Rust

Christian films, in times gone by, have been known to hit high on the cringe-o-meter. Dodgy acting, shoddy camera shots and an ending you can predict in the first five minutes don't exactly scream blockbuster entertainment.

But - and this is something we're getting really excited about - Christian films have been given a drastic makeover and recent sales across the board are reflecting their new found popularity. So far, we've given you Faith Like Potatoes, Hansie, Fireproof, Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Sarah's Choice, The Wager, In The Blink of An Eye - and, the fact is, they are just getting better.

Now, new from Integirty, we give you Rust:

'A man of lost faith in a midlife crisis finds hope where he least expects it - his hometown. James Moore (Corbin Bernsen) is a former pastor who returns home to discover a family new to the area has been killed in a mysterious fire, and his childhood friend is implicated in the murder. Convinced of his friend's innocence, James sets out on a mission to find the truth... and in the process, rediscovers his own lost faith. Rust is an uplifiting drama about faith, family and the powerful ties that bind a community together.'

Still not sure? Check out this film trailer to see for yourself.

RUST

We're also very excited for the release of Letters to God, which we don't yet have in stock, but hope to have very soon. A boy, ill with Leukemia, faithfully writes letters to God which changes the life of his postman and his Mum. We strongly recommend you watch the trailer for that too:

LETTERS TO GOD

Greg Hassell: Forever Faithful God

As you may have gathered from previous posts, we, at Quench, are eager to support and encourage local authors, artists and the like. And, as you can imagine, we are even more thrilled to do so when that artist is one of our own employees.

Greg Hassell, recently appointed as Head of Retail and based at our Maidenhead branch, has just released his new debut CD. Compiled of five original worship songs and produced by Marc James, Forever Faithful God is a steal at just £5.99!

After feeling convicted of God's direction for his music, Greg embarked on a rollercoaster of a journey just over a year ago and is thankful for God's goodness through it all. His desire was to achieve a unique and original sound which would be well-recieved for use in church services and personal worship.

Strongly influenced by the works of Marc James, Brenton Brown and Matt Redman, Greg's music reflects the sincerity of his faith and his heart-felt passion for worshipping the living God. Tracks such as Hallelujah, Only You and You Reign speak volumes of God's glory and sovereignty.

What is particularly enjoyable about this CD is the familiarity of the songs. This is not to say that the tracks sound borrowed or unoriginal, but that the tune is easy and comfortable to follow (a sign of a great worship song) and you'll find yourself singing along in no time!

Another personal and very special feature of this CD is that Greg's wife, Sarah, brings a well-rounded sound to the tracks with her beautiful backing vocals. We could only hope for a duet or two on his next album!

Greg is not sure what the future holds for his music, but he is currently writing new songs in the hope that a second album might be on the cards. So, watch this space!

Redeeming Love - £6.99 (£2 OFF RRP)

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is a powerful, fresh re-telling of Hosea, a small prophetic book in the Old Testament. Rivers passionately and originally modernizes the story of Hosea's wife, Gomer, and her unfaithfulness to him, which is a clear depiction of the relationship between God and Israel. In this gripping, "unputdownable" novel, Rivers brings to life the character of Angel - a young woman in 19th Century America thrown into prostitution at an early age as a result of a chain of unfortunate events.

In a brilliant, heart-wrenching narrative, Rivers delves into the complex relationship between Michael Hosea, a devout man guided by God to take this young prostitute as his wife, and Angel. As a reader, you are dragged into every element of the story, you relate to Angel's pain, you sympathise with Michael's impatience and you hope, with all your heart, that there will be a happy ending.

A rollercoatser of twists and turns, Redeeming Love will shock you, depress you, encourage you, challenge you and tug on your romantic heartstrings. Ultimately, it all boils down to God's workings within Angel and using Michael to guide her to Him. Her journey is a beautiful mixture of sadness, hope and redemption. A must-read for all!

Book Signing

As a new and relatively small business, we understand the pressures and challenges of trying to put ourselves on the map and for Quench to become a widely-spread and well-loved name. It is for that reason, and for many more, which we readily support local and budding authors.

One of those said authors, whose books our Reading branch have stocked since November 2009, is journalist and broadcaster John Madeley. Currently residing in Caversham, Reading, Mr. Madeley specialises in social development issues such as international trade, aid and human rights. His passion for a fair and peaceful world has led him to write a number of books on these topics, but it is only his latest publication which has reached the Christian market.

Beyond Reach?, set in 2005, is a novel based on the Make Poverty History campaign. In it, Madeley addresses modern ethics, politics, relationships and the meaning of life. Here are what some have said about the book:

"A gripping and inspiring story of forbidden love and the struggle for justice" - D. Rhodes

"Truly a great marriage of entertainment and purpose" - Rev. P. Wedgewood

"A revealing story about a scandal of our time, witty, sharp and above all urgent" - R. Boycott

It is a great pleasure, then, for us to have John Madeley join us - at our Reading branch - for a book signing event on Saturday, 7th August. He will be selling and signing copies of his new book between 2 - 4 pm as well as happily answering questions about his journalistic work and life as a succesful author. It would be a great opportunity for all, not only to support a local author in difficult times, but also for those who are interested in writing, journalism and fair trade.

Please do come along if you can make it. We would love to see you there; supporting both Quench and John Madeley as we strive to stay afloat in a struggling industry.

Quench

60 London Street,

Reading

RG1 4SQ

0118 9576078

reading@quenchshops.com

New Beginnings

Welcome to our new Quench blog!

We are excited to be so involved with you - our friends, loyal customers and faithful suppliers - through Facebook, Twitter and now Blogger! I think we are more privileged than we realise to be living in times such as these, with countless Christian resources at our fingertips to help us in all areas of our walk with Christ. From websites like Bible Gateway providing us with different Bible translations and Sermon Audio offering sound, biblical preaching, to podcasts, blogs, Christian newspapers/magazines etc... the list goes on!

As you may know, we are a chain of 5 Christian bookshops who were formerly under the management of St. Andrews. Now, a new and thriving company, the shops at Reading, Maidenhead, Wokingham, Slough and St. Albans aim to bring about a fresh, modern approach to a Christian presence on the high street. As our website states, we want to be a lamp-stand in the retail world and offer excellent customer serice as well as a dynamic product range. We hope that those of you who have supported us over this past year have experienced this and are seeing the positive changes which we are gradually implementing.

As Christians, we should be making the most of our opportunity to grow in faith by taking advantage of these resources that have only recently become readily available to us thanks to modern technology and the internet. Yet the importance of having a physical place in which to browse the latest books, CD's, DVD's, gifts and cards and to meet with local Christians should not be discredited. There will always be a place for the Christian bookshop on the high street - especially for evangelistic purposes ("How can they hear about [Jesus] unless someone tells them?" Romans 10:14, NLT)

We're looking forward to this exciting, and no doubt challenging, journey and we hope you will be right there with us - growing in understanding and faith, learning to trust God even in the hard times, and praising Him through to eternity.