Books never look brand new for long anyway, so why pay twice as much for the "privilege" of breaking in a book? Usually you can buy a used book that is in good shape for at least 50% off the price you'd pay for the same book brand new.

You can find used books through the search mechanisms provided by these online booksellers:

• AbeBooks, the world's largest online marketplace for books, lists over 110 million new, used, rare, and out of print books from 13,500 booksellers.
• Amazon.com
• Barnes & Noble