The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for For the Love of God
Because For the Love of God was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
va2016
The title and the cover clearly indicate the theme of the book. There are no Amazon customer reviews. The Amazon summary has a lot of questions, but not inspiring to get the reader to read the book. As I am not into religious books, I would have skipped sampling the book if not for the First Ten program. As I sampled through the book, I found that the author was trying to describe the concept of God through several references from the Bible - Corinthians, Galatians, Matthew, Mark, etc. As I am not into religious books that quote from the holy books to explain God and God's work, I am not going to read this book in full. I found the book to be professionally edited. I didn't find any grammatical or mechanical errors. I didn't like anything specifically about the book. I didn't have any suggestions for improvement either. Although I found one OBC review on the book, my decision to not to read the book in full is based on my own sampling.
First Ten review added on March 31, 2019, at 4:49 am by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mercelle
Judging by the cover, I wasn't going to read this book, and the OBC review discouraged me when it mentioned that the author aims to prove God's existence using science and religion. When I read the first ten pages, I didn't like that the author included lengthy Bible verses as footnotes. The only modification I would make is to add more of the author's commentary and deduct some of the verbatim Bible verses. Since I noticed no errors, I will conclude that the text underwent professional editing, but I won't read the rest of the book because it doesn't appeal to me.
First Ten review added on March 31, 2019, at 3:51 am by Mercelle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Fu Zaila
The cover isn't that interesting but suits the blurb. Like the author said, I did want to stop reading because I didn't agree with some of the points. I think he has a very compelling style. I liked how he explains about existence of a supreme vision in every human being and why he is afraid of human clones. I found many similarities in his theories and in the teachings of my religion. If there was something I didn't like, it was that the author didn't take into consideration the people of other faiths and beliefs or atheists. Anyhow, I won't be reading this book, because it's about spirituality, but otherwise I think it might make for an interesting read. The writing is edited professionally.
First Ten review added on March 31, 2019, at 2:07 am by Fu Zaila.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book based on the genre, blurb, OBC review, cover, and title. I don’t usually read non-fiction books, and religious books aren’t for me. After reading the first ten pages, I will not be finishing this book. The introduction was really long and difficult to get through as was the first chapter. I had a hard time with the intermittent Bible verses and all of the footnotes. While someone who knows more of these Bible verses might enjoy that, I didn’t. I also don’t particularly like reading other peoples’ interpretations of the Bible, which is seen a lot in this book. There wasn’t anything I liked so far about the book. It also didn’t seem to be professionally edited. For example, on the first page of the first chapter “exits” should be “exists”.
First Ten review added on March 31, 2019, at 12:58 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
AA1495
Had I not sampled the book, I would not have read it. I usually read pure romance books. However, the cover (with the orange and blue color combination) caught my attention. Having read the sample, I knew that the author put in a lot of effort into the book. The language is simple and easy to understand. However, I felt like the book had many footnotes, citations and quotations, which made it a little difficult to read. While I did not find any obvious grammatical errors, I would have liked more spacing between paragraphs. Since I do not read the genre usually, I will not be reading the book further.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 11:53 pm by AA1495.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Heidi M Simone
Without this program, I would not have sampled this book. A Christian nonfiction answering the question if God exists isn't really my cup of tea. Therefore, the kind-of-confusing cover, the title, genre, and blurb do not pique my interest. The fact that there aren't any customer ratings and there is a positive OBC one do not affect my opinion of the book. Based on what I read, the book could use another round of editing. In the Introduction, the line, "The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:7 "For we brought nothing into the world...", there is a comma missing after the words, "1 Timothy 6:7". The story of "The Gift" was interesting as it showed the symbolism of the young graduate who received a Bible instead of the car he wanted for his graduation gift only to find out the gift was there all along, just like all of God's blessings toward us. On the other hand, I wished another symbol was given rather than a fancy car. Also, there does to be a large amount of quotes being pulled from the Bible. This could be fine for those who like to read many Bible verses, but I find them to somewhat distracting. They actually make the writing choppy since the quotes aren't original thoughts and they interrupt the author's actual words. Lastly, I'm not sure why there are parentheses around the author's words once the first chapter begins. There isn't a need for that and this is also fairly distracting. In general, I am not a fan of the writing and the material presented. Therefore, I do not plan on buying and reading this book.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 8:27 pm by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Alice Heritage
I rarely read books based on the Bible and Christianity, so I wouldn't have sampled this without the programme. The editorial review on Amazon was off-putting in its long-windedness! I also won't buy and read this book after reading the sample because it was hard to follow. It does appear professionally edited as I noticed no errors. I liked the idea that we may come into this world with something - surely newborns do indeed bring something. I was disappointed as I read on, though. Something that could be improved is the organization of the ideas - the author goes from a quite scientific explanation of the spectrum of colours in the rainbow to a mass of Bible quotes seemingly pulled from different contexts. (I'm not an expert on the Bible, so I'm not sure where things come from). I was very confused. I did see an official OnlineBookClub review of this book, which was positive, but my opinion was mainly based on the sample.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 4:18 pm by Alice Heritage.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CataclysmicKnight
I enjoy religious books, but I don't go looking for them, so I probably would've passed this up if it wasn't the book of the day.
So far I love this book, it's terrific! I was very nervous when the author began by asking people to stick with the book even if they disagree with things he says, but it quickly shifted to defining Godly love and other interesting topics. The comparison of scripture to the colors of a rainbow for defining love was especially excellent! I also didn't see any errors and everything was smooth. I definitely want to read the rest of this!
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 2:19 pm by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
ritah
Based on the title and genre, I wouldn't have sampled the book because I don't usually go for books in its genre and category. After reading the official review, I sampled For the Love of God. I have an interest in cloning and humans, so I liked that the author stated his stance on it. I also appreciated that the author used bible verses to support his statements. I did not find any errors in the pages I read. However, the main topic the book discusses is not for me, which is why I won't be reading the rest of the book.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 12:48 pm by ritah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sarah_Khan
I would not have picked up this book because I do not read religious books. I found the amazon blurb a little tedious with the numerous what if questions. The first ten pages seem to be well-edited. I liked that the author acknowledged that most people would read the book only until they find something to disagree with. I thought the book could use some extra organization in the beginning, to lay out the topics that will be discussed. Overall, this type of book just isn't my cup of tea. I did not read any OBC review.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 12:09 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sonya Nicolaidis
I wouldn’t ordinarily have looked twice at this book as I’m not that interested in religion. Also, even though the title is rather appealing, the cover design didn’t seem too professional and I found myself doubting the quality of the contents. Within the first few sentences, it was as if the author had read my mind as he urges cynics and skeptics to persevere with reading the book to benefit from the material within. There weren’t many reviews to rely on, apart from the OBC review which made it sound like an informative and carefully thought out read. The sample began well, and was quite enjoyable, but as usually happens with this sort of book, I quickly became swamped in a multitude of scriptures and word analyses, and found myself getting a bit bored. I noticed only one small typo in the use of the word “exit” instead of “exist” but apart from that, the writing was good.This isn’t really a good book for me as I am not interested enough in religion to undertake such heavy reading. Unfortunately, for this reason, I canno single out anything I particularly liked about the sample, but can fully appreciate the amount of thought and research that has clearly gone into this work. I’m sure bible enthusiasts and scholars would appreciate this writing more than I; however I’m sure I wouldn’t read this book.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 11:21 am by Sonya Nicolaidis.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gravy
This is not really a subject that I would read, so I would not have sampled it. The sample did not change my mind, so I won't be reading it.
I'm not sure I would say that I believe this to have been professionally edited. There weren't necessarily a lot of errors (I only noticed one, a missing letter which changed 'exist' to 'exit'), but some of the facts are a bit off. Such as the color of light with the highest visible wavelength (stated in the book as blue, it's actually violet). There were a few things like that that really put me off, because, after all, if these are incorrect, what else might be?
Overall, I can respect what the author was attempting to do, and I'm sure that many will enjoy the book, but the factual errors really bother me. They would also prevent me ever recommending the book.
There was a review for this book, but it having one (or not) has no effect on my opinion.
Due mainly to preference, but also the reasons listed above, I will not be reading this.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 7:19 am by Gravy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Emy Katherine
The cover is eye-catching, but I would not have chosen to sample and read the book based on the title, blurb, and genre. After reading the first ten pages, I did not change my mind as I do not read non-fiction books. "For the Love of God" by William K. Ruffing is a thought-provoking book that revolves around the existence of God. It embraces themes of love, faith, and hope. Although I appreciated the author's writing style that was conversational and pleasant to read, I am not interested in reading this religious book. It is an informative book based on the official OBC review; therefore, fans of the genre will surely appreciate it. Also, the book seems like it was professionally edited as I did not find any grammatical errors.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 6:21 am by Emy Katherine.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Cristina Chifane
Without the first ten program I wouldn't have sampled this book since I wasn't interested in Christian non-fiction books. I like the message of the title, but I am not impressed with the cover. The set of rhetorical questions in the Amazon blurb is quite unusual and thought-provoking. There are no editorial or customer reviews. Surpisingly, the author's references to the Bible are followed by interesting explanations and realistic examples such as the one with the condors. However, there are also some ideas I don't agree with. For instance, why can't we be for clones what God was supposedly for us? I never thought I would decide to read the book, but the author's style is very clear, and I relate to the importance he gives to faith, hope, and love. In terms of editing errors, I noticed one line break in the middle of a sentence: "[...] He may be gracious unto you, and [line break] therefore will He be exalted [...]." (55% of Sample) Since it also has a 4-star OBC review, I'll add this book to my reading list.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 4:02 am by Cristina Chifane.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
MsTri
Both the cover and the title for this book caught my interest. Then I read the Amazon synopsis and OBC review (the only one I read) and my initial thoughts were confirmed. I really like spiritual books, especially when they're actually based on the Bible. When I read the sample, I was glad that it seemed to indicate that the book was professionally edited. I also really liked the story of "The Gift."
Additionally, I don't have any suggestions for changes because this tome is already written perfectly.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 3:40 am by MsTri.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Vickie Noel
I wouldn't have read this book outside the program because it is clearly a religious book, and I'm not one for those. The reason is because most of the analogies are personal opinions which conflict with findings from my Bible-based research. While reading the sample, one of those conflicts quickly became evident when the author talked about what we take out of the world. He stressed the importance of not accruing wealth at the expense of our relationship with God because we won't take it with us. This is very true. However, my bone of contention comes from when he said, "Let's assume that if God wanted us to come into the world with something, it is because He wants us to leave this world with something even greater than an imprint." This "something greater" is love, according to him. My question is, "Leave the world to go where?" God did not create us to "leave the world" (which is equal to death- returning to nonexistence) in the first place. I believe that if Adam hadn't sinned, there wouldn't even be a question of leaving the world because life would have been eternal. So Him wanting us to leave with something greater than an imprint couldn't possibly have been part of the plan. Therefore, I wonder the destination the author refers to as the place where we'd be taking our love to, since material things cannot be carried along there. If it's the same grave where dead people go, love would just be as useless to the dead as wealth would. That's why Ecc 9:10 tells the living to do all they can while they're alive because there's nothing happening in the grave. For all these conflicting reasons, I tend to stay away from religious materials. I didn't see any grammatical errors. Yes, I read an OBC review, but obviously, my stance regarding further reading of this book is pretty clear.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 3:01 am by Vickie Noel.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Lorraine De Vos
I would not have chosen to read this book if I didn’t read the sample pages. To me it appeared to be a Bible study book and it didn’t interest me much. My mind was changed after sampling the first ten pages and reading the official OnlineBookClub review. The author goes into detail explaining how rainbows are formed and how the rainbow is a display of God’s love to us. He then goes on to say that essentially God’s favor is a gift to be accepted and our thank to God for the gift would be living a holy sinless life. He then hooks you by saying he will reveal a controversial concept. I will read this book, because I want to find out what he is going to reveal. The book does appear to be professionally edited - I did not notice any errors. I liked that he backed up his thoughts with scripture, but feel like it slightly hindered the flow of reading in the beginning of the book.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 2:48 am by Lorraine De Vos.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
NuelUkah
The cover and title look intriguing. I like that the author started the book with the question, "Who is God?" I love the story about a father who gave his son a Bible on his graduation day, unbeknownst to his son that key of the car he admired was behind the Bible. I think there's a lot to learn in this book. Hence, I'm going to read it. I bought a copy already. I did not notice any error.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 2:41 am by NuelUkah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Mai Tran
I wouldn’t have read this book if it wasn’t for the program because I didn’t understand what it was all about. It takes the official review for me to understand that the author wants to discuss if there truly is a God. The book seems professionally edited, and the arguments are well-organized. Unfortunately, the writing is meant to provoke thinking by asking lots of questions, which doesn’t work for me. I see why the official review says that this book will make your head spin. I won’t continue to read this book.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 1:33 am by Mai Tran.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sahani Nimandra
For the Love of God by William K. Ruffing is a typical biblical Christian read that questions your beliefs towards Jesus and God. I'm not an avid reader when it comes to biblical Christian reads and since it isn't my genre of interest I don't wish to pursue further. The official review didn't change my view of interest. The introduction was compelling. Riffing's warm and compelling nature is evident through his words: "Many of you are going to read a short way into this book, see something that you do not agree with, then put the book down and never finish it. Right now, I humbly request that you do not do that. If you will give me the chance and read the entire book with an open mind, I believe that it will be one of the most encouraging books you have read. You will not agree with everything that is said, but please consider what is presented and decide for yourself; is there any possibility that it could be true?" I didn't encounter any grammatical hindrances while reading. This read has the ability to entice its readers who are interested in this genre.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 1:12 am by Sahani Nimandra.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
revna01
The OBC reviewer finished this compelling book in one sitting. I found no editing errors in the first ten pages and really liked the down to earth writing style and out-of-the-box conceptualization of the author. It was really captivating and I read well beyond the first ten pages. I am sure I won't agree with everything in the book, but maybe it will pave the way for deciphering some of my own questions. There is nothing I can think to suggest except that the cover art is a bit odd. I like the title though. The author discussed reading the book all the way through, despite any objections, and try to have an open mind. He noted God breathing life into Adam and the innate imprinting that occurs with humans and animals alike. He quotes the Bible considerably regarding love and the first commandment, loving God with all one's heart, soul, strength, mind, etc. I have already purchased a copy and look forward to reading it.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 12:46 am by revna01.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
R Lawrence
The title and cover immediately made me not want to read this book. I have no interest in religious books and the cover looks poorly done and has too much going on. Reviews about this book, including the Official OnlineBookClub review, had not impact on my feelings towards this book because the people writing those reviews generally believe in God which makes this book more relevant to them. I will not be finishing this book because I found it incredibly boring. There was nothing specific about this book that I liked but I did not like all the Bible passages because it was hard to follow and they all seemed to merge into one mess. The book did not have any typos or grammatical errors in the first 10 pages.
First Ten review added on March 30, 2019, at 12:01 am by R Lawrence.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kristin Ransome
This is not a book I would normally pick up due to the religious nature of the writing. After reading the first 10 pages, I was not convinced to continue this book due to the overly religious writing. Having found no errors in the first 10 pages, I would say this book was professionally edited. My favourite part is the physics lesson about atoms and photons and how the different energy levels result in different colours of light, because I found it educational. My least favourite part was the continuous use of bible quotes, because I found they disrupted the flow of reading and prevented me from enjoying the authors take on events.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 11:17 pm by Kristin Ransome.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
LV2R
The title and cover are both OK, but at first glance, it was hard to tell what was under the rainbow. The Amazon Blurb listed many “What if ” questions about God. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read the book or not, but it was clear what the book would be about. The sample began discussing the issue of when God created Adam; God left an imprint of Himself that caused all people to have an awareness of God within them. I best liked that the author discusses love, its definition, and importance. I think that love is a very good starting place to share about God. The book seems to be edited well, as I did not notice any errors. The OBC review mentioned that the author writes in a clear and easy way to understand, using definitions, stories, and anecdotes. I want to read this book because I like reading about stories and examples to understand more about God’s love and purpose for all people.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 11:08 pm by LV2R.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
HRichards
I normally wouldn't pick up this type of book as the content doesn't really interest me much. Having read the sample I won't be continuing on with the book as I didn't really agree with some of the content and wasn't really interested in it. The sample deals with the author describing how humans have an instinctual need to find a creator. He goes into an explanation of what love is. He then moves into an explanation of who God is. The writing seems very well researched and those who like religious books might like this book. I'm not really interested in this type of book. I noticed a grammar error in the line "...to the creation of Adam in Genesis 2:7 the Bible..." where there should be a comma after "2:7". I have not read any other reviews of this book.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 7:33 pm by HRichards.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Delaney35
The cover of this book caught my eye right away. Then I noticed the title and was less interested. I don’t like reading non-fiction, especially if it is about religion. That means this is not a book I would normally pick up. I also will not be finishing this one. The first ten pages were interesting. It jumped right in to the biblical idea of what humans are supposed to do with their lives. It then gave examples and explained. It was well-written and I did not notice any grammatical mistakes. I feel like it could have used a little more introduction. It had a few sentences of introduction and then started off right away. I felt like I was reading a chapter from the middle and not from the beginning. Considering everything, including reviews, I will not be finishing this one.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 7:28 pm by Delaney35.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Chelsy Scherba
This book is fascinating, but then I really love to learn as much as possible about God. I liked that the author encouraged the reader to keep reading even if they encounter something they disagree with. I also like that the discussion of what we take out of the world is actually love, and then he tries to define what love is using science and the Bible to explain it. The editing of this book appears to be very professional, as I didn’t notice any errors. The review interested me in the book because the reader could find nothing to dislike about the content. I like the title because it plays into the actual message, that God is love and his gift to us is precisely that. I’m definitely going to keep reading.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 6:18 pm by Chelsy Scherba.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
unamilagra
Before sampling this book, I would not have picked it up, as I am not religious. The premise sounded interesting, with the claim to be able to make people more confident in the existence of God. The first ten pages of the book did not impress me or cause me to want to read any further. When reading a nonfiction book that is going to be making assertions and backing them up with facts (or in this case Bible verses), I would expect an introductory section to be more overarching and general to ease me into the subject matter. Instead, it immediately throws the reader into the analysis of a bunch of Bible verses and the science behind rainbows. Although I will admit to finding the tidbit about California condors interesting, I do not plan to continue reading this book. I did not notice any errors in the section I sampled.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 5:54 pm by unamilagra.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kajori Sheryl Paul
'For the Love of God' is a book written by William K. Ruffing. The title, cover, OBC review, and Amazon review did a good job at convincing me to give this book a try.
The first ten pages of the book leads me to believe that it is non-fiction. This book thoroughly discusses the Bible and Christianity. I like that the author has thought to talk a little about his background. I did not find any error. Hence, I consider it to be professionally edited. However, I will give this book a skip as I am not in the mind-frame to read a book of this genre as of now.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 3:48 pm by Kajori Sheryl Paul.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Laura Ungureanu
This is not a book I would open by myself because I don't read religious books. Although I don't agree with the religious conceptions, I enjoyed the way the author presented his ideas. He began by telling the reader to have an open mind and listen to him until the end. Then he discussed how man is not made in God's image. I liked the comparison with the condors from California. I won't continue reading this book because of its genre. I found no grammar mistakes.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 3:04 pm by Laura Ungureanu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Juliana_Isabella
Based on the cover and description, I would probably not have tried this book because I don't tend to enjoy books based around teaching people about religion. After reading the first ten pages, I will not be buying the book. Although I initially enjoyed the author's willingness to admit that readers wouldn't agree with everything he said in the book, he later asks that many premises be taken as true with little or no evidence so that he has a foundation for his argument. In addition, the flow of the book is broken in many places by long quotes from the Bible and very basic explanations of scientific principles. The onlinebookclub review was very positive, so I was excited to try the book, but, unfortunately, I didn't have the same experience with it that the reviewer did because I couldn't simply take the author's premises for granted. I noticed a couple of comma errors, so I doubt the book was professionally edited, but the errors were not distracting while I was reading.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 2:38 pm by Juliana_Isabella.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the sample I would not have read the book as I do not read books about religion. After reading the sample, I have not changed my mind for the same reason. I like that the book started off with the author asking the reader to keep reading even if they do not read religious books, as I am sure there are many people out there who are like me. However, I still did not find myself able to relate to the book; although the author starts the book off with that, the book still seems to function under the assumption that the reader is already a Bible-reader and, to some extent, believes in God, which is why I felt a sense of disconnect. The sample was professionally edited. I did not read the official review but that did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 2:37 pm by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jsovermyer
The cover art could be improved. It is not eye-catching. I don't like Christian fiction or nonfiction, so I would not choose the book because of the genre. This Christian nonfiction book discusses the author's view on God, Jesus, and the Bible. If I want to read about the Bible, I will read the Bible itself and make my own interpretation. My favorite part, of the pages that I read, was the comparison of the formation of the rainbow to the components of real love. The official review rated this book highly, but the subject matter did not interest me. The book appears to have been professionally edited and I found no grammatical or spelling errors. Because of the genre of this book, I will not be finishing it.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 2:21 pm by Jsovermyer.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Theresa Moffitt
I like the cover art and title of this book. The images and colors are welcoming and make the book look inviting and uplifting. I would have picked this book up based on the cover. I haven’t read a review of this book yet. Based on the first ten pages, the book is very religious. The first ten pages contained a large number of bible quotes and interpretation. The author’s comments and analysis were well-written, but the large number of quotes broke up the flow of the book. The main concept in the first ten pages was the idea of love and faith expressing itself through love. I think this is an uplifting novel. It looks to be professionally edited because I didn’t see any errors. I will not finish reading this book. I enjoy reading some religious books, but this seems to be more focused on quoting scripture and interpretation of the Bible. I don’t think I would enjoy reading this type of book and don’t intend to finish it.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 1:28 pm by Theresa Moffitt.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Scerakor
From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I wouldn’t have read it. I'm not a religious person, I don't have any questions about the existence of God, and I don't often read religious non-fiction. After reading the first ten pages I didn’t change my mind and therefore will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. I appreciated how well researched this book was. The book is littered with scripture references and footnotes that must have been extremely difficult to gather. As well, I appreciated that the author was very honest upfront (with all of the footnotes) that the main references are from the Bible itself. This allows purely scientific researchers to understand from where he is coming. That being said, as mentioned above, I don't read religious non-fiction like this nor am I a religious person, so I don't think that I would enjoy this one. Besides the awkward placement of the footnotes in the kindle version that I read, I didn’t see anything specific that I would have wanted to change within the sample that I read, but it did seem well written and edited. The official review did not affect my decision at all.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 12:20 pm by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
sarahmarlowe randomeducator
The cover is pretty. It seems to be a representation of Heaven, or at least the Throne of God. I would have picked it up based on the cover and title. This is a very well-researched Biblically based apologia. I like that the author has included footnotes and scriptural cross-references. This book seems like it would be a very good book for study, but I don't know how many will pick it up for a casual read. However, from what I get from the sample, I think the author's intended audience is people who are wanting to dig into a deeper understanding of God. I like that he also includes demonstrative stories to help readers apply his reasonings to modern life. Throughout the sample, I found several of the same type of editing mistakes. I don't know if the author is unfamiliar with commas coming before quotes or if it is a style issue, but that needs to be fixed. This is from the first page of the Introduction: "The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:7 (insert comma) 'For we brought...'" Quotations need to be separated from other parts of the sentence by commas. I have not read an OBC review of this book, and I won't be picking it up. Although it looks quite intriguing, I am not at a point right now where I want to do an in-depth study.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 12:18 pm by sarahmarlowe randomeducator.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gali
I wouldn't have sampled the book on my own, as I don't read Christian-themed books. While a Christian non-fiction book discussing God sounds uplifting, it isn't a genre I enjoy reading. I steer clear from religious-themed books, and the sample didn't change my mind. The blurb was too detailed and didn't appeal to me. Unfortunately, neither did the sample. The author discusses God, Jesus, and beliefs, topics that don't interest me in the slightest. While I liked the chicks anecdote, the discussion that followed didn't spark my interest, and I found it hard to stay focused. The bible verses, and their explanations, further turned me off the book. Although I didn't notice any glaring errors, the writing was a bit dry to my taste. I won't buy and read the book, as the topic doesn't interest me. The official review didn't sway my mind either way.
First Ten review added on March 29, 2019, at 12:00 pm by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 22%
For the Love of God earned a score of 22%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 22% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
Go to main Bookshelves page for For the Love of God
