Secrets of an English Literature student: Book Shopping

We all know that uni can be an expensive experience, lets not get started on the tuition fees argument but once you get accepted on to your course, you then have to put the student loan to use to purchase all your course material. Which if you are an English Literature student is what seems to be a never ending list of set texts we are going to study and numerous text books which are never cheap. You are going to have to face the fact that you will spend significant hours of the next 3 years of your life in book shops of all kinds.
 Like most English lit students, i started my course with every book needed for that semester, all of which were recommended editions (I'm talking about you Norton!) You soon realise that you don't need brand spanking new  copies and you definitely don't need particular editions (although the theory in the back can SOMETIMES be handy as secondary sources for essay - You'll need many of this during your student career.)

Source: http://observando.net/page/4

Online
During your time as a student you will spend many hours online for researching purposes and perhaps a tiny bit of procrastination which often leads to spending the day on youtube, watching anything you can possibly think of, most likely a subject as far away from 'the respresentation of class in (enter novel here)' or '(novel) and the supernatural.' If you find yourself on line for book shopping then check out some of the following for good deals.

Amazon - Whilst everyone knows Amazon.co.uk is the mecca of Internet shopping, it is a pretty good bargain bin for book lovers. For the majority of modules you will only need certain books for a week or 2 so why waste a W H Smiths amount of money on a crisp new copy. You can find many used copies of classics as cheaply as 1p or for even for free if you have a Kindle! For as little as a penny you would assume that the book would be in poor condition but some are real gems. Plus every now and again, if the copy has been previously owned by a fellow student, they might be rather lovely and have highlighted passages from when they used it (always helpful!)
One thing with looking for cheap books like this, you do have to pay postage for each purchase which can soon add up, just try and get these in as many orders as possible if bulk buying.

AbeBooks - Launched in 1996, AbeBooks is an online marketplace where you can buy new, secondhand, rare and out-of-print books, as well as cheap textbooks. Essentially like your favourite book shop online!

Out and about 

Rare and Racy: Sheffield - This is by far my favourite book shop in the world. A fabulous second hand book store down Devonshire Street in Sheffield. It is a must for Sheffield English Lit students and a haven for any book worms amongst you. This isn't a shop you can just nip in and out of, you'll need to spend a long time searching the floor to ceiling shelves of everything from Classic literature, art, children's literature, and local texts to name a tiny example. I can promise you you'll find the majority of your reading list in this one shop at amazing prices!

Charity Shops - If you are like me, you can't resist a glance at the packed bookshelves in charity shops,you know that you can never guarantee what you're going to find but if you do then its always going to be for a great price for an even better cause. 


Do you have any shopping secrets?