The Future of Discerning Reader
About one year ago I became the owner of the domain discerningreader.com. The purpose of Discerning Reader has been to serve Christians by providing discerning reviews of books that are intended for Christians or that are of particular interest to Christians. The former category primarily includes titles published by Christian publishing houses; the latter includes books that may impact the church even though they are not targeted at Christians (titles such as The Da Vinci Code or The God Delusion). Discerning Reader has also served both authors and publishers in promoting books that are consistent with the truths of the Bible. The site now has reviews of hundreds of Christian books, information about authors, and other relevant information. Reaction to the site has been very positive and it has become a regular stop for many Christian readers.
The site has been a labor of love and has not generated any revenue. Nor have I intended it to do so. But now, in my eagerness to find ideas that can serve the church, it has occurred to me that I could leverage what I have begun at Discerning Reader to provide a useful resource that would stand between publishers and readers. It would carry on the vision of Discerning Reader - putting good books in the hands of believers while equipping them to deal in a discerning fashion with books that are unbiblical. But it would also further this goal. I have a burning desire to encourage people to read and to read good books. I am a firm believer in an educated laity (not to mention an educated clergy) and believe that having Christians read good books will be a significant means to that noble end!
But I can only really bring this to fruition if it does not interfere with my need to make a living. And the best way of having this happen would be to generate revenue through Discerning Reader. And so I am in the initial stages of investigating adding a paid component to Discerning Reader. Rather than staying only with the current model, where visitors come to Discerning Reader as they feel the need to investigate books, it will push regular content to readers.
If this plan goes forward, the site will soon feature both free content and content available only to subscribers. It will also be completed redesigned and rebranded. There will be two subscription levels: individual and church.
- Free content will be available online at discerningreader.com. It will include book reviews, book suggestions, author information and site updates. In other words, it will include just about all of the current content.
- Content available to individual subscribers will include a bi-weekly newsletter containing at least one thorough book summary of a particularly important book, shorter summaries of notable but less-important books, and updates about notable new releases from publishers. The newsletter will be suitable for printing. All content in the newsletter will also be available online at discerningreader.com to those who subscribe. The book summaries should not be confused with reviews. They will attempt to objectively summarize a book without interacting with it (whereas a review is, by its very nature, subjective).
- Content available to church subscribers will include all the features available to individual subscribers but the newsletter will contain additional content geared specifically for churches. This will include short summaries suitable for printing in church bulletins, suggestions for church libraries, and so on. All content in the newsletter will also be available online at discerningreader.com to those who subscribe.
The individual subscriptions will be considered personal use, meaning that the subscriber will not be permitted to distribute the content. Church subscriptions will allow the newsletters to be printed and distributed to those attending the church (they can be printed and handed out, posted to bulletin boards, etc).
Books chosen for a thorough summary for those who choose to subscribe to access the paid content will likely fall into one of three categories. The first is books that are intended for Christians, are published by Christian publishers, are consistent with the Bible and are recommended by Discerning Reader. Ideal candidates might be titles such as Nancy Pearcey’s Total Truth, David Wells’ Above All Earthly Pow’rs, John Piper’s Desiring God, and so on. These are books that are “thinking books” and are groundbreaking in some way. The second category is books that are intended for Christians, are published by Christian publishers, and are exceedingly popular, but are not necessarily recommended by Discerning Reader. Titles in this category might include Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Church, Brian McLaren’s A Generous Orthodoxy, or Don Piper’s 90 Minutes in Heaven. The third category is books that are not written by or for Christians, but are somehow relevant to them. In this category we may find Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Richard Dawkin’s The God Delusion, Sam Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation and the like. These are books that have targeted Christianity and are, thus, of interest to Christians. With books in these latter two categories we would attempt, after providing a subjective summary, to help Christians think rightly about the topics raised.
It is my hope that, if this new idea proves feasible, it can serve authors, publishers, churches and individual readers. It will provide a bi-weekly newsletter encouraging Christians to read good books and to read them with discernment. At the same time it will help readers understand other popular books, how to think rightly about them, and how to respond to them.
The reason I post all this is to ask for your input and your feedback. Primarily I need to know if this is something you would consider subscribing to. It is my opinion that, with the huge increase in the number of books being printed, Christians are eager to seek feedback before they make a purchase and before they invest their time in reading. Therefore, I think this would prove a valuable service. But I could be wrong. So here are three questions.
- Would you, as an individual, consider subscribing to a service of this nature? And as a second part to this question, would you, as a pastor or elder, consider subscribing your church to a service of this nature?
- If you would consider subscribing, what would you be willing to pay? My thought is that something like $40/year would be fair for personal use and perhaps $150 or so for a church subscription.
- Are there other features you would suggest, expect or demand if you were to subscribe to this service?
Your answers to these questions, and any other feedback you care to give, is most appreciated.
Comments (38) »
1. Wes Bredenhof
May 3, 2007
3:21 PM
I’m not sure that I would subscribe as an individual (I get my book recommendations from a wide variety of sources, especially theological journals), but I would definitely consider subscribing our church. This could be a helpful service. I have regularly recommended challies.com and discerningreader.com to our church members.
2. Jacob
May 3, 2007
3:34 PM
As a current college student who is soon to be a former college student, I can’t say I’d be up for subscribing, though down the road, I might consider it. Still, $40 per year, sounds reasonable, though some print magazines are only $20 per year.
3. Joshua
May 3, 2007
3:46 PM
You gotta do what you gotta do. The resource is excellent.
4. Tim Challies
May 3, 2007
4:09 PM
“Still, $40 per year, sounds reasonable, though some print magazines are only $20 per year.”
They are. But they are stuffed full of advertising, something I would largely avoid (so as to maintain as much objectivity as possible).
And thanks, everyone, for your honesty! If you think this is an awful idea, be sure to tell me!
5. Patrick
May 3, 2007
4:28 PM
Tim -
First of all I appreciate your labor of love in these two sites and I’ve found them encouraging and helpful.
Secondly, what about offering your team’s most recommended book for the month or quarter and send that book to your subscribers? Like most, I buy books and often times the books I buy I find from recommendations from MacArthur, Mohler, Dever, Piper, etc..
You could add a third subscription model where not only you get all of the inidividual model’s features, but you also get the discerning reader’s most recommended book per quarter, for say $80/year.
My 2 cents..
6. Savvy Steward
May 3, 2007
4:37 PM
Wow, I haven’t visited Discerning Reader in a while. I used to buy books during college and read all the articles. I appreciated the free pdf downloads.
I think $40 an year is a fair price if the content continues to remain top notch. I see that you are using an Amazon affiliate program for the books that you review. Is that bringing in supplemental income?
Another idea might be to start a forum first where people can come and discuss books. Then after you reach critical mass, maybe offering subscription level content would be more successful.
7. Ron Harvey
May 3, 2007
5:41 PM
40 days, 40 nights, $40 bucks, sounds very reasonable… . . but I want a tee shirt that says, “Challies is my homeboy!” What do you think?
8. Royce Dalton
May 3, 2007
5:41 PM
Tim, I read your blog consistently and subscribe to your RSS feed. This is my first time to comment. I simply want to let yu know that I would seriously consider subscribing at $36 - $40 per year for the content you describe. While I don’t visit Discerning Reader nearly as often as do this blog, I do visit some and find the content useful.
Whatever you decide to do, may God bless you to continue your work.
9. Hesed
May 3, 2007
6:36 PM
As a pastor, I would be interested in subscribing myself, but I would not be interested in a church subscription. Our people are so overloaded with info and so incredibly busy that I don’t think anyone would read this if we were to make it available to the congregation, and, to be honest, this wouldn’t be at the top of my list of things to get them to read. That’s not a criticism or put down at all, just a reality. Just my thought.
Also, I’d be really interested to see more straight summaries, as opposed to reviews, as you mentioned. There are tons of books that I’ll never get around to reading, but would value reading an extended summary of.
Thanks Tim!
10. Brian @ voiceofthesheep
May 3, 2007
6:53 PM
I understand the concept and reasoning behind the idea of paying a subscription fee for information about books, but I don’t know how widely that would be done.
I guess my thinking is, why pay for information that can be gotten for free elsewhere? I do understand that a subscription service for DR would be extremely comprehensive in terms of the scope of what all would be covered and reviewed. I just don’t know if the demand is that widespread for info on books to warrant charging for it.
Many authors are already known: Pink, Edwards, Bunyan, MacArthur, Wells, Sproul, Mahaney, etc., etc, and so I wouldn’t see any need to pay for information for anything they have written or will write in the future. Add to that list recommendations of other authors by these known writers, which gives them instant credibility and a lesser need for additional info before purchasing or reading their work.
That leaves the relatively unknown authors that one might want some info on before purchasing one of their books…but I still think enough free info could be found on them instead of paying to know about them and what they have written.
On the other hand…you may just have a brilliant idea on your hands!
11. Kaffinator
May 3, 2007
8:20 PM
I would pay $20 for the newsletter if the summaries were comprehensive, and I would gladly use affiliate links that would compensate you if I chose to click through and buy the actual book from Amazon or whoever.
For the broadest possible distribution I wouldn’t need the first two “categories” (biblical and non-biblical) distinguished, since it is an editorial decision as to whether (for example) PDC is biblical or not. I would want to see summaries on books that seem to be significant and then decide on my own from reading the summary whether I would find it “biblical”.
I like the idea. Hope it works out.
12. michelle
May 3, 2007
9:10 PM
I think that $40 is a little steep for a personal subscription if I understand what the content would be. I paid about $50 for a year’s subscription to the archives of Christianity Today’s library, which includes all of this magazine’s back issues, along with several sister magazines, and about fifty books. Proportionally, I think that $40 is much and would probably deter me.
I agree with you, though, that reviewing books is very helpful.
13. Ian Carmichael
May 3, 2007
9:55 PM
Hi Tim
Firstly let me say how much we appreciate what you do, and also the positive reviews you’ve done of some of our books.
But can I make a plea as a publisher? As well as the categories you mention, could you please add a category of books by Christians intended to be read by non-Christians?
As a publisher, this is a category we conscioulsy aim at, but seems to often be overloooked by the American Christian publishing industry. Books are a very effective way to explain the Christian worldview and to share the gospel with unbelievers.
Of course categories are not always distinct. Many of our books, for example “If I were God I’d End all the Pain”, are helpful for both Christians and non-Christians.
Warm regards from DownUnder!
Ian
14. Jeff Fuller
May 3, 2007
10:43 PM
Perhaps, since you have to read all the books that you review anyways, you could record yourself reading them aloud.
I’d pay $40 a year to have access to listen to audio versions of books that I’d enjoy reading, if I weren’t already reading 2 or 3 others (hey I have A.D.D. tendencies, what can I say). This way I could get great reviews, have books read to me, wash my dog, take out the trash, and cook dinner for my wife all at the same time!
15. Alex Leung
May 3, 2007
10:47 PM
Hi Tim, I think the subscription is a great idea… and as a guy who’s about to enter seminary, I think this would be a great resource to the body of Christ! The reviews have already been very, very helpful in my personal discernment about whether or not to buy/read certain books.
I think pricing on the individual level could be tricky. $40 yearly sounds like a lot, considering the annual subscription rate of a service like Flickr is already $25 usd/year! Personally, I would hesitate at $40/yr… $30 seems more reasonable.
As long as you have enough subscribers, and I hope you would (I’d definitely recommend this to my church friends ) I think this would be a good medium through which we can help you make ends meet :)
Grace to you, my fellow Reformed Canadian! Alex
16. matthew lipscomb
May 4, 2007
12:23 AM
Tim - I remember when the D.R. was started by rob - do you have any idea what rob did with all the antithesis.com stuff? I know that it made some of the hardcore calvinists upset when he started shifting Arminian; and yes, I am also familar with his business misbehaviors (I wrote a blog about that; when lambs bite) but I thought that generally speaking it was a great collection of essays. I know for sure I would pay that much a year to have access to all of that (the “assertions” were great) again as I have actually thought about trying to reach Rob somehow and offer to host them on one of our own servers. We have various and sundry projects/ideas of our own that someday might take on a form similar to that.
Just thought I’d ask
best regards, matthew lipscomb btintermedia.com
17. Mike
May 4, 2007
12:29 AM
$40 sounds fair, and I would sign up.
18. Michael James
May 4, 2007
1:53 AM
I would consider signing up if there was a “book of the month” included in the price (maybe $10/month?).
Michael
19. John Knox
May 4, 2007
1:55 AM
I’d have to see how the finances are after I move, but 40 a year seems very reasonable. :)
20. Jordan Reed
May 4, 2007
2:57 AM
Personally, I’m far too frugal to pay for extra services when perfectly adequate ones are available for free (like your reviews). I’d recommend trying to make money through Google ads or some other advertisements before charging for something. This is the age of free information, think Wikipedia, and people are less likely to pay for things directly even if the service is excellent. I love sports and have enjoyed fantasy baseball for years, but only the free versions.
But, if the interest is there (and it should be because you write excellent material) let me suggest a couple of things. Reduce price to just under $24/yr., and then advertise it as $1.99/mth. or $5.99/qtr. I don’t know if people agree, but I’ve always been more willing to pay what appears to be less (even though its the same as a year).
And perhaps offer the service free for a while to get people hooked, and have word of mouth spread. Thanks for you incredible blog and reviews! Long live A La Carte!
21. afrikaner
May 4, 2007
3:27 AM
Dear Tim
I’m sorry to sound too negative but I would hasten slowly with great caution. I enjoy your thoughtful reformed christian worldview and reading this site. However like many others, I also have other ‘favourite’ sites which engage theological issues at no cost - whether book reviews, audio downloads, articles, papers etc. I already subscribe to the Australian Matthias Media/Press hard copy publication ‘The Briefing’ and receive many other Christian newsletters etc. and Reformation Today. A huge problem for western Christianity is information overload and I am sorry I could not justify spending money on your described service.
That said - keep on pushing boundaries of our minds - to His glory.
22. Robert Tewart
May 4, 2007
5:28 AM
Tim, You wrote:
“It is my opinion that, with the huge increase in the number of books being printed, Christians are eager to seek feedback before they make a purchase and before they invest their time in reading.”
This is your marketing niche because it’s absolutely true. It sounds like you have already begun a valuable service and now it has to be marketed into something that is recognized widely as THE authority in literary discernment. As the emergents and post moderns get softer and less defined in their theology and practice, the conservative and blblically faithful are becoming increasingly hungry for truth. To make this a real success you need to reach the level of a “Hannagraff” or “MacArthur” in terms of reliabilty and necessity. In other words, you have to become indispensible.
Robert Tewart StreetFishing
23. Rey
May 4, 2007
8:22 AM
1a: No 1b: No
2: $20 for year maybe; if reviews were by the Big Dawgs and not a Christian equivalent of free Amazon reviews.
24. Tim H.
May 4, 2007
8:52 AM
I’d be interested. Perhaps you could put together some sample for us to look at and consider. I think that’d be really helpful.
Thanks for all you do, Tim.
25. bibliomaniac
May 4, 2007
11:13 AM
I haven’t visited Discerning Reader for some time, only because some time back, uploads of new reviews were rather inconsistent so I stopped checking the site altogether.
I check this site about once every two or three days (used to check it every day), and there are definitely some reviews I’ve benefited from.
I can fully understand your need to make Discerning Reader generate income to make it worth your while to continue that labor. I think $40 is reasonable, but I wouldn’t pay it for one simple reason—for most books, it’s pretty easy to find reviews, comments, elsewhere. Also, most of what you feature is books or authors we’re already inclined to purchase.
But I do think $40 is reasonable. You may want to consider a special $20 subscription for Bible college and seminary students.
I would guess most of your core audience are believers who are already more or less serious about reading books, and many of the types of books you feature on Discerning Reader tend to attract that crowd. If you want to inspire more truly NEW readers to join the ranks—that is, Christians who COULD be reading more, you will probably need to spread your book selection more toward the types of books that would attract the truly lay-level, non-reading Christian. There are plenty of such believers out there, and the types of books you generally feature on Discerning Reader aren’t the type that are going to draw them in. So I would encourage you to try to think of what WOULD draw them in and build them up.
26. Steven
May 4, 2007
12:43 PM
Like someone else already mentioned, but $40 seems a little steep for me, especially for something that is easily and readily available free with a little research online. I wouldn’t sign up for a paid subscription and highly doubt my church would as well.
Amazon reviewers, pastors, bloggers, and many others are probably already giving a fairly good summary and review of many books that have come out. Your blog has been a great resource as well. I think if you offered something special in addition to reviews then it would be a better model. Say, a monthly subscription for pastors to get the latest and greatest books before they come out to the public, another subscription for lay leaders, along with reviews would be useful. But with my frugality, I probably wouldn’t pay for that either! Just being honest!
I think it is difficult to find a large amount of paying customers unless what you offer is needed and unique. Advertising and/or affiliate programs may work better.
27. Derek
May 4, 2007
10:56 PM
I would only slightly consider paying if sending me a good book were involved. I am wondering, in regards to the people that read this blog and DR, what online paid subscriptions, if any do you all pay for? Personally, I have zero. I used to pay for Consumer Reports online but not anymore. I don’t think the audience is the type that pays for many subscriptions at all. The internet is too vast and information can be found too easily for free to pay.
28. Tom Haddox
May 5, 2007
8:11 AM
I can understand your desire to provide different levels of content, and applaud your efforts. However, I would urge a “scholarship” program on a case by case basis. Otherwise, there may well be some who simply can not affor to be a part of it. Case in point, my own situation. I minister with a small congregation that is recovering from a church split that took 2/3 of the congregation away after the Rick Warren model. Its finacial situation is not good (a month by month barely paying the bills kind of thing). And yet, it is striving to learn to be more discerning in what it believes. Just the sort of congregation that would benefit most from articles about good books. Just a thought. Thanks for your good work.
Tom Haddox
29. Melanie
May 5, 2007
1:47 PM
Sorry to say, but no I would not pay a subscription fee. I find the the reviews interesting but as many others have indicated amazon and chapter’s sites are sufficient. What I had really liked about the old discerning reader was the booklists and recommended reading. I could choose a topic and up came a list of books that were essential reading either because of the quality theological content or because of it’s ability to give insight into how society’s thinking has been influenced. For example, Darwin’s origen of the species. I also liked the Terrible Books list with the reasons why. Now if the new site offered something closer to this, I may consider subcribing for a nominal fee of $15.00. Forty is too much - I could buy two to three good books for that!
30. Steve Camp
May 5, 2007
11:32 PM
Dear Tim:
I also agree with many here who wouldn’t want to see you charge for a review of a book/newsletter. Two main reasons: 1. the need is not there—you can get several good Christian and non-Christian reviews of books on several sites for free; and 2. to charge people a fee for your opinion on a book presupposes some level of authority in that field which would by necessity command financial remuneration for the expertise that warrants that opinion.
Why burden the body of Christ anymore financially than it is already even if it is only $40 - $150? The blogosphere is one of the few resources left to all people without a fee being attached to it… When used, as you do, for the glory of God and the good of His people, it would be a shame to see any dollar value be a prohibitive to any kind of ministry.
Keep on Tim. We all appreciate what you do for the kingdom here daily.
Grace and peace, Steve 2 Cor. 2:17
31. Eli Evans
May 6, 2007
12:58 AM
Hi Tim, This is actually the first time I’ve visited Challies.com (my wife showed me the recent homeschool article), but I’ve been aware of DR for some time. I own a bookstore and do a lot of browsing online for reviews and summaries. But even though I have a professional interest in such things, I have never paid for them. That said, Jordan (post #20) seems to offer decent advice—I would add the idea of making the book summaries available for free after six months or so. That way, you offer a service for those who need to know what’s up and coming, but those (like me) who can wait a while can still eventually have access.
Hope that helps! Eli
32. Eli Evans
May 6, 2007
1:07 AM
Another quick idea… List which books you summarize in each newsletter for free and allow the purchase of a single newsletter (for $2, say)—that way, if you are providing information that someone like me needs right away, we’re not forced into a subscription but can pay you for the service.
33. David
May 6, 2007
4:36 PM
Tim,
Just a thought. You said:
“I am a firm believer in an educated laity (not to mention an educated clergy) and believe that having Christians read good books will be a significant means to that noble end!”
I beg to differ. On two counts.
1) Laity do not need to be more educated; they are born to laity parents and bear laity offspring. God creates us with different needs. I believe it is correct to sy: laity just need to be fed and burped regularly. More than that and you’re asking for mutiny. Or worse.
Now clergy, that’s something else! The true cleric needs the very best reading so that when he delivers his show from the pulpit, the lay-men will be impressed, edified, whatever you like to call it.
Two classes, two functions. It’s in the Bible.
2) There is no way of checking the subscription levels for security breaches. What if a laity-person tells an untruth, and subscribes as clergical?
But here’s a better idea, Tim. Why don’t you provide a monthly review of the greatest book of all, the Bible!? You could charge $67/yr for clergy. For those of the laity who wanted to subscribe, they’d initially pay $249/yr but they could do a “clergification” process (read a certain number of really esoteric books per month and write some really good three-point sermons from free online services) and the subscription rate could drop to the “clergy” level.
Just my two cents.
34. Brian @ voiceofthesheep
May 6, 2007
6:46 PM
David,
Your two cents aren’t even worth a penny.
Steve Camp,
I agree with your thoughts on this whole issue (and enjoy your music, btw). Knowing your background with CCM and departure from it, I appreciate your position regarding not putting additional financial burdens upon the body of Christ.
35. David
May 6, 2007
7:04 PM
Brian,
You need to learn to appreciate tongue-in-cheek humour, bro. I thought the ‘clergy-laity’ distinction went out with tie-dyed shirts. I guess not; the clergy industry is still puffing along under a half-head of steam.
But maybe a halfpenny, then. Can that be my halfpenny’s worth? ;o)
36. A Friend in Missouri
May 6, 2007
7:27 PM
I would gladly pay $40 per year to support the work done by Tim. Yes, there are a vast number of sources for similar information, but…to me all “reviews” are NOT created equal. Over time, I have observed Tim’s thinking, reasoning, and testing of ideas against the ultimate truth, the Word of God. Tim’s blog has caused me to pause and think over and over again. I have consistenly seen clarity of thought and Tim’s most impressive ability to present those thoughts with written clarity.
I am reading Tim’s recommendation “Same Kind of Different as Me” and am thoroughly enjoying it. I have “Jonathan Edwards: A Life” on my nightstand, and I’ve finished “Praying Backwards”. A virtual reading group indeed.
For me, it’s not so much about whether or not the $40 is “a good deal”, but I understand that it takes an enormous amount of time and it is a huge commitment on Tim’s part to keep all this going. I am more than happy to “pay my way” as I truly want Tim’s work to continue, and yes, he needs to feed his family.
Thanks Tim for all you do to prompt me to keep thinking and examining my life.
37. Tim Costine
May 6, 2007
10:58 PM
I would definitely subscribe to the personal, but would like to see how the church one would work out.
38. Philip Gons
May 7, 2007
9:53 AM
Why not just sell ads on the site. You could generate more than enough income to fund the site that way.