If you ask the average pastor or teacher to recollect their most plentiful keepsakes from college or seminary, they will probably miss the obvious. All the textbooks they had to buy! Check your pastor or teacher's office or basement and you're sure to find many such keepsakes.

Books are what we learn from and become portable memories. They needn't be acquired in formal centers of learning. Most likely they were picked up at the local bookstore or through the mail. Many have been treasured possessions for years. How many Lutherans still have their first Catechism from age 14 or earlier?

Dr. Martin Luther was a prolific writer. Yet he also was an extensive reader. Note what he said in 1524:

"My advice is not to huddle together indiscriminately all sorts of books and to look only to their number and quantity. I would make a selection of books. There is no need of collecting the commentaries of all jurists, the sentences of all theologians, the questions of all philosophers, and the sermons of all monks. In fact, I would throw out such dung and furnish my library with the right sort of books, consulting with scholars as to my choice."
(Ewald M. Plass, Compiler, "What Luther Says: An Anthology", Vol. 1, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, 1959, pp. 110-111.)

Today's Christian usually has at least one book in their possession, the Holy Scriptures. Chances are they have many more besides. Dr. Luther noted that readers need to be discriminating in what books they acquire. That advice is good for today as well. Then as now the volume of books on any given subject can make a careful selection difficult. We find ourselves asking others for their advice so as not to err.

Yet still, we acquire more than we probably need. Or we pick up materials by mistake that we later regret. Since the "Luther Quest Discussion Group" went online, there have been many occasions where participants have recommended or asked about various books. Many of these books are rather distinctive and aimed at a limited audience. It isn't always easy to find a local bookstore that has them in stock. Even the local Lutheran bookstore could have a difficult time. And if the book is out of print, you are guaranteed a long wait that could prove fruitless. What do you do then?

With the advent of the Internet, the sources for buying and selling both old and new books are just a mouse click away. Also, you are not limited to dealing with professional booksellers. Individual book owners are also able to list their wares for the shopper to find. With various Internet search engines linked to these websites, it becomes even easier with a higher level of success. There are three websites we would like to recommend for your use in hunting for good books. I’ve found them to be quite helpful, especially with locating out-of-print books.

Two of the websites are search engines that search other websites that are distinctly composed of booksellers, professional and individual. While both of them overlap in most of the booksellers they search, they differ enough to warrant your use in any particular search. Both of these search engines let you look for new or used books. The third website is where individual and professional booksellers can list their books. This site is intended for those with books they no longer need and wish to sell. Plus, we think it would be convenient for readers of Reclaim News, Luther Quest (or other discussion group) participants, and other Lutherans to have a common locale where they can list books for sale that other Lutherans may be interested in.

The first website is www.BookFinder.com. This search engine currently searches 9 of the largest and most popular new book dealers and 10 of the largest used book websites in the world. You are basically searching about 20,000,000 books (not a typo) when you use BookFinder. The second website is www.AddALL.com. They have two distinct search features, new and used. The new books search goes through about 35 of the largest booksellers. The used book search will process the top 8, most of them duplicating the selection from BookFinder. However, the overlap is not total, and thus you are advised to use both companies to increase your chances of success. Both of these sites have proved very helpful for me when trying to find those old Concordia Publishing House items from many years ago.

For those with their own books to sell, we would like to recommend www.Bookopoly.com. They currently have over 700,000 listings, with over 4,600 listed under "Non-fiction > Religion." Listing your books on Bookopoly is free, with a low commission of 5% on items you sell. A large competitor to Bookopoly charges three times that amount.

Bookopoly has over 120 individual subject classifications under 11 main subject categories. Anyone can search through the Bookopoly listings. Membership is free and both sellers and buyers must join to engage in any transactions. This protects both parties. Bookopoly is listed in many of the main Internet search engines.

You can list as many books as you like, describing their condition, sale price, etc., in a very easy format. An added feature is the ability to create your own Book Web, or webpage, within the Bookopoly site. The address to your Book Web can be shared with friends and family to show them what you have for sale. The best thing about Book Web is anyone can use it. You don’t need to be a webpage designer or programmer to put together what you want. Any changes you need to make are also easy to do. Editing of items you’ve listed can be done at any time.

You, the seller, set the sale price of the books. It’s advisable to use search engines like BookFinder and AddALL, listed above, to get an idea of what your book is worth before setting your price. Shipping and handling are also yours to determine. Bookopoly requires all pricing to be in U.S. Dollars, and recommends shipping costs for U.S. destinations by U.S. Media Mail. Naturally, you can list alternative methods in case buyers desire other delivery services.

Another nice feature on Bookopoly is a section of Want Ads. You can list for free any book you’re looking for in the Want Ads, which happen to be scanned by various booksellers. Plus, you can always scan the Want Ads to see if someone wants a title that you own and would be willing to sell.

If you have any questions on what you’re doing, they have an extensive Help section. If that doesn’t contain the answer you’re looking for, you can email your question to Bookopoly, and they’ll respond pretty quickly. That’s one key area I researched before making this recommendation. A service is only as good as their support level. And Bookopoly has a very high support level.

Books are key resources for us to use as Christians in general and Lutherans in particular. Being able to obtain the titles you want is key. With the aid of the websites listed above, you will have some adequate resources to both buy and sell your books. Keeping Luther’s advice in mind, you are now equipped to furnish your library with discriminating choices.