Garrulous Glaahk Android Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 So my mother is visiting the US and I wanted to ask her to buy books for me while shes there. the cause being that taxes on books are insane where I live. I'm mostly interested in books on chemistry and perhaps forrestry. What bookstores in the US sell these kinds of books? Would those be Unoversity bookstores? Either way I'm having trouble finding this out using Google, which is unusual. Any pointers would be appreciated. She's going to be in Florida if that matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dantius Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Yeah, you'd probably want to check out a university bookstore if you're looking for more textbook type stuff. Barnes and Noble might have some more basic stuff, but I doubt that they have the things you'd be interested in. Just the other day I was hunting around my local bookstores for a copy of Numerical Recipes, and none of the had it- I had to go online and pay through the nose. B&N didn't even have a single book on FORTRAN coding, which actually somewhat shocked me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I can't speak to the chain stores, but the independent ones I know of are hit or miss. I'd search the specific area she's going to and see whether there's any place small scale that specializes. That, or, what Dantius said. A university. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 University bookstores and used bookstores near large universities are pretty much the best way to go. The large chain bookstores rarely have those types of books unless they strong demand for a specific title. The chains are interested in turning over stock so they go with what is popular. If you don't need the most recent editions then try the used bookstores or go online if you know specific books since they are much cheaper than getting them new. When students leave school and the books aren't being used the next semester they dump them at used bookstores to get back some of their money. The other spot that got me several famous textbooks was the annual university library sale. @Dantius - FORTRAN isn't used much outside scientific programmers anymore and most use a variation of C. Even my university that required it for some classes had very little beyond the required textbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Triumph Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 There's a chain called Half-Price Books that can have great bargains...they sell used or surplus books at discount compared to big regular stores. But it depends on what part of the country you're in whether there are any around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dantius Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Originally Posted By: Randomizer @Dantius - FORTRAN isn't used much outside scientific programmers anymore and most use a variation of C. Even my university that required it for some classes had very little beyond the required textbooks. I know. I picked FORTRAN because the only purposes I need it for are fast manipulation of large data sets for Project Euler, so I don't really need anything very fancy or with functionality outside pure mathematics*. Plus, it's the only non-4gl language that I'm already at least somewhat familiar with from college, so I might as well take advantage of my sunk costs and learn it fully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Incidentally, did you try iBooks, Kindle, etc? I'm a traditional reader myself, but I occasionally use ebooks (via my laptop) for non-fiction and textbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgeoning Battle Gamma jetcitywoman Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 How about a wild idea: amazon seems to have the best selection, so why not order there and have the books shipped to wherever you mom will be staying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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