A few notes of varying interest and importance:
Prime Time America
During the week of December 31 - January 4 I’m scheduled to guest on Moody Radio’s Prime Time America with Greg Wheatley. We’ll be discussing The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment and all things related to spiritual discernment. We’ll be carrying on the discussion for a few minutes each of those days. So if you listen to Prime Time America, well, hopefully you’ll enjoy that.
Win A Gift Certificate Again
This is the final pre-order bonus offer! The last one went well and people seemed to enjoy it, so I thought I’d give it one more shot. If you pre-order my book between now and December 10 you’ll automatically qualify to win a $100 gift certificate from Westminster Books. You will receive one ballot for each copy you purchase. If interested, you can pre-order the book by clicking here.
Christmas Book Bargains
My wife has pretty well finished her Christmas shopping. Though I am well advanced in my shopping, I still have a ways to go. You may well be like me—still looking for that final perfect gift or two. I’ve been keeping an eye out for some deals and thought I’d pass along a few of them.
Westminster Books seems to be the first to have Sinclair Ferguson’s new book in stock: In Christ Alone. I have not had time to read much of it yet, but have progressed far enough to think it looks excellent and well worth the read (would we expect anything else?).
Westminster also seems to be the first to have the new Indelible Grace CD available: Wake Thy Slumbering Children. This is a favorite series of mine and I can’t wait to get ahold of that album.
Monergism Books has some good deals, such as 1 Timothy in the Reformed Expository Commentary set for $18.99 and the Calvin Commentary set for $169. Rummage through their Sale category for some bargains.
Christian Book Distributors, as they often do, has great deals on sets of books. They have sets of Spurgeon’s sermons and Luther’s sermons, church history, commentaries, and so on. I find it’s the best place to begin when looking to buy a complete set of books.
I also keep tabs on what’s happening at Amazon
Happy shopping! Make sure you check shipping schedules this time of year to ensure that your items make it to you before stores and couriers close down for the holidays.
If you know of other good deals online that we should be aware of, feel free to post a comment below…
Comments (12) »
1. Jerry
December 5, 2007
4:32 PM
Will I need to order another copy to be eligible for this giveaway or will you select the winner from the entire pool of pre-orders to date? Thanks.
2. Simon
December 5, 2007
5:03 PM
For a blog that says its not trying to sell anything, a lot of your blog posts sound more like book sales and or endorsements of various online book stores.
3. Tim Challies
December 5, 2007
5:04 PM
Will I need to order another copy to be eligible for this giveaway or will you select the winner from the entire pool of pre-orders to date?
This is for new purchasers. I’m not anticipating that too many people will order another copy. I do intend to express my gratitude to all who pre-ordered after the pre-order period ends next week.
4. Andrew Moody
December 5, 2007
5:11 PM
As for CBD deals, here are some that aren’t made public on their website:
Berkhof’s Systematic Theology - $10.99 (WOW)
Use stock #GK38200 (enter it manually) to get this deal.
FF Bruce’s The Gospel and Epistles of John - $8.99
Use stock #GK49156 to get this deal.
In addition to purchasing the others, I picked up the complete Hendriksen and Kistemaker commentary series for $99 (no special code needed). I also purchased 10 copies of Berkhof to give away in the future, that’s really an unbelievable deal.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Andrew
5. Tim Challies
December 5, 2007
5:55 PM
For a blog that says its not trying to sell anything, a lot of your blog posts sound more like book sales and or endorsements of various online book stores.
Simon - I don’t try to make this a site that shills products. But I do try to make people aware of good bargains. I thought for a long time before posting this as it concerns me that people will think I’m in the business of taking advantage of them. That’s not what I’m about at all.
I stand to gain little or nothing from such posts. I just thought I’d let people know about deals I’ve dug up. If this offends you or anyone else, feel free to let me know. I’ve got my contact information publicly available.
6. Tim Challies
December 5, 2007
6:02 PM
Simon - Incidentally, I just took a quick look through the past seventeen posts (i.e. the five on the main page and ten listed at the bottom) and found that this is the only post, apart from book reviews (which have always been and will always be an essential part of what I do) that specifically mention products or bookstores. Before that I linked to some Black Friday deals. But I really don’t think that this type of post is very prevalent on my site.
7. Bibliomaniac
December 5, 2007
7:02 PM
Frankly, Tim, I wouldn’t mind at all if you occasionally pointed out specials more often. The last time you mentioned a sale at Monergism, I got a much-needed book right then, and I’m grateful to have obtained it for a good price (which helped me to exercise good stewardship!). Having followed your blog for a LONG time, I know you’ve very rarely ever done this.
I have not yet ordered your discernment book (I’ve been well aware of it for a long time), but this offer of a gift certificate to Westminster might finally push me to do so. :)
8. Jeri
December 6, 2007
12:25 AM
That is so exciting about the interviews on Prime Time America. I’ll tell other people I know around here who tune in to Moody radio about it.
9. Dan Morrow
December 6, 2007
4:12 AM
Tim, first let me say that I enjoy your blog and find so much of what you write or point toward edifying and enlightening. Thanks.
Second, just my two cents, but I have no problem with you or anyone for that matter sharing deals or even attempting to sell items on their blog. You posted about this awhile ago and there was a good discussion going, if I remember correctly.
As far as I am concerned, if I feel that someone is simply trying to sell products and push people to the most profitable associate sites, then I will just avoid that blog. It will die off soon enough. However, when it is obvious that a service is being provided (a good deal offered, or an edifying book or product highlighted, etc.) I have no problem with the blogger getting a kick back. I know that you are not pushing products arbitrarily and that is what matters to me. So please keep it up.
Dan
10. Dr. Bob LaForce
December 6, 2007
7:47 AM
Hi Tim, I often look first at Amazon Used Books and compare their prices with Westminster, CBD; etc. Often they offer a book of excellent quality with no underlining (I mark up all my books - even my Bibles!) for a great price. In most cases, I am not picky about it being new, just in good to excellent condition. I find my best deal there more than 75% of the time. I even look there first for new books because books (like yours) are often sold pre-distrib. and used copies really do come available earlier than most folks think! Hope this is helpful.
11. David Teh
December 6, 2007
9:18 AM
Hi Simon,
You probably have to see those posts in the context of all the other posts throughout the year, especially considering:
- a lot of publishers seem to choose this period to get the new titles out;
- this is also the period when a lot of good offers are made
Tim is just doing a service to us. :)
12. Deb
December 6, 2007
12:35 PM
I preordered a couple of books from Amazon and they gave 5% off for preorders and if the price goes down between now and publication, they will give you the lower price and still take off the 5%. CBD has a damaged books section under Bargains and my husband got some REALLY good deals there during his Seminary days. The sets that he got had a bent corner on each of the end books, but other than that, they were fine and about 25% of retail. I don’t know if their current deals are as good, haven’t checked it recently.