Official Plea to separate Zondervan commentaries!!!

I was worried "septerate" was something really bad!

... or greek [:S]

[EDIT] - I guess I should add my official sentiment to this official thread.  I'm actaully excited about all the commentaries bundled together and would only support this if it didn't cause the ability to gain all of these commentaries more expensive.

Mathew Voth said:

Mixing them together will only result in the loss of sales.

Agreed.

I'm with Paul - actually quite interested in them all.  I can see why that's not a widely shared feeling, as they're so different - but as I work a lot in Africa I'd snap up the Africa Bible Commentaries volumes which are an unknown in terms of quality.  The one-volume Africa Bible Commentary (also published by Zondervan on this side of the Atlantic) is really very good, and some of the authors overlap.

Bundling works for me, because I prefer to purchase collection rather  than individual titles. But I do understand that it doesn't work for everyone.

I think its pretty clear the intentions of Zondervan here.  Bundle the commentaries together so collection buyers are exposed to those commentaries they probably wouldn't see themselves buying individually.  Also the fact that they are selling two commentary volumes per set may not be just because the rest aren't written yet.  Zondervan may know the kryptonite to many Logos users in the form of incomplete commentary or book sets.  We can't resist buying the updates as they slowly make their way down the pipe.  I sincerely hope Baker, publisher of the BECNT, is not reading this!

Wow. Take a breather guys, its not the end of the world! Everyone's acting like they never bought a bundle with a book they didn't want.  Did you pay several hundred or several thousand dollars for any of Logos Base sets?  Then I guarantee you you bought books that have no business being bundled with anything else and ones you will most likely never even open.

No one's forcing anyone to buy anything here, and if its that big a deal to you, then just wait until the sets are broken up. The books are going to be produced anyway, and aren't dependent upon pre-pub sales. No need to get up in arms with Zondervan and Logos. This is really just a nice example of their generosity by letting you get in on a nice set of books at a cheaper cost than after they've been published.

I'm sure if you thought about it you could find the benefit of owning all the volumes in this set anyway. The ZECNT books are just awesome, for one. I read the James volume for fun and found it helpful, informative, and the format and presentation was very unique and useful in understanding the flow of the book. I was actually thinking of buying the next volume in the set in a few days, but think I'll just buy it all in Logos instead.

Swindoll's Insights series were very nice too. I read a sample chapter from Romans (you can get one on Zondervan's website) and found myself enjoying it more than I had expected to. When I first saw them in the store, I thought they were just another one of those "simple" commentaries, but its actually presented in a similar format to the ZECNT series, with a breakdown of the flow of the pericope, a closer look at several key Greek terms used, followed by an expository-like commentary and a section focused on application. You probably won't be finding them quoted in any PhD dissertation, but they'd go great alongside a daily study of an individual New Testament book.

The Africa Bible commentary series seems interesting, and while I had never planned on buying it in print (cause I never really looked at it), I think it'll be great to learn how non-western cultures read the scriptures, and what they can draw from the books for their readers. I find that fascinating, and definitely helpful in understanding a book where multiple perspectives are always useful.

Finally, Waltke's commentary on Genesis isn't part of any set, but it has been recognized in its own right as one of the better commentaries on Genesis out there.

And that's my official take on this issue.

Mathew Voth said:

I'm not against bundling, only the bundling of books that have no business being together! You wouldn't cook a goat in its mother's milk would you?

Yep, understood. For me all these books go together (all commentaries). I wouldn't buy them all separately, but I'm more likely to buy this bundle instead anyway.