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Gail Honeyman – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
I’ve had this book on my shelf since it came out a few years ago and I’ve kept looking past it because I thought it was going to be similar to other books I’d read. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I thought at the start that I had the measure of the book, socially
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Colin Marshall & Tony Payne – The Trellis and the Vine
I picked up this book on the recommendation of a few people from Church. As is clearly obvious, things are not normal at the moment and of course Church has been affected by that. Almost every activity we do has been cancelled or materially altered in some way, and as we start to look to
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She Reads Truth – Daniel
During lockdown, I thought I’d have so much more time for doing things like reading and digging deeper into the Bible. But I’m sorry to say that I’ve completely lacked any kind of motivation and have struggled to either start or finish any of my She Reads Truth books for the last 5 months. So
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Naomi Graham – Love Surpassing Knowledge
Having seen people I know have to leave a church due to a lack of inclusion and acceptance, I was interested to read this book to figure out what we should be doing better. As the book blurb says “Accessibility is so much more than ramps and physical access”. “When we see someone who is
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John Mark Comer – The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
I’ve had this book on my shelf for ages, and having read it, I really wish I’d picked it up so much earlier (at the start of lockdown, but ideally way before that), as it has taught me so much about myself. Just a heads up (I finished writing and had to come back to
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Chris & Rosie Ramsey – Sh**ged. Married. Annoyed.
When I pre-ordered this book earlier this year, I didn’t know how much I’d be in need of a good laugh when it finally was released in September. 6 months into lockdown/weird corona times and this book arrived in a week where I was feeling a bit down in the dumps. It proved to be
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Illustrated Edition)
I’ve read Harry Potter so many times that more reviews kind of seem pointless now. Each re-read brings me a new bit of joy, combined with a hefty amount of nostalgia. But this is the first time that I’ve ever read the illustrated editions and wow they’re beautiful. My colleagues bought me the first two
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Lindsey Kelk – In Case You Missed It
This was the perfect antidote to The Shelf, leaving me feeling warm and fuzzy with a big smile on my face. Our main character, Ros, has just come back from America. She won’t tell anyone why she’s back when she supposedly had her dream job out there, but we know that something must have gone
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Neil Patrick Harris – The Magic Misfits #1
This was the last of the audio books that I listened to while decorating the spare room – a random choice from the library app on my phone. I love Neil Patrick Harris and I was so glad that he narrated this book himself. Obviously you can probably tell that this is a kids book,
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Frank Cottrell-Boyce – The Unforgotten Coat
The final audiobook I listened to while decorating my spare room (yes…it took a long time). I think this book like the previous one may have been better to read rather than listen to as it seems like I missed out on extras like photographs again, but even so, it was a fabulous book. Julie
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Henry Louis Gates Jr – Dark Sky Rising
I picked up this book as something to listen to when I was decorating the spare room, and while this wasn’t an easy listen, I definitely learnt a lot. We never really learned about American history at school, so although this book was aimed at a younger age range, it was the perfect level for
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Helly Acton – The Shelf
I downloaded this as an audio book as something to keep me entertained for the many hours of decorating I’ve done over the last few weeks. What I didn’t expect was for the book to leave me feeling as irritated as it did. I completely understand that it was the point of the book, but
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David Runcorn – Love Means Love
An insightful and clear unpicking of the ‘issue’ of same-sex marriage that has caused (and continues to cause) friction in the church. It’s a divisive issue and one that is probably not talked about enough because of the potential for upset. This book unpicks the common objections for same sex relationships and gay marriage and
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Healthy Faith and the Coronavirus
I was so impressed with how quickly this book was released when Coronavirus first hit and we all went into lockdown. I’m not so impressed with how long it’s taken me to read it, but that’s entirely my fault and not a reflection of the book! As you would guess from the title, the book
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Milly Johnson – My One True North
What a start to a book! 3 pages in and my heart was broken already. I don’t think that’s ever happened so early in a book before, but then we returned to the teashop on the corner and all was well in the world (well, kind of). Both Pete and Laurie have lost their partners
Louise Douglas
(I've got no) Shelf Control…
Louise Douglas 