Earlier this year, I purchased a shiny new Kindle Fire. I figured I would use it not only for entertainment but also to purchase the electronic versions of all of my textbooks. An attempt to lighten my tote bag. (See Supplies page and you will understand why I attempted to lighten my load.) I have since used it once for school. Why you might ask? Well, it turns out most of my classes thus far require books that don’t offer an electronic version. In one instance, I need access to the publisher’s website to do activities online, which is where you need to put the tablets aside and pick up you laptop. Tablets just don’t have the juice to run the sophisticated publisher sites that accompany textbooks (not yet anyway).

This semester, I have a math class that requires access to the publisher’s website to complete homework and quizes. I could either buy the book with website access or just purchase access to the publisher’s website that has an electronic version of the book at almost half the cost of the hard copy. My other class is an Internet Theory class, beleive it or not, the publisher chose not to offer an electronic version (this is wrong on so many levels).

I have opted to just purchase access to the publisher’s website for my math class (50% off is 50% in my pocket). Of course for the internet class, I must purchase the hard copy. The bottom line, if you have access to the internet, you will probably save money if you purchase the e-book. But do your research. In fact the DealOz.com search on this page is a great starting point.  If you’re thinking of purchasing a e-reader to reduce the number of books you carry you might want to think twice.