The Cambridge Companion to Christian Liturgy, edited by Joris Geldhof (Cambridge University Press, £29 (£26.10); 978-1-009-18664-3).

“This Companion offers new insights into the theological depths of the liturgical mysteries that are the essence of Christian worship services, rituals, and sacraments. It investigates how these mysteries order time and space, and how they permeate the life of the Churches.” 

All is Not Loss: The spirituality of grieving by Duncan MacLaren (Canterbury Press, £14.99 (£13.49); 978-1-78622-613-6).

“In this deeply compassionate book, Duncan MacLaren explores the many faces of grief — not only bereavement, but also the quieter sorrows of parting, regret, failure, nostalgia, and shame. With insight and sensitivity, he invites us to reconsider grief not as a sign of a broken world, but as a doorway to deeper connection, understanding, and spiritual growth.”

Church Going: A stonemason’s guide to the churches of the British Isles by Andrew Ziminski (Profile Books, £11.99 (£10.79); 978-1-80081-869-9). New in paperback

“Andrew Ziminski has spent decades as a stonemason and church conservator, acting as an informal guide to curious visitors. Church Going is his handbook to the medieval churches of the British Isles, in which he reveals their fascinating histories, features and furnishings, from flying buttresses to rood screens, lichgates to chancels. Beautifully written and richly illustrated, it is a celebration of British architectural history.”


Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.