Being Real: The Apostle Paul’s hardship narratives and the stories we tell today by Philip Plyming (SCM Press, £16.99 (Church Times SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £13.59); 978-0-334-06556-2).

“In his deep and careful study of the epistles to the Corinthians, Philip Plyming demonstrates how Paul calls the Corinthian Christians to a way of living which stands in stark contrast from the prevailing culture of Corinth, and argues that there are profound lessons to be learnt for faithful Christians and churches today.”

Christendom: The triumph of a Religion by Peter Heather (Penguin, £18.99 (£17.09);978-0-141-98853-5). New in paperback.

“In exploring how the Christian religion became such a defining feature of the European landscape, and how a small sect of isolated congregations was transformed into a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, Heather shows how Christendom constantly battled against both so-called ‘heresies’ and other forms of belief. From the crisis that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, which left the religion teetering on the edge of extinction, to the astonishing revolution in which the Papacy emerged as the head of a vast international corporation, Heather traces Christendom’s chameleon-like capacity for self-reinvention and willingness to mobilise well-directed force.”

Paths in the Snow: A literary journey through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Jem Bloomfield (DLT, £16.99 (£15.29); 978-1-915412-30-0).

“A superbly rich and engrossing exploration of C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Paths in the Snow traces the literary allusions and echoes to be found in this beloved novel, drawing the reader deeper into the magic and meaning of Narnia. From Dante to The Wind in the Willows, and from medieval dream poetry to Dorothy L. Sayers, Paths in the Snow uncovers the literary connections which criss-cross Narnia.”

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