The Choice: Even in hell, hope can flower by Edith Eger (Rider, £8.99 (£8.10); 978-1-84604-512-7). New in paperback
“In 1944, sixteen-year-old ballerina Edith Eger was sent to Auschwitz. Separated from her parents on arrival, she endures unimaginable experiences, including being made to dance for the infamous Josef Mengele. When the camp is finally liberated, she is pulled from a pile of bodies, barely alive. The horrors of the Holocaust didn't break Edith. In fact, they helped her learn to live again with a life-affirming strength and a truly remarkable resilience. The Choice is her unforgettable story. It shows that hope can flower in the most unlikely places.”
The Art of Advent: A painting a day from Advent to Epiphany by Jane Williams (SPCK, £9.99 (£9); 978-0-281-07169-2).
“This beautiful book describes and interprets a series of paintings for each day of Advent. Artists often address subjects our culture seeks to avoid, and Jane Williams' brilliant and perceptive reflections will help you to read these paintings with a more discerning eye, and discover deeper levels of meaning than may at first appear.”
Give Love and Receive the Kingdom: Essential people and themes of English spirituality by Benedicta Ward (Paraclete Press, £18.99 (Church Times Bookshop special offer price £14.99); 978-1-64060-097-3).
“From the greatest living expert on the history of English spirituality comes the most expansive collection ever published of her work From the spirituality of Cuthbert, to Bede and the Psalter, Anselm the monastic scholar, and the depths of Julian of Norwich, from twelfth century hermits, through medieval pilgrimage, and by illuminating seventeenth century preachers, this volume is Benedicta Ward's magnum opus.”
The Book of Common Prayer: A very short introduction by Brian Cummings (OUP, £7.99 (£7.20); 978-0-19-880392-8).
“The Book of Common Prayer is one of the most influential books in history. First published in the reign of Edward VI, in 1549, it was a product of the English Reformation following the break with Rome. For nearly five centuries, it has formed the order of worship for established Christianity in England. More listeners have heard these prayers, it is said, than the soliloquies of Shakespeare.”
English Medieval Church Towers: The Northern Province by W. E. David Ryan (Boydell Press, £19.99 (£18); 978-1-78327-353-9).
“Church towers are a prominent feature of the English landscape and stand as a testament to the skill and ingenuity of medieval masons. The Northern Province, namely the ecclesiastical province of York, contains a rich and varied array of these remarkable constructions.”
Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.