Some Summer Reading?

One of the joys of a summer break is the opportunity to do a bit of reading.

I like to mix fiction and non-fiction and here are a few that regular readers of the blog might enjoy. We are blessed in this area to have a number of local libraries and, every so often, I like to take out a few books when I know I’ll get a bit of time to read.

Here are 5 books from a variety of genres that I have enjoyed in recent months and I’m just throwing them out there. I always love to get good book recommendations from others, so maybe you have read something that you really enjoyed. Why not share your recommendations in the comments section if you read this on Facebook?

The Authenticity Project by Claire Pooley is  a fascinating concept for a novel. It’s about a notebook people find in various places and share something of what is really going on in their lives. Very often that is different to what the world sees and so we meet this incredible array of characters who share their stories in this notebook and see how their lives intertwine in remarkable ways. It’s a light read, but very thought provoking. Imagine if people saw what was really going on in our lives? How hard do we try to maintain a certain image or veneer which may not really be authentically what is happening for us?

A Song of Me & You by Mike Gayle is a love story of sorts. It’s about what happens when a rock star from one of the biggest bands on the planet tries to escape the pressures and demands of that lifestyle. He pitches up on the doorstep of his childhood sweetheart, now a primary school teacher, unaware that her marriage has recently broken up, her ex-husband is behaving abominably and how they interact all these years later. They go on an unexpected adventure and discover remarkable things about each other’s past. It’s funny and tender and whimsical and quite topical after the recent spate of hight profile visitors to these shores, from Bruce Springsteen to Taylor Swift, and the huge interest in Glastonbury and all the acts taking part.

The Way of Benedict by Larentia Johns explores some of the key elements of the Spirituality of St. Benedict. It looks at topics like worship, prayer, the Bible, welcome, and beginning the spiritual life.

I read it throughout Lent and finished it just after Lent. You will find some reflections from the book and about the book on the parish website in the online services section during Lent. They were midweek Lenten services. It’s quite  a simple book, but very profound and just helps us to focus on our spiritual life.

The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield is a remarkable book which is part memoir and part theological reflection. The author describes her experience of coming to faith after an academic career. She spoke of how hostile she felt towards Christianity as a gay woman and an academic, and how spending time with a Christian couple over food over many weeks completely disarmed her of all her objections to faith. She experienced quite a radical transformation in her life, married a pastor and together they have this remarkable ministry of hospitality in their neighbourhood . They often invite huge numbers of people for food and those in trouble to stay in their home and, through simply sharing their lives in this way, have seen many people find hope and transformation.

It sounds like a lot of work, be under no illusions about that, and there are parts of her experience I would find hard to completely identify with, but it’s a radical and challenging book.

It’s hard to beat a bit of gentle crime. The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves is set among a religious community in Devon, called the Barum Brethren. The detective in this series, Matthew Venn, is quite an interesting character and his team are all involved in solving a murder in the community. I don’t like grisly or gruesome crime fiction, but I do enjoy these. There is beautiful descriptions of the landscape and exploration of people’s personalities and what might be going on below the surface. It has the added bonus of keeping you guessing right to the end as to who did it!

If you like reading, perhaps you might enjoy writing, too. Don’t forget to come along tomorrow to another writing workshop as local author Paul Clements encourages us to share memories of the last 50 years of our parish’s history. Maybe you were involved in an organisation or an event and we would love to capture those important memories. It’s in the parish hall at 2 pm on Wednesday 3rd July.

Also on Tuesday evenings at 7.30 pm in the Coffee Bar in the church hall we are thinking about the important components of church growth in a series of seminars on video. Tonight, 2nd July, Bishop David is the speaker on the topic of ‘Evangelism.’

Also, a little reminder that, contrary to the magazine, there is no service of Holy Communion on Wednesdays for the months of July and August.

The blog will be taking a break for a couple of weeks, but look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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