Textbook purchase = proof of nerdiness

I've just done something that some people might consider to be rather odd. I just purchased a 700+ page textbook. That I'm planning to read. For fun. The book I bought is Evolutionary Biology by Douglas J. Futuyma (pictured at left). Believe it or not, I'm very excited. I've wanted to own this book for some time now, but I've consistently waffled on getting it because I didn't want to shell out the big bucks. As anybody who's ever gone to college, thought about going, or known somebody who went can tell you, textbooks are expensive. Not just expensive, but ass-expensive*. And science textbooks are the worst of all.

Finally, after much soul-trying waiting and tear-soaked googling, I was able to locate a third-party seller at Amazon who was willing to part with a new copy for only $47.95. Actually, in all honesty, I probably could have bought the book at that price a long time ago. I think I just forgot to check Amazon's third-party retailers. Oh well. Live and learn, I guess.

Some people might wonder why I would read a textbook for fun and why I would choose this textbook in particular....well...evolutionary biology has become something of a passion for me and this particular book is supposed to be one of the best college-level texts that is currently being published on the subject. Someday, when I go back to college (and it is a when, not an if!), I would like to pursue a degree in a evolutionary biology-related area. Call this preparation for that day. Anyway, I'm very stoked about my new purchase and I wanted to share my excitment. Some people like to show off their new cars, their new clothes, or any number of other "cool" things. Well, I'm showing off my new textbook. If that's an automatic induction for me into the Fraternity of Nerdom, so be it!

-Dave

*For some reason, I'm of the opinion that whenever the word "ass" is added to an adjective with negative conotations, the combination of the two is somehow doubly descriptive. Call me crazy.