Yesterday for the first time in a month, I went down to Suria Mall in the city centre and I was greeted with a degree of sadness that one of the major bookstores in town had closed. Now it is selling kitchen utensils. I am glad that all my three books are being sold in another popular bookstore, Borneo Bookshop at the adjacent Mall, Wisma Merdeka. It is smaller bookstore than "Times" in Suria which is now closed but if I stand just outside for 20 minutes or so, I could see that many people still enter the bookstore and look at the books there.
As for me, since my Departure Points was published and sold at the bookstore since January 2020, and later they agreed to sell the commentary on John's Gospel in Malay and now, the Concise Commentary on the Song of Songs (July 2022). They do get a big commission on every book sold, so if you want to help me in my writing ministry, please buy the books direct from me.
Nevertheless, I could not be happier that one of the the remaining bookstores in the city sells my three books and I think it is historic in the sense that before this, I don't think that there are overtly Christian materials sold there. But now not only in English but in Malay as well which is a first in many ways. A good friend who bought a book there recently told me that she was impressed that out of so many books on Borneo (landscapes, fauna and flora, etc on Borneo), there was this Gospel (of John's commentary) sold in the midst of Borneo. "Injil di tengah-tengah Borneo) It is ironic but praise be to God that a gospel is written in the national language and if you want to learn about the Gospel of John, you can find and buy it in a commercial bookstore in the public square right at the heart of the capital city of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu.
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