Norwich United Church          

Our Church Library

Located just to the right of our front entry door is our church library. It has more than 500 books featuring shelves of fiction, biblical scholarship, prayer and devotionals and Christian growth as well as a good collection of children's books. There are also more than 40 videos including the famous "Veggietale" series.

• Julian's Cell - A novel by Ralph Milton telling the story of Julian from Norwich. Find out about Ralph Milton and his books at JoinHands. A good website on Julian is Julian of Norwich
• The Red Tent - Skillfully interweaving the biblical tale with events and characters of her own, Diamant's sweeping first novel re-creates the life of Dinah (dee-naw), daughter of Leah and Jacob. Constructing the story in the tradition of midrashim, Diamant uses the sparse details of the text (Genesis 30, 34, 46) and expands them, filling the holes with her narrative. It follows Dinah from her birth and happy childhood in Mesopotamia through her years in Canaan and death in Egypt. In her childhood she introduces us to her 12 brothers, each with their own unique characteristics and her beloved brother, Joseph. Dinah tells her mothers' tales from the time that the shaggy stranger, Jacob, appears in the land of his distant kin, Laban. There are Jacob's marriages to the beautiful Rachel and the competent Leah, "reeking of bread and comfort." Also bedded are Zilpah, a goddess worshipper who has little use for men, and tiny, dark, and silent Bilhah. Hard-working Jacob is considerate to the equally hard-working women, who, in the "red tent"--where they're sequestered at times of monthly cycles, birthing, and illness--take comfort and courage from one another and household gods. The trek to Canaan, after Jacob outwits Laban, offers Dinah wonders, from that "time out of life" when the traveling men and women laugh and sing together, on to Dinah's first scent of a great river. She observes the odd reunion of Jacob and Esau, meets her cruel and proud grandmother, and celebrates the women's rite of maturity. Diamant sympathetically describes Dinah's doomed relationship with Shalem, son of a ruler of Shechem, and his brutal death at the hands of her brothers. Following the events in Canaan, a pregnant Dinah travels to Egypt, where she becomes a noted midwife, gives birth to a son, suffers, and eventually finds love and peace. Diamant has written a thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating portrait of a fascinating woman and the life she might have lived. Don't let the first section with all the "begetting" put you off of reading the tale.
  A study outline for the book is available at the United Church Exchange Magazine site.
• The Healing Quilt by Lauraine Snelling.
  Several women fall into friendship while making a quilt to raise money for a new hospital mammogram machine. Each have unique reasons for becoming involved and all gain much from the experience. The quilt is set up at Kit Cooper's mostly empty house; her young daughter, Amber, has recently died of breast cancer, and Kit's husband, Mark, has been away on "business" for months. Now another quilter, Kit's beloved, fiesty Aunt Teza, may be the next cancer victim. As she stitches her fabric, Beth Donnelly shares with her friends her hopes for a baby after her miscarriage, but she also is consumed by a terrible secret. Rich Elaine Giovanni, the surgeon's wife, is used to taking charge in quilting and in life, but finds her detestable neighbour is causing things to careen out of control. There are plenty of dogs, kids and marital troubles woven into the story to keep it realistic and grounded. Snelling's treatment of loss mitigated with humor, wit and faith should help this novel have wide appeal.