Holiday reading (5)

An earlier blog highlighted the books MPs are reading on holiday and I've now spotted that the Archbishop of York is sending every MP in the country some summer reading. Dr John Sentamu is sending MPs the 100-Minute Bible and the book Do Nothing to Change Your Life. The latter is "a guide to slowing down" written by the Bishop of Reading, Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, and was published earlier this year. The book urges its readers to create pauses in daily life to benefit their own, and society's, health and well-being - it argues this fresh perspective of relishing every moment with a greater attentiveness will improve our relationship with God.

Do Nothing to Change Your Life is a passionate plea for the nation to ditch endless 'to do' lists, constant streams of emails, and an increasingly 24/7 culture. The book was published following news that an international study had shown that the pace of life in our cities has increased by 10 per cent in the last decade. Dr Sentamu says that he wants "to encourage our nation's elected representatives to slow down during their holiday and in that place of quiet and stillness to enter into the presence of God".