PaperBackSwap...great ways to get books for Christmas gifts! My success story.

Two great books published by Inheritance Publications which I received from PaperbackSwap- costing me under 4 dollars for BOTH! And yes: I now OWN them. This is not a lending system. Rather a way of gaining books for one's own self!

With Christmas coming up, and many of you eager to buy special gifts for family and friends, I would like to recommend that you join the book site PaperbackSwap! (which is actually for hardbacks as well!)

 I first heard of it a few years ago, from a fellow blogger but never imagined it would be beneficial for me. However, since I signed up this year, I've been able, through swapping books I no longer wanted or books I picked up free or purchased for a minimal fee, with other members to gain several special books for myself and my family to permanently own. Now I suggest every book lover out there sign up themselves!  Around Christmas is probably the best time to begin listing books since many other members are likewise shopping for Christmas! In the last couple weeks, I've sent out more books than I did all summer. 

PLEASE say, on the sign-up page that mazzou referred you. This is very important, because I would then get an extra credit to spend on a....book! :) Please and thank you!!!

Next...I will kindly explain how the system works on PaperbackSwap. It is unbelievably simple. No credit card information or anything required, because you don't pay for the books you request, rather for the shipping for books you ship out to other members who request them from you!

This means:

 If you only choose to list books that are very lightweight, your credits cost a greatly minimal amount and you save tons of money on books! Yay!

My success story: 

Two great books published by Inheritance Publications which I received from PaperbackSwap- costing me under 4 dollars for BOTH!

In fact, these two like-new Christian historical fiction books which I received  this year for two of my paperback swap account credits I would have paid over $12.00 each if I had purchased them from the company we usually do (Inheritance Publications).
However, through PaperBackSwap I ended up paying only $3.17 for both!(where do I get this $3.17? from the cost it sent me to mail out 2 books previously in order to obtain the 2 credits to spend on these two books I requested!) See what I mean....it's great! Read on....and see more examples of books I've received at the bottom of the post.
Yes, you keep the books you request! This is not a constant swapping system, unless you decide to re-swap the books you got....I hope this is clear!

The basics to PaperbackSwap are very simple. Of course there are more details involved, but nothing you can't conquer with a little help from the instructions on the site and from other members like myself. (I personally was given great tips by a friend)

When you sign up, through the below link, they will ask you on the page if anyone referred you. I would be SO happy if you would say I referred you!  (''Mazzou'')

 THANKS A BUNCH.

More about the site....

You simply join, just start listing books you have which are in pretty good condition, and when a book is requested from you, you quickly package the book (in two pieces of paper, taped well) and pay for its shipping. (usually under two dollars) 

When the book is received by the other member, you will get a credit (1 credit per book!) to use to request any book off the site for YOURSELF! :)

As a special incentive, when you list 10 books, the company automatically gives you 2 credits as a gift.  And the referral system gives you 1 credit every time a friend lists 10 books.

I must admit that not all your favorite books will be available immediately. However, each person gets to add as many as 200 books to their wishlist which will enable you to wait in line for your desired book to be posted by another member. 

(I am sure this sometimes takes years, as it will for several of the more unusual books I long for....but oh well! I am grateful for the wishlist system.) I actually have received a couple books already, from my wishlist!

Book quality:

 I have, so far, received over 4 great books in like-new condition! Very exciting. (if you do not want any books worse than ''new'' condition, you can specify that on your PaperbackSwap club account! Or you can request a book, then send the member a personal message, as I usually do, making sure the book IS in great condition) You can swap books which are in good condition, or newer. There is even a forum on the site for swapping damaged books. And I do list damaged books if they are popular, BUT to follow the rules of the site, I ALWAYS send the member who requests the book a message informing them on the condition, and making sure they still want it. 

Choosing books to swap:

Note: If you don't have books in your home which you want to get rid of on PaperBackSwap, you can always purchase books from your thrift shop, library, etc. I suggest you look out for lightweight books, so you can spend less for your credit. Also, you might want to contemplate which books are highly desired in the club... by searching the titles and seeing how many members wish for it, or reading the ''top wished'' list of titles. (which I don't recommend doing since I'm sure there are many nasty titles on it.)

What I did and do:

I officially began my PaperbackSwap account with listing 10 books I actually bought for 25 cents-75 cents a piece at our local thrift store. Thankfully, after the initial 10 books (which unfortunately, didn't go like hotcakes!) although I did buy a few more books here and there, and gave away several books from my own collection which I didn't need....my main sources, surprisingly and excitedly are ''free boxes'' at book stores and resale shops. I hope you find free books to list as well! But any way you do it, BEGIN!

Comment on this post if you have any questions, or if you already use PaperbackSwap!

Now for some examples of books I have been able to request and receive through PaperbackSwap!

Each of these came in great condition....AND, counting up the costs of the shipping spent on the book with which I earned credit to order these books, every single one comes to under $2.00

Since these books are out of print, I am trying to get as many copies as possible!

A sweet book by an author I like- yes, it is a hardback book!

Just SOME of the books I've received so far.

Great Book: Made In Heaven

Made in Heaven  by Ray Comfort and Jeffrey Seto
Hardback, 64 pages. Published by Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group

''Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.'' -Revelation 4:11 
(quoted on pg. 4 of this book)

How often we close our eyes to the wonders around us. Everything, from the tiniest ant to the breath-taking expanse of sky above us, the world loudly proclaims a Creator! For centuries, man kind has been copying God's brilliant creation in order to create things for themselves to use. But does mankind give the true Creator the glory? Man is so proud; he would prefer to credit himself...but it is time to turn back to the real Designer and Creator: God!

''Those who look at the unspeakably wonderful design of nature and don't see the hand of the Designer are truly sense-less. They're not using their God-given senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. Nature screams of God, and for some reason, they turn a deaf ear, a blind eye, and a closed mouth.'' (page 5, introduction)

In Made In Heaven, you will discover what humans have gained from studying fish, spiders, squids, the human eye, the human immune system, mosquitoes, gecko feet, leaves, and even sunflowers and pine cones, not to mention the many more topics covered in this great book!

Sometimes difficult to understand because of the mathematical explanations, I would recommend this book for ages 12 and up.
 I think it would especially be grand for fathers and sons to read together! The thirty-two chapters could be spaced out over a period of weeks.
 I am sure my father, who is a mechanical engineer, will be interested in looking through the fascinating chapter, along with my 12-year old brother who loves studying nature! In fact, I plan on giving it to the latter on his birthday.

Buy this book!
After reading Made In Heaven, you will feel even more awe for our Creator!
And it's happily published in the United States!

I was pleased to receive this book free through New Leaf Publishers Book Reviewing Program, to read and review.

Link to book on site
Read more reviews here

And watch the book trailer below!

Great book: The Genius of Ancient Man

The Genius of Ancient Man by Don Landis and Jackson Hole Bible College

Hardback 108 pages Published 2012 by Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishers Group.

 Myth, Legend or Truth?  Using wholesomely Biblical viewpoints, Don Landis and the Jackson Hole Bible College Ancient Man research team bring to light dozens of interesting geographical and historical facts. Prepare to be astonished as marvelous and never-before heard truths about ancient civilizations are carefully unearthed.
''...The Church has for the most part, been content to sit back and take no stand on the issue of [history]...But they don't have to be weak; the Church can stand firm on the Biblical record if only they will step up and learn the facts.'' (from the preface- page 5)

It is time for Christians to wake up and be instructed. What if mankind is not as ancient as ''science'' claims? What if man did not evolve slowly out of slime, completely ignorant and brutish, but rather was created in God's image with a likeness of His intellect?...'' (from the preface)

Instead of being confused about supposedly complicated topic ancient history and the character of ancient man, Christians, as people standing on the truths which the Bible presents and using presuppositions based on the Word of God, can see ancient history come alive!

Captivated by the Biblical approach to geography and history and amazed by the incredibly explanations brought forth, I found it difficult to put the book down, and finished reading it in three days.

I heartily and enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone!

The Genius of Ancient Man is not only a must for every homeschooling family's library- but also for ever Christian's bookshelf.

Since it so powerfully explains the true history of man versus unbiblical evolution theories, I would also hope that not only Bible-believing Christians, but non-believers as well would come across a copy of this book, since God could use it mightily to bring them to faith in Him.

I don't dare reveal to much of the rich truth in this book, since I want you to discover it for yourself, but here is just a sampling:
''The apparent backwardness of some modern native cultures and the extreme simplicity of the tools and artifacts of Paleolithic Man are not, in either case, evidence of inferior intelligence but more probably due to a historical circumstance which is well worth examining.'' (page 45)

Read more in the chapters of the book which include ''Perspectives''; ''Priority of God in Sequence and Time'', ''Pre-flood Man''; ''Worldwide Travel''; ''Religions and Legends''; ''Babel is not gone''....and more!

Hours of researching, trips to various sites around North and Central America, visits to museums, and meetings with experts have provided the team with an overwhelming amount of evidence for the intelligence of these early innovators. A jumble of anomalies and magnificent structures continue to confound archaeology and anthropology today, yet as the dots are connected, one finds history as described in the biblical record.

I was thrilled to receive this book free through the New Leaf Publishers Book Reviewers program.

Free preview of the book

Book Review: The Truth About the Lordship of Christ

The Truth About...The Lordship of Christ
By John MacArthur, paperback 140 pages.
Thomas Nelson 2012
I was pleased to receive this book free to review from the BookSneeze blogging for books program! I was encouraged to state my honest opinion.

I found the cover, size, font and layout of the book appealing and conducive to enjoyable reading and studying.

A breath of fresh air, this book is Biblically-sound, clear, deep and yet easy to read! Through 6 chapters entitled Lord of the Universe, Lord in Our Lives, Daily Submission, Holy Living, Confession and Restoration, and Ultimate Destination, John MacArthur tackles with wisdom such topics as justification, love and hate, God's perfect love, God's view of sinners,  the lifestyle of a true Christian, daily living in Christ, the joy of Christianity, maturity and glory in suffering, sanctification, confession, repentance, assurance of salvation, etc!

Although a small book, I found it to be worth the read. I think this book would make a good gift for a new Christian friend, and for anyone unused to reading books on doctrine or Christian living which are more than double the size. Additionally, this book would be great for a child to read. And lastly, although this book is addressed to a Christian, I do recommend it for anyone; it would therefore also be a good gift choice for your unsaved acquaintances as well. It explains very clearly salvation, and how God views sin, how we must repent in order to be saved, etc.
Enjoy!
I assure you I will not be discarding this book!

However, I did run in to two problems in the book, which I'd appreciate you reading about, especially if you are going to read the book....

Near the beginning of the book, in fact on pages 5-8, I ran into something that disturbed me. I trust John MacArthur's teachings as Scripturally-sound, but here I quote MacArthur quoting Arthur W. Pink:
''God loves whom He chooses. He does not love everybody. Is it true that God loves the one who is despising and rejecting His blessed Son? God is Light as well as Love, and therefore His love must be a holy love. To tell the Christ-rejecter that God loves him is to cauterize his conscience, as well as to afford him a sense of security in his sins. The fact is, the love of God is a truth for the saints only, and to present it to the enemies of God is to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs...''
 page 246 The Sovereignty of God by Arthur W. Pink
 Read more here!

John MacArthur, surprisingly, does not support this paragraph. And neither does Banner in Truth publications, supposedly as they edit this paragraph out of their publication of The Sovereignity of God! I was disappointed to hear that, because I don't know about you, but I support Pink's statement. Read an amazingly clear article here! It's wonderful. 


He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father...If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him” (Joh 14:21,23)

Thou hatest all workers of iniquity” (Psa 5:5)


Ps. 135:6 Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in seas and in all deeps.

Contrary to what I would believe is right, MacArthur says: ''Pink was attempting to make the crucial point that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love. The gist of his argument is certainly valid: it is folly to think that God loves all alike, or that He is compelled by some rule of fairness to love everyone equally...
Unfortunately, Pink took the corollary too far. The fact that some sinners are not elected to salvation is no proof that God's attitude toward them is utterly devoid of sincere love.'' 
(pg. 7 The Truth About the Lordship of Christ)

I don't believe what Pink stated was ''going to far''!

Turning now to John 3:16, it should be evident from the passages just quoted that this verse will not bear the construction usually put upon it. 

“God so loved the world”—many suppose that this means the entire human race. But “the entire human race” includes all mankind from Adam till the close of earth’s history: it reaches backward as well as forward! Consider, then, the history of mankind before Christ was born. Unnumbered millions lived and died before the Savior came to the earth, lived here “having no hope and without God in the world,” and therefore passed out into an eternity of woe. If God “loved” them, where is the slightest proof thereof?

 Scripture declares “Who [God] in times past [from the tower of Babel till after Pentecost] suffered all nations to walk in their own ways” (Act 14:16). Scripture declares: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient” (Rom 1:28). 

To Israel God said, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” (Amo 3:2).

 In view of these plain passages who will be so foolish as to insist that God in the past loved all mankind! The same applies with equal force to the future. 

Read through the book of Revelation, noting especially chapters 8 to 19, where we have described the judgments which will be poured out from Heaven on this earth. Read of the fearful woes, the frightful plagues, the vials of God’s wrath, which shall be emptied on the wicked. Finally, read the twentieth chapter of the Revelation, the great white throne judgment, and see if you can discover there the slightest trace of love.  But the objector comes back to John 3:16 and says: “World means world.” True, but we have shown that “the world” does not mean the whole human family. The fact is that “the world” is used in a general way. When the brethren of Christ said “Shew thyself to the world” (Joh 7:4), did they mean “Shew Thyself to all mankind”?  

When the Pharisees said “Behold, the world is gone after Him” (Joh 12:19), did they mean that “all the human family” were flocking after Him? When the apostle wrote, “Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Rom 1:8), did he mean that the faith of the saints at Rome was the subject of conversation by every man, woman, and child on earth? When Revelation 13:3 informs us that “all the world wondered after the beast,” are we to understand that there will be no exceptions? These, and other passages which might be quoted, show that the term “the world” often has a relative rather than an absolute force.  (A.W Pink- read full article here)

MacArthur, I must say, sometimes DOES sound confusing...because after stating that he thought Pink took the corollary too far, he does end up saying: ''Nor should we imagine that such hatred is any kind of blemish on the character of God. It is a holy hatred. It is perfectly consistent with His spotless, unapproachable, incomprehensible holiness. We must remember that God is Lord of the universe, and He can do whatever He wants.''

Yes! Very true. And in agreement with Pink! 

Lastly,
In the section about ''Assurance of Salvation'' (chapter 6), I was a little tense during my first read through it since the author gives the impression near the beginning of the chapter that it is wrong to question your salvation (by examining your life and your relationship with the Lord) too much, as ''the Puritans did'' which, according to the author, encourages ''morbid introspection and utter despair.'' However, later, to my relief, MacArthur does support self-examination and explains why it is crucial. So I am willing to overlook the flaw, especially since Mr. MacArthur does assure the reader that he admires the Puritans generally. 

Anyhow: I was pleased to receive this book free to review from the BookSneeze blogging for books program! I was encouraged to state my honest opinion. 

Book Review: What Matters Most

What Matters Most by Leonard Sweet 2012. Soft cover, 244 pages. 
Published by WaterBrook Press. I received through the Blogging for Books reading program.
I was encouraged to express my honest opinion, whether negative or positive!

This book had a bad start with me since I was not attracted to the cover, size of book, layout or style of writing. However, obviously I could ignore those factors, if the content of the book proved to be Biblically sound!

The point of this book is relationships. The author comes from the viewpoint that Christians follow rules, but have forgotten how to cultivate relationships. While I agree that relationships just don't seem to be successful now-a-days, I don't believe this author was qualified to address the subject. I know of a score of better books and messages, and even blog posts which cover the subject wisely and Biblically. 

I suspected something was wrong with this book when I saw at a glance that there were hardly any Bible verses quoted in the book, but many quotes by people like Dominican friars, Mystics, Dostoyevsky, Aristotle, Richard Cranshaw, Mystic Nicholas of Cusa, James Hillman, HOmer Simpson, Lily Tomlin, Emily Dickinson, etc. while only a few quotes from Charles Spurgeon, hymns and the Bible.  

The book turned out to be almost blasphemous as the author constantly stated wild beliefs and un-Biblical thoughts. 
For example, I quote the author: The center of gravity of global Christianity is shifting from the North to the West to the South and East. Western Christianity was tutored by Greece and Rome. It will now learn from Asia. 
What Christianity learned from Greco-Roman culture (Stoicism, neo-Platonism) was how to express itself in rhetoric and reason. When we start learning from Asia, and the cultures of India, Tibet, and China, we will move beyond the rational to the mystical...God is a mystery, not a master's thesis...Jesus was not a Greek, nor was he a classical thinker. He was a Hebrew, Eastern in thought and culture, relational in practice, and mystical in spirituality. 

See what I mean? The author is almost....New Age? Later in the book, he mentions relationships with his ancestors, and favorite famous (not all Christian) people from the past. Bad, bad, bad.

Lastly, chapter 3 was terrible as the author totally twisted the meaning of Abraham's relationship with God. This chapter states that ''God never wanted Abraham to kill Isaac and was hoping (yuck) that Abraham would argue with God and ultimately refuse to carry out the directive.''

The author also quotes a favorite paragraph from Conrad Gempf which is so blasphemous I hardly dare share it, but which says that God is interested when we argue with Him, and He likes losing the arguments even more than He likes winning them. Excuse me? The conscientious reader will now slam this book and send it to it's death via the recycling bin!

So, I simply close with the warning to beware of this author, Leonard Sweet's writings. Usually Blogging For Books offers Christian material, but I guess I need to be more careful, and not just hastily choose a book to review based on the title! I hope these thoughts helped you.