Sofa Spotlight - Everyday Church, Tim Chester & Steve Timmis

This isn’t a new book, in fact when I went to check when it had been written I was shocked to discover that it’s not far off being ten years old. But its age doesn’t mean that it has lost any of its relevance. In fact if anything it has probably become more relevant. The message it is speaking is one of how the church can reach out to our generation with the message of Jesus as a community.

The book starts with facts and figures that paint a dark picture of where we are as a church in terms of numbers in pews. But this isn’t designed to be depressing (though it is a little discouraging) but to state the fact that the world in which we live is different to the world in which our grandparents went to church.

What I loved about this book was the way they used 1Peter to illustrate and explain what it is like to live as a Christian on the margins of society. It described how communities look different on the margins rather than at the centre of society. Implications for evangelism are also described and make for an interesting read as it turns typical methods which I grew up in their head.

So yes well worth a read and I’m glad I found it lurking on my bookshelf.

Sofa Spotlight - Darkness Follows, L A Weatherly

The sequel to Broken Sky and although I found the start a little tricky I would say it’s equally as good and intriguing. And full marks because I did not see the ending coming!!!

I had a little trouble with the start because it deals with concentration camps and given that I was reading this soon after having read Gulag Archipelago and The Diary of a Young Girl I found it a bit hard to take. That’s not to say that it wasn’t well written, it was, and very believable. It just wasn’t great timing because I was still processing the horrendous true stories I had read.

But the whole story didn’t just involve concentration camps so it’s all good. In this book the characters of Amity, Collie and Ingo are developed further and Collie is the interesting party in all this because you’re not certain about any of his motives. My favourite character so far is Ingo and if I’m rooting for anyone it’s him. He seems to be the most honest of the bunch. Just hoping a plot twist doesn’t take him out.

If you enjoyed Broken Sky then you need to read this. Because otherwise, how will you know what happens next?! It’s a great series for fans of the YA dystopian novel.

Sofa Spotlight - Related by Blood, Holly Sheidenberger

As a heads up I received a free copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

Formality aside and on with the show. You know a book is good when you don’t want it to end and when it does end you sincerely hope that the author is planning a sequel. It was so with this book. The plot follows the son of a senator who is also hoping for a high profile political career.

The book begins as Harris (the aforementioned senator’s son with political career hopes) is on a date with his college girlfriend. Things take a nasty turn when he hits a little girl and then drives off with Cleo (the girlfriend) as a witness. Their relationship is ended as part of a cover up by Harris’ dad which leaves Harris completely in the clear. Apart from Cleo isn’t completely out of the picture.

Cleo’s narration slowly reveals how much of an unreliable narrator she is. Appealing if you’re a fan of books like The Girl on the Train or A Stranger in the House. Her story comes in fifteen years after the accident and the story follows her reconnecting with Harris and her hopes of becoming his wife.

I loved reading this. It’s not a full novel but comes in parts that you can keep up with on Kindle Unlimited as they come out. It’s punchy and you will fly through reading this. Sheidenberger doesn’t let the narrative slow down the pace of the storyline so you get all the drama at the speed that you will want. I was surprised at how quickly I was drawn in and I am now completely hooked on this series.

If a psychological thriller is your cup of tea then I recommend that this be your next read. My only criticism is that it just wasn’t quite long enough, which is no bad thing if it leaves you wanting more.

Sofa Spotlight - Defiance, Jason Krumbine

I think this might be my first dip into sci-fi (well maybe other than the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Universe). It wasn’t as full of action as I supposed. I was kind of expecting it to be heavy on fights and tension. But the plot of the story is considerably more nuanced than that.

So the story is about a star ship captain who is being interviewed by a pair of investigators who are asking questions about an event that our main character has been caught up in. The narrative flits between the past and the present day interview/investigation and the story is gradually built up layer by layer. Which essentially involves a new unidentified species and some buried secrets.

I always find it difficult to enter into completely different worlds because new worlds have the potential to have a blank canvas for aesthetics, culture, language and rules. What must be hard as a writer of fantasy/sci-fi would be creating a world which is both innovative and interesting but also accessible to the reader.

For me I think this struck a good balance. I didn’t feel like I didn’t know what was going on but there was enough of a new world revealed to me that gave my imagination the right amount of freedom and guidance to explore to its heart’s content. The nature plot enables the reader to explore this new universe with the characters. Which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I was also exited to discover that this was the first of a trilogy. So this won’t be my only adventure in this world. And it didn’t put me off sci-fi which was a bit of a worry. I’m still up for trying another and I will be getting hold of the next two books in this series very soon!

Sofa Spotlight - The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank

This, as the name suggests, is the diary of a girl called Anne Frank who lived during the German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War. It’s unlikely that you haven’t heard of it but just in case, Anne Frank is a teenage Jewish girl and her family have emigrated to the Netherlands from Germany to escape the Nazi regime there. But when the Netherlands are invaded the Frank family along with some other Jews go into hiding in what was known as the Secret Annexe. Sadly Anne Frank and her family and fellow hiding Jews are discovered, probably betrayed, and Anne Frank doesn’t survive the concentration camp that she is sent to. 

The reason I picked it up this year was because it was one of those books that I tried to read as a child and failed. It’s been so long since those attempts that I didn’t have any memory of what I was reading so it all came to me as new. Having now finished it, it has gone on my list of books that should be read by everyone. It’s important, just as Gulag Archipelago is important, but maybe in a different way. This is just one story but there must be thousands of others like it and they must be told and not forgotten. And if Anne Frank’s father had not survived this story too may have been forgotten.

I was really struck by how an ordinary life can be so quickly turned upside down. The start of her diary describes ordinary teenage stuff, school, friends, boys etc. But then it all comes to a sudden end and her existence is restricted to her hiding place and the kindness of others. You get a real feel for the tedious nature of their concealment but also their fear of discovery. And even though she gets used to this existence that too comes to a sudden halt when they are discovered. 

I would more than recommend this book if you haven’t read it before. And have tissues on hand because the story is real and it is heartbreaking. Also to say it’s written by a teenage girl it’s remarkably well written, what books might Anne Frank have written had she survived?

Sofa Spotlight - The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Gulag Archipelago is a collection of all the evidence that Solzhenitsyn could collate to show what was happening in the gulags of Russia. And that actually is an understatement because Solzhenitsyn himself explains in the book how it would not be possible to collect all the stories.

So the first thing to comment on is that this book is massive. It is a huge testament to the lives that were stolen away to the gulags and at the same time it isn’t big enough. Because that’s the second thing to comment on. The material in this book is of the kind to change or at least open minds. It’s challenging, particularly when it comes to its critique of communism as a political ideology. But the biggest challenge is facing up to how man can treat man so abominably. Because the things done to the people in this book make the humans sub human. The treatment that they endured is unimaginable and the wonder is that any survived. 

Which is what makes this book so important. Not only does it shine a spotlight on a dark period of time but it also draws out the stories of human survival. Solzhenitsyn tells of the mental states that a person had to go to in order to keep going. 

The impact on me was to make me grateful. Grateful that I have never experienced any of those horrors or had anyone close to me experience them. It made me re evaluate what is important. 

I would say this is a must read. There are abridged versions out there if the size is off putting. And the material is sobering to say the least - hence why I needed my Pride and Prejudice fix. But it is possibly one of the most important books I’ve read and I don’t regret a minute of the time and effort that I put into reading it. 

Sofa Spotlight - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

There’s not a massive amount to say about this that hasn’t been said already so rather than rehash what’s already been said I’ll just give you a reminder of why reading this is was a good idea for me and why it would be a good idea for you to read it too. 

I’ve read Pride and Prejudice before but when I was still at school and possibly once since then. I wanted to read it again because I wanted a bit of light relief after reading some heavy Russian literature. (More about that next week but look out for my review of Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago). Pride and Prejudice seemed like the perfect remedy to counter the seriousness I had just absorbed. 

Rereading it was a great experience. I loved it. But the rereading experience made me realise how much I had been relying on the BBCs adaptation for my Pride and Prejudice. What I thought was part of the story turned out not to be in the book, which led me thinking about what Jane Austen would make of the adaptations of her book. As one thought led to another I decided that a complete re read of all Jane Austen’s books was required, including Sanditon, which I’ve not read before but thanks to Andrew Davis’ adaptation I feel the need to become acquainted with the book. 

Having said that another book that I read alongside Pride and Prejudice was Jane Austen in Hollywood. It’s a selection of essays that takes a look at different aspects of the adaptations that have been made over the years and was very illuminating. So yes, it goes without saying that I would recommend Pride and Prejudice. But I would also recommend Jane Austen in Hollywood as well. Both are readable and entertaining in their own ways.