Selling your books after the semester vs keeping them?

[Neopets]

Usually which do you usually like to do after a course? Sell the book or keep it for reference?

 

[Pengwuino]

I kept almost all of my books from even non-major courses. Maybe a friend will need it some day? Maybe you'll know a kid some day that wants to know things his high school doesn't teach? Most of my non-major textbooks are for incoming freshman or sophomores which basically means someone with a typical high school (if that) education. I'm not really hard up for cash so I just keep them.

If they're major related courses, I keep it all for reference.

 

[jhae2.718]

I keep all of my books. Especially in technical subjects, you'll probably have to look things you've forgotten up every once in a while.

 

[Chunkysalsa]

^This

My friends and I tend to share books so books are a bit scattered among owners. I'm too lazy to sell it and our bookstore offers next to nothing for buybacks.

 

[Geezer]

I kept all my upper division texts (math and physics) and the Halliday, Resnick, and Krane series. I got rid of all non-math, non-physics books, as well as my calculus texts (they were HORRIBLE! Written by a prof in our math department...).

 

[flyingpig]

I throw away all the useless ones like courses I hate, I sell them immediately. I plan to keep some of my math texts though. Although i could just download a pdf...

 

[ehilge]

I sell most of my textbooks. I've kept one or two better books that are useful to the research I'm doing. You can find a lot online these days anyway, particularly for the lower level courses, even for math and physics. Of course, there's always the chance that you'll want to find that nugget of wisdom that you remember was in that one book, but its a chance I take. I also live a fairly mobile lifestyle so its annoying for me to have a bunch of large textbooks to lug around, that factors into my decisions too.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

I sell all non physics/maths books on amazon or similar. Occasionally I will sell a math book and replace it with a better one after I am finished with the course. Finish calc with stewart, and replace with spivak etc.

 

[johng23]

Amazon's trade in program is amazing in case anyone doesn't know about it yet.

I kept all my textbooks which were related to my major in undergrad. In retrospect I wish I hadn't because you don't realize how trivial a lot of freshman/sophomore material is until you've been done with it a couple years, but those intro books get new editions almost yearly so if you don't sell it immediately it's worthless. Like I really need an entire textbook on engineering statics or steam-table-style thermodynamics? Hundreds of pages of overly detailed variations on the same theme, with the odd theorem or useful result here and there, if I could be bothered to wade through the whole brightly colored mess to find it. No thanks.

Even if the book is relevant and contains information I may need, I sell it if I don't like it. I have access to a library and will for the foreseeable future, so the only books I want in my personal possession are the ones I enjoy and am going to want to return to often. Amazon gift card vs. book I don't like? Sounds like an easy call.

 

[viscousflow]

I only keep the books I enjoy or contain a wealth of knowledge I know I will need/want to refer to in my foreseeable and unforeseeable future. Thus far, I have only had the need to refer to about two books I have used in the past.

I'll definitely try the amazon approach though. Selling them for half back (or less) seems to be a waste. Only thing I'd be concerned about is speed.

 

[G01]

I've kept all my physics and math texts for reference, but have sold most of my texts from other courses.

 

[erok81]

I keep just about all of my books. My major related ones I definitely keep. This semester I am selling my discrete math text just out of spite because I hated the class. :)

It's hard to use them for reference though. I can either dig through my shelves, pull out the search for my section etc, or I can just type a few words into google and get my answer.

 

[cobalt124]

I kept all mine, didn't use them at all, and they are all in the attic at them moment and wel out of date and of no use to anyone I suspect. I didn't want to part with them. If you don't need the money and don't want to keep them, you could donate them to someone who is starting the course you have just finished.

 

[fluidistic]

I've sold a high school physics book for Resnick/Halliday's Fundamentals of Physics.
I've sold Leithod's calculus for Boas's Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences.
I have too few space in my appartment to just keep the books. I didn't sell these 2 books because I wanted some money, but because I needed some space.
I do not regret having sold these 2 books, I'm still glad I got more space and better books.