Welcome to our literary series on the blog, “What’s on Our Bookshelf?” where we’re delighted to share our reading recommendations with you. Whatever your genre of choice, we’ve tried to include something for everyone. This month we’re sharing some of our recommendations for the season of Advent and Christmas.

Charles Feltman, author of “The Thin Book of Trust,” has described this virtue as “choosing to risk making something you value vulnerable to another person’s actions.” Whereas having a lack of trust is us deciding that “what is important to me is not safe with this person in this situation."

Perhaps some of you may have managed to read the recent letter from Pope Francis about Literature which is intended to be a means of formation for priests and a way to grow in personal maturity. However, when I came across that letter, I realised immediately how literature and books hold hidden chambers that we can all unlock and use in ways that can help us not only flourish, but also grow in wisdom.

How many times did you hear the phrase “practice makes perfect” growing up? I know I certainly did. Especially anytime I struggled with something; playing an instrument, learning spellings or algebra, speaking a new language. Something about it never sat easily with me though. What if I didn’t know the best way to practise?

We are fortunate to live in a time when many of us are told we can achieve our dreams and  shoot for the stars. Women succeeding on the world stage has been a news staple in the media this past summer; from ‘Swiftie fever’ taking the world by storm, to Simone Biles setting thrilling new world records at this year's Olympics - making a magnificent comeback.

One thing we all love at Hearts+Minds is a good book and so we’re always on the hunt for another read to add to our bookshelf. In this new series on the blog, we’re delighted to share our reading recommendations with you. Whatever your genre of choice, we’ve tried to include something for everyone.