Sofa Spotlight - Mission Matters, Tim Chester

This was another Christmas read that was quickly devoured. Having said that, I actually ended up rereading parts of it and there was a one particular section that will stay with me for a long time. For such a short book there’s a lot packed into it and I found it to be very inspiring.

And it’s an interesting colour.

What I found so good about this book was the weaving together of what the Bible says about mission and the history of mission. I think it’s very easy to forget that as people of God we have been sent to tell people the good news about what God has done. And I don’t often reflect on how effective that has been in the past or on the bravery of people who went to share the gospel with people who would otherwise have never heard.

Thinking about how we can fulfil this when we are all self isolating and staying home is a bit trickier and I don’t think many of us would have foreseen circumstances like ours today. Still the Word of God does still get out and about and it’s great to see that it is not bound by the virus.

Sofa Spotlight - Final Girls, Riley Sager

A couple of months ago I read Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door and loved it! So I went on a hunt for more and found Final Girls. The term final girl comes from horror films were the last person standing at the end, usually a girl, acquired the title. 

In Final Girls the story follows the story of Quincy Carpenter who survived a massacre at Pine Cottage when she was one holiday with five friends. Ten years later she’s still trying to recover when another final girl, Sam, appears in her life. 

Sam, Lisa and Quincy are all connected because they are final girls. But Lisa, who seemed to be the one doing the best at coming to terms with happened, abruptly commits suicide. Quincy is left trying to work out why. The police officer who rescued her on that night in Pine Cottage, Coop, is still in touch with her and she asks him to help her.

It all gets messy and ends up back at Pine Cottage. But it keeps you at the edge of your seat right until the end. I read it all in one day over Christmas. No doubt you can do the same now we’re not going anywhere fast.

Sofa Spotlight - Roam, Erik Therme

Well this is something that we definitely won’t be doing anytime soon. But as a book it certainly did prove to be an interesting read. It contains all the plot twists and dramas that I’ve come to expect from Erik Therme. However, I would have to put it as one of the weaker novels and not as good as Mortom which remains my favourite.

Having said that I did enjoy the story. Which followed two teenagers thrown together by some bizarre sequences of events. It’s fairly clear from the first time they meet that they are meant for each other. But as in most of Therme’s novels there’s a few psychos and misunderstandings to get in the way first. 

My biggest problem with this novel was the ending. Somehow it didn’t ring true and I felt it did a disservice to the rest of the story. But apart from that an enjoyable ride.

But at this time when we need our minds taken off current events I would recommend this book. It’s gripping and will keep you entertained until the end. Easy to read or all in a day. 

Sofa Spotlight - At Bertram’s Hotel, Agatha Christie

Another Miss Marple and a good one for a rainy day. Basically Miss Marple takes a holiday in London, staying at Bertram’s Hotel where she stayed when she was young. Nothing has changed, which is what makes it attractive to visitors as they can taste a bit of old England. But Miss Marple being Miss Marple knows that something funny is going on and of course she is right. 

There’s murder, which is to be expected, a train robbery and various other sinister crimes afoot.

Reading this had the feel of drinking hot chocolate. Really you would need a good roaring fire and for there to be ten foot of snow outside! But given that some of may as well be snowed in right now we have to make do.

If you’re looking for a quick read to get you started then I would recommend this. It’s cosy in a book but gripping too. Perfect for whiling away a couple of hours if you’re having to self isolate. 

Sofa Spotlight - Babylon Revisited and other stories, F Scott Fitzgerald

In a previous post I talked about the Great Gatsby and how I didn’t enjoy it. In the spirit of giving an author a second chance I decided to not judge F Scott Fitzgerald on only one novel. Therefore I’ve read Babylon Revisited and other stories, which, as the title suggests is a collection of short stories.

Turns out that my experiment was a good one. Babylon Revisited tells the story of Charlie Wales who had been successful in the boom of the 1920s but lost out with the stock market crash in 1929. The story is told from Charlie’s point of view after all this has taken place. From the events that take place in the story you can piece together what happened in the boom and how Charlie is now a very different character.

It’s a very touching story and I found that I wasn’t able to keep from feeling frustrated on Charlie’s behalf. It’s clear that in the boom or jazz years he had led a very decadent and care free life that had ultimately ended in tragedy and him being parted from his daughter.

The other stories also had their impact but it was Babylon Revisited that really stick with me and I’m glad that I gave F Scott Fitzgerald another chance. 

Sofa Spotlight - The Moving Finger, Agatha Christie

In case you hadn’t worked it out already - I love Agatha Christie! There are many of her stories that I class as my favourites and this is one of them, although to my shame I had never actually read it. I had fallen in love with the story through watching different adaptations. Once I had clocked that it was only a matter of time before I got around to reading it.

The story is brilliant. It’s about Jerry Burton and his sister Joanna who go to live in a quiet English village so that he can recover after a plane crash. They haven’t been there very long before they find out that someone is sending poison pen letters to the villagers, and they receive a few themselves. No one seems to know who is behind it and then the deaths start, seemingly in connection with the letters. 

Of course Miss Marple is never far away  and you know she will sort it all out in the end, but not before significant drama. Most of the story comes through the eyes of Jerry Burton and it’s his character that I love the most. He’s human and the character of his sister accentuates his humanness. But he is also a cohero of this story along with his romantic interest, who is taken by surprise at his interest. 

If you’ve never read an Agatha Christie before this is a good place to start. I promise you will enjoy it.