The alchemical symbol of apotheosis, the transformation of man into god, is traditionally represented by an image of a hand with other symbols, including skulls, crowns, stars, fish, keys, lanterns, astrological symbols and the all-seeing eye.

The Hand of the Mysteries goes by many other names, including the Hand of the Master Mason, Hand of the Philosopher, and the Emblematic Hand of Mysteries.

Top 10 February 2020

1. Riddles of the Sphinx (Laura Mulvey & Peter Wollen, 1977) 2. Kairo (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001) 3. 35 Rhums (Claire Denis, 2008) 4. Where is My Friend’s House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987) 5. The Big Combo (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955) 6. À travers la forêt (Jean-Paul Civeyrac, 2005) 7. Colorado Territory (Raoul Walsh, 1949) 8. Un Flic (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1972) 9. Faubourg St Martin (Jean-Claude Guiguet, 1986) 10. April and the Extraordinary World (Franck Ekinci & Christian Desmares, 2015)

Julio Lafuente, Gaetano Rebecchini, Capanna a Capocotta (Roma),  1965 

Textbook websites

List of websites where you can find free ebooks, specified by subject.

Slugbooks.com (to compare textbook prices)

Thriftbooks.com  

Bigwords.com (price comparison)

Chegg.com

Abebooks.com (offers textbook editions, like unbound ones, that are cheaper than retailers)

directtextbooks.com

studentbooktrades.com

Bookrenter.com (shipping is free, as well as the shipping back to the warehouse)

gutenberg.org (free e-books)

campusbooks.com

textbooks.com

Allbookstores.com (searching shows the lowest price for a book)

textbookrecycling.com

bookscouter.com (find the highest buy back site for a book)

ecampus.com

bookbyte.com

bookdepository.com (Good for English majors, discounted books shipped around the world)

gen.lib.rus.ec (free digital copies of books)

HERE is a huge list of textbook PDFs.

Textbook tips

ALWAYS check to see if textbook websites have online coupons. Check outside websites like RetailMeNot.com but also sign up for their email listing. They often send you a coupon for just signing up and will continually send you other coupon deals.

Amazon has good deals on books sometimes and they offer college students temporary free membership. Here’s a link explaining some of the details.

Amazon and other retailers, like Barnes and Noble also offer textbook rental. You get the book for a certain amount of time (30 days, 60 days, 90 days, etc., then mail it back to them.) Much cheaper than buying.

Some professors put textbooks on reserve in the library so you can check them out for an hour or two instead of actually buying them.

If your class textbooks are at the library and you need them for longer than allowed, you can always photocopy them.

Look for Facebook pages/groups with your school name and year, people are always posting online to get rid of their textbooks.

If your books are older/literature type books they are often available as e-books for free or easy to find at used bookstore or thrift stores.

Ask your professor after hours if you can borrow and make copies of the class textbook.

Many colleges use the Link+ library sharing program or something similar. If the textbook you need isn’t offered in the library, another school within the program can deliver the book for free. Ask you school’s librarians about it.

If you have a class that requires a “reader,” which is just a bunch of articles, you can usually find them at the school library or online.

Keep your textbooks in the best condition possible, so they sell for higher when you no longer need them.

If you can access your class list and the emails of your classmates early, ask if anyone would like to share a textbook. Split the price and share it or just ask to copy the chapters needed.

General tips

If you get financial aid, set it up to deposit into your own checking account because FAFSA ATMs are frustrating.

Check out the dollar stores for some college supplies. They have pens, notebooks, planners, etc.

Find upperclassmen who are moving out of their dorms/apartments, they often sell/give away items they are no longer going to be using.

Find out if your department offers free printing to undergrads. If yours doesn’t, find a friend whose department does.

Pretty much every school offers a MS Office license to students for free. It may not be well advertised but make sure to find out before paying for the programs on your own.

Bulk supply stores are usually cheaper.

Use your phone’s planner and alerts for assignments.

If you need energy boosts, it’s definitely cheaper to brew your own coffee and tea, then use a travel mug. But if you need to go to places like Starbucks, sign up for the Starbucks card so you can get free refills on certain items and get discounts for members only.

Find out what free courses your school offers and go to them instead of paying for a tutor.

At many universities there are conferences and talks almost daily, which often offer free lunches and dinners.

Some colleges offer free cab services so make sure to look into that.

Most school health care places give out free condoms and they are often given out at events too.

Besides math, older editions of textbooks are usually just fine and much cheaper.

Thrift stores are great if you need items for your dorm or apartment, they have appliances and offer testing areas in a section of the store.

Specific to Seattle: There’s a place called Seattle ReCreative and you can get school supplies for extremely cheap.

Check when stores offer back to school sales and get supplies then for cheaper than usual.

Get your syllabus as soon as possible so you can photocopy all the needed pages in textbooks.

Look for websites that offer similar information in the textbook, sometimes it’s explained better online, gives examples, or just generally better worded.

Buy school supplies during tax-free weekend.

Apply for as many local scholarships as possible and do it every year in college, not just freshman year.

Ask absolutely every place you go if they offer student discounts. Many places don’t advertise this, but will offer some kind of discount if you show your student ID.

Find out if your school has assistance options for lower income students.

HERE is a list of food budget tips, recipes, and websites to help.

Some classes have extra fees for whatever reason, for example they will charge more if certain equipment will be used. If it’s not a course you need, sometimes it’s better to find cheaper elective classes.

Consider community college to save money, and then transfer to a 4 year school. Or attend community college classes during the summer but make sure to always check if the credits transfer.

If you need to use a credit card, try to get on with cash back rewards. Also check which banks offer perks for students, like free checking or a no-free policy for low minimum balances.

Check out your college newspaper and signs around campus. You will often find information about free events or find coupons with discounts on near by businesses.

School supplies that don’t sell at stores like Walmart and Target are extremely discounted during the last week of August.

bookboon // for accounting, business, economics & finance, engineering, IT & programming, languages, marketing & law, natural sciences, statistics & mathematics (+ career & study advice, strategy & management)

booksee // for arts & photography, biographies & memoirs, business & investing, computers & internet, cooking, entertainment, health, history, home, law, literature & fiction, medicine, references, religion, science, sports, travel, and other categories

boundless // for accounting, algebra, art history, biology, business, calculus, chemistry, communications, computer science, economics, education, finance, management, marketing, microbiology, music, physics, physiology, political science, psychology, sociology, statistics, U.S. history, world history, writing

california learning resource network // for mathematics, science, history

ck-12 // for elementary math, arithmetic, measurement, algebra, geometry, probability, statistics, trigonometry, analysis, calculus, earth science, life science, physical science, biology, chemistry, physics, sat exam prep, engineering, technology, astronomy, english, history

college open textbook // for anthropology & archeology, art, biology & genetics, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, engineering & electronics, english & composition, health & nursing, history, languages & communication, law, literature, math, music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, science, sociology, statistics & probability

ebooklobby // for arts & photography, biographies & memoirs, business, computers & internet, cooking, entertainment, health, home & garden, law, literature & fiction, sports, travel

freemathbooks // for algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, applied math, probability, analysis, statistics, and other sub-categories of mathematics

global text project // for business, computing, education, health, science, social sciences

openstax cnx // for arts, business, humanities, mathematics & statistics, science & technology, social sciences

open culture // for art history, biology, business & management, chemistry, classics, computer science & information systems, earth science, economics & finance, education, engineering, history, linguistics, law, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, sociology

open textbook library // for accounting and finance, business, management & marketing, computer science & information systems, economics, general education, humanities & language, law, mathematics & statistics, natural & physical sciences, social sciences

textbook revolution // for biology, business & management, chemistry, computer science & technology, earth sciences, economics, engineering, environment, ESL, health sciences & medical, mathematics, physics, society and social sciences, sociology, world history

+ bonus

bookstacks // popular classics

1) She takes care of her body and treats it with respect.

 2) She eats well and doesn’t under-eat, binge, or purge. 

 3) She moves her body in ways that feel good to her and rests without an ounce of guilt.

 4) She gets an adequate amount of sleep and rest. If she has difficulty sleeping, she sees it as an opportunity to practice mindfulness and/or other relaxation techniques. 

 5) She does not abuse drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, or screen-time.

 6) She maintains a good balance between resting and accomplishing things (being and doing). 

 7) She maintains a good balance between being with people and being alone.

 8) When she is alone, she enjoys her own company. 

 9) She treats herself like she would treat a child she adores or her best friend. 

10) She has a loving, kind soundtrack of thoughts that play in her mind and when unkind or unhelpful thoughts pop up, she challenges them. 

11) She has a good relationship with her emotions. She cries when she’s sad and expresses her anger and frustration respectfully. She welcomes all her feelings and either sits with them, reaches out to safe people, or gives herself what she needs. 

12) She is able to grieve her losses and treat herself kindly in the process. 

13) She reaches out for support when she’s struggling. 

14) She has made peace with the past and also acknowledges and honors her past hurts when they arise. 

15) She can tolerate anxiety and change without catastrophizing. 

16) She spends a lot of her time in the present moment rather than lost in the past or the future. 

17) She spends time doing things for the sheer pleasure of it rather than always thinking she needs to be accomplishing something. 

18) She makes time for things that fulfill her and are important to her. 

19) She is able to compromise at times without compromising her values or her core needs. 

 20) She follows her heart and gives herself time to get clarity if she is unsure about something.

 21) She maintains a balance between giving to herself and giving to others. 

 22) She knows that hard times will pass, and she is extra sweet to herself when life feels extra hard. 

23) She uses supportive tools (journaling, reaching out to safe people, spiritual practices, reading, therapy, podcasts, etc.) when life gets hard instead of using substances, negative self-talk or unhealthy behaviors. 

24) She feels lovable and worthy regardless of the circumstances in her life. 

25) She looks for opportunities to practice acceptance and gratitude. 

26) She is aware of her finances and lives within her means. 

27) She uses her finances to both treat herself and be responsible for herself. 

28) She can accept compliments without disclaimers. 

29) She doesn’t expect herself (or others) to be happy all the time and uses her struggles as opportunities to get support and be kind to herself. 

30) She expresses her thoughts, feelings and needs in a respectful, mature manner and respectfully listens to other people’s thoughts, feelings and needs. 

31) She spends time with people she feels safe and aligned with. 

32) She sets limits with others when she needs to. She can say “no” or “I need to change my mind” on occasion without thinking she is a terrible person. 

33) She does not spend time comparing herself to others. She knows that everyone struggles and that nobody is better than or less than she is. 

34) She does not give other peoples’ opinions more weight than her own. 

35) When confronted with disagreements, she values the other person’s point of view and also checks in with herself to see if she agrees, disagrees, or needs more time to think about it. 

36) She can hear and consider difficult feedback from others without attacking them or herself. 

37) She can apologize to others and forgive herself for her humanness.

38) She can forgive others for being imperfect and move beyond relationship glitches. 

39) She can be in her strength without being disrespectful to others. She can be in her softness without being disrespectful to herself. 

½ mensch (sogo ishii, 1986)