Wednesday 25 January 2012

Blog Tours

Finish the Race - Eric LiddellChristian Focus Publications regularly run blog tours of their books.  Anyone wanting a free review copy of a book must be prepared to post a review on their personal blog & on an online retailers website.  Keep an eye on the Christian Focus Blog to see which books they are planning blog tours for.
Their current blog tour is for the children's book Finish the Race - Eric Liddell (from the popular trailblazers series) and one of our customers has taken part!  Take a look - it's a great way to get an all round opinion on a particular book.
Lorna

Monday 16 January 2012

Our New Ventures

One end of the technological spectrum to the other - old books and eBooks.  These are the new areas that we are moving into, as you will see on the latest version of our website.  We have taken on most of the secondhand / antiquarian books formerly held by Zoar Books, which ceased trading in September 2011.  Extensive sifting and cataloguing is underway, and the current booklist is now available to search on a secured spreadsheet, which opens from our homepage.  So add the website to your favourites to include in your book searches.  At present you cannot order secondhand books directly from the website, but just drop us an email or phone us about them. There are about 2800 to go at - and counting!
A fast developing sector, although still in its infancy, is eBooks.  We have decided to enter with caution.  Christian Focus Publications have been particularly supportive, and we can offer the eBooks they have available.  Also our own distributed titles will increasingly feature, all being well.  They are in PDF format at the moment, and you will notice that A.B. Hoblyn's tracts are FREE!  We aim to add to the eBook range to bring together some really sound and profitable material in one place.  These are exciting times, and we've only just started!
Jeremy 

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Hit By Friendly Fire

I first came across Michael A Milton as an author by reading his striking book of short essays 'Small Things, Big Things' published by P & R in 2009.  It was so winsome and out of the ordinary that I couldn't help but like it, even though I didn't agree with it all.  So when his name came up in the list of new titles being brought out by EP Books I was intrigued, and latched onto the book when it arrived just before Christmas.  It is a very different read than the other - much shorter, more focused, and more restrained.  Milton handles a subject more prevalent than Christians would like to admit, that of being hurt or betrayed by fellow believers.  He correctly identifies this as being deeply emotive and takes on the role of caring pastor - sensitively applying the scriptures.  Joseph and the Apostle Paul are particularly used as case studies, but Jesus himself of course as the supreme example.  They are returned to repeatedly within Milton's step by step process to help bring healing: 'take up your cross; take off your crown; go to your Gethsemane.'  I have to say that while I don't think Milton has rightly engaged with Paul's meaning in Philippians 3:10-11, I do think his overall principles are sound and profitable.  Indeed they apply to many other types of hurt, and I found a dose of his medicine helpful although not palatable.  Thus, by being capable of extension from the particular to the general, this little book packs a big punch.  It is kind on the pocket too at £4.99.
Jeremy 

Saturday 7 January 2012

A nice boost to our New Year!

I know we linked to this on our facebook page, & we don't particularly like blowing our own trumpets but this was a morale boosting review that we couldn't really allow to disappear into the mists of time too easily (and we realise that many of our customers don't see our facebook page).  So thank you to Gervase Charmley, our 'Mystery Shopper'!