(no subject)

[bedlamsbard]

*fans self* I have gone through and manually typed in the ISBN numbers for all my textbooks (thirty-five, actually; I was off by one) onto Amazon so that I wouldn't have to do that again -- for some reason on the university bookstore's webpage the ISBN numbers show up as image, not text, so I couldn't copy and paste. That was -- a lot. I have memorized the first few digits of Penguin translations: 798014044####

The list is here, if anyone wants to see. The only book that is not on that list is the Fitzgerald translation of The Aeneid, since I already own that and don't need to buy it. Some of these I can get pretty cheap, others more expensive. It looks like the Norton Shakespeare is the most expensive. (I bet it would be cheaper to buy a copy of each play individually, gah.) *sighs* I don't suppose anyone has a copy of the Norton Shakespeare and wants to get rid of it? *asks in vague hope*

ETA: Huh. The used textbook binding of the Norton Shakespeare are really cheap. There's no major difference between the textbook binding and the regular one, is there? Except that it's hardier? (Which can only be a good thing.)

Comments

[highlyeccentric]

Can I recommend you check out betterworldbooks and abebooks - and possibly some other US-based companies (or bookdepository from the UK do free shipping): it's usually pretty easy to get textbooks *much* cheaper from somewhere other than amazon.

On the other hand, your amazon shipping charges probably aren't so bad as ours, so.

*peers* Ewwww, Alexander's Beowulf? Whhhyyy???

[bedlamsbard]

I'm mostly looking at used copies -- last semester I got some from Amazon, some from Borders Marketplace, and some from abebooks. Some of them go low enough that even with shipping they're not too bad, and if you buy from certain sellers, you can group them all together and get free shipping over $25. Anyway, I just wanted them all grouped in one place that's easier to navigate than Tulane's bookstore's site.

I am so annoyed that I never get required books where I already have the correct translation. (Well, except for the Fitzgerald Aeneid. Man, I thought we were going to get the Fitzgerald Iliad, because we did the Fitzgerald Odyssey in the same prof's class. *sulks* I like Fitzgerald.) This is how I end up with three translations of The Prince! And we all remember the year where I had to read two different translations of The Odyssey at the exact same time!

[ineptshieldmaid]

You may be interested to know that Penguin have just released, in their Australian Popular Penguins line, Alexander's Beowulf. For $9.95 Australian (which probably comes out to, oh, seven dollars something US?). I have a feeling this line is only available in Australia at the moment, though, and I've no idea what places like abbeys would charge in shipping. Might not be worth the bother? Also I could pick up a copy easily and pop it in the post.

[bedlamsbard]

Dancing penguins! *immediately distracted*

International shipping proves to be $21 for one book!, and since the cheapest copy on Amazon is $1.94... But thank you for the offer!

(Huh, I do already have the Heaney translation, is it really necessary to get a different translation? Since I know how this prof teaches? *muses*)

[ineptshieldmaid]

BAH. International shipping is unlikely to be twenty-one dollars if someone bought it and put it in the post. More like seven, I think. BAH. Australian bookstores haven't mastered online selling, really.

Uhm... Heaney is *gorgeous* but not very direct in its translation. The prof could have picked Alexander for that reason? Although for a close trans I'd recommend Liuzza.

[bedlamsbard]

Well, as apparently my goal in life is to gain multiple translations of the same book... (Although actually I think the only book I have in two translations is The Prince, which probably says something terrifying about me; I had two different translations of the Odyssey, but I hated one of them so I sold it back to the bookstore.)

The class it's for is Age of the Vikings -- it's in the batch that has all the translated versions of Scandinavian poetry and epics and the Poetic Edda and so on.

[bessemerprocess]

I may be pillaging your booklist just as soon as my paycheck comes in. Booklust, I have it!

[bedlamsbard]

I am very glad that all the books on the list look fascinating: always a plus when one has that many.

[autumnia]

Do you have a Borders reward account? There's a 33% coupon this week (goes through till tomorrow) and it would knock the price of the Norton book down by about $5 less than Amazon. If you don't have one, I highly recommend signing up for it; it's free and they send coupons/discount codes pretty frequently (almost once a week) ranging from 25%-40%. I usually hold out on the book buying until the 40% coupon arrives.

[bedlamsbard]

I do -- I'm not looking to buy a new copy, just the cheapest used copy, which right now is down at $32, which is actually better than the rent-a-book price at the bookstore.

(And I do love Borders!)