Books are precious, but time to read them is more precious still. This is where recommendations come in. Here, and on the following pages, are some suggestions for you and people you value.
Paul Handley, Editor
Funny Girl by Nick Hornby (Penguin, £7.99 (£7.20); 978-0-241-96522-1)
Hornby perfectly conjures the spirit of the 1960s with this perceptive tale of a young woman who is crowned Miss Blackpool, rejects the title and its inherent obligations, and flees to London. It is a celebration of freedom and social change, of women’s breaking out of cartoonish stereotypes and being valued as real people.
The protagonist, Sophie, is not educated, but is bright, and guiltily aware of her own ambition. Her political naïvety makes her an easy victim for snobs, which leaves the reader rooting for her all the way as her TV-sitcom career blossoms. This is a very funny read with bitter-sweet moments, and Sophie’s journey in swinging London reminds us how far we have all come over issues such as gay rights and gender roles.
Jamie Cable trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He works as a freelance gardener/garden writer. He is also the gardening columnist for the Church Times.
What Makes This Book So Great: Re-Reading the classics of science fiction and fantasy by Jo Walton (Corsair, £9.99 (£9); 978-1-4721-1161-6)
There ought to be more works of criticism which set out to answer the question “What makes this book so great?” in a spirit of voracious enthusiasm. That is the title (and the spirit) of a book of science-fiction criticism by Jo Walton which was originally written as blog posts about her adventures rereading through her library.
This is what criticism ought to be: it’s thoughtful, generous, and written neither to show off nor to sell advertising. It makes me feel ignorant, and eager to learn.
Following her recommendations may yet make it the most expensive book I have ever bought — and worth it.
Andrew Brown is a leader-writer and member of the editorial board of The Guardian. He is the press columnist for the Church Times.
Silence: A user’s guide (Volume 1) by Maggie Ross (DLT, £14.99 (£13.50); 978-0-232-53148-0)
I will remember this year for three things that have gladdened, deepened, clarified, and stimulated my life and work and prayer — no, make that four.
Three of them were books, and the happiness they engendered was explained by the fourth, which was an all-day lecture by John Teasdale on the salvific joy of “wholemaking” in the mind.
Maggie Ross’s book doesn’t just define silence and explain its vital significance, but creates a moving model, a dynamic philosophy, of human consciousness and the capacity to perceive God.
The Revd Terence Handley MacMath is an NHS chaplain, and a teacher of mindfulness in Christian and secular settings. She manages the back-page interview for the Church Times.
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (Sphere, £8.99 (£8.10); 978-0-7515-4418-3)
This is the eighth in a series of murders investigated by Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté de Quebec.
Gamache, who is charming, courteous, and thoughtful, resembles his creator: he is as interested in character as in plot. Now he enters a remote Gilbertine monastery in the forests of Quebec — known only through the CDs of its incomparable choir — to find the choirmaster’s killer.
The novel is not without wry humour, as Gamache and his second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, join in the rhythm of the monastic day. The solution is oddly mischievous. Its dark side is the rift growing between Gamache and Beauvoir. Read further for peace of mind.
Dr Bridget Nichols is Lay Chaplain to the Bishop of Ely. She writes the Sunday’s Readings column in the Church Times.
The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith (Abacus, £8.99 (£8.10); 978-0-349-11995-3)
Family is all-important in Detective Precious Ramotswe’s Botswana, but not everyone is part of the thick network of cousinage. Manka Sebina, adopted from the orphan farm where Mma Ramotswe’s own foster children were raised, seeks her help in finding her own birth family.
But families are made, not begotten, and, miraculously, Mma Ramostwe, her husband Mr J. L. B. Matekoni, the proprietor of Speedy Motors Garage, and Mma Sabina, discover family they had not imagined.
Miracles happen at Speedy Motors, but they are not the ones we expect. Cosy, but never sentimental, McCall Smith’s endings are happy, but never what we expect.
Dr Harriet Baber is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Diego. She contributes to the Comment pages of the Church Times.
Pope Francis: Tradition in transition by Massimo Faggioli (Paulist Press, £9.99 (£9); 978-0-8091-4892-9)
This little book is a real gem. Its interpretation of the meaning of the current papacy is unsurpassed.
Faggioli is an Italian academic working in the United States. He is an expert on the Second Vatican Council, but wears his learning lightly. These four accessible essays place Pope Francis in historical context. In fewer than 100 pages, it covers the redefinition of the mystique of the papacy, Roman Catholicism’s idolatry of continuity, and the Church’s eurocentricity.
It suggests that Pope Francis has a double mandate — from the conclave, but also from his immense popularity as the first truly “global Pope”. Francis is more spiritual than theological, which is why he prioritises decentralisation and the pastoral care of souls over the defence of doctrine. The book is packed with insights.
Paul Vallely is a writer on religion, Africa, and development issues. He is the author of Pope Francis: Untying the knots: The struggle for the soul of Catholicism (Bloomsbury, 2015). He is a columnist for the Church Times.
Capitalism: Money, morals and markets by John Plender (Biteback Publishing, £20 (£18 use code WISEMEN); 978-1-8495-868-7)
My most illuminating — and even entertaining — non-fiction read this year has been Capitalism: Money, morals and markets by the Financial Times columnist and Finance Editor John Plender.
Money and money-making has had a terrible press for centuries, to which Christians have contributed their bit. Today, capitalism is regarded by many with suspicion, fear, and loathing, even though there is evidence that it has lifted millions out of poverty. Plender presents a gallery of villains and cheats, and some surprising heroes, who suggest that this dynamic economic mechanism needs to be celebrated, even if with caution.
The Revd Angela Tilby is the Diocesan Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, and the Continuing Ministerial Development Adviser for the diocese of Oxford. She is a columnist for the Church Times.
Where Memories Go by Sally Magnusson (Two Roads, £8.99 (£8.10); 978-1-444-75181-9)
Where Memories Go, by the well-known broadcaster Sally Magnusson, is a moving memoir of a family’s experience of supporting a formerly gifted and feisty mother as she slips into the misty world of dementia.
Mamie Baird grew up in a tenement on the outskirts of Glasgow, married the broadcaster Magnus Magnusson, and raised three daughters and two sons (one of whom died aged 11), besides becoming, in the words of Arthur Christiansen, “a very fine journalist indeed”.
When dementia took hold, Sally and her sisters began to learn how distressing its impact could be — although there were still moments of fun, singing, and laughter. The original edition was Radio 4’s “Book of the Week”, and consequently this year’s paperback version can reflect the massive public response to its story.
Canon David Winter is a retired cleric in the diocese of Oxford, and a former Head of Religious Broadcasting at the BBC. He writes regularly for the Church Times.
Our cover: the face of the Christ Child, whose future Passion is symbolised by the crown of thorns and three nails stippled in his halo, is from one of the National Gallery’s treasures, the subject of a fine illustrated and scholarly new book, The Wilton Diptych, by Dillian Gordon, with an essay by Caroline M. Barron, and contributions by Ashok Roy, Rachel Billings, and Martin Wyld (National Gallery Co., £14.95 (£13.45 use code WISEMEN); 978-1-8570-9583-8)