Evil, Suffering, and God: Theological soundings by Owen F. Cummings (Cascade Books, £15 (£13.50); 979-8-3852-6267-0).

“How do people explain evil and suffering in the world when they believe in a God who is unconditional love? There is no finally satisfying intellectual answer. However, in Evil, Suffering, and God, Owen F. Cummings reveals a spiritual, even mystical, answer that can help Christians of all denominations move through their suffering in faith and with hope.”

Thomas Merton by James Finley (Orbis Books, £18.99 (£17.09); 978-1-62698-654-1).

“This is the first in a series called Turning to the Mystics, which James Finley originally offered as a webinar over several years with the Center for Action and Contemplation. This initial volume focuses on one figure, Thomas Merton, both as the most contemporary, the one who actually served as Finley’s mentor as Novice Master at the Abbey of Gethsemani, and the one with whom Finley is closely identified by his previous writings. Each subsequent volume will focus on two Christian mystics, offering not a comprehensive introduction to their thought, but through Lectio Divina, a close meditative reading of selected texts, to explore what is both universal and particular in their particular vision.”

The Monastic World: A 1,200-year history by Andrew Jotischky (Yale, £14.99 (£13.49); 978-0-300-28700-4). New in paperback

“Andrew Jotischky traces the history of monastic life from its origins in the fourth century to the sixteenth. He shows how religious houses sheltered the poor and elderly, cared for the sick, and educated the young. They were centres of intellectual life that owned property and exercised power but also gave rise to new developments in theology, music, and art.”

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