A GOOD READ

The Vicar recommends books obtainable from

The Abbey Shop in the Close

01935 815191

The Abbey Shop in the Close goes from strength to strength, and now Manager David Kirkpatrick has discovered a range of extremely good titles from publishers Darton, Longman & Todd which he has managed to secure at an extremely attractive price – which means that he can offer them at the discounted price of £6 each or 4 for £20!

As you can imagine, I was his first customer. Some of the titles will be of particular interest to those who enjoy keeping abreast of developments in the study of theology. One example is Rupert Shortt's God's Advocates: Christian Thinkers in Conversation . It is based on interviews with some of our foremost theologians, and the question-answer format makes their thinking more accessible than some of their own books. So I'm looking forward to that one.

Then there's Oliver McTernan's Violence in God's Name: Religion in an age of conflict , which is a timely response to the unacceptable use of violence by religious extremists of any colour or creed – and to the spineless acceptance of such tactics by so many in the name of ‘tolerance'.

Another good meaty read is David Edwards' Poets and God – a new look at Chaucer, Shakespeare, Herbert, Milton, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Blake which reveals their timeless contribution to Christian spirituality. This will delight any lover of the great poets.

Other titles, however – whilst being by no means lightweight – are probably more popular in their appeal. For example, anyone who has ever known what it is to have religious doubts will value Journey to the Light , edited by Linda Jones and Sophie Stanes. Lionel Blue, Tony Benn, Bruce Kent and Gerard Hughes are just some of the contributors who share their own encounters with doubt, and in between the editors provide a helpful choice of readings, poems and prayers reflecting on belief and doubt and the loss of faith and its rediscovery, from the medieval saints to Yeats, Eliot, Maya Angelou and many others.

Two of the slimmest volumes are likely to be amongst the most popular. Emilie Griffin's Doors into Prayer: An Introduction is full of insights to encourage us ‘to mend the ragged edges of our prayer lives, and to set out once again on the remarkable adventure that is prayer.' And I have already used Vigen Guroian's Inheriting Paradise: meditations on Gardening in my preparation of Quiet Day talks. But perhaps the richest treasure of all is a wonderful anthology edited by Lucy Lethbridge and Selina O'Grady: A Deep but Dazzling Darkness. To quote the publisher's blurb (which for once is not hyperbole) – this is a wonderfully surprising and inspiring anthology of attempts to capture in words the experience of religious faith, drawn from letters, journals, novels and poems, from every age of the church's life and from every Christian tradition.

Here is summer reading for everyone. All these special offer titles are displayed in their own carousel in the Shop. I have only mentioned some of them, so do go and have a look. But hurry: titles at the moment can be re-ordered, but not for much longer.