I was in my bedroom the other day when I ran across a book. I looked at it, trying to remember where it came from or why I had it. Then I realized I had purchased it for a class this semester. I spent $78 on a book I never used. The anger only escalated when I realized if I sell it back to the bookstore I’d probably get a mere $12, even though they’ll sell it to you used for $65.

But we’ve finally been given a new option: A website for selling back your textbooks. Now I’m sure you’ve heard of some of those sites like ecampus.com or half.com, which is owned by eBay. But this one seems to be different.

Booksoncampus.com is a website connected through the college networking site, Facebook. You log in and are able to sell your books to other Sacramento State students and vice versa. Seems better than the current trend.

“I don’t really sell back my books anymore because I’m going to be using them later,” said Jen Ayala, a senior kinesiology major.

“They’ve become like my own personal kinesiology library. Plus when I do sell them back at the bookstore, I get maybe $20 when they cost me $200,” Ayala said.

That is the sentiment seemingly shared by most Sac State students.

Normally, with book buybacks, I’d just say you’d get more out of them if they were used for toilet paper. Despite the possibility of pain caused by a few choice paper cuts that would raise the eyebrows of your family doctor, it’d at least save you money at the grocery store.

Or how about a new heating system for your apartment? You know it’s winter when you can see your own breath in the bathroom.

College students’ budgets don’t usually allow for much in the way of heater usage. So maybe you could take your books, put them in a large cylinder container contraption and set them on fire right in the middle of your living room.

I don’t know exactly where you would find a contraption large enough to burn books safely in one’s living space, but we can work on that.

You could even wallpaper the walls of every room in your house. Oh no, honey, that’s not the kitchen anymore that’s the “Understanding Nuclear Technology” room. Or you could wrap all of your Christmas and birthday presents in your books.

But if that doesn’t work, I guess this Booksoncampus.com thing seems like a good idea. And I especially like the idea that using this website supports our fellow students and not the bookstore.

The website’s little demo uses a Dick-and-Jane-like scenario: Dick lists a book, Jane buys it, Dick and Jane meet on campus and trade book for cash.

Of course, this can open up a can of worms in terms of safety.

I mean, what if Jane meets up with Dick and he wants more than just her Anatomy book, if you know what I mean?

Or what if Jane brings her gang friends and they jump Dick for his book and all his money?Just make sure that if you use this website or any website where you meet up with someone, that you meet during the day at an open spot on campus and with a buddy (not one in a gang of course).

Or, I have a thought: Maybe the publishers could just stop screwing us over. You see, it’s the publishers of all our lovely books that are in the wrong here. They change a picture or a font setting and suddenly everyone needs the next edition of the same book.

The bookstore could help out by not agreeing to use the newest editions, but it’s in it for the money too.

The bookstore could also buy back more books than it does.

And if the professors submitted their lists earlier, we could at least shop around, which may cause the bookstore to be more competitive and possibly help the students out.

Consider your options. Maybe check out Booksoncampus.com. I’m banking on not having any books for my graduating semester. You new kids are on your own.

Nicki Croly can be reached at [email protected]