And now it's back to WordPress...

Thank you to the faithful few who have continued to read and post the odd comment here. And now it's back to WordPress: any feedback on this brief excursion to Blogger much appreciated. It will probably happen again from time to time, simply to add a little variety.

In a moment I will attempt to export all the posts and comments made here to WordPress. Will it work?

Update: Sadly, it's not going to work. With WordPress you can export and import blogs with a couple of clicks. Blogger makes it horribly complicated... *Sigh*

Grove Books

Do you stock Grove Books? I've reviewed a few in my time — always stimulating and thought provoking, they provide excellent snapshot introductions to the various topics they address, making them ideal for customers seeking a way in to a particular subject. And at only £2.95, they won't break the bank.

Perennial sellers at LST include such gems as Mike Thompson's The New Perspective on Paul, Ian Paul's How to Read the Book of Revelation and Ernest Lucas' Decoding Daniel: Reclaiming the Visions of Daniel 7-11, whilst more recently there's been a steady interest in N T Wright's New Heavens, New Earth: The Biblical Picture of Christian Hope.

Grove Books: definitely worth taking a look: definitely worth stocking.

July's New Titles Mailshot

(As I write this, the Grove website is proving somewhat tardy: you may need to be patient with some of the links...).

One to Watch: It's Hard to Hurry...

Congratulations to both Lion Publishing and Dorothy Stewart on the publication of It's Hard to Hurry When You're a Snail, and especially for bringing on board Harry Potter illustrator Thomas Taylor. Certainly one to watch, I'd say.

You'll find a longer report here in the Eastern Daily Press.

It's Hard to Hurry When You're a Snail
9780745969008
Lion, 2008
£5.99
More info

Churches Together Bookshop, Cardiff

If the plans came together, today should have seen the opening of the new Churches Together Bookshop in Cardiff

Anyone with more info, please do let us know.

• Church in Wales Press Release, 26/06/2008 
  
• Letter from the Revd Dr Tom Arthur, June 2008
  

Christian Bookshops: who needs them? Part 2

Melanie Carroll of Unicorn Tree Books, Lincoln, posted the following back on May 28th in the 'Christian Bookshops — who needs them?' thread. That thread remains the all-time most-visited post on this blog and Melanie's comments seem to raise several important points from that discussion.

She writes:

---

Had to join in here and just put forward a few (okay a lot of) views & thoughts based on the discussion.

I have been running Christian bookshops (various ones of the SPCK ilk mostly) for almost 14 years, and one of the things I most remember is my first Bookshop Managers conference with SPCK when there was a big discussion about the brand, the name and what we stocked etc. It was quite heated at times, at that point we had some shops that sold a lot of general books and made good money! but the then leadership wanted us to move into a different outlook - some of us agreed - some didn’t, but the one thing I said then and that I say now and stand by is that I can run and (excuse the bad grammer here!) be a Christian bookshop without ever having a so called christian book on the shelf - because its my actions that make the christian bookshop, by our actions and attitudes we spread the gospel and outreach - the books are helpful but not the thing that makes the connection. However that being said I strongly advocate that we should have shops, yes real physical ones, that are out there stocking books with christian centric themes and views - and on this it should be diverse as the faith is diverse! Jesus had 12 disciples not one and I can tell from the gospels that all of them had differing views and outlooks, so for me thats my model, putting forward the differing characteristics inherent in the faith so as to reach as many as possible and not bar the gate.

I left SPCK/SSG over a year ago now and not happily I admit (the tribunal word was not just a word! but being christian we settled out of court). That was ok as I was going to go independent anyway, I got myself a beautiful dirty and run down shop (so ok its units on an indoor market but believe me my stall is as large as my old shop was!) however it was to general books I was going as I love them and did not want to compete with my old shop and risk my staffs livelihoods.

I love selling general books, US Imports etc, and I get to sell Jigsaws, models, dvds and specialist genre’s that I and the customers seem to like (I guess this is the equivalent of Christian tat??)

However I missed selling Christian Books - that had not just been a job to me - it was a vocation! I studied theology up to Masters Level, and my mother tells of me from very small when being asked what i was going to do when I grew up saying i was going to work for god and have a bookshop - so my job was a vocation, a commitment, and act of faith (yes I know that sounds holier than holy - but believe me anyone who knows me knows I ain’t holy! this is just how I feel).

So back in February I went back to my love and am now an independent Christian retailer as well as a general bookshop.

I have sacrificed my income, my savings and viable selling space to put in a dedicated Christian & church supplies unit (and getting the permission off the council to do so is a saga in itself and we have to say Religious Books above the actaul unit! I kid you not getting the permission to do this took nearly 3 months due to the word christian, it would have been so very much easier to give in!) I admit this was my choice and my decision but I do believe that it was the only right thing to do - a city or large town should have a christian bookshop - not everyone uses the internet or has credit cards, and sometimes church candles just get broke by the flower arranger tripping down the altar.

However I need to state here that most of you wont like my shop, as I said it is in a market - so it has no swank and naturally lots of dust! the whole interior of the market looks like it escaped from a bad 80’s film, however the one thing it does have is immense outreach possibility as there is no barrier to it and the general public at all, no scary door and anyone walking past can see the crosses, bibles etc.

I have a spinner of cards and would hope that they are not too cheesy - actaully they look pretty much like most of the cards being sold in the card shops outside except they have a scripture verse inside etc. I do have gifts and olive wood holding crosses, rosaries and prayer cards etc, christian tack I suppose but I would hope not too bad! I have a simple policy - if one of my family wouldn’t buy it I don’t buy it - after all my family is an average family ranging from a kid to the grandpy’s! long term married, divorce stats and single parent kids, agnostics, atheists and the committed! Some of us have degrees and some just finished school, some are travelled and some aren’t! It seems therefore like a good policy to hold.

So I want people to use me, and I hope that I give good service and am serving a purpose.

Do I mind if you buy from Amazon - not if you genuinely can get it much cheaper - but lets be honest a lot of Christian Books on Amazon are not cheaper and some even carry a surcharge! and these are books that are common to my (and I am sure a lot of other christian bookshops) shelves, and don’t forget to factor in carriage and wait time! if you buy it from me there is no wait time (except at the till) if it’s in stock and if it isn’t then there is no postage charge when I order it in for you! (same goes for many other bookshops too).

Also remember Amazon and the like tend not to offer you bookstalls when or if needed!

I was the manager of SPCKOnline before it got danger warnings! I grew that site from its infancy just weeks after it went live! so believe me you won’t get someone more comitted to the concept of online christian retailing (and I hope in time to have the time and finances to do it again for me!), but I would always advocate real physical shops in our streets and that we still use them along with the online side. After all community involves relationship, and though my cyber friends like yourselves are fantastic - when I am grieving you cannot hug me or hand me a hanky! and though smilies make me smile they don’t really work the same way as a smile with eye contact (and no its not the same when I use icam either!), so I think there is still a place for real shops and I hope that we can see past the dust and into the heart of the shabby chic at the commitment that is there whether we agree with it of not.

Oh and remember if the shop assistant in anyshop is scowling, looking grumpy, or is a tad biting then just have a quick check of your own face and vocal tone as basic psychology is we reflect back, and its very easy to not realise we are looking sad, grumpy, unhappy etc ourselves (I know as I am that person, I have a serious face that my niece says looks scary! when i am in a hurry, on a mission or just thinking or not), of course it also could be they have a headache, have just been yelled at by the prior customer for something not their fault or are going through some sort of hardship! Shop assistants are just human beings too!

Ok climbing off the orange box now - hope you will all forgive me at some point - feel free to flick orange peel at me!

Worcester Calling

Just a couple of days after the tragic news of Steve Jeyne's death was made public, his widow, Joy, wrote briefly of Steve's vision for a Christian Centre in Worcester and called upon us to continue to pray for the city.

A number of people have responded to that call, urging us not to allow this tragedy to be in vain. In particular, on July 9th, Jan Hill wrote:

Don’t let this tragidy be in vain, as Steve united us last Monday in his death let him unite Worcester in his memory. Let us who come from all different churches and fellowships, old and young, come together to change Worcester and see answers to many prayers.

Don’t let this gentle man’s life be forgotton. He was a shinning light in a dark city.

If we walk away now and do nothing we do a great disservice to the life of Steve Jeynes. Let this be the begining, a laying down of all preducies and a uniting of all beleivers in this city and beyond.

When I think of Steve, I see Jesus. He had the same common touch. He loved all and most of all he loved His God and it showed.

Steve had a dream, to open a drop in cafe and bookshop where people could come and be loved and welcomed. He talked about it to many, he longed for St Helen’s to open her doors again and fulfil that dream. It could happen, if we cut through all the red tape issues that stop that dream coming true. Let us help to fulfil one man’s desire, to honour one man’s life, a man who loved Worcester and all its people.

We need our leaders of all churches to come together, to work together and to begin to see what God will do when we are united.

Sorry about some of the spellings…

This was followed on July 12th by Ted Duckett, who wrote:

Jan Hill’s moving testimony to Steve struck a deep chord with my wife and me. I don’t know you, Jan, but I do agree with you that we must not let this tragedy be in vain. I worked at SPCK for some years, and my wife (Ginny) was a colleague of Steve’s until February this year when she was sacked. We shared his vision of a drop-in cafe and bookshop at St Helen’s, and worked together on his proposal. Your words are so true - “let’s cut through all the red tape that stop that dream coming true…. We need our leaders of all churches to come together, to work together, and to begin to see what God will do when we are united.”

Ginny and I would be glad to hear from anyone who shares this vision.

Many of us have been encouraged to see the plans coming together for a new Christian bookshop in Cardiff.

Let's now hope and pray and do all in our power to ensure that something similar emerges in Worcester!

Making Life Complicated

OK, I admit it: I'm confused. Completely baffled, in fact. By Scripture Union's "New Sales Plan", which does away with their trade representation via STL and gives us in its place a multi-layered and convoluted system administered directly by Scripture Union themselves.

I have the plan before me as I type and I appreciate its entirely laudable aims to enable us "work collaboratively to maximise ministry and sales", to "work creatively, strategically and collaboratively" to reach our customers (that's customers, please note, not consumers: we do get consumers buying up the chocolate, but our book buyers are customers). But does it really take a seven point plan made up of twenty-nine bulleted sub-points in three sub-sections followed by another three sub-sections, with the whole thing spread over two sides of A4, to present a "Supply Proposal"?? What was wrong with having new titles presented to us by STL's sales reps? They were — or at least Roger Compton (hello again, Roger: I did say it's blog or be blogged, remember?), our rep, was — doing a great job for you.

Sorry, guys, but for us at LST the new scheme simply doesn't add up: the idea of having new titles scaled out automatically is a definite non-starter. We don't have the space and we don't have the time to then go through them culling and returning everything that doesn't sell. I know my customers, I know what's likely to sell and I will select and order my stock accordingly.

I find myself wondering how things would look if each and every publisher decided to adopt a similar new title scale-out policy? Booksellers buried alive under mountains of books they didn't order and don't want...

No: the way I see it, it's up to each of us to manage our stock to meet the needs and requirements of our customers. Yes, I acknowledge that that can be something a challenge, especially for newcomers to the trade, and I acknowledge that it can be frustrating for publishers who think that every book they release is destined to be the next big thing. Such, however, is life in the real world.

How do you see it?

Select Catalogues Misprinted

For any members of STL's 'Select' Catalogue scheme who haven't spotted this yet: be aware that the entire print run for the current batch of Select catalogues has been issued as from Wesley Owen, which may cause you some embarrassment as an independent bookseller. STL are raising credits, but you may need to take the initiative...

The problem was spotted by Melanie Carroll at Unicorn Tree Books, Lincoln, who wrote as follows on July 11th:

... my first batch of Select Promotion magazines came today - I had to chase them when I realised I should have already had them a week or so ago - seems I got lost in the shuffle and though set up for them they just never got sent out from the warehouse, ahh well it happens, especially to me at the minute it would seem.

Still 10 out of 10, I chased yesterday, got an apology from Wayne for the oversight and they duly arrived today. that’s pretty good follow through.

So I sit down to look through it - after all it’s my first chance to see what’s in the promotion and think about ordering stock in prior to doing my mail out and on the first page in the welcome blurb section, in the first line it said…

‘… Here at Wesley Owen we have many items’!

So maybe Kate you are onto something with your sneaking suspicion :o)

Now in terms of customer service I can’t complain as I phoned STLD and spoke to a very nice woman, Janette, who went and fetched out some past editions, as well as the crown version and the WO version - and sure enough this go around all versions have the same wording, when of course normally they have a suitable ‘other’ replacing the term WO she assures me. She also said she would pass my upset and concerns on and point out the problem - though of course there is nothing they can do now.

I ended the conversation at least feeling a little assured that its just the way my current week is running. 10 minutes later she phoned me back to say she had passed on the problem to her manager and they were aware of the problem and will credit me back the cost of this issue due to my upset - can’t ask for fairer than that really.

However, OK, I know it was a just a proof read oversight but it really got to me - not least because this is a promotion I pay into by buying the magazines for at least the next 12 months, I know there are benefits and reciprocations: I get better discount to off set the price promotion items, and I know that this edition shall not have cost me anything but that’s just as well because I don’t think I can actually use these ones now as it says the wrong thing, heck it looks like I nicked them from the next city overs WO! and gives the wrong impression to my customers. Well come on it tells the customers that I am a WO and that could cause a bit of confusion - it’s bad enough with me having to do the ‘no we are not anything to do with SSG/SPCK, we are entirely independent with it all being done as my personal mission etc etc’ without having to potentially add the WO bit to the spiel when a customer who had recieved one of the magazines comes in with a return, concern, complaint or issue.

John Duncan of Cornerstone, London, has also followed the matter up with STL:

I have requested a refund and enquired about a reprint. Here is my response:

John
Yes, this was an error on our part. Unfortunately we are not in a position to reprint the catalogues. However, as a good will gesture, I am happy to raise a credit for the catalogues if you are able to supply me with an invoice number from where you were charged.
Regards
Wayne Johnston

(Posted 14th July)

End of an Era for Delirious

Delirious? issued the following announcement on July 6th 2008: 

We would like to address all our fans, our friends and people around the world who have faithfully supported Delirious?
 
After 14 albums, thousands of shows in front of millions of people, and many extraordinary memories, we have decided that at the end of 2009 we will take a break from recording and playing as a band.
 
Our decision was triggered by a request from Martin to be released from the band to pursue new projects including his work with CompassionArt and the desire to be at home more with Anna and his children. We have of course honoured this request and made a decision together that now is the time to end this chapter of our lives.
 
We will continue to play and be excited about our current tours and bookings but will not be adding many more over the coming 17 months..
 
We are all so deeply grateful to our incredible fans who have sung the songs and allowed Delirious? the privilege of providing the soundtrack to many lives over the years. From the school hall in Littlehampton to the stadiums of the world we have many stories to tell our children’s children. Delirious also would not be what it is without our amazing wives and families,  and our gratitude to them is immense. We will now move forward to the next part of our lives where new challenges unfold and greater stories will be written.
 
We want to make it absolutely clear that although this decision has been extremely painful and difficult, we are still great friends and our respect for each other is unquestionable. We love playing in this band together and know that even though  2009 will bring an end to this current journey, there will be more adventures together in years to come.
 
We always used to say that we were ‘taking it wherever it goes’. The music ended up going further and deeper than we could ever have dreamed, yet we are now at a point where our creative futures will spread out and take on different journeys.
 
Thanks again for believing in us through all these years. We believe the best is yet to come.

Jon, Martin, Paul, Stu G and Tim

This Blog Has Moved!

The UKCBD Blog is now hosted with WordPress at http://christianbookshopsblog.org.uk - there's a feed on the right.

You can still leave comments here if you wish...

Enjoy!

--
Phil Groom,
Reviews Editor & Webmaster, UKCBD
Blog: http://christianbookshopsblog.org.uk
Directory: http://www.christianbookshops.org.uk
Reviews: http://www.christianbookreviews.org.uk

Finding your nearest Christian bookshop has never been easier! The UK Christian Bookshops Directory includes alphabetical listings by shop name and town or city, brief shop descriptions, contact information, opening times, web links and book reviews.