Donnerschlag wrote on Aug 21
st, 2009 at 3:32am:
And if you can't afford it, just do what I did; Go into a local book store that carries it, then read it and absorb all the parts useful to you without buying it!

Back when I was a poor college student, I did that all the time. I had one Anthropology teacher who wanted us to buy about a dozen books, just to read and then write a
whole whopping paragraph on. So I was "browsing" the college bookstore when a helpful student/clerk/geek approached me. When I told him I was just looking, he told me I'd either have to buy it or leave. Upshot of it all was, I kind of got thrown out of the book store. But not before I'd read enough to get my assignment done!
So if you have to take notes, I'd suggest finding an out-of-the-way corner, and a small notebook. Usually larger stores like Barnes & Noble or Borders actually have places where people can sit and read, though.
K'Jev