What we are reading

The book currently being read at meals

This and other books are available to purchase in our online book shop.

And we have read recently

"A History of the World in 100 Objects"
by Neil MacGregor

The book of the Radio 4 series. From the Introduction: "In this book, we travel back in time and across the globe, to see how we humans have shaped our world and been shaped by it over the past two million years. The story is told exclusively through the things that humans have made - all sorts of things, carefully designed and then either admired and preserved or used, broken and thrown away. I've chosen just a hundred objects from different points on our journey - from a cooking pot to a golden galleon, from a Stone Age tool to a credit card, and each object comes from the collection of the British Museum."

"Holding Together: Gospel, Church and Spirit - The Essentials of Christian Identity"
by Christopher Cocksworth

This has an important message, and the argument is built up thoroughly, but it is more appropriate as a book for study rather than reading aloud at meals!

"Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: The Offical Biography"
by William Shawcross

From the cover: "Written with complete access to the Queen Mother's personal letters and diaries, William Shawcross's riveting biography is the truly definitive account of this remarkable woman, whose life spanned the twentieth century."

"Eternal Life: A New Vision (Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell)"
by John Shelby Spong

"Spong has a well-deserved reputation for questioning the most basic of Christian beliefs" Toronto Star

"The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Faultline Between Christianity and Islam"
by Eliza Griswold

Though at times harrowing it is an important and challenging account of political, religious and ethnic struggles being lived today in the world.

And from the dust cover: "In this revolutionary work, Griswold ... changes the way we think about Christianity and Islam ... She returns us to the most basic truth of human existence: that the world and its people are interconnected."  Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

"The Hare With Amber Eyes"
by Edmund de Waal

The fascinating adventure of a collection of netsuke (small-scale Japanese carvings) belonging to the author's family (the Ephrussi) over five generations; from high-society Paris to art-loving Tokyo via a daring escape from Nazi plunderers.  Highly evocative.

"A History of Christianity, The First Three Thousand Years"
by Diarmaid MacCulloch

Magisterial - and long !