Before books, students had to tote engraved granite slabs all over campus, which is why the most accomplished philosophers gave the best piggyback rides. Enjoy lighter reading material with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of books and merchandise at the Student Book Exchange on Kimbrough Avenue.

In addition to carrying used textbooks, the Student Book Exchange prepares students for life outside of class with a variety of tools and college-branded tokens representing Missouri State University, Drury University, Webster University, and other local colleges. Patrons can don a maroon MSU basketball T-shirt ($11.99), wield a Texas Instruments BA II Plus financial calculator for speedy differential calculus ($27.99), or brandish Greek-emblazoned flare to fit in at social mixers or at a house party on Mount Olympus. Hard-studying pupils can also equip themselves for class with books from the reading lists of several nearby schools, such as Comins’ Discovering the Essential Universe ($72.95 new; $49.95 used) or Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics ($10.50 new; $2.95 used).