The link below is to a website that enables you to upload and sell your own ebooks. If you always wanted to be published and become a successful author, perhaps this site will give you the opportunity to get started. You may be able to earn a few bucks at the very least.
For more, visit:
http://www.bookrix.com/
I have started reading ‘A God Entranced Vision of All Things – The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards,’ with John Piper and Justin Taylor as the general editors of the book. It was published in 2004 by Crossway Books and has 275 pages.
This book is a collection of studies on Jonathan Edwards – his life, ministry and legacy. Each chapter investigates some facet of Edwards and each chapter is penned by a different author. The authors of these studies include John Piper, J. I. Packer, Paul Helm and Sam Storms, names widely recognized in reformed circles. The studies are expansions of messages delivered at a Desiring God Ministries conference in October 2003, celebrating 300 years since the birth of Jonathan Edwards.
In my journey through this book, I have thus far reached the end of chapter 2. What I can say is that this book is very easy to read, but difficult to put down. It has the readability that many books associated with Desiring God Ministries have, yet the weightiness of the subject matter does not allow one to just move through the book without serious reflection.
The book doesn’t leave you contemplating the past and Jonathan Edwards in particular, but the God of Jonathan Edwards and leads the reader to a serious contemplation of the glorious God who is all. Edwards life was about God and his enjoyment of Him, and this is the subject of chapter 1, ‘A God-Entranced Vision of All Things: Why We Need Jonathan Edwards 300 Years Later,’ by John Piper. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the life and legacy of Jonathan Edwards in ‘Jonathan Edwards: His Life and Legacy,’ by Stephen J. Nichols. With chapter 3, ‘Sarah Edwards: Jonathan’s Home and Haven,’ by Noel Piper, the subject matters of the first section of the book is dealt with brilliantly, ‘Part 1 – The Life and Legacy of Edards.’ Certainly I can speak to the first two chapters as having achieved that and I have little doubt the third will compliment the first 2.
The treatment of the guiding principles of Edwards’ life and the brief overview of it, leads the reader to the God of Jonathan Edwards and this would surely be the legacy that Edwards would have hoped for.
The link below is to an article on Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling and her first project after Harry Potter – a novel called ‘The Casual Vacancy.’ The novel is to be released on the 27th September 2012.
For more visit:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/j-k-rowling-unveils-new-book-the-casual-vacancy_b50046
The link below is to a review of the book ‘Wild – From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,’ by Cheryl Strayed. There is also an interview on the book and author linked to below.
For more visit:
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/27/149153398/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-hiking-towards-healing
Interview with Transcript:
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/18/148858058/a-wild-solitary-journey-on-the-pacific-crest-trail
The link below is to an article reporting on a freak car accident involving ‘Fight Club’ author Chuck Palahniuk.
For more visit:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/chuck-palahniuk-survives-car-accident_b49052
Page 99 Test is a social network for authors to post page 99 of their book so that users of the site can test their book. The theory is you open page 99 of any book to get the feel of it and to see if it is something that you would like to read – does it grab you enough for you to want to read more? So authors post there page 99 for book lovers to read and then to rate and comment on. So it is a site that you can give feedback to an author prior to the book being published. Anyhow, have a look at the links below and learn more.
You can listen to a podcast about Page 99 Test and the founders of it at:
http://5by5.tv/founderstalk/3
Visit Page 99 Test at:
http://page99test.com/
I have now read this book and have found my earlier thoughts sadly confirmed. My first comments on this book on this Blog at:
So I not only agree with my earlier thoughts on the book, but have even more to say about it. The illustrations (cartoons) I found to be completely inappropriate and the attempts by the author to justify them as irrelevant. There is just no place for the comical depictions of God given in the book.
The treatment of Calvin’s life is disappointing, with not enough detail given to it and some of the important events/incidents in his life are not treated or merely glossed over. It would have been better to have settled on the summary of the Institutes or do a full biography of John Calvin.
I also found the conclusions toward the end of the book disappointing and would suspect Calvin to be turning in the grave as a result of them.
The summary of the Institutes was probably not too bad, but I would have been better served to have read the Institutes rather than this book.
In summary – a very disappointing book that I would not recommend to anyone else to read.
I am now reviewing for Oxford University Press. I received my first book to review today. The book is ‘Shameful Flight: The Last Years of the British Empire in India,’ by Stanley Wolpert. The author is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. His previous books are ‘Gandhi’s Passion,’ ‘Nehru: A Tryst With Destiny,’ ‘Jinnah of Pakistan,’ and ‘A New History of India.’
The copy of ‘Shameful Flight: The Last Years of the British Empire in India’ that I was sent is a paperback, which was published on the 5th November 2009 with 238 pages.
When I have read the book, I will be posting the review here.
Visit Oxford University Press at:
The first book I will be reviewing for Thomas Nelson is called ‘The Noticer,’ by New York Times bestselling author Andy Andrews. It is actually an ebook that I have.
The hardcopy book is available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785229213/thomasnelsoni-20
There is an online web site associated with the book called ‘The Noticer Project’ at:
http://www.thenoticerproject.com/
I haven’t started to read the book yet, but will be doing so today. Certainly the web site looks interesting. The site encourages visitors to think of 1 to 5 people who have played an important role in their lives. You then post a message sharing your thoughts about these people on the site and an email is also sent to those people. The message is meant to be an inspiration and encouragement to others who visit the site.
A quote from the site will perhaps help:
"The Noticer Project is a worldwide movement to "notice" the five most influential people in your life! Noticing those five people can be as private (just a letter or email) or as public (posting to your Facebook page or joining The Noticer Project Facebook group) as you choose, but the movement is meant to encourage us to step outside our busy schedules and avoid waiting until a wedding, graduation or even a funeral to take notice of the special, influential people in our lives. By noticing those who have made a difference for you, you not only acknowledge their contribution, but you may gain a new perspective on your own journey. If you are noticed, you are encouraged to continue the movement by ‘noticing’ five people in your life!"
There is also a Facebook Group that can be joined and ‘The Noticer’ can be followed on Twitter.
The web site has a number of suggestions as to how you can ‘notice’ that important person in your life, be it from writing a private letter, making a donation to a charity in the name of that person, etc.
The site encourages you to notice a person before a birthday or funeral.
Overall, I quite like the concept of noticing others. It certainly has you thinking in a more ‘other-centred’ manner and encourages you to not be so ‘self-centred.’ I wouldn’t try and blend what is a secular concept into a Christian one, but the project does warrant comparisons with many Christian virtues.
Visit the web site by clicking on the banner below:
I have recently posted on the particularbaptist.com library site ‘The Story of the English Baptists,’ by John C. Carlile. The book can be found at the following link:
http://particularbaptist.com/library/englishbaptists_john-carlile.html
I own the 1905 edition which was printed as a hardcover by James Clarke & Co. in London, England. My copy is quite aged and is in quite poor condition. The version I have placed online is of course in pristine condition and will undoubtedly stay that way.
There are a number of illustrations and photographs in the book – all of which can be found in the online version.
The book provides something of an introduction to both the General and Particular Baptists, and as such is probably a useful book in that it whets the appetite to research deeper into the history of Baptists in England – which in my case is especially true of the Particular Baptists (of whom I am one).
There are some very interesting and useful chapters in the book, though the treatments of some of the ‘big’ names in Particular Baptist history are quite brief – as I say, something of an introduction. Perhaps an overview may be a better way to describe the book.
I don’t think everyone will necessarily agree with all of the conclusions and statements made by the author of the book. For example, there is something definitely hinky about his comments regarding possible unification of General and Particular Baptists. I’m not sure that he really grasps the significance of the differences between the two camps.
Out of 5 I’d probably give the book a generous 3. I think the book has merit, but is yet disappointing.
At the BookShelf 