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Get ready kiddies, it's time to go to the bookstore. The Marist Bookstore is a necessary evil of campus, just
as it has been for generations and generations. Of course, it is the easist place to pick up books, but you will
probably end up spending upwards of three hundred dollars for them. Here, we will discuss some
of the ins and outs of the bookstore, hopefully making your trip that much easier and your
wallet that much heavier.
**buying books**
If you've got money to burn, or parents who buy books for you, then you're probably better off
just spending the few extra pence for the convenience. You can hand a store worker a copy of
your schedule, and they'll run around getting your books for you. Of if you're the adventurous
type, you can find your books, grouped by subject and section, on the shelves in the back of
the store. Either way, it'll take about fifteen minutes, and you'll end up wondering just how
you managed to spend so much money on something that you don't want at all. Also, whenever possible, buy used. It's half as
expensive, and they usually only have a few doodles in them. Don't let your pride get the best of you... they're just books,
and you're gonna hate them no matter how shiny the cover is.
**Buying books online**
Of course, everybody knows that you can get books cheaper online. Stores like bigwords.com, and ecampus.com, let you order books for a lot cheaper. Thing
is, you'll need to know what books to order, and the bookstore will be damned if they will
give up their ISBNs (book identification numbers) without a fight. Unfortunatly, going to the
bookstore is the only way to find out what books you need, so you will have to be sneaky in
order to save money. We have found that the best way to do this is to pretend you are buying
books, by walking around picking up the books you will need, and writing down the ISBNs on a
seperate piece of paper. Then, when you have all the books you need, conveniently remember
that you don't like books, put them back, and get on your computer to order them all online.
**Buying other things at the bookstore**
How a bookstore can also sell toothbrushes is beyond me, but if the occasion arises, and you
need something quick, you can probably find it there. You'll get totally ripped off, but you
can get it. Unless there's some sort of natural disaster outside, or your legs just aren't
working right that day, you're probably better off just taking a trip to Eckerd to get your
shampoo and frisbee. However, I must say that our selection of cards is both extensive and
downright cheap.
The bookstore kind of has the market cornered in that they know exactly what you need, and
exactly how bad you need it. If there is a class that requires the students to buy a
particular shade of puce paint, chances are, they'll carry it. Which would be incredibly cool
if it didn't cost five times what it would cost in a standard art store.
**Selling your books back**
Remember that $80 art book that your professor made you buy? The one that you opened
once? Well, time to take it back to the bookstore so that future generations of students can
get as much enlightenment out of it as you have. Hope you have plenty of room left in that
wallet buddy, because you've got a big fat $40 in your future. Actually, $40 is a bit of a
highball estimate. Paperback novels will get you less than a buck, usually. And a lot of
times, the book that you bought will be coming out with a new edition, which renders your copy
totally useless. Congratulations... you're the proud owner of "Introduction to Programming
Data Structures in Computer Architecture Volume 17".
You get screwed when you walk in, you get screwed when you walk out... it's best to just take
your five dollars and drown your sorrows in an extra value meal across the street.
**Bookstore: a retrospective**
The bookstore is great in that if you need it for a class, it's there. You'll end up paying a
hell of a lot more than you'd like to pay, but that extra cost is for the convenience. If you
need to get some tic-tacs, but don't feel like putting on pants, it just might be worth your
while to plunk down the extra fifty cents.
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