Extra Blog Post: Used Books

It is time for the new semester to start which can only mean one thing; getting books for class. You presented with three options when purchasing books; buying your books new, or buying used, or rent them. My first year of I made the horrible mistake of buying my books new, what a waste of money. Since then I have gotten smart I only rent my books and I will only buy them if it is cheaper. This semester alone I would have spent $605 if I got my books new. However with some research I was able to find all the books I need for rent all for under $152! I prefer to always get my textbooks used in hopes that there is writing inside. Having someone else’s writing in your textbook is like having a personal tutor. However Hermione did not see it that way, she saw it as cheating.

I firmly believe that it is not considered cheating if someone else has previously written in your book. Why should Harry not use the tips that were written in his book? That's like saying we cannot use google to figure something out. Harry is using the tools and resources that are available to him. I feel that Hermione only felt like it was cheating because Harry was doing better than her and he was not following the originally instructions. I see no harm in trying whatever is written in the book if you are not sure that you can trust what has been written then ignore it or ask your teacher their opinion.

Harry's case of a used book is different from Ginny's. In Harry's case the book was already written in and the same words where there every time that Harry went back to the book. In Ginny case of the used book, her book was blank. There was no writing in it to see if you wrote in it then the book would respond. Now that would be a case for cheating because Ginny's book would answer the questions that were written in it and anything that was written would soon disappear. I am not likely to trust a book where I cannot later go back and find the same words. Books that are meant to be used for classes I believe that the more writing in them the better. Perhaps you do not understand what the teacher is teaching, but you have writing in your book from someone else that has previously taken the course. The person that had the book before you might have had a better understanding and they might have written a little note to help them understand or remember it.  A good student will do what they can to get good grades. Having someone else’s writing in your book is like having a private study group. Why not use it to your advantage? I would.