This Here Flesh: Spirituality, liberation, and the stories that make us by Cole Arthur Riley (Hodder, £10.99 (£9.89); 978-1-529-37280-9). New in paperback

“Cole reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father and encounters of enfleshed, embodied spirituality. As she writes memorably of her own lived experiences of childhood and selfhood, Cole boldly explores some of the most urgent questions of life and faith.”

Queer Redemption: How queerness changes everything we thought we knew about Christianity by Charlie Bell (DLT, £16.99 (£15.29); 978-1-915412-62-1).

“What might happen, asks Charlie Bell, author of the acclaimed Queer Holiness, if what we know about queer lives, loves, and relationships was taken as read, rather than treated as a matter of debate? From this starting point, how might we do and think things differently in Christian life, our theology, and in the Church as an institution? Following the apologetics approach of Queer Holiness, Queer Redemption looks to a future when the margins truly define the centre, where queerness is truly liberative for the whole church.

The Wandering Mind: What medieval monks tell us about distraction by Jamie Kreiner (Liveright, £14.99 (£13.49); 978-1-324-09444-9).

“Drawing on a trove of sources that the monks left behind, Kreiner reconstructs the techniques monks devised in their lifelong quest to master their minds — from regimented work schedules and elaborative metacognitive exercises to physical regimens for hygiene, sleep, sex, and diet. She captures the fleeting moments of pure attentiveness that some monks managed to grasp, and the many times when monks struggled and failed and went back to the drawing board. Blending history and psychology, The Wandering Mind is a witty, illuminating account of human fallibility and ingenuity that bridges a distant era and our own.”


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