Excellent! This relatively short novel is written from the perspective of a teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome. The story took me right into the mind of a person with this problem, and I could hardly put it down. More bad language than I like, but it wasn’t really inappropriate. Definitely recommended. Four and a half stars, really.

This is an adaptation of Rosamunde Pilcher’s wartime novel of the same name. The film is beautifully done, on two DVDs lasting 100 minutes each. Excellent actors, and mostly stayed fairly close to the book. Very emotional in places; surprising nudity shots and non-explicit love scenes, given the 12 rating. Highly recommended.

A family saga which I mostly enjoyed, although I didn’t realise until I’d finished it that it’s in fact a sequel to another book by this author (Relative Love). It stood alone very well. Charts a year in the life of an extended family, and I found myself feeling more and more involved with them as I read. Great writing style, though a few more sordid moments than I’m comfortable with.

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.