Buying a hard copy text vs. electronic text

[LSDiVinci]

What are your experiences/opinions about buying the hard copy book vs. buying the electronic copy if it's offered. I understand the electronic copy is likely a lot cheaper, but I'm wondering more about usefullness i.e. did it make your life easier or harder.

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[snowflakes]

Depends on the subject. For anatomy, electronic was way better because it's so much easier to search for terms. For other subjects, I bough hard copies just because I like being able to physically hold it. Also I usually bought an older edition of the textbook so I was able to get it for under $10 each. Upperclassmen will also usually sell helpful textbooks for very cheap. I only read my textbooks at home, so lugging it around isn't an issue for me.

That said very few textbooks are actually required for med school. I'm just textbook kind of person, so I bought a good physio and a path text.

 

[The Kraken]

I "bought" my textbook pdf's and it made life much easier.

 

[michiganpsych08]

I think it depends on the type of learner you are. I personally did it both ways depending on the subject. However, I generally prefer having hard copies of text because I like to physically highlight the book.

 

[CodeRedDew]

Digital PDFs + grab a copy of adobe acrobat or GoodReader on iPad and you'll never go back to physical textbooks. Believe me.

 

[MedWonk]

I do all PDFs now. It's just easier to carry my laptop instead of a few textbooks, and I don't highlight/write notes in margins anyway.

 

[NickNaylor]

Personally I hate digital books. If I'm going to actually buy a book (read: not use a pirated PDF), then I'm going to buy a physical copy. I hate reading things for long periods of time on any kind of screen, and I don't like the idea that I get a minuscule discount for a digital product when I could pay a bit more to get something tangible.

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Not a fan of digital books - I can't stare at a fake screen for that long. I also like being able to write any notes in the margins. Comes out more neatly than any digital medium.

 

[loris]

Yeah, they take up space and it’s more expensive, but I still buy the physical copies. Also if they’re purchased new, several books (Costanzo physiology, Rohen anatomy, BRS, etc.) will come with access codes to the online version of the text and/or other supplemental material so I can still login and search the text from anywhere with an internet connection if I want to.

 

[RedPhys]

Check to see if your school has free printing ?

Our student interviewer told us we get 300 free pages a month, so if like physical copies, but only have the pdf you found online, you can print out the relevant readings.

 

[ImportedKamariya]

what about that textbook pdf rental scam going on on campus eh? i just take pics of each page and digitize it and then return the book. hell no i won't get ripped off. the joke's on you, mr. 219th edition of the same subject rehashed on different pages. textbooks are actually one of the nicest scams running the campus today. they just change pages around. i did this starting back in mid 2000s in college with a cheapo digital camera. shuffling out a few hundred bucks to use a book for a few months was not worth it. we never ever used an entire book either. and now all material is online anyway. it's not like knowledge is a secret like it was in the 80s or before. everything fits onto a cellphone.

also, the digital vs. hard copy issue - if you live in new york city (i am in brooklyn in good ol' scamriffic brighton beach with the russian mafia laymen), you will need space and books take up space, invite tons of bugs of all kinds, and are awful to pack when you have to move (uh, yes, you will be moving often). digital is incredibly superior and especially more so since you can make multiple backups of the jpg files or pdf's. last i read a week or so ago, google just made its cloud data service unlimited. you can store as much as you like. this is beyond thumb drives and hard drive backups.