The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, age 37 3/4 (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link)

What a breath of fresh air Adrian Plass is, in the Christian writing world. He started as a columnist for a magazine, producing a humorous (but thought-provoking) monthly diary. That expanded into this book, which was a huge success in the UK, and further afield. It's stayed continually in print for nearly twenty years.

'The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass' is written in diary form, outlining Adrian's thoughts about his family, friends and church, and the Christian life in general. It's by no means cynical, but frequently honest.

He doesn't criticise or complain, but pokes very gentle fun at some of the oddities of today's church, caricaturing some well-known types of people and throwing in jokes and one-liners that can still make me laugh aloud, even though I must have read it at least three or four times before.

The humour isn't slapstick, or cruel in any way. And in between the funny parts, there's a great deal that's thoughtful, prompting me to think in new ways about life and relationships, and why we do what we do in church services.

Highly recommended. However, those outside the UK please note that this is VERY British humour.