The Mercies, Kiran Millwood Hargrave

I love books that have tangles and leave me wondering what I would do in that situation. The Mercies is a story about an impossible situation and how it’s easy to label, but harder to try and understand.

The story starts with a massive storm that kills all the men from a small community the Norwegian coast. The women find ways to provide for themselves, even go fishing, but in the end their actions that helped them survive are condemned.

Ursa, who is a newcomer, is the Norwegian wife of Scottish Absalom. She walks the line of keeping herself safe from her husband, while at the same time, trying to spare the women of Vardo from his wrath.

Ursa is a complex character, both naïve and yet in many ways, showing brave wisdom. She doesn’t want to marry Absalom, but she tries to be a good wife to him. Even so she refuses to abandon her values and who she is.

Absalom was sent to round up and drive out the alleged witches, but it is fairly clear that this is a means to an end. His own promotion. The easier path for Ursa would have been to support him, and profit from his zealous rage. But the difference is that Ursa sees people, even if she doesn’t understand everything about them. She is willing to walk the harder path and try to stand against what she believes is wrong.

What is true for Ursa is true for us too. Everyone we meet has a story and rather than making assumptions, what would happen if we stopped to hear them and to try and understand? Jesus did and look what happened when He stopped to talk with the woman at the well.

Short Histories and Shorter Memories

No matter how many books on history I read I always feel uninformed and ignorant about how we came to be here in January 2023. The Shortest History of England is one of a series of short histories, and last year I also read the one about Germany. It feels like cheating to read a short book on a massive topic, but I stand a better chance on holding on to how all the pieces fit together. I suppose it’s like looking at a map - maybe later I can zoom in on other features, but for now I have a basic understanding of how we got from A - B.

Our history helps us understand our present

The biggest takeaway I got from this book is how much of the past determines our present. Our culture is the way it is now, not by random chance, but because of events and decisions that were made before we were even born. Getting a handle on those should, in theory, help us understand where we are now, and avoid the mistakes of the past.

I say in theory, because as humans we are quick to forget what has gone before. And in some ways how I have enjoyed this book has reflected that. I enjoyed the parts that were in the far past, that were unconnected from me, but when it comes to recent history, I was much more uncomfortable. It’s the recent history that shows us how hard it is to make the right decisions. When it comes to a society that is only a few decades back, it doesn’t look so alien or unfamiliar, and with that comes an appreciation of how hard life is to navigate, when you don’t have the benefit of hindsight.

The softness of anticipatory grief. 

Reading a book about a country’s general history is fine on one level, but on another level is how our own personal histories impact our present. As I’ve started a process of anticipatory grief for my mum, I can find myself running through my memories of her. They have the strangest flavour of pleasure and sadness mingled together. And as a result, I think they make me appreciate her more.

After the first shock of her diagnosis, feelings settled down to a steady rhythm. It’s been a softer experience than I thought it would be. But it’s almost like the grief cocoons you and, for me anyway, there is a safety in that cocoon. There are times when it slows you down, like each day is like trying to move through treacle and that is frustrating. But I’ve appreciated the time to get used to the idea of my mum not being around any more, and to be at peace with that.

The hard thing is balancing all of that grief processing with not knowing how long this season will last. It’s a slow moving cancer and she could be fine for a long time to come. I’ve had to battle with feeling like grieving now is a waste of time, because it has begun to soon. But even if it has, I’ve gained from looking at what my relationship with my mum is like, and to enjoy a strengthening bond.

So I’ve decided to use this book as a spring board into delving into a bit of family history. Not so much the tracing of the line, I’ve done a fair bit of that already. But finding and recording the stories of the recent history and collating photographs and other mementos, to try and preserve some of the history.

Sitting by the Fire with Agatha Christie

 

Today I sat by the fire with Agatha Christie.

Sometimes the world outside seems like a wild, cold, noisy place. There are days where I feel like I have to mentally shut the door on it all. That’s how it was for me when I started The Body in the Library. As though I had fought to close the door on all the chaos of life and had turned round to find Agatha Christie getting settled in an arm chair by the fire.

You know it can’t be bad if you’re going to spend an evening in the company of Agatha Christie, even if the fire is only imaginary. And also any conversation I may or may not have had with her! So I sat back and let her tell the story.

This isn’t my first experience of The Body in the Library so I was trying to guess/remember the outcome. It showed me just how tired I was, because I couldn’t really be bothered to try and work it out, but just sat there waiting for the plot to unravel itself.

The truth, the partial truth, and anything but the truth.

One of the key ideas that Miss Marple throws out towards the end of the book, is that everyone was too trusting - they believed what people told them, even when they were being lied to.

Which got me thinking. Because that’s what life is like. Not that we’re trying to work out who, what, when and where, but what is real and what isn’t. Every attention-grabbing headline, every snappy tweet, every enticing piece of click bait - we have to decide how much is true, and what we are willing to trust. Maybe we’re in this over-anxious, social media saturated world, because we too, are too trusting.

No wonder we’re all tire
d. Sifting the plausible from the outrageous lie takes a fair bit of effort.

The truth I’m Holding onto

There’s so much news and information floating around out there that we can’t even begin to process it all. And for me this past year has been about processing stuff closer to home. I find it easy to fall into a thought pattern that tries to predict what is coming next and what I need to do to prepare for worst case scenario.

But I’ve been finding there’s quite a lot you just can’t predict, like finding a dead body in your library - how would the Bantry’s have conceived of a plan to work through that. And I was not expecting to nearly lose my mum on Christmas Eve the other year. There’s only so much you can reasonably expect to prepare for.

So in the spirit of giving up and letting the plot unravel, I’ve been working on not trying to be in absolute control of everything. It’s been tempting to put life on hold in case I have to drop everything and rush off to help my mum. The current strategy is to take these things to God in prayer. It doesn’t sound like much when it’s written like that but it is working. I’m also thankful that He doesn’t mind me sounding like a broken record, as I remind Him of all my fears, and make my suggestions of how He could make it better. But at the end of the day I’m getting better at relinquishing control to Him and trusting Him to provide what I need each day.

The Lancashire Library Challenge

I’ve been thinking about how I could make a challenge from this book. After much internal debate, I thought I would work with the idea that library was in the title. So my challenge for this year, and maybe a bit beyond, is to try and visit every library in Lancashire and borrow a book. I’m thinking only solid libraries, but I’ll award myself ten points for a mobile library visit. Not convinced I’ll find any of those though. Will keep you posted on my progress.

Hello 2023, please by kinder

It’s the first of January. It’s the day for looking forward, making plans and being inspired. Right now I’m just glad to put last year behind me, be in the day and reflect on what has been.

The first of January last year felt like a firework had exploded in my face.

In fairness the firework probably went off on Christmas Eve when my mum was taken into hospital with suspected sepsis. A load of questions started firing off in my mind. But mainly the thought clanging around in there, was: “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

With my head still trying to wrap itself around the thought that my steady, healthy mum, had been quite close to death and was now unsteady and a bit frail looking, I did what I like to do best - read.

Reading to Stay Sane!

The first half of the year was about waiting.

Once mum was stable the tests had begun. She’d not had a stroke, which is what I thought was happening at first. But she did need a minor op, oh, and there was a lump, a big one, near her kidney. But they didn’t know what it was yet, or where the initial infection had come from.

At first I was sitting outside hospitals in my car while my mum had more tests and appointments. Covid restrictions were still floating around and so I sat in the chilly outside with a book, hoping it would take my mind off the cold.

I tried to get a routine going - drop mum off, go find coffee, come back and wait. But things changed too quick for that to take hold.

By the end of March I’d read 19 books. Not that many - and in fairness most were not read whilst I was waiting for mum, but when I was alone and work was done for the day. No need to be on the loopy what-are-we-going-to-hear-next thought merry go round when I could be roaming around Narnia (I read nothing but Narnia in January, transporting children’s books were a great help.)

Too Stunned to Read

The answer did arrive though and we could put a name to what the problem was. Marginal Zone Lymphoma. The slowest of the slow when it comes to blood cancers. And that is the extent of my knowledge. Other than that chemo wouldn’t do anything except maybe slow it down, and it might not even do that. So that’s a road mum opted not to go down.

I should also point out that this answer rocked up on the Jubilee weekend. Which in a way was good because I had a couple of bank holidays to get my head back together. I can recommend cake and a good friend who doesn’t mind hearing you say “I don’t understand” on repeat. But later in the year when someone asked me what I’d done for the Jubilee I nearly answered with “cried alot” before I caught myself and gave a more standard answer, “I ate cake and watched telly.”

June was also the month where I read only one book - Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory, sort of a book version of pathetic fallacy, maybe. Tears kept getting in the way of the words, so I gave up.

I Broke My Reading Record

For now life is about adjusting to what the past year has thrown at us. But there’s a couple of things that I’ve been able to draw from my experience so far.

It’s never fun to see someone you love suffer. I suppose that goes without saying, but reading through this post so far, it doesn’t do justice to the feelings I felt each time we sat with mum waiting for an ambulance to come, or as I raced to be with her when she had those episodes. Is there a word for when you feel so anxious you could be sick, so full of adrenaline you feel you could fly but also utterly consumed by sadness? Sometimes when it was all over, I was sick and somehow that made me feel a little better.

One of the surprises of this last year was the many positive things I found to think about. The whole time I have felt split in two. If I could put everything to do with my mum in a box and put it away life would be ace right now. I’ve got a lot of good things going on. But always at the edge of memory is this grief waiting for me to remember.

So what are the positive things? Well one is that I’ve got a new appreciation for those who are carers of family members full time. I’ve had a tiny taste of what that must be like, and I can’t imagine the emotional drain that looking after someone all the time must have. And children that have to do that for their parents have my full respect.

I’m glad it’s nothing worse. We still don’t know what the future will look like for my mum, but right now she’s doing good, all things considered. She has good days and bad days, but she has a positive attitude and isn’t willing to go down without a fight. Although I sometimes wish she would sit down and rest a bit more than she does.

So, this one is superficial, but also the reason for this post and maybe future ones. I read 100 books in a year for the first time. I’m not sure how much my mum is responsible for that, but my theory is that I used books as an escape from my reality.

The thing is, there is only so much consuming I can do before I need to look for a new hit. Which is where I got to in late November. Now I want to read the book and then look for things that it has inspired me to do. Let me give you an example. I read
Shadowlands by Matthew Green, and now I’ve drawn up a bucket list to visit the places he mentions in the book, and maybe a few other lost villages along the way.

It might not work for every read - not sure how many wardrobes I would need to knock on the back of before I found Narnia, but I thought the future of this blog might be me sharing a few adventures in real life, inspired by what I read in the pages of a book. And maybe I’ll throw in some stuff on how it’s helping me process what’s going on with me and my anticipatory grief.

Sofa Spotlight - That Hideous Strength, C. S. Lewis

The third in The Space Trilogy and in my opinion the best. The pace is much faster and there is more going on in terms of action, but there is still that beautiful prose which makes the writings of C. S. Lewis so excellent.

At first I didn’t think we were going to meet Ransom in this book, and I was concerned that I would never find out what happened to his foot. But all was well, he was there but came in an unexpected way. Which was only one of the things that came out of left field in this book.

On the whole I loved the idea. I think it is very true to life and C. S. Lewis was just as perceptive as George Orwell in terms of where society would be heading. This book is different to the other two in that it is the only one focused on what is happening on Earth. Earth is in the background of the other books but now it is centre stage as a battle takes place between the bent eldila and the gods of the heavens.

It’s subtle, beautifully written and exciting. It cleverly puts into a semi-plausible narrative what might happen at the end of time. The arrival of Merlin was an interesting twist that I didn’t buy entirely but it is certainly an interesting possibility.

Reading the whole series is a must in my opinion.

Sofa Spotlight - Sag Harbor, Colson Whitehead

It wouldn’t be the start of summer without reading a Colson Whitehead book. What I love most about his books is that they have the feel of poetry to them. The way he writes brings people and places to life, and you can almost reach out and touch what he is describing. And Sag Harbor was no different.

The story is about two black teenage boys as they spend the summer in Sag Harbor and reacquaint themselves with the friends that they meet every summer. I love the teenage politics and what criteria make another kid cool or what is acceptable to do or say. I honestly didn’t want this book to end, it felt so personal and beautiful. It’s fun watching a group of teenagers getting to know themselves and finding their identity in a complex, contradictory world.

I enjoyed this book a lot, I think it has a lot to say about coming of age and finding out who we are. It provokes thoughts on what influences us, and what are the factors that determine our place in the world.

Sofa Spotlight - Perelandra Voyage to Venus, C. S. Lewis

It’s not taken me long to crack on through this trilogy and this is book two. Thankfully the series is such that there are few spoilers along the way. It’s less about drama driven by action but drama driven through moral dilemma.

As the second book in the series there seems to have been a move from being ambiguous about which religion the story is tied to, and instead it’s fairly explicit about following the Christian narrative. That being said to get full appreciation of the novel a knowledge of the early chapters of the Biblical book of Genesis certainly helps.

In contrast to The Silent Planet which explores what has happened to our world from the perspective of those out in the universe, Perelandra is about the start of a new world. Just as in our own world Perelandra is initially occupied by a man and woman paralleling Adam and Eve. And just as in our world there was a temptation to disobey God, that same temptation is offered to the inhabitants of Perelandra.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Ransom who reappears in this story and is a pivotal character. He goes through a lot and most of the book I spent worrying that he would lose his integrity by trying to save the innocence of the King and Queen. What upset me though is that it is never resolved whether they could stop his heel bleeding. So if for nothing else I will have to read book three!

Sofa Spotlight - Hamlet Globe to Globe, Dominic Dromgoole

Last year I spent some time reading Hamlet again, possibly the first time I’d read it since studying it for A-level. It was part of a campaign I had to read all of Shakespeare’s works. That didn’t work out so well and I quickly found that spending time studying Hamlet had greatly enhanced my enjoyment of it – an element that was missing in my reading of the other plays. So, I’ve given up until a later date.

The result of the above musing was that I thought that Hamlet Globe to Globe would be a good read. The idea is that Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre tried to take Hamlet to every country in the world and on the whole succeeded. I enjoyed the connections that were made between elements of Hamlet and the cultures that were encountered on the journey.

I think what I appreciated the most was the way that it allowed me to explore Hamlet again. There’s a difference between studying a play for an exam and being able to think about it for pleasure. I would say that there are benefits to both, but this book reopened the play to me and took me around the world as part of the deal!

This is a book I would recommend. The author comes across as very down to earth and human, and not afraid to talk about the less than glamourous side of the tour. It’s fun and informative – what more could you want from a book?

Sofa Spotlight - Out of the Silent Planet, C. S. Lewis

 

C. S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy was always one of those things that I meant to read. Right after I had reread The Chronicles of Narnia. I must confess that I was a bit intimidated by it and didn’t want to read it in case I didn’t like it as much as Narnia.

Well, I needn’t have worried.

I’ve finished the first book and as I started it, I wasn’t sure what I was getting, and at the back of my mind was the idea that Aslan would be strolling onto the scene. And in some ways Aslan isn’t far away in this book. Don’t get me wrong – this is a very different kind of story, but there are important scenes. I couldn’t help thinking about what Aslan says in one of the books about how he is not just in our world as well as in Narnia, but he has a different name there.

But before I explain about that. The story is about a guy called Ransom who, at the start of the book, is on a walking tour for the summer. He bumps into two unfriendly types, Weston and Devine, who subsequently kidnap Ransom and set off for the planet of Malacandra. As much as I felt sorry for Ransom, it just goes to show that you shouldn’t tell a relative stranger that you are set to be alone for some time and that no one would miss you for a few weeks.

It’s on Malacandra that Ransom has some similar Narnia experiences. There are different types of creatures and there is an Aslan character, by a different name, just out of sight. But the concept this time centres on a world where sin has not corrupted, and what that would be like. It provides a different take on the Biblical story of what has happened on Earth, the Silent Planet, and gives it a wider context, albeit a fictional one.

I’m certainly interested in reading more in this series. There’s a lot to unpack in this first one. I felt that it was a mix of excellent writing at the beginning as I explored an intriguing world through Ransom’s eyes. But for me the pace really picked up towards the end. It’s not so much that there was more action, just much to ponder and think about.

Sofa Spotlight - Burmese Days, George Orwell

 

Having read the obvious George Orwell books I thought it was time to move on from Animal Farm and 1984 to other books that I didn’t know. Burmese Days was my choice and I have to say that I enjoyed it more than the other two.

The main character, Flory, is part of the white community in Burma sometime after the First World War (I wasn’t paying much attention to when it was set). His struggle is that he doesn’t agree with the racism that radiates off his fellow club members and prefers the company of the local Burmese doctor. 

Flory’s struggle is one of putting his values above his need for a quiet life that doesn’t involve rows with the other members of his club. It is forced to come to a head by the schemes of one of the Burmese officials who wants to be a member of the all white club. What stands in his way is Flory’s friend the doctor who would be a more natural choice for the first non-white member.

From what I’ve read Burmese Days was inspired by George Orwell’s time as a policeman in what was then Burma. I found it hard to read because of the prejudices of many of the characters who seemed to lack substance when compared to Flory, who is capable of thinking for himself even if he has a hard time standing up for himself and his values.

I’d say it’s definitely still a relevant book. There are many contradictions in the characters which reflect so accurately the contradictions people have in themselves in real life. The characters are flawed but real and the book does expose the ridiculousness of racism. 

Sofa Spotlight - Becoming, Michelle Obama

I’m behind on reading this for a couple of reasons. The first is that I’m not a big reader of autobiographies so it wasn’t a book I would naturally reach for, and secondly I thought it might be a bit too heavy on American politics, not something I know a lot about, so my thinking was that it probably wasn’t for me.

But I kept hearing good things about it and I thought it might be worth a try. After I’d got over my initial shock of reading an autobiography I found that I was really enjoying it. It was a very engaging read and provided a window on a world that I didn’t know about. What came across to me was how much both Michelle Obama and Barack Obama cared about what they were doing, and how genuine they seemed to be. Whilst I was reading Becoming I was also reading other books and coincidently the authors of those books mentioned meeting the Obamas. What I thought was great was that the impression that those authors had of the Obamas was the same impression that I was getting as I read Becoming.

The focus is really on her family and what they went through together. It is very readable and one that I would recommend. Her life is inspiring but also human and relatable. Oh and there was an easy balance on the American politics thing, I wasn’t overwhelmed and I could understand what was going on – always a good thing!

Sofa Spotlight - Passenger to Frankfurt, Agatha Christie

If I was not prepared for Towards Zero, I was definitely not prepared for Passenger to Frankfurt. Again I went in blind, no reading of blurbs or anything like that. Just wanting the story to speak for itself, and I was surprised at what this was about.

It isn’t a murder mystery so much as an attempt at a spy thriller. It’s set in a world where someone posing as Hitler’s son is trying to restart the campaign that Hitler began, and is trying to influence the world’s youth to rise up and take power. The fate of the world seems to rest on them being able to find and use a drug or gas, similar to tear gas, that makes those that inhale it permanently benevolent.

I think that I just found this book a little too bizarre and I couldn’t work out what was going on towards the end. Some things I did guess right, but it was a bit too vague for me to really know what the outcome was. Not my favourite read but it was alright and intriguing because of how different it was to other Christie novels.

Sofa Spotlight - Towards Zero, Agatha Christie

This was not what I was expecting. I went into reading it blind, all I knew was that it was by Agatha Christie and would probably involve a murder or two, but I wasn’t sure who would be playing detective – Poirot or Marple. As it turned out it was neither, although Poirot did get a mention.

I wasn’t disappointed though. The idea was introduced by one of the characters early on as the hour of a murder being zero hour, and for a murder novel to be really good it should start long before that, with all the players being drawn together by different events that ultimately lead to murder. It was that same character, Mr Treves, who I thought would be murdered, and indeed he was murdered, and this made me very sad because he was so likeable.

What made this so good was the way everything was tied together. I almost felt at the beginning that it was too long of a build up to the action, but as it happened it worked well. I was annoyed that I didn’t work out who the murderer was but maybe that made it more fun.

Sofa Spotlight - The Chemist, Stephanie Meyer

I wanted to read this because I wanted to try a book by Stephanie Myer that wasn’t Twilight. And this sounded like a good option, my other choice was The Host, which maybe I will get to later this year.

The Chemist is about a scientist who is on the run from her formal employers, not because she did something wrong, but because she knew too much. Her life is all about staying alive and using various convoluted ways of doing that and staying anonymous. I could definitely relate to her as someone who thinks through all the possible scenarios, but not because it’s a life and death thing to me, it’s a be the most efficient I can be thing.

As the story starts she is contacted by the people she used to work for and that throws her for a loop, and the rest of the story is about watching her make choices that she never thought she would make. All that thinking every detail through – it’s gone. And that kind of made me lose a bit of respect for her, but then I’m not in her shoes experiencing what she was.

For me this was very entertaining, there were a few mushy scenes worthy of Twilight, but on the whole it had me semi-guessing what was coming next and the ending was rather pleasing.

Sofa Spotlight - Cumulative Advantage, Mark W Schaefer

The basic premise of this book is that everyone has something that they can build on, some kind of advantage, and if you get the timing right, you can keep building on that advantage to reach your goal.

The principle is to do with what is called the Matthew Effect, taken from Matthew 25:29 which reads: “For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” And instantly I’m kind of ticked off because it might be a nice little soundbite that in some way reflects how the world works – the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. But when you look at the context of what Jesus is saying you see that it isn’t a commentary on how society’s work. Where this little soundbite sits is in a wider narrative, where Jesus is talking about the end of time and what it will be like to stand before God as the judge. It’s not about making money or achieving goals. It’s about making sure that we’ve made the most of the truth that we know about God, and that we won’t have any reason to be ashamed when we stand before Him.

Anyway after I’d got over my confusion of how that verse from Matthew was being used I thought that maybe there was something to this book. Maybe in a spiritual sense we should be looking at what we have and using it to have cumulative advantage in spiritual growth. And growing to be more like Christ is a goal, right?

For goal achievement I think this a great book. It is very clear and each section has a handy diagram, which as a visual learner I enjoyed very much. And what I liked about the conclusion of the book was the way Schaefer wasn’t worried that his goals might not be the same as everyone else, but he is doing what has value for him. That for me was a good takeaway and I appreciated his honesty. And in fact, the final part of the book felt very honest. What came across was that he felt no pressure to try and reach the top and have it all, but freedom to choose to do ordinary things well and add value to other people. I suppose for me that is more of a spiritual thing than a material thing.

Sofa Spotlight - Jane Austen: Her Life, Park Honan

If you’re anything like me you’ve probably grown up knowing the classic works of Jane Austen. You’ve probably even studied a few. I remember studying Pride and Prejudice at 16 and being amazed at how much was in it. From there the door was open to go and explore the other works, and whenever I read them I love them just as much as the first time I read them.

So then it occurred to me that I didn’t know much about Jane Austen. In an effort to correct that I picked up this biography of her life. And, I’m not going to lie, it was hard going. But in the spirit of not giving up on a book, I persevered. And I’m half glad I did. I accomplished the goal of learning more about Jane Austen, but I also feel that I could have chosen a better option. And if you know of an informative and fairly easy read biography then I’m all ears. Let me know.

Sofa Spotlight - Resthaven, Erik Therme

This book felt like a horror but without the really scary stuff that makes horror unbearable for me. Resthaven is a bout a group of teenage girls that find themselves trapped in a supposedly empty care home, which is set to be demolished.

Obviously, the care home is not empty and there’s all sorts of adventures to be had as they look for a way out. The ending is excellent in how dramatic it is and is open ended so there’s space for imagination and thought as to what happens next to the main characters.

For me this was a fun thriller without being too frightening and without a load of gore that I’m not a huge fan of. And the feeling I had although the way through was that I wasn’t going to read anything graphic and so it was quite a safe read in that sense. Would recommend if you’re looking for something quick, light and intriguing.

Sofa Spotlight: So Much More Than A Headache, Kathleen O'Shea

To me this was a very significant book to read. I’ve lived with migraines for 15 years and not once did I ever think to see if there was any literature about migraines. Turns out that there’s quite a bit. Which is what this anthology is made up of.

It goes without saying that this book was of interest to me. At the start there is a recommendation that those who don’t have migraines would benefit from reading it, to give an understand of what those who suffer with migraines experience. And I do agree with that, but I think for those readers dipping in and out of different sections would be more beneficial than trying to consume the whole thing.

The anthology is very well structured, each section following a different part of the migraine episode. I don’t often experience aura with my migraines but it was interesting to see and feel what that would be like. And I think that is what is so great about this read, it allows you to step into the shoes of someone who has a migraine and feel what it is like. For me there was a great relief in knowing that I’m not alone with these experiences and there are others who go through the same thought processes and worries.

For me what I found to be most helpful was learning how different people have learnt to live with their migraines. It removed some of the pressure of looking for a cure or a trigger to avoid. I’ve been inspired to think about my migraine life differently – to be thankful for the good days and enjoy them, and to weather the migraine days and not feel guilty about them.

Sofa Spotlight - The Jesus Way, Eugene Peterson

The Jesus Way feels like a continuation of Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. But for me it felt a bit of an easier read. This book deals with the different ways we can live life, what can motivate and drive us, and compares them to the way that Jesus has showed us we can live, when we follow Him.

I think it can be very easy to get caught up in how seeking money or glory or power can look good on the surface. This book really takes these other lifestyles apart, piece by piece, and reveals how they may look good, but they don’t end with satisfaction. Following Jesus is the other way around. On the surface it looks hard, and a bit stupid. But Peterson examines what makes following Jesus hard, but also worthwhile and ultimately the best way to live.

This is definitely one that I would recommend, it requires a bit of thought so maybe have a coffee on hand.

Sofa Spotlight - I Know You, Erik Therme

I love these books because they are an entertaining read. They don’t demand anything from you, all you have to do is make your coffee and settle in for a good ride. The only thing that I take for granted with these books is that it will have some weird twists and the most unlikely of people will be behind what’s going on.

I Know You is about Bree Walker’s journey to uncover what has become of her sister Alissa. Alissa storms out one day after an argument and although she doesn’t return, her backpack and creepy message do. Along the way Bree teams up, albeit reluctantly, with Alissa’s friend and together they start to track down Alissa.

It’s not a long book, but it’s full of action and very fast paced. For a quick and easy read it’s great, but I would love to see more character development and maybe a bit of a slow build. But it certainly gets the imagination going and even if the plot isn’t quite believable it’s a good story.