Do they do textbooks?

Half my books were freshly minted supplements or school-produced course packs, so they're not available that way. Amazon is still evil, and only works if I want my textbooks to arrive just before finals.

Normally I try to get them from B&N online, but that only drops the price by maybe $15/book. They're expensive - no way around it.

My daughter gets hers from eBay. School hasn't even started and she already got a couple of them in. She gets them used and saves 50-75%. Then we resell them (if they haven't been discontined which happends 25% of the time) and gets most of the money back.

Yes sir. I buy most of mine from there and sell all of mine on there. Much cheaper and much better resell value than buying/selling through the school.

You have to get the ISBN number and make sure the school isn't selling a special bundle (or make sure the bundle isn't required - many teachers don't use it).

I can't read books that someone else has marked in - it's too distracting for me.

I can read books others have marked in, but only if they've marked well. I try to insert relevent notes and highlights (as opposed to those who just highlight the hell out of everything) so that the next reader can glean a little extra from it. I've been a fan of the nicely used books for a while, but most especially after an ethnic lit class I took two years ago. While reading Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior, I was able to pick up as much from the notes as from the text itself. By the time we were discussing it in class, I came off like a star pupil with deep understanding and insight with what Kingston wrote. Of course, I told them that there were notes in my book, but I really think it opened the story more quickly than if the notes had not been there.

I can never see the quotable quotes everyone on LoT posts. I never go to the homepage of LoT. I bookmarked "New Posts" and hit that constantly.

Me either. That is why I only buy new, or like new with no markings. I don't care of the corners are bent or if the cover shows wear. So far I have had nothing but positive experiences.

Can I interest anyone in an array of snot-filled tissues? I have hundreds to choose from, all handmade, and guaranteed to contain at least 1 gallon of snot. Open to all offers.

Are you sure you should be so cavalier with your DNA?