Canadian LSAT Books
Note This is the same as the normal books post, except the links are for amazon.ca. Prices are unfortunately higher in Canada, and books take longer to ship. If amazon doesn't stock the book, Chapters is another option.
In this post I'm going to do three things:
- Show you the most important books that I have all my tutoring students buy.
- Show you some supplementary books that can be useful, but aren't essential.
- Show you some online options to buy LSAT tests.
For free online LSAT resources, check out this guide.
The book links below are for Amazon; they have the best prices. If you order over $25, they include free shipping.
Note: The LSAC Book titles are very strange. The most recent book, for example, is called: Ten New Actual Official LSATs.
Even I can't keep these titles straights. It's easiest to refer to the books by test numbers. E.g. LSATs 52-61.
###Only Buy Books That Use Real LSAT Questions
Most LSAT books in the bookstore aren't worth it. Kaplan, Princeton Review and Barron's find it too expensive to license real LSAT questions - so they invent their own.
Do not practice using fake questions. Made-up questions will either be too easy, too hard, or, even worse, they will be different than real LSAT questions.
All the books listed below use real questions. If you buy a book that I haven't listed here, check that it uses real questions. A few do; most don't.
Note: Kaplan and Princeton Review books from LSAT courses tend to use real questions; so they're ok to use. Though it's still better to get full LSAT preptests from LSAC.
###Books You Need To Buy - Official, Recent Preptests
Everyone serious about the LSAT should buy these books. The total cost is only ~$70 if you get them on amazon.
As of May 2012, the LSAC has released 65 LSATs. June 2012 will be LSAT 66. (The February LSAT is never released)
You should get all the LSATs from 52-65, and likely 29-38 as well.
This is the best selling LSAT Book on Amazon for a reason. It has ten full, recent tests + scoresheets. $2 per test.
The Next Ten LSATs (29-38), $22
These are cheap, and the LSAT hasn't changed too much since they were released. Still the fourth best LSAT selling book on Amazon.
LSATs 62-65, $11 each
The most recent LSATs. The test has slowly changed over time; you should write all four of these most recent tests.
LSAT 65 LSAT 64 LSAT 63 LSAT 62
###Useful, But Not Essential: LSATs 39-51 and Superprep
The LSAC also publishes these books. They are useful, so you'll want to consider them if you have the budget.
LSAT Superprep, $22
The fifth-best selling LSAT book on Amazon.
The Superprep has a guide to each section, and three full length tests. The tests come with full explanations from the LSAC, as well as difficulty ratings. The difficulty ratings are handy - no other LSAT questions have ratings.
The official explanations are unique to the Superprep. They sound like a great idea…but they can be as hard to understand as the questions themselves. Very dense.
If you can figure out the explanations, then they will help you understand what the LSAC is looking for, which is quite handy.
The practice tests are fairly old, which makes them less useful.
LSATs 39-51, $11-13 each
The LSAC should bundle ten of these tests into one book and sell it for $20, just like they do for all the other tests.
Instead, you must buy tests 39-51 individually.
These are better practice materials than tests 29-38. But you'll have to spend $120 to get ten tests, vs. $19. Bleh.
Some of these aren't even currently in stock on Amazon. I provided the links, but you might have to look for used copies.
In Canada, online pdf copies are a much better option (see below)
LSAT 51 LSAT 50 LSAT 49 LSAT 48 LSAT 47 LSAT 46 LSAT 45 LSAT 44 LSAT 43 LSAT 42 LSAT 41 LSAT 40 LSAT 39
###Books You Don't Need To Buy
I'm mentioning these books only because:
- You should know about them.
- You should know why you don't need them.
Ten LSATs, at a good price. The problem? They're old. They date from 1996-1999, and the LSAT has changed since then.
Only get this book if you run out of newer tests.
Ten Actual LSATs, $22
This book has ten tests between 7 and 19. They're from the early 90's.
Other students may mention this book, but you probably shouldn't get it. The logic games are very different from those on the modern LSAT.
###Strategy Guides/PowerScore
Most LSAT strategy guides are not that good. They're not consistent. If you buy a PR, Kaplan or Barron's book, they will have some good strategies. They will also have some bad strategies. It will be very hard for you to tell them apart.
(I usually prefer to have students just use LSAT Blog. I can recommend almost everything there.)
The Powerscore books are an exception. They're the industry leaders in LSAT strategy books. They only use real LSAT questions. And the strategies tend to be quite good.
The books are called "Bibles" - it's brilliant marketing. Most students find the Logic Games Bible most useful. The LG Bible is the second best-selling LSAT Book on Amazon, and the LR Bible is #3.
Few students use the RC Bible.
I do have issues with Powerscore.
- The guides are long. Use them as reference manuals. You do not have to read through them before starting to practice.
- The Bibles focus on the LSAT as it used to be. For example, the Logical Reasoning Bible emphasizes formal logical diagramming, which is rare on modern LR. I often see Powerscore students trying to diagram questions that should not be diagrammed.
- They're expensive. Buying all three Bibles costs over $120.
###The Powerscore Bibles
PowerScore Logic Games Bible, $43
PowerScore Logical Reasoning Bible $43
PowerScore Reading Comprehension Bible, $43
###Alternate Strategy Guides?
Master The LSAT, $33
I have not used this book. I hesitated to include it for that reason, but it is heavily recommended on Top Law Schools.
The lack of a good, cheap LSAT guide bugs me, so I wanted to suggest this as a possibility. It has good amazon reviews, it's not expensive and it uses real LSAT questions.
Has anyone used this book? Let me know, and I'll include your feedback.
Manhattan LSAT (Set Of Three Guides), $82
These are a new entry; I haven't used them either. But they have good reviews on amazon, and favorable mentions on TLS. If you've used these, let me know your experience. They're available separately for $30 each.
Manhattan LG Manhattan LR Manhattan RC
###Online LSAT Materials
7Sage now sells pdf LSAT preptests at cost. This means tests cost from ~$3-$6, cheaper than anywhere else in many cases. This is the best option for tests 39-51 and 62-66. The quality is excellent.
(The LSAC books above are still the cheapest source for 19-38 and 52-61)
LSAT Blog and Cambridge LSAT also sell pdf LSATs, but they are more expensive and the quality is worse.
###Conclusion
Do you have experience with the books on this list? Have you found any other books useful? Let me know in the comments!
Note: The links above are affiliate links. You pay the same price, but Amazon pays me a small commission if you buy something. These are exactly the books I mention to all my students.
Restarting r/LSAT is fun, but a lot of work, and this is a good, costless way to support it.
If you don't like the idea of me getting grocery money from this post, you can click on theses non-affiliate links for the major books:
LSATs 52-61, LSATs 29-38, LSAT 65, LSAT 64, LSAT 63, LSAT 62, LSAT Superprep, Powerscore LG, Powerscore LR, Powerscore RC, Master the LSAT Manhattan 3-set Manhattan LG Manhattan LR Manhattan RC
Posted Jun 4, 2012, 1:58 PM UTC · edited