Fall 2008 Textbooks

Finally got around to ordering my textbooks for fall 2008.

It’s hard to find the textbooks you need at daytonastate.edu [1], because all the faculty pages are gone. They switched over to a new system, and the new faculty pages don’t yet have any information. Last semester, it was easy to find the books I needed because each professor would describe them in detail. Not so this time around.

The only resource available is the unuseful bookstore, which I’ve redirected at books.daytonastate.org [2] because it’s hard to find on DSC’s site. Their prices are ridiculously high; it would’ve cost me $700 to buy my books, even used, from them. The only thing it’s good for is to find what books you need, and even for that it isn’t great. This is what I found upon looking up PHY2048, my University Physics course:

University Physics w/Modern Physics
Used $153.00
Author: Young Edition:12th

University Physics (V1:SSM)
Used $25.00
Author: Young Edition:12th

University Physics (V2 & V3:SSM)
Used $24.00
Author:Young Edition:12th

Why can’t they at least give me some ISBN numbers? What’s “SSM” mean? I found out it was Student Solutions Manual, and 12th means 12th edition, but it it’s risky without ISBN numbers and with such vaugeness.

The courses I’m taking are Calculus 1 w/ Lab (MAC2311 / L), University Physics I w/ Lab (PHY2048 / L), Speech (SPC2600), and Biology (BSC1005). I ordered the study guides too, because they’re awfully helpful for leading you to the answers. Here’s the books I needed:

0130084077: Calculus, Early Transcendentals (6th Edition) [3]
0495012408: Student Solutions Manual for Single Variable Calculus [4]
080532187X: University Physics with Modern Physics (12th Edition) [5]
0321500636: University Physics Student Solutions Manual, Vol. 1 [6]
0321500385: University Physics Student Solutions Manual, Vols. 2 and 3 [7]
0805368426: Essential Biology, 3rd Edition [8]
0805304894: Study Guide for Essential Biology with Physiology, 2nd Edition [9]
0073385034: Between One and Many: The Art and Science of Public Speaking [10]

I ordered most of them from abebooks.com [11] because they had the best prices. A few I got from half.com [12] because Abe Books was too expensive. I spent $301 in all. The eight books are a whopping 5793 pages. I won’t be carrying all those on my back at once.

It’s unfortunate that the Florida Academic Scholars award (the highest BrightFutures scholarship) has been dropped from $300 for books to $225. I only got $157 because lab fees gobbled up some money, so despite my relentless academic efforts, I’m still paying out of pocket. I’m hearing that by the time I finish with BrightFutures in 2011, there may be no money left at all. So I’m glad for what I have.

If you’re still waiting to order your books for Daytona State College, look them up at the bookstore [2] and get hunting online. Don’t buy them from the bookstore; check out the sites I mentioned. Alibris [13] is also good. Don’t wait! There’s one month left, but you want to have plenty of time in case of shipping delays or other mishaps.