Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande I picked up this book last week as I was curious to know why anybody would possibly want to be a doctor.

Science and Islam: A History by Ehsan Masood In these times of insanity where those in power would destroy the edifices of those they dislike (looking at the Middle East as I say this), it is important to look back and see what those who came before us built for us.

Catholics by Brian Moore I read this (rather ironically), while on an eight-day silent retreat at a Jesuit spirituality centre in the UK, after finding it on a bookshelf in the library.

The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge A wise old Irish man once told me that a wise old Jesuit once said to him at the beginning of a psychology lecture that “all psychology and philosophy exists in order to teach us to love other people”.

Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C.

Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey by Jane Goodall My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of those books that came at the right time – it seems as though it was given to me.

All the Broken Places by John Boyne SPOILERS AHEAD 15/04/23: I’m upset with this one.

Leonard Cohen: Poems and Songs by Leonard Cohen My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’d give this book five stars just for the poem “I have not lingered in European monasteries”.

To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility by Jonathan Sacks There are textbooks, and then there are text-people.