The Nevada Sagebrush

Emily Katseanes

After years upon the high seas of college, people will board boats that suit them best. Some are dutiful merchants, going back and forth from class and doing exactly what they’re told. Others are landlubbers, too lazy to leave the couch in search of adventure.

Others are like me — the rogues of the educational ocean. ‘Tis a textbook pirate’s life fer me. I refuse to pay exorbitant prices fer books and will use all my wiles, wits and swashbuckling to avoid it.

Now, I’m here to recruit ye. If ye be tired of despicable publishers trying to swindle you out of yer dubloons, join my pirate crew. Professors and students alike can be textbook buccaneers.

First off, plunder ye olde public domain. The public domain refers to works that are no longer copyrighted, meaning they belong to everyone. Professors can captain a whole class of pirates by posting public domain works on WebCampus, instead of listing a book to buy. Argh, my pirate eye is especially looking at you, literature and philosophy scallywags. Don’t make yer students buy books when nearly all the scribes fer yer classes, from Nietzsche to Shakespeare, are ripe fer the pirate’s sword.

If yer teachers do not follow the textbook buccaneer code, fear not. Ye can still sail the high seas without parting with yer gold. The public domain merely awaits a quick raid on Google Books or Project Gutenberg and ye can read yer assignment on printed paper, unlike those fools who bought books. In fact, perhaps yer malicious pirate grin over yer spoils in class will recruit more pirates.

I know fer ye corsairs of the sciences and maths, the public domain may be barren fer yer pirating needs. But don’t abandon the cause.

Another spot ripe fer raiding be the Internet. Ports like Bookmooch.com and bookswap.com allow ye to swap books with other pirates. Bookmooch be best fer corsairs—it’s all free so long as ye be tradin’ one of yer own. Chegg.com allows ye to rent books, which is a little tame fer true pirates, but better than buying outright.

Don’t forget to sail on over to the library and demand the wenches give ye the book ye need. Occasionally, ye might be havin’ to raid an edition slightly older than yer teacher’s suggestion. But usually things don’t change that much. There also be libraries around Reno that ye can plunder. Ye can even call ahead to see if an attack will yield the booty ye need.

If the wenches drive off yer attempts, form a crew. By havin’ veteran pirates around, ye may learn of professors kind to the buccaneer’s life. These experienced sea rovers might even still have the book ye need. Offer to buy them a grog and they’ll probably give ye the book.

If the grizzled students with peg legs aren’t joining yer crew, ye can still band together with novice pirates. Find a friend to share yer books with and split the cost. Better yet, take yer classes one semester after yer friends. Ye can convince them to give their books to ye and sell back later.

Welcome aboard, ye newly minted marauders. Yargh!

Argh! Emily Katseanes hates ninjas. She makes them walk the plank. Reach her at ekatseanes@nevadasagebrush.com.

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