In my time at Rosary, I have had the pleasure of taking a wide variety of honors and AP courses that pushed my schedule to the limits each year. Filling out the Course Request sheet at the beginning of second semester always made me a little nervous and question why I have self destructive tendencies that prompt me to take and AP math course instead of a normal elective. As much as these classes stressed me out, I took them because I loved the subjects and always managed to learn things while maintaining a semi-healthy sleep schedule.

However, in several cases, the hardest part of the class was not the actual work, but finding the correct book. I don’t know why, but universe and amazon.com really pitted themselves against me on this one. So, in case any of you are interested in the most enjoyable but still rigorous classes offered to Rosary students, let me offer you some insight into the books you should probably have ordered yesterday.

1) Financial algebra

I don’t know why, but the universe was strongly against me finding a copy of this textbook. The one I did buy ended up being the first edition when we actually needed the second edition. If I opted for the digital version, it would only be accessible via amazon.com which is conveniently blocked on our school laptops. As much as I love this class and the practical applications that come from it, buying the book was no mean feat. Maybe, one of the lessons later on in the semester will explore supply and demand curves in relation to textbooks for the financially illiterate.

2) AP Statistics

When I took this class last year, I ordered the digital copy thinking it would be easier with paper commodities being in short supply due to COVID 19. Again, the digital copy was only available on Amazon, making it extremely difficult to manage because I did not have access to the book when I was on campus. Maybe I can’t speak for everyone, but I was not a fan of having to use my family computer for my textbook every time I wanted to do multiple choice practice problems. For those of us who do not own personal laptops, having neither a hard copy nor an easily accessible digital copy was a bit of a struggle.

3) AP English Literature and Composition

We are only a month into the school year and already I almost missed a book check. For some reason, the whole world was clamoring to read Euripides‘ “Hippolytus” at the exact same time as AP Lit period 5. Maybe it was his stimulating commentary on the role of women or his sanctimonious assertions about the benefits of veganism, but “Hippolytus” was sold out at every Barnes and Nobles within a 100 mile radius of Orange County and digital copies were not set to ship for a month. Thankfully, everyone in my class managed to follow along either with a physical copy or with a slightly different digital translation.

4) AP English Language and Composition

The problem with this book – 50 Essays- is not its availability, it’s the price. Maybe this is just me, but spending over $40 on something that is not a giant hardback textbook feels wrong. However, one of the most important skills in AP Lang is understanding texts through annotating and combing through everything for rhetorical strategies. So, buying this book is a must.

Well, there you have it Royals. If any of these classes piqued your interest, make sure you hop on Amazon or Barnes and Noble’s websites sooner rather than later. Or, if you know someone who takes these classes this year, start negotiating a selling price on their books now. Happy reading!