Last Week of January Promotion

You may be forgiven for not knowing we even had a January promo. I confess with shame that it is nowhere to be seen on our website! A clue to the reason for this omission is at the top of the home page. Lorna has put out a message that the winds of change are blowing and she is in the midst of the tornado, ie. our new website is less than a month from completion (subject to the Lord's will, as we have always proved on projects past). Anyway too much time is needed on this to allow for full updating of the existing site - hence the missing January promotion. Of course if you have already given permission you will have received the promotion by email in the January bulletin. Something to consider if you haven't already signed up - just drop an email with 'subscribe' in the subject line and Bob's your uncle.
On to the promotion itself. We are trying to encourage reading from the section we describe as Biblical Studies. This covers commentaries and sermons, as well as Bible guides and reference books. In other words, serious stuff from past and present, for which a blanket 15% discount applies.
Then, within this section, books from some accessible commentary series are available at 25% discount. These are Day One's 'Opening Up' and 'Exploring the Bible' series, which are aimed at giving brief overviews and introductions to Bible books. Also Banner of Truth's 'Let's Study' series which are more in depth and focus on the New Testament books. Some excellent material here and now just one week to come and get it. Sorry I forgot to tell you earlier.
Jeremy

Who Made That Poster?

Back to 'Who Made God' by Edgar Andrews. EP Books, as they like to be known, are due to begin an advertising campaign placing large posters at mainline railway stations. This is quite a new and exciting venture for a christian book and credit is due to them for a bold attempt to place the book in front of the 'man in the street' and not confining themselves to the converted. But when these posters are unveiled on 1st February you will be loudly informed on them to buy the book from Amazon.co.uk. There is no mention of any other outlet. But why not? I say, don't buy it from Amazon!! Support your local Christian Bookshop or else at least order from a christian on-line retailer. Why boost Amazon's profits? Like a giant anaconda they will eventually squeeze the life out of their competitors and we will all be the poorer for it. If you do want to make a christian statement then go into a major high street bookshop and ask for this book, but don't get it from Amazon. It just confirms people in the mentality that Amazon are the place to go for everything. A one stop shop. Yes, the book is listed at a serious discount (20% off RRP of £9.95 when I checked). I feel strongly enough about this to be prepared to offer it at the same price as Amazon to anyone who sees this blog so as to provide a serious alternative in terms of price and service.

Jeremy

The Times

...they are a-changing. Markedly so in the booktrade. The high street bookshop has been under increasing pressure from on-line sellers such as Amazon for some time. Just before Christmas the Borders chain collapsed. The same trend has been observed in the Christian sector of the trade. Last year IBS-STL, the largest Christian media supplier in Europe, went bust. They owned the 40 strong Wesley Owen chain of shops. So the New Year has begun with much navel gazing. Is the traditional concept of a Christian Bookshop viable anymore? This has not escaped the notice of the national press, and last Friday 'The Times' newspaper published a very informative and thought provoking article. I recommend reading it - you can find it on Times online:-
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6990136.ece?
I don't agree with the idea mentioned in the article of the Christian Bookshop as a kind of church, or substitute for it. But it is a place of contact, potential spiritual communion (or conflict!) It is more than a mere marketplace, and yet has to be able to shape up to on-line marketers and direct selling from publishers. What do you think? Are we fit for purpose?
Jeremy

Christian Values in Education

Just processing a pile of booklets from CViE (Christian Values in Education). Covering a wide range of issues from Euthanasia to The British Consitution, they are worth taking a look at. We send them out free, or most of them are downloadable from their website... http://www.cvie.org.uk/Home.aspx
Lorna

Happy New Year!

Just poking my head out of the snow hole that is the bookshop to wish all readers a Happy New Year! The snow and ice has cooled the trading temperature as well as everything else, which is a relief in an odd sort of way.
Before Christmas we had a visit from the Bradford Christian School, which was really great. I want to include a very special review of a classic book, which was purchased by a Year 9 pupil (13-14 year olds I think). This is so exciting because it gives a rarely expressed 'child's eye view'. Thanks are due to the School and the young lady herself for allowing me to reproduce the review here:

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.

The book is about a woman in Holland who lives with her sister and father above their watchmakers shop. The story escalates from just a diary of a normal life into a close to death situation when the family are caught and arrested for hiding Jews in their house. The scenery transforms from a house in a town to a small four walled prison cell. Separation, desperation and starvation are all key words in this book, but so are love, trust and sacrifice. The particular thing I like about this book is the ‘just keep trusting in God’ attitude the characters have and their ability to just keep going and loving people no matter how much pain that person may have caused.

I would recommend this to certain people that enjoy reading challenging books or to a friend that might be struggling with something, it’s like the kind of book that shows hope in awful situations.

This book is adventurous and something that you can relate to, and maybe learn from.

So there you are. If you have never read it, now's the time to start! It'll cost you £7.99 at the most.

Jeremy