Since you purchased the books from somewhere other than the school and it was not required to be purchased from the school, enter the expense in the 'books and materials not required to be purchased from the school' box.
As mentioned by expert ColeenD3, this distinction is made so that the correct expenses can be calculated for the different education credits allowed. Then, TurboTax will recommend which credit is best for your tax situation based on all of your inputs to this section.
@confusedrf
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