In reply to Stichtplate:
> I'm going back to full time education in September for the first time in over 25 years and want to start off on the right foot.
I completed a BSc, MSc and PhD without buying a single text book, purely because the prices were so high and they weigh a ton to drag around. You can find far better referenceable material through a university library portal, or by searching for pdf versions online.
If you're in full time education you can get a university library to order in any book you want. How you keep it out of the library is up to you mind. Then scan it page-by-page to a pdf then distribute amongst fellow students in exchange for beer.
Alternativley, if you are not fussed about having a paper copy, I would recommend getting hold of an original/ high-res Pdf version so you can use quality figures in any submissables you may have. Also worth exchanging for beer.