Where can you get good books in the UK?

I've been asked by email where I'd recommend buying books from. It's not that easy in the UK as most Christian bookshops now specialise in cards and dodgy Christian music. In London, incredible though it is to think it, there is the Met Tab Bookshop, Protestant Truth Bookshop and after that you're struggling for good Christian books.

The king of bookshops is the Evangelical Bookshop in Belfast where John Grier presides as ruler-in-chief. You can literally spend a whole day in there. You've got to work you're way systematically through it as the order of the books is at times difficult to spot. John will relentlessly and doggedly try and engage you in conversation but he knows books like no one else in the UK. They are beginning to move their stock online and offer very competitive discounts for ministers and church bookstalls. I would go as far to say it is worth the price of an EasyJet ticket to go to the Evangelical Bookshop. Whilst there you can also pop into the Faith Mission Shop, where you can find books they had forgotten they stocked such is the disorganisation.

ICM books does a great deal for churches. Mervyn stocks all sorts of nonsense but gives great discounts and postage free on orders over £120. Occasionally he'll just change your order for fun, but he's far enough away to stop you taking any action.

Jonathan Carswell has cornered the conference market with 10ofthose.com.  Nearly any Christian event you attend will find Jonathan, alongside his minions, all forced to wear black t shirts, advertising the brand. They sell a vast array of books, mainly written by various members of the Carswell family. 10ofthose does great deals on bulk buys, plus they are very generous when you don't pay the invoice. I once forgot to pay for 18 months and they patiently emailed me and politely prodded  until I paid!

The Met Tab bookshop is quite literally a sensation. Anything that doesn't have the imprimater of the minister doesn't get sold, apart from one volume that rules out Dr Lloyd Jones. There's an eerie quietness to the place that can give you the creeps. I don't know how they do it but, if the Met Tab stock it, it's normally the cheapest you'll  find. I was in there recently when a beligerant African woman came in looking and insisting on buying or ordering Watchman Nee's books. It was like the irresistible force meets the immovable object.

As for second hand there is Pendleburys in London which sell on Amazon. Visiting there is a treat. I once slept in front of the fire there for an afternoon. It's always worth a look.

I leave till last Geneva Books. It is the house owned by the irrepressible Colonel Underwood. There are few people who are legends in their own lifetime but Colonel Underwood is one of them. In every room apart from 3 (the bathroom, the kitchen and his bedroom), in a 4 storied house, are books, from floor to  ceiling, piles of them which can be knocked over by the clumsy. When I studied at Cornhill, after preaching class on a Friday afternoon, a few of us would decamp to Geneva Books. The books were  an attraction but the Colonel, when on form, is a sight to behold. Opinions and comedy lines abound. There are certain subjects to avoid (or to surreptitiously try and work into conversation for the fun of it) Catholicism, particularly Vatican 2 - 'The whore has washed her hands but she's still a whore', the Charismatic movement and the Free Church of Scotland. Geneva Books isn't that  cheap but if you cannot find something, he will normally have it. You have to admire any man who refuses to go on the internet.

We have regular letters in our evangelical newspapers from Christian bookshop managers berating Christians for not buying books from them. If truth be told, most Christian bookshops deserve to close. There was gnashing of teeth over the demise of Wesley Owen, and you had to feel sorry for the people who worked in the chain, but the fact that Joyce Meyer and TD Jakes are less readily available should be a source for rejoicing. We probably need churches to push Christian books more and 10ofthose have done a really good job in encouraging this. Honourable mentions should also go to Heath Christian Bookshop, Cardiff and the one in Pratt's Bottom (I kid you not).

My other top tip is if you're looking for something on a subject email Jeremy Walker who is the nerd of all nerds when it comes to Christian books. I'm pretty sure he memorises ISBN numbers for fun.