Textbooks are a huge expense for college students, and while digitally downloaded versions may save a few bucks and several pounds over paper copies, you lose the option to resell the book at the end of the semester. Amazon has a new plan to provide the best of both worlds: digital textbook rentals.
Select textbooks can now be downloaded to a Kindle or any of the myriad devices that run Kindle reader software, for a rental period of between 30 and 360 days. If necessary, the rental period can be extended by as little as a day, and you always have the option to purchase the book. An important feature worth noting: if the rental does expire, the student still has access to any annotation and notes taken using the Kindle, since they’re stored separately “in the cloud.”
Amazon says you can save up to 80% off the list price of a print textbook with this program. Of course, not all textbook publishers are on board, but the list does include industry leaders such as John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis. Details on the rental program are available at www.amazon.com/kindletextbooks.
