a 'cheaper' used digital e-book.

jordan711 jordan711
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@zuiquan: Ahh, I see. My apologies for misinterpreting. I did have a few professors who literally "wrote the book," but they were all really decent people who never required the newest editions. I suppose more often than not, though, profs would want the extra slice from selling more new editions.

kalira kalira
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@zuiquan: FYI... Many Community College instructors author books. I staring at probably a dozen now, sitting here in the Library.

conanthelibrarian conanthelibrarian
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If I could have "borrowed" an e-book for my classes that weren't related to my major, I would have gone that route. I definitely prefer my physical copies of my bio books. I can flip through, compare different books at once, highlight, etc.

cmaxelson cmaxelson

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