Sequel to ‘A Vicar’s Diary’, this charts the summer of 1966 in fictional diary form. David, a young minister, tells us about typical days in his life, written with humour and attention to detail. Enjoyable in a low-key way.

A typical murder mystery, rather in the style of Agatha Christie, but with much better characterisation. Murder happens at a weekend house party… the police are baffled, so the charming Inspector Harding from Scotland Yard is called in.

Cleverly written, leaving me guessing until the end. Recommended.

Clear and helpful explanations about the theology of pain, with plenty of examples. Shows how pain is actually a vital part of the human nervous system, in order to protect us, though acknowledging that chronic pain is not quite the same. No pat answers, but overall an encouraging book to read, and re-read occasionally.

I first read this in 1997.

Takes a while to get going, and rather political; based in 1947, in Palestine around the time when Israel became a nation. Violent in places, and a bit biased, though mostly well researched – but overall a good story, which became much more interesting after the early chapters.

Three and a half stars, really.

Very interesting. Looks at the nine Enneagram styles, and their ‘trances’ – the fixations and flaws through which each looks at the world. Proposes that Jesus’ parables and many of his actions were aimed at tilting people’s worldviews, to help them grow through their fixations and out of their trances.

Recommended to anyone with a bit of Enneagram knowledge.

Quite different from Joanne Harris’s earlier works, this is set in a British public (ie private) school. It’s a tale of revenge, but very cleverly written. Two narrators, two viewpoints, and a carefully unfolding story encompassing past and present. I could see one of the revelations from the end before it happened, but not all of them. Hard to put down by the time I was half way through! Recommended.

Artemis is an English girl from an upper-class family, whose mother dies in a riding accident when she is small. Ellie is an American girl, whose father wishes she had never been born.

The book follows them growing up, in very different circumstances, until they meet on a ship; thereafter their lives are deeply entwined.

Well written, quite a page-turner, and a satisfying ending. Recommended.

This is the fifth book in the series which started with ‘Anne of Green Gables’. In this story, Anne gets married and moves to her ‘house of dreams’. There she makes new friends, and has new joys and sorrows.

A bit rambling in places, but enjoyable on the whole. Gentle fiction for teenagers or adults set in Canada in the early part of the 20th century.

Lizzie and Frances are twins – close, and yet very different in character. Both are happy in what they do, but changes disrupt their patterns of life. Good characters, encouraging ending.

First read in 2003; I’d forgotten most of the plot and enjoyed it just as much re-reading five years later.

This is a series of articles Philip Yancey wrote, to answer some interesting questions about the Christian life. Where did ractial hatred come from? What’s the value of fiction? Do gorillas have mid-life crisis?

It’s not the most in-depth or moving of his books; each chapter is just three or four pages long, looking at one particular question in the style of an article. But there are some good anecdotes, some thought-provoking comments, and the usual excellent writing style I’ve come to expect from Yancey.