If ONLY I had done this sooner ...

If you've been keeping up with Textbookless, you know that last week I had my first major quiz that required a textbook.

If you've been keeping up, you also know that I don't have the textbook for the class - or any textbooks for that matter.

But just in case you haven't been faithfully reading this blog or are unsure of what I'm getting at ...

Last week I was in big trouble.

Because I didn't have a required textbook for a class that was giving a quiz on ... the required textbook.

The "required" textbook, borrowed from a classmate for this picture.

Photo Credit: Emily Clark

After numerous hours of "googling" the textbook and coming up with a whole lot of ... nothing. I had pretty much given up.

I was going to try and ace the quiz cold turkey.
Except when last Thursday rolled around (the day of the quiz), I started having some doubts. There was no way I could just go into a quiz without knowing anything. That was likely to end in too much of a mess.

So I seriously considered borrowing my sister's textbook. She luckily is in the same class and well, there's no set "rules" for textbookless. Who says I can't cheat?

I do. So I refrained.

I woke up Thursday morning, feeling pretty anxious, still unsure of what the hell I was going to do. As I was sipping my morning coffee, I tried yet again to "google" the textbook. The only thing I came across was a free essay summarizing the entire textbook on E-cheat.com. Sketchy, I know - and it just felt wrong.

Then out of nowhere, I got an idea.

I wouldn't feel as embarrassed if this "idea" wasn't so obvious. I'm still kicking myself for not coming up with it sooner.

Three hours before the quiz, I knew what I could do ...

GO TO THE LIBRARY ... DUH!

After doing a quick search on the RIT library website I found that they had the required textbook, only in a much earlier edition. The current edition, and the one I should have purchased, was not available.

Oh well, I thought. There was no way it could be that different, right?

Right.

I rushed to school and raced to the library. I was able to rent the textbook as relief slowly started settling in. I skimmed through the pages of the chapter we were to be quizzed on, taking the necessary notes. When class time I arrived I proudly walked into class, ready to kick some serious quiz butt.

I didn't feel super ready but I definitely felt more ready than I had hours ago. However part of me still wanted to try to convince the professor that was far too nice of a day outside to give a quiz.

Instead I threw my newly acquired library textbook down on my sister's desk.

My "Second Edition" rented textbook.

Photo Credit: Emily Clark

"HA!" I said, "Look what I have!"

"Where'd you get that!" she asked in shock.

"Oh, just the library" I replied, as if it was no big deal.

My sister, who had the required textbook, hadn't read it. She began begging me for a quick summary of the chapter.

Being the good big sister that I am, I gave her a run-down as fast as I could.

But something ironic happened as the professor walked in the door.

As everyone began shouting out their last minute questions, he started listing off the answers to the quiz question, in a round about way - although you would have had to of had a pair of headphones wedged deep into your ears to not get what he was saying.

Hello increased relief.

I knew then I would be able to take the quiz confidently, based on the answers that professor had just rattled off. I also now had a rented textbook as a back-up plan for all future quizzes. 

The professor assigned another quiz for the following Tuesday and that time I buckled down. I read the chapter well beforehand, took notes, and was ready to kick butt. I still plan to look into it further but so far nothing has been significantly different between the two editions of the textbooks. I bet I could have purchased the earlier edition too, for much cheaper.

Today, we had another quiz. I again, read beforehand and took notes. Although the professor never made us hand the quizzes in, I was ready.

The quiz I was given on 4/25.

Photo credit: Emily Clark

My new thought? Maybe if you can't afford to be textbookless, you can risk getting earlier editions of the required textbooks.

Just a little food for thought.