Textbook torture

[Nekojin]

I'm not presently in school of any kind, but it has always pissed me off that there is so much waste in the textbook industry, with textbooks at all levels being rewritten every few years (or even every year) in order to be able to sell new books at inflated prices. In many cases, the changes are trivial, and sometimes egregiously so.

I can understand college classes that are dealing with constantly-changing technology updating. I can understand History books being revised to include more recent events. But I can not, and do not, understand why grade school and high school books for basic classes - Math, English, low-level Science - need to be revised and republished so frequently.

Heck, one of my high school textbooks was a revision from the year before. The change? Correcting a typo in one problem. A typo that didn't cause any confusion - it was readily recognized as a typo, and the proper word easily recognized.

Why the hell do we allow this sort of corruption to go on? Why are textbooks that cost less than a dollar to make (and yes, I know it costs less than a dollar - one of my temp jobs was working at a book bindery) being sold for $80 to $150? Why is this captive-audience bullshit still being allowed to continue?

[HYHYBT]

Surely school districts don't go out and *buy* these new editions every year?

[fireheart17]

For some of the basic skills stuff i.e. Maths and English, it may also be to reflect updates in technology and how to teach certain skills. In some cases, it may also be to reflect curriculum changes, especially if you're like Australia, who is currently going through the Australian Curriculum changes (and I am coming in right on time!)

In terms of selling a whole new edition for ONE typo though, that's just stupid. Non-stupid textbook updates I can understand.

[Rageaholic]

Don't get me started on this. I've had books run up to 250 dollars! If you try to buy them back, you'll only get a 3rd of what you paid if you're lucky. Otherwise, they'll tell you they don't use that edition anymore and force you to keep a useless overpriced textbook.

And not even all the instructors will agree upon which textbooks to use. I remember when I had to drop biology. I would have been able to use the same book, but the instructor I had before just had to use a different textbook than the rest of the department. Frusturating.

[TheHuckster]

When I was in college I took a course which had two books: The official textbook: $200 and supplemental reading material you could find at any bookstore, $19.99.

On the first day the teacher announced, "See this textbook? This textbook is useless, and we're not going to use it for this semester. We are going to use this book which is what's really used and referred to by professionals in the real world."

I was quite pissed, because the bookstore would not accept my return, since I hadn't actually dropped the class. It remains in my bookcase to this day, untouched.

[AdminAssistant]

Never buy books before the first day of class. The professors don't always get to choose the text, particularly in Intro-level classes and most especially in community colleges. Most will tell you either in class or on the syllabus what to buy and if an older edition is acceptable (it usually is).

[drunkenwildmage]

When I was in college I took a course which had two books: The official textbook: $200 and supplemental reading material you could find at any bookstore, $19.99.

On the first day the teacher announced, "See this textbook? This textbook is useless, and we're not going to use it for this semester. We are going to use this book which is what's really used and referred to by professionals in the real world."

I was quite pissed, because the bookstore would not accept my return, since I hadn't actually dropped the class. It remains in my bookcase to this day, untouched.

I had gotten in the habit of not getting my text books until I've attended at least 1 class session, just for that reason.

I also had one class which had an 'supplement reading material', which was some kind of paper back novel. Back in '93, it was $25 at the student bookstore. I found the same book on a clearance shelf of a bookstore at the mail for $1 a week or so after I had gotten it at the Student Bookstore


I have also learned that if the professor in the class had written the text book for your class, run (not walk) to the regisitor's office and drop the class.

[wolfie]

Heck, one of my high school textbooks was a revision from the year before. The change? Correcting a typo in one problem. A typo that didn't cause any confusion - it was readily recognized as a typo, and the proper word easily recognized.

While (technically - since they're revising the content) that would be a new edition, in the (non-textbook) publishing industry they'd "sweep it under the rug" and call it a new printing ("X edition" means they've made a revision to the content, "Y printing" means they've run out of stock and had to fire up the presses again). IMNSHO, they'd be perfectly justified in tackling a "housekeeping" change and calling it a new printing.

When I was in University, the bookstore had 2 stacks of the same (in-house printed) text for a course I would be taking, grey cover marked "nth printing" and green cover marked "(n+1)th printing". Since the grey ones were about $5 cheaper, I got one of those. Cue the start of classes - we were assigned problems at the end of the first chapter, and they bore no resemblance to the ones in my book. Back to the bookstore. Even though I was past the return date (based on purchase date), they looked inside the grey and the green, saw that it should have been listed as an edition change and not a printing change, and let me return the old one and buy the new one.

I have also learned that if the professor in the class had written the text book for your class, run (not walk) to the regisitor's office and drop the class.

My "edition vs. printing" issue happened on a text written by my prof for that class, and he was still a good prof. Note that he was the ONLY prof teaching that course, which was required for graduation in my program. Still, this was a "run off on the big copier and staple-bound" book priced according to how much it would have cost the University to duplicate, rather than a hardcover with 4-colour glossy photos priced through the roof.

What really bugs me (fortunately I graduated before the Net became widespread enough to implement this) is a text that comes with a passcode for online content, and the passcode is perishable (i.e. can only be used for a limited period after first use). Not only does this mean you can't sell the book (since the next student would need a "live" passcode to access some of the required content), but if you keep the book you lose access to some of the content you PAID FOR, depriving you of the right to full access if you want to review it later.

[Greenday]

I learned for most classes in college, you'll never use the text book anyway. Just wasting money. Then I learned how to truly buy books: Amazon.com. Book costs $225 in the bookstore? Only costs $40 online.

[crashhelmet]

That truly is something I wish the government would get involved in and file anti-trust laws. How much of the student debt that we wrack up is from textbooks alone?

I took a Japanese class at a community college about 12 years ago. It was $33 in tuition and $275 for the books (1 textbook, 1 workbook).

[Sarah Valentine]

There should be places that rent textbooks to students.

[protege]

Don't get me started on this. I've had books run up to 250 dollars! If you try to buy them back, you'll only get a 3rd of what you paid if you're lucky. Otherwise, they'll tell you they don't use that edition anymore and force you to keep a useless overpriced textbook.

Been there, done that.

What sucks more, is being forced to shell out $200 for a tax accounting book..and then get *nothing* in return. Why? Because the idiots in Washington screw with the tax code every year. Meaning, the book you buy one year, is good for nothing more than a paperweight the next. Yep, I have a $200, falling-apart tax book on one of my shelves

[BlaqueKatt]

There should be places that rent textbooks to students.

there are, some use e-reader versions now, my husband's college included textbooks* in the tuition, you were handed them to keep on the first day of classes, they later switched to a "primary school" style, where the textbooks were issued to you for the class and you returned them at the end or kept them if you wanted to(if returned you got some money back).


*strange word, novels contain text as well, why are schoolbooks called textbooks and other books comprised solely of written word called something different?

[bainsidhe]

Has anyone heard of parents buying textbooks for their kids attending public HIGH SCHOOL? Another forum I read was discussing the outrageous cost of buying their kids text books. Something like they fork over a couple hundred in fees and the teachers buy the textbooks to give the students. And no, they weren't allowed to purchase the books elsewhere.

[HYHYBT]

Been there, done that.

What sucks more, is being forced to shell out $200 for a tax accounting book..and then get *nothing* in return. Why? Because the idiots in Washington screw with the tax code every year. Meaning, the book you buy one year, is good for nothing more than a paperweight the next. Yep, I have a $200, falling-apart tax book on one of my shelves

I was able to sell mine, and for a pretty good price, too. I took tge course the first quarter on the new book, meaning I couldn't get it used, but also meaning spring quarter and fall semester would be using that same one.

I've also sold back books with online content or software registration codes, because the code could be bought separately.

One course used the book it did because the publisher allowed it to be read online free, oddly enough. You just had to get through the site bugging you to buy individual chapters for printing yourself.