Books for uni

gsidecturbo · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:05

Hi there

Anyone recommend a place for these apart from amazon etc

thanks

Kol · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:14

Amazon are actually surprisingly cheap. I bought my Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology and Pharmacology books all from there and they were cheaper than anywhere else.

It might be worth waiting to buy books if you're going into your first year (you didn't specify so I'll assume) as many people buy books which the course recommend only to realise you don't need it.

In my case, it was recommended I bought a Microbiology book ~£65 and it turned out I only ever did a shoty course in Micro and the book was intended for those on other more specific courses.

Jest3r · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:19

keep an eye on myspace... there is a course books for sale section there, and notice boards around the uni often have books from 2/3 yr students which are fine, do not go out and buy the entire booklist, as lecturers have a nasty habit of giving information about good books which aren't on their book list, but will do the job better as their teaching style relates to that particular book

DaveyD · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:23

Second hand ones from graduates are usually pretty good, just look around the noticeboards of your department etc, there's usually some websites as well with people selling them second hand.

aardvark · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:26

DaveyD said:
Second hand ones from graduates are usually pretty good, just look around the noticeboards of your department etc, there's usually some websites as well with people selling them second hand.

yeah, the best place will be university bookshops, or secondhand bookshops around the university, or ex-graduates/ graduates in a higher year.

Nazbit · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:36

I got all of mine from amazon and the university bookshop.

[TW]Fox · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:55

Don't take their word for it that you need certain books, wait a few lectures to see for yourself. I got through my second year only buying one book - other people I know spent £350 buying all the books the lecturers said were essential and barely used half of them.

Kol · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:57

[TW]Fox said:
Don't take their word for it that you need certain books, wait a few lectures to see for yourself. I got through my second year only buying one book - other people I know spent £350 buying all the books the lecturers said were essential and barely used half of them.

Absolutely. Also, as suggested, there is naturally the university bookshop which will be competitive.

[TW]Fox · 10 Sep 2006 at 19:58

Mikol said:
Absolutely. Also, as suggested, there is naturally the university bookshop which will be competitive.

And sensible use of the library - almost all textbooks are in the library and provided you dont wait until the day before an exam, you can usually make good use of them. Although I only BOUGHT one book, I made use of many others using the library.

Kol · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:00

[TW]Fox said:
And sensible use of the library - almost all textbooks are in the library and provided you dont wait until the day before an exam, you can usually make good use of them. Although I only BOUGHT one book, I made use of many others using the library.

Aye. If it's a popular book there will be several copies in my experience, but like you suggest it's best to be quick off the mark as some chumps used to get them out then a day before they were due, go online and renew them.

Of course, I could have just logged on and requested the book to stop them doing so, but I couldn't be bothered.

daven1986 · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:03

blackwells is pretty good. however dont buy the books until you need them. more often than not you want require them and can save the money.

daven

neocon · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:19

Just learn the lecture slides, it's the easiest way to pass a degree. **** reading lecture books!

daven1986 · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:24

neocon said:
Just learn the lecture slides, it's the easiest way to pass a degree. **** reading lecture books!

quoted for the truth.

Una · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:25

I think you will find that for most degrees you need to read above and beyond the material presented in lectures if you wish to get a decent grade. A lot of the lecture notes given out are poor/incomplete so you have to go look stuff up.

Cemetery · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:34

http://www.academicbooktrade.co.uk/find.php

daven1986 · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:36

Una said:
I think you will find that for most degrees you need to read above and beyond the material presented in lectures if you wish to get a decent grade. A lot of the lecture notes given out are poor/incomplete so you have to go look stuff up.

got a 1:1 pass in my first year last year just using the notes, but my lecture notes were good. thing is, if they are good then use them. if you have to supplement them, then do so.

tis always good to read around the subject, but get the books from the library.

daven

[TW]Fox · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:38

daven1986 said:
got a 1:1 pass in my first year last year just using the notes, but my lecture notes were good. thing is, if they are good then use them. if you have to supplement them, then do so.

Thats becuase the first year is a doss

neocon · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:40

My first year exams were multiple choice!

[TW]Fox · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:46

neocon said:
My first year exams were multiple choice!

Errr what Uni was this? :/

neocon · 10 Sep 2006 at 20:48

UCL

University College Lahore!

Just kidding.

University of Manchester