Category Archives: e-books

I’ve been digitized

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Cuba history book coverOK, it wasn’t actually me. It was Tony and me.

OK, it wasn’t actually Tony and me. It was the book that Tony Fernández and I wrote about Cuba.

We’ve got a Kindle edition out now. If you don’t need another paperback lying around, or if you don’t want to wait to receive a copy in the mail, or if you’d like to save a few dollars off the price of a physical copy, or if you just like e-books… you can get A History of Churches of Christ in Cuba in Kindle format.

Here’s the link: http://smile.amazon.com/A-History-Churches-Christ-Cuba-ebook/dp/B00XI0QFDK

(By the way, if you don’t have “Smile” set up on Amazon, it’s a program that donates a part of the proceeds from most sales to the non-profit of your choice. Go ahead and set it to Herald of Truth. You can support worldwide evangelism while doing your shopping)

B&B Friday: CYOD Bible

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As a kid, I really enjoyed the old “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. They were sort of like a game inside a book. You would read to a certain point, then be presented with a choice, something like: “If you choose to explore the old mine, go to page 71. If you choose to go back to the lake, go to page 42.” There were all sorts of stories and lots of imitations, but the books were great fun.

That’s why I was intrigued when Luddite Press asked me to review their new electronic version of the Bible, the Choose Your Own Doctrine Bible. You won’t find them in stores; Luddite Press only publishes e-books. But it’s worth hunting them down and exploring the other cutting-edge titles that they offer.

The Choose Your Own Doctrine Bible is based on the God’s Word Translation of the Bible. It is designed to help the reader avoid confusion when faced with possible interpretations of a text. All you have to do is choose which doctrine you want to believe, and the hyperlinked text will lead you right to the appropriate passage. For example, you find this is Romans 10:

” 9 If you declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God brought him back to life, you will be saved. 10 By believing you receive God’s approval, and by declaring your faith you are saved. 11 Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed.”

If you want to believe in salvation by belief alone, go to John 6:47.

If you want to believe that baptism is necessary for salvation, go to Acts 22:16.”

(I wish I could format the quote in a way that you could appreciate the layout. It’s very elegantly done, with all the advantages of modern typesetting).

I think you can see the usefulness of this system. No more having to think about what others might believe; you can easily lock yourself into one belief system and stay there.

My one complaint, I guess is that this system can still be confusing for those who haven’t yet been told what they are supposed to believe. I’m thinking that it would have been more useful to have the passages coded by denominational group (Catholic, Baptist, etc.) or overarching belief system (Calvinist, Arminian, Neo-Platonic Gnostic, etc.). I can see how that would greatly complicate the system however. Just within the churches of Christ, we would need several different threads. I could see, for example, something at Acts 20:7 that says, “If you walk the old paths, go to 1 Corinthians 16:2. If you are a progressive change agent, go to Acts 2:46.”

I don’t think I’ll be using this Bible for my own personal use, but it’s an intriguing concept. You should take a look at it. If you’d like to see a video demo of the Choose Your Own Doctrine Bible in action, you can see one here.

For other reviews that are participating in this blog tour, follow this link.

I was in no way compensated for this review nor required to offer a positive review.

Footnotes, endnotes and hyperlinks

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I traveled to Greenwood, South Carolina, this past weekend to present a “Christ and Culture” seminar for Herald of Truth. On the way, I was using the Kindle app on my iPod and made an interesting choice: I purchased a book that I already owned the physical copy of. (Check that: a book that Herald of Truth owns a copy of, that I’ve been using)

I’ve already written about the advantages of reading books on the Kindle app. (I’ve never used a Kindle; I only use the free app) I discovered a new advantage: footnotes.

Footnotes are a bit of a problem in books. Where should they be placed? The bottom of the page is convenient, yet disrupts the look of the page and can be annoying to some people. Many opt for placing them at the back of the book, as did the book I was reading, but then it’s extremely difficult for the reader to locate pertinent notes. A compromise is to place them at the end of each chapter, like we did in Letters From The Lamb, but even then, they often go unread.

I realized this trip that I was consistently reading footnotes. They’re hyperlinked, so it’s a matter of “Click,” and you’re at the note, and “Click,” you’re back at the point where you were reading.

I’m not throwing away my physical books, but I’m becoming more and more of a fan of electronic ones. Apologies to all the purists out there.

Virtual reading

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My reading style is changing. More and more I’m starting to read e-books. And given my choice, I’m reading Kindle books.

Admittedly, I like the feel of holding a book in my hands. Holding an electronic device isn’t as pleasant nor, in many ways, as convenient as reading a book. When I want to do serious study, it’s hard to beat a spread of books around me on the desk.

But I’m being converted. Specifically, I’m being converted to books in the Kindle format, even though I have never touched a Kindle device. Here’s why I’m changing my reading habits:

  1. Easier to carry. I travel a good bit and am finding it increasingly helpful to carry a number of books in a device that fits in my pocket. (I use an iPod Touch for reading when traveling) Some complain of eyestrain when reading off of a backlit monitor; I haven’t found that to be a problem.
  2. Synched between multiple devices. I’ve got the Kindle app on my iPod, plus I have the Kindle program on my Mac. I can read a book on one device, then open it later on the other, and, if I have Internet access, it will open to the place where I left off. I can also read different books on the two devices, should I so choose. And there is supposed to be an online version of the reader, which would allow me to read from another computer when traveling.
  3. Backed up to the cloud. What’s been the biggest selling point for me to get me to start doing serious reading via Kindle is kindle.amazon.com. As I read, I can highlight certain passages. Then I sign in at kindle.amazon.com and all of the highlighted passages are there. It’s a great way to save a summary of the book. Plus I can share those highlights with others, along with my comments, on Facebook.

I’m using that last feature with a book that I’m using in the “Christianity in Culture” class I teach this semester. I’m using N.T. Wright’s Simply Christian, which I purchased via Kindle. I read through the chapters, marking significant passages, then I have those passages available to me as we discuss them in class.

Most of the e-books that I have are ones that I picked up for free. Yes, I’m that cheap. I think that Simply Christian is the only one I’ve paid regular price for, and that was cheaper than buying a physical copy. The applications are free. My total investment in all of this hasn’t reached $15. And I’ve acquired over 30 books, though some of the free ones really weren’t worth the price.

So, if you haven’t tried e-books, I’d encourage you to take a test drive. If you have, I’d like to hear your experiences and any tips you might have to share.