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Stephen Cottrell – Dear England
The author introduces this book by recounting a story of a conversation he had in Paddington Station (Caffe Nero to be precise), when the barista asked him what sounds like an innocuous question: “What made you become a priest?”. Obviously when buying a coffee in a busy train station, there’s not much time to answer…
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Tim Hughes & Nick Drake – Why Worship?
I was given this book on NetGalley in exchange for a review. I’ve been following Tim Hughes’ music since I bought one of his CDs in a Wesley Owen shop (remember them?) in Leeds in 2003, and when I saw this book start to be mentioned on Twitter, I knew I needed to read it…
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Dr Joshua Wolrich – Food Isn’t Medicine
“Would you rather be healthy and fat or unhealthy and thin?” Wolrich poses that the fact that you hesitate when you’re faced with that question is part of the problem which has lead to such huge problems of weight stigma in the western world. Fat is somehow seen as a problem not just a descriptive…
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Robert Jordan – The Eye of the World
So…I started reading this book in January…2019. I made it around 100 pages in, but it felt like a struggle and I just couldn’t find that compulsion to keep reading. With 700 pages left to go, I simply gave up. But I hate leaving books half finished, so I finally came back to it again…
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Rachel Morgan – The Memory Thief
I downloaded this book at the beginning of the year when apple books were giving away a lot of free audio-books, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I hadn’t read any blurbs or anything, just that it was a cinderella re-telling. I was a bit surprised when I realised it was Fae and…
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Anne Lamott – Dusk, Night, Dawn
I had a copy of this book as an ARC from NetGalley, the cover drew me right in, and the blurb seemed like it could be a very well timed book for me: ” How do we get through dark times when we feel like giving in to fear and despair, and when existential dread…
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Laura Jane Williams – The Love Square
I’m not going to lie, I only really bought this book because it’s narrated by Carrie Hope Fletcher, who I really love. She has such an emotive voice and a way of bringing stories to life, so I would probably buy any book that she narrates (there’s nothing worse than a great story ruined by…
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David Robertson – What Would Jesus Post?
I started reading this book before lockdown 1.0 last year and unfortunately it just wasn’t the right time for me to be reading it, so I’ve only just got round to finishing it – not a reflection of the book, just a crazy year! Focusing on how to remain true to your Christian self while…
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Frank Herbert – Dune
I wanted to love this book so so much. It was one of my Dad’s favourite books, and I was even reading his copy. To be holding and reading a book I knew he loved so much made me long to love it too. But I don’t know if it was just bad timing for…
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Richard Roper – Something to Live For
I first saw this book as an ARC on NetGalley, but it was in the middle of Covid-madness and I just didn’t have the time to read it. I was annoyed because I knew I would love it, so when I saw it in paperback recently at the supermarket, I had to pick it up.…
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The Good Immigrant
I’ve been trying to make an effort to read more diverse voices and educate myself more on perspectives different from my own. This book was a collection of essays by 21 different writers, writing on what it means to be Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic in Britain today. The essays brought perspectives that I’d never…
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Elle McNicoll – A Kind of Spark
I picked up this book after seeing it advertised on social media by Waterstones and I didn’t really know what to expect, apart from the fact that the cover really stood out to me. I’m so glad I took a chance. In the book we meet Addie, an 11 year old girl from a small…
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Tony Evans – A Kid’s Guide to the Names of Jesus
I requested this book as an advance reading copy from NetGalley as I thought it might be useful for my youth groups. Although the book is pitched at a lower age range than I usually teach, I thought it would have some material that would be helpful. And I think I was mostly right. I…
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She Reads Truth – Esther
I absolutely loved this study. I’ve been struggling to commit to spending time in my Bible and a two week study felt like a perfect opportunity in the run up to Lent. I knew the rough outline of the story of Esther, but this is the first time I’ve read the whole book through, and…
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Stephenie Meyer – Midnight Sun
Ahhhhhh nostalgia. This book felt like a hefty dose of comfort, taking me back to my teenage-self who read the Twilight series repeatedly for a few years. I loved those books so much, and although in hindsight they’re not the best books in the world, they’re what got me into reading fantasy, and for that…
Louise Douglas
(I've got no) Shelf Control…
Louise Douglas 