I have a bit of a dilemma.

I am going to buy the New International Commentaries set as soon as I financially recover from the April 5 Logos pre-pubs. My struggle is do I pay $1,600 to have them in Logos, or do I pay $1,000 to have them in book form? I would rather have them in Logos, but how much rather?

Lately, I have been thinking about how nice they would look on my book shelves, and what I could do with the $600 I would save. That would buy some nice additional Logos books. (Actually, I probably should just not spend the extra $600.) And if I bought the complete set in books, I could donate the eight volumes I already own to someone.

Still I am struggling with giving up on them in Logos. I have a month or two to decide.

My question is, do you think it is worth the extra $600 to have the commentaries in Logos?

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Brad Fry

If you can afford the extra $600 Logos wins hands down, in my opinion. How books look on a shelf should not come close to being a factor. The primary consideration is useablility. For your shelves buy some of those fake books they use in furniture stores![:)] That's about how useful my traditional books have become.

tom

I am going to buy the New International Commentaries set as soon as I financially recover from the April 5 Logos pre-pubs. My struggle is do I pay $1,600 to have them in Logos, or do I pay $1,000 to have them in book form? I would rather have them in Logos, but how much rather?

Lately, I have been thinking about how nice they would look on my book shelves, and what I could do with the $600 I would save. That would buy some nice additional Logos books. (Actually, I probably should just not spend the extra $600.) And if I bought the complete set in books, I could donate the eight volumes I already own to someone.

Still I am struggling with giving up on them in Logos. I have a month or two to decide.

My question is, do you think it is worth the extra $600 to have the commentaries in Logos?

Hi Michael,

I am not sure if any of can answer this question for you. I can tell you that I have some very good commentaries on my bookshelf (Brueggemann, Kraus, Schussler-Fiorenza, etc...), but I seldom use them because they are not in Logos.

Rich DeRuiter

I am going to buy the New International Commentaries set as soon as I financially recover from the April 5 Logos pre-pubs. My struggle is do I pay $1,600 to have them in Logos, or do I pay $1,000 to have them in book form? I would rather have them in Logos, but how much rather?

Lately, I have been thinking about how nice they would look on my book shelves, and what I could do with the $600 I would save. That would buy some nice additional Logos books. (Actually, I probably should just not spend the extra $600.) And if I bought the complete set in books, I could donate the eight volumes I already own to someone.

Still I am struggling with giving up on them in Logos. I have a month or two to decide.

My question is, do you think it is worth the extra $600 to have the commentaries in Logos?

Michael. I no longer buy commentaries, or other reference books, unless I can get them in Logos. The reason is simply that if they're not in Logos, I don't use them. For me, I wouldn't be saving $600 but wasting $1000. I have some great commentaries on a shelf just out of reach, and a few other better ones within reach. I don't use them any more. Logos is just so convenient that I can browse three commentaries on a verse before I can reach over, find the book, open it to the right page and begin reading. Then, if there's something I want to quote, I have to manually type it into my notes. So as far as Bible research goes, if I can't buy it in Logos I don't buy it.

If you want to save $600, drop your cell phone's internet access for a year, or your premium cable TV, make a couple of extra house or car payments, etc. (notice I didn't suggest reducing your tithe or charitable giving [;)]).

Graham Owen

My question is, do you think it is worth the extra $600 to have the commentaries in Logos?

I think that this is a question that we will all be asking at some point over the coming months and years as the publishing industry adapts to the changes in public demand for digital formats. During this period where digital formats are becoming more popular we can expect to see some great deals on books in the traditional paper format while the cost of digital formats will hold up because of user demand for the new format.

Of course we then have to balance the convenience and benefits of digital against the financial savings...

Personally I made the choice some time ago that where a book was available in Logos I would purchase it digitally rather than in paper. In some cases I have even repurchased books when they became available digitally. BUT $600 is a lot of money!

The big two reasons that I prefer digital are:

Convenience - digital books require zero shelf space and are always easily available...
Access - when I search digitally all of my library can be searched whether I'm aware that it may be of interest or not this sometimes results in useful material from sources that I would not necessarily have considered.

For a commentary set 1 is a genuine benefit but 2 is probably less of a benefit as 99% of the way we use a commentary will relate directly to a passage. The only exceptions might be where a text is cited in relation to other passages in other volumes, a Logos search would identify across the whole set if any exist.

Ultimately, if you really need the whole set now, this is a decision you need to make yourself. Convenience and ease of access for an extra $600, I'm glad I'm not the one making it.

Rene Atchley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112319#Comment_112319

Micheal I think you can rationalize for just about every reason to spend as much money you have or can get for something you are fascinated with. The issue, at least for me, is do I need this item to advance my career or ministry. If it helps in a direct and meaningful way, and after prayerful thought, to one of these goals than a Logos alternative maybe reasonable. However, buying something just because its a Logos product is part of that consumerism mentality that seems so prevalent to me in many of these threads...gotta gotta gotta have my Logos...[:(] . What do you need and why seems like the minimum questions that needs to be asked on an individual basis before spending so much money. Of course there is still the several other items that you want or just need from Logos too...right?

Jason

Hey Michael,

My personal approach with the NIC set is to buy individually, in print, the ones I know that I want to own and have on my shelf (as opposed to using so sparingly as to not really need to have full-time access to it). It started a little earlier with some that I needed for classes, and others I received as gifts, and I now have 8 of the 40, with my eye on perhaps 6 more. While I would love to have digital access to all of them, the cost was too high for me personally, and like you're saying, $600 (and $1600) is quite a bit.

So I would take a look at each individual volume, see if you want it, and then see how much it would cost to get those individually (new or used), and then see if it's worth it for you to get the whole set.

My two cents.

Alan Macgregor

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112333#Comment_112333

Michael

If it were books/monographs then I think the argument for Logos is far weaker. Frankly, it is easier to sit down with a print book and read it in comfort. However, with reference books/ commentaries things change. The interoperability and integration of the Logos library means that I make more use of these resources in Logos than when I only had print books. For instance, dragging the print commentaries from my shelf meant that I would consult maybe four or five commentaries for information/insights. With the Logos Passage Guide I can have all my Logos commentaries ready with a click to open them at the passage I am studying.

I currently own some 2000+ print books in my study, in the little boxroom off the study and in the corridor outside the study. I seldom venture to the shelves now, unless it's to consult one of my "treasures". I am retiring from the full-time ministry in just over two years time and I aim to sell off most of my library. (Frankly, I won't have the space in my little retirement cottage by the sea.) I'll keep my "treasures" and my print Bibles, but the rest of my library will be in Logos.

For me, your question is a no-brainer. Logos wins every time in terms of accessibility, utility and shelf-room.

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112340#Comment_112340

Alan hit the nail right on the head there. That is exactly how I feel (though I did buy those commentaries on Prepub, so 'only' paid $1,000).

Ted Hans

I really do not have much to add to this thread as i have the NIC in both format. I have found that calling a Sales Rep gets you a better price deal than what is advertise on the Logos web page. I use Jared, try giving him a call if you do decide to go for the Logos option.

Jared W.
Bryant

Sales and
Marketing
(800) 875-6467 ext. 2319
Direct: (360)
685-2319

Fax: (360)
527-1707
jared@logos.com .

Ted

Mike Childs

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112333#Comment_112333

Thanks Rene,

Buying anything out of fascination is something I outgrew a decade or two ago - (which was a decade or two too late.)

No, the New International Commentaries are definately something I am convinced that I need for my ministry. In fact, I have a number of them in book form now, and I get great use out of them. Buying them individually is too costly a way to continue buying the set. For me, it comes down to buying the set in books or in Logos.

I prefer Logos because I agree that it is much more convenient to have them that way. But I think about that $600.

I am wondering if using one set of commentaries - along with Logos - is not a reasonable alternative. I do that now with the New International Commentaries I have. Practically everything else I use is in my Logos library. (I bet it has been 10 years since I took Moulton and Geden off my shelf.)

Rejecting all books in favor of Logos resources may not be the best stewardship of my resources.

I thank everyone for their opinions and help. I want to consider this carefully, because I will live with the decision a long time. All opinions are helpful.

Mike Childs

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112335#Comment_112335

Jason,

Thanks for the input. That is the approach I have used in the past, and I have about 8 or 9 volumes now. However, I intend to buy a significant number of the others, and they are expensive.

Rene Atchley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112369#Comment_112369

Hope all goes well. Just don't come down with Logos Acquisition Syndrome or LAS...a mind is a terrible thing to waste...[8-|]

Mike Childs

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112353#Comment_112353

Ted Hans: I really do not have much to add to this thread as I have the NIC in both format. I have found that calling a Sales Rep gets you a better price deal than what is advertise on the Logos web page. I use Jared, try giving him a call if you do decide to go for the Logos option.

Thanks Ted,

Before I buy them in either format, I will give Logos a call. I have to get at least a month past April 5 pre-pubs before I will be in position to buy.

I agree with the consensus that Logos format is more convenient. It is the $600 difference that is the issue to me.

I will say that my past experience is that I read more in the New International Commentaries than I do in most others. I have read a couple practically from cover to cover. For lengthy reading books are not as big drawback to me.

Still Logos would be preferable.

Mike Childs

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112378#Comment_112378

Hope all goes well. Just don't come down with Logos Acquisition Syndrome or LAS...a mind is a terrible thing to waste...

Keep me in your prayers. I am not invulnerable to it. Thanks for your thoughtful comments.

I hope you ministry goes well, too. I am sure you are a blessing.

Pam Larson

Just one more thing to consider - how much of the $600 could you recoup if you sold the volumes you currently own?

Friedrich

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112395#Comment_112395

Just one more thing to consider - how much of the $600 could you recoup if you sold the volumes you currently own?

Good point!

Michael, if I didn't have the 1,600, I wouldn't buy the hardcopy for 1,000. I would buy individual hardcopies as I went through a book.

I bit the bullet and bough NIC on pre-pub, so it is cheaper than you will have to pay (and I also recommend jared AT logos (dot) com), and that may be the largest single outlay I will do again until my financial picture changes drastically, but I have been so grateful many times over to have that wonder, comprehensive set on my little laptop that I can take ANYWHERE. I have used it multiple time in different books in the last 5 or so months.

Nathaniel Harper Jr.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112319#Comment_112319

Hey! Richard, if you no longer need those books on your book shelf, I will gladly pay you to send them to me. I love logos, but I still like hard copies as well. I like my books in logos form, but if it is charper to get the hard copy I'll go that way so I can have the most for the buck.

Mike Childs

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112395#Comment_112395

Just one more thing to consider - how much of the $600 could you recoup if you sold the volumes you currently own?

Thanks Pam,

That is a possibility. I have Isaiah by Oswalt (volumes 1 & 2), Mark by Lane, Thessalonians by Morris, Luke by Geidenhuys, John by Morris, Acts by Bruce, Galatians by Ridderbos, and Revelation by Mounce. However, I bought several of these years ago. Thessalonians, Luke, and Galatians have been replaced in the series, and John has an updated edition. So I am not sure what they would bring, but it might help.

I do have some other books I could sale. The Pulpit Commentary complete set and The Beacon Bible Commentary set are possibilities. Another is Moulton and Geden's Greek Concordance. There are others.

That is one possible answer.

Jason

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112369#Comment_112369

Jason,

Thanks for the input. That is the approach I have used in the past, and I have about 8 or 9 volumes now. However, I intend to buy a significant number of the others, and they are expensive.

Ahh, understood, Let me know if you do decide to sell your print ones, as the Oswalt commentaries are among the other volumes I was looking for...

Blessings on your decision process!

Jason

Mike Childs

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112451#Comment_112451

Jason,

John Oswalt was one of my professors at Asbury. What a Christian and a scholar! It was worth going to class to hear him pray. I never met another man who so well combined genuine spirituality with brilliant scholarship.

He was working on his Isaiah commentary way back then. It is great.

Mike Childs

My dilemma has been resolved. I was contacted today by Mr. Dan Pritchett, who helped me work out an arrangement.

Perhaps the dialogue that you all shared in was partly responsible. Apparently, it caught his eye, and he personally got involved. I don't have the commentaries in Logos at this time, but I will before too many weeks.

I have to say thanks to Logos and Mr. Pritchett. I also say thanks to all of you. You guys came up with some good ideas and helped me to think through this.

Mike Childs

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112451#Comment_112451

Jason,

I realize you may only be interested in the Oswalt volumes, but because of having been one of his students, I really don't want to part with those. However, if you are interested in any of the others, I will give them to you. Email me at mikechilds54 AT bellsouth.net. The Mark and Acts volumes are very good if you don't have them.

Jason

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/112558#Comment_112558

Thanks Bill, totally understandable. I have the Acts volume, but I will think about the Mark one and let you know. Glad to hear you got everything worked out!

Jason