The radio was on in the background, and I wasn’t particularly listening to the interview. But then she mentioned that ‘reading’ had helped her survive her traumatic childhood and I was reminded just how important it is to be able to read.

I discovered that very forcibly many years ago when I was asked to help a neighbour who couldn’t read and as a result had been left sinking in a sea of debt by his unfaithful wife.

It got me thinking about the books (other than the Bible of course) that have proved formative in my life. I think it would have to begin with Simon Schama’s magnificent tome ‘Citizens’ which I think is one of the best books ever written about the French Revolution. The prose is magnificent, and Schama’s arguments are powerful, but it’s his emphasis on the role people play in history and role of oratory that really impresses me because we all have an impact on others and the words we use have a dynamic and creative power for good and for ill.

John Stott’s ‘Issues facing Christians Today’ has shaped my approach to life in a profound way too. In his very distinctive way Stott, who was once Chaplain to the Queen, stressed that Christians are called to do more that share the Jesus story; they should also be eager to show how the Bible can provide us with a satisfying and credible understanding of ‘life, the universe and everything’. In that sense then I suppose it could be argued that Stott’s ‘Issues’ gave birth to my regular writing in the non-Christian press given the fact that I am persuaded that the ‘Biblical word view’ makes most sense of life.

My third and final choice (I could list hundreds of course) is intriguingly entitled ‘The Five Love Languages’. It was written by marriage counsellor Gary Chapman and conceived in a conversation at some 30,000 feet somewhere between Buffalo and Dallas Texas when a fellow passenger asked him ‘What happens to the love after you get married?’

Chapman’s book is a powerful and insightful reminder that ‘people express and receive love in different ways’, Chapman identifies five, but I think we can add to his list and apply it to more than romantic love. The key principle is this: when we are trying to show someone that we love them we should think of the other person’s personality and ask what will impact them most. Some people appreciate quality time whereas others feel loved when you give them a helping hand or give them gifts for example. We are all different and we need to take that into account when we are trying to express our love.

I wonder which books have influenced you most. Why not write and tell us?