For adults, we are recommending that you give your daily quiet times a boost with Explore (£3 for 3 months daily notes, 92 studies). These notes are dated Jan to March 2006, but also have a study number if you know realistically you may miss a day. The current edition has 90 studies on 1 john, Nehemiah, Daniel and 1 Corinthians.

Alternatively, you might like to try The Daily Reading Bible (£3) - this is an interesting departure, "an all-in-one, take-anywhere package to help you feed regularly from God’s word". Designed to be a 15-20 minute study, this book contains the full bible passage to be read, plus questions, ‘points to ponder’ and some starting idea for prayer. The edition we have in stock has 60 studies on Matthew 5-6, Joshua and 1 Corinthians 1-4. Perhaps this is something you could use over lunch at work, on the bus or on the train (NOTE: not recommended for use whilst driving).

For families - do you want to start the year by developing a time of family devotions? How about using Table Talk (£3) to help steer your discussions? The aim is to have a 5 minute study suitable for use with children aged 4 and up. It’s called Table Talk as they recommend it can be used after breakfast or your evening meal, but I don’t think they will mind if you choose to use the guide at some other time. We currently have Table Talk 2, Miracles and Dreams - three months of Bible readings based on Genesis, Matthew and Acts.

For children - designed for children aged 7 and above to read the Bible on their own, how about XTB (Xplore The Bible, £4). Includes puzzles and pictures. Slightly bad planning here, but the current edition of XTB we are carrying is also on Genesis, Matthew and Acts. Good places to start, of course, but the same books as Table Talk. Let us know if you’d like a different edition to be ordered.

In the first, If I were God, I’d end all the pain (£5), Dickson speaks from personal experience about the issues of reconciling the reality of evil and suffering with the reality of a loving God.

In the second, If I were God, I’d make myself clearer (also £5), he considers the range of spiritual claims made by religions and asks how we can distinguish which is correct.

Next up, consultant surgeon Bernard Palmer has poured into Cure for life (£6) his experience of dealing with people whose physical need prompts spiritual questions. The result is a highly readable introduction to "a prescription for life with meaning".

Finally, two different books by John Chapman.

A fresh start (£6) is another one to give. Written in four sections, deals with God’s rescue plan, the authority of the Bible’s account of that mission, the importance of responding to the offer of rescue, and signs that we really have made a fresh start.

The second Chapman book, Know and tell the gospel (also £6) is for Christians - to equip them with a clear account of the good news of Jesus, and to offer encouragement and motivation to share that gospel with others.

Don’t waste your life (£7.99) by John Piper has rapidly become a classic. As uncompromising as the title suggests, this is a challenging but inspirational read.

Worried that you prayer tend to focus on trivia? Don Carson’s A call to spiritual reformation (£9.99) guides us through a number of Paul’s prayer in the New Testament and shows how these can serves as good models for re-orientating our priorities in prayer.

In Distinctives (£6), Vaughn Roberts questions whether we as Christians are really distinct from the world in the way we think, act and speak. Will we dare to be different?

Continuing the theme of being distinctive, Pure (£5.99) specifically addresses the issues of sex and relationships. Adapted by Linda Marshall from her course piloted with Christian Unions in the Midlands, this book offers a mix of Biblical advice and practical help. They do say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but this one - incidentally - is particularly beautifully produced!

Perhaps you’d like to start 2006 by taking inspiration from the lives of earlier Christian. In The roots of endurance (£6.99), John Piper describes the lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce, each of whom persisted against the odds.