Frustration

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1) Why is it so difficult to find Calvin's 22 vol commentary for a reasonable price? I would like to get reformed commentaries to Finland but it seems to be impossible.
2) Why aren't these reformed publishing companies making more copies of this classic work? Even though there are many good authors today, I do not think they make reading Calvin and less useful.
If I was running a reformed publishing company I'd always make sure there were new copies of Calvin to buy.

You can get the FULL SET with some underlining for $350 + 70 shipping here: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/247597063973394/

Ebay is $650-1000+

 
but electronic books are the future.

My only disagreement is that it was the future 20 years ago. hehe.

I was downloading books from the internet in the late 90s. And when Project Gutenberg showed up on my radar in the early 2000s, I was really going to town. I don't have Logos, but I do have some 7000 volumes on my SD card and also backed up in various places. I've read at least a page or two of each one. ;)

Even worse, I often scan hard copy books I'm using so I can look something up away from my desk.

And I still love the smell of books. Spare time in my formative years were evenly divided between back-room reference libraries and trout streams.
 
Call them "interior locutions" or plain nuttery but I've been collecting printed books with the understanding that once Big Tech takes complete charge of the net all electronic Christian books will be wiped.
Fair enough, I suppose, if you rely on a Kindle. Pdfs on a backup drive won't be easy for those guys to reach. I'm not really worried about EMF attacks, either, based on the various experiments I've tried on aging laptops. (Hat tip to Jerusalem Blade, I actually have an old laptop and flash drive in a faraday cage).

Risk is everywhere. I recall a big library in northern Egypt that burned down.
 
Fair enough, I suppose, if you rely on a Kindle. Pdfs on a backup drive won't be easy for those guys to reach. I'm not really worried about EMF attacks, either, based on the various experiments I've tried on aging laptops. (Hat tip to Jerusalem Blade, I actually have an old laptop and flash drive in a faraday cage).

Risk is everywhere. I recall a big library in northern Egypt that burned down.
I see you live in the US...I live in Canada, should I explain? lol I'm being sarcastic but having worked in libraries for 29 years I see the need for physical copies.
 
Call them "interior locutions" or plain nuttery but I've been collecting printed books with the understanding that once Big Tech takes complete charge of the net all electronic Christian books will be wiped.
Naamloos-1.jpg
 
An ethical question in this vein: I'll be leaving the states for at least a 6-month period to re-plant a church (DV) in Cyprus that underwent a crisis (long story), and am planning on preaching through Romans. Among the Romans commentaries I'll be using will be Moo's NICNT edition. Now that is a huge book to pack in a suitcase – and I found a pdf of it online. Is it allowable for me to use the pdf as I already have the real book?
 
Now that is a huge book to pack in a suitcase – and I found a pdf of it online. Is it allowable for me to use the pdf as I already have the real book?

Is the PDF pirated by someone else in breach of copyright notice? Are you sure it is not public domain? What year was the book published?

At any rate, here is a link to a discussion about your question. According to the article, the bottom line is that it is not unethical but still illegal in the US.

https://consumerist.com/2010/04/is-it-okay-to-download-a-pirated-copy-of-a-book-you-already-own.html

Personal note:
You must be feeling a lot better to take on a project to "re-plant" a troubled church. I hope you are.

Ed

EDIT: There may be a security issue with the page. It says:
"Whoops! It looks like portions of our site are being blocked! Check your browser settings or contact your network administrator."

I'm not sure what this means.
 
Logos is great. Save shelf space. Sync passage to bible. Find commentary for verse immediately. Highlights. Send quotes to others by email. Bring Calvin with you on missions with your laptop. Cheaper. Font size always at right size.
 
An ethical question in this vein: I'll be leaving the states for at least a 6-month period to re-plant a church (DV) in Cyprus that underwent a crisis (long story), and am planning on preaching through Romans. Among the Romans commentaries I'll be using will be Moo's NICNT edition. Now that is a huge book to pack in a suitcase – and I found a pdf of it online. Is it allowable for me to use the pdf as I already have the real book?
Does the PDF appear to be an e-galley or an advanced reader's copy?
 
I see you live in the US...I live in Canada, should I explain? lol I'm being sarcastic but having worked in libraries for 29 years I see the need for physical copies.

Unrelated but I recall your name from CF. Hello!
 
I highly recommend e-readers. A Kindle Oasis or Paperwhite (not a Kindle Fire, that's a tablet). They are basically a physical page that is electronically re-writeable.

I manage my own library with Calibre, so if Amazon ever goes down, I still have all my books. And they are triple-backed up on encrypted offsite storage. Even if my house should burn down, I've still got them all, whereas my physical books are toast.

I like how it's cut down significantly on weight and physical storage. When I go on my work trips, I have hundreds of books available so I'm never in fear of running out of things to read (in the past I would bring, no kidding, 30 lbs worth of books on trips). I still have hundreds of physical books, but my Kindle goes everywhere with me.
 
I highly recommend e-readers. A Kindle Oasis or Paperwhite (not a Kindle Fire, that's a tablet). They are basically a physical page that is electronically re-writeable.

I manage my own library with Calibre, so if Amazon ever goes down, I still have all my books. And they are triple-backed up on encrypted offsite storage. Even if my house should burn down, I've still got them all, whereas my physical books are toast.

I like how it's cut down significantly on weight and physical storage. When I go on my work trips, I have hundreds of books available so I'm never in fear of running out of things to read (in the past I would bring, no kidding, 30 lbs worth of books on trips). I still have hundreds of physical books, but my Kindle goes everywhere with me.
The stats show that e-readers are declining fast, as people use their phones and tablets more. What makes you prefer a Kindle? I have one but it no longer really gets used. I mainly read things on my phone.
 
I think a phone is quick and convenient, but a phone does lots of things pretty well. An e-ink Kindle does only one thing, but it does it exceptionally well. It's like difference between using a multitool when sometimes it's worth it to just go to the toolbox and get the 10mm wrench.

The benefit of e-ink is that it actually is a physical medium. It's like an etch and sketch where physical, black particles are pulled into place to form the letters. A screen like your phone is composed of thousands of tiny LEDs, each shining into your eyes. Maybe some people can stare at a screen all day, I don't like to.

Because of this physical component to the screen, you can read it in bright sunlight and see it better, just like a physical page. On many phones or tablets, that becomes difficult.

Also because of this, it uses extremely low power. Despite having a relatively small battery, I routinely go for several weeks between charges, even though I use it for an hour or two a day.

It is also a dedicated reading device. So when I use it, I put down the phone. I don't have notifications distracting me. No status bars or time or anything. Just me and the page.

I also find that at least on the 7-inch Oasis, the screen size is more like a book page. Whereas most phone screens are small enough that you're turning pages more often.

I find the e-reader great for reading hours at a time. I don't find that on the phone, personally, so for me it's very much worth it to have a dedicated device that is exceptional at its one task.
 
I think a phone is quick and convenient, but a phone does lots of things pretty well. An e-ink Kindle does only one thing, but it does it exceptionally well. It's like difference between using a multitool when sometimes it's worth it to just go to the toolbox and get the 10mm wrench.

The benefit of e-ink is that it actually is a physical medium. It's like an etch and sketch where physical, black particles are pulled into place to form the letters. A screen like your phone is composed of thousands of tiny LEDs, each shining into your eyes. Maybe some people can stare at a screen all day, I don't like to.

Because of this physical component to the screen, you can read it in bright sunlight and see it better, just like a physical page. On many phones or tablets, that becomes difficult.

Also because of this, it uses extremely low power. Despite having a relatively small battery, I routinely go for several weeks between charges, even though I use it for an hour or two a day.

It is also a dedicated reading device. So when I use it, I put down the phone. I don't have notifications distracting me. No status bars or time or anything. Just me and the page.

I also find that at least on the 7-inch Oasis, the screen size is more like a book page. Whereas most phone screens are small enough that you're turning pages more often.

I find the e-reader great for reading hours at a time. I don't find that on the phone, personally, so for me it's very much worth it to have a dedicated device that is exceptional at its one task.
Well said, brother!
 
I find the e-reader great for reading hours at a time. I don't find that on the phone, personally, so for me it's very much worth it to have a dedicated device that is exceptional at its one task.
I'm the only one I know who owns a 2nd generation Kindle dx. It's the big one. I can read full size 8.5x11 scanned pdfs easily on it. Back when it was for sale, it was expensive, but I've gotten my money's worth out of it.

The only problem is that it is so old that the battery no longer will hold a charge. One of these days I will tear it apart and solder in a modern battery. I miss it that much.

I have fallen into reading books on the phone. It is not as bad as I used to think.
 
Thank you for all the answers! Especially the facebook marketplace offer piqued my interest. I did not realize that my post was triggering in any way triggering, so sorry about that. God's peace to you all.
 
We have two sets that are about to get listed on our website. I can post the links on Monday.

I actually pitched the idea of us reprinting the commentaries. It would be a while before making a formal proposal as I am working on a collected works project.
 
I’ve never taken the notion for any sort of e-reader. I’ve always just loved the experience of a physical book. I can, however, see the practicalities of an e-reader if one does a lot of travelling but that would not be me so..
I did find all 6 volumes of Thomas Scotts bible online and have only managed to find Vols I & VI in original printing.
 
It seems to me that every church possible should have this in their library for checkout and easier, non electronic reading. I believe our church has a complete set! A good investment for an established church.

The problem with making sets like this available for checkout is with people damaging them or not returning them. I remember an OPC pastor telling me of a guy who came in all gung ho. He borrowed a Calvin volume and they never saw him again.


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