Numero tres.

• The Girl at the Lion d’Or by Sebastian Faulks- Sebastian Faulks is a genius and a national treasure so anything by him is going to be great. I read,
  and loved, Birdsong so I knew I would probably enjoy this one and I was right. Not an easy read but a short one. Wonderful imagery and characters, a beautifully written, intriguing story that slowly reveals itself.

• When Will There be Good News? by Kate Atkinson- My first introduction to Kate Atkinson and it was quite a good read, not brilliantly written but an exciting, dramatic story. It was quite surprising at times and took a number of twists and turns. If you enjoy thrillers and detective stories, you may like this as it’s quite a tame version. I enjoyed it but I don’t think it’s technically a very good book. However….

• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson- This. Was. Brilliant. Winner of the Costa Novel Award in 2013, this book is so creative and pioneering, almost, if that isn’t too strong a word. The protagonist lives her life again and again so even just the concept of it intrigued me. The characters are multifaceted and interesting and despite reading the same events repeatedly, the story doesn’t get boring. The book itself is brilliantly written and I just can’t recommend it highly enough.

• Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francois Lelord- A lovely lovely book. Hector is lovable and his life lessons are simple but strikingly poignant. This is a book I actually read after watching the film, but still love the book more! Short and easy to read, it’s just delightful.

• Sandcastle Kings by Rich Wilkerson Jr- A fantastic in-depth look at four stories in Luke chapter 7. I haven’t read a Christian book in a while that is so heavily Bible-based. Rich brings the Bible alive and applies it powerfully to our modern lives. I would highly recommend this, especially if you want to delve into the Bible a bit deeper. I read this as a normal book on retreat but I’d actually suggest using it as a Bible study and maybe reading a section/chapter a day.

I can lend you any of these apart from Life After Life, which I borrowed from the library. So you can get it from there 🙂

xxx