186 ratings | 7 reviews | avg rating:3.79

Christopher’s Year In Books

Christopher’s 2024 Year in Books

Take a look at Christopher’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Christopher’s 2024 Year in Books

Christopher Shevlin’s Followers (126)

Christopher’s Bookshelves

to-read (3)
currently-reading (2)
read (189)
abandoned (2)
books-i-ve-written (0)

Christopher’s Friends (75)

Lukas N.P. Egger

744 books | 83 friends

Mark Speed

741 books | 123 friends

Lianne Marie

2,145 books | 172 friends

John Blumenthal

1,241 books | 2,393 friends

Hector Jimenez

687 books | 51 friends

Mark Edwards

145 books | 1,036 friends

Anna Vaught

102 books | 85 friends

Michele

1,533 books | 78 friends

More friends…

Christopher Shevlin

Goodreads Author

Born

in Stafford, The United Kingdom

December 31

Website

http://christophershevlin.com

Twitter

chrisshevlin

Genre

Humor and Comedy, Nonfiction

Influences

Douglas Adams, P.G. Wodehouse, John O'Farrell, Henry Howarth Bashford, ...more

Member Since

June 2012

edit data

Christopher Shevlin is, essentially, an older, bearded and slightly shorter version of Jonathon Fairfax. He grew up in Yorkshire and spent his whole adult life in London, before going to Berlin to write his second novel, Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed. The book is set in London.

When life is hard, he has always turned to books for comfort. His favourites include his battered old Jeeves Omnibus, Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently books, 1066 And All That, the Molesworth books, and Augustus Carp By Himself. His ambition is to write books that are even a tenth as comfortingly odd.

To find out more about Christopher Shevlin, his books, and the disturbingly assertive squirrels of Helsinki, please visit www.christophershevlin.com

(Author photo by Matth ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Christopher Shevlin questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Christopher Shevlin’s books

Average rating: 4.04 · 9,259 ratings · 545 reviews · 8 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax (Jonathon Fairfax, #1) 3.78 avg rating — 4,833 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed (Jonathon Fairfax, #2) 4.33 avg rating — 2,098 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Spy Who Came in from the Bin (Jonathon Fairfax, #3) 4.29 avg rating — 1,524 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fairfax Redemption: A Jonathon Fairfax Novel (Jonathon Fairfax, #4) 4.46 avg rating — 594 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Pursuit of Coconuts 4.10 avg rating — 200 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Penguin Writers Guide Writing For Business 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2005 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Simple Guide to E-mail it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2002	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jonathon Fairfax (2 Book Series) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Christopher Shevlin…

56 posts
Christopher Shevlin's Blog

On mishearing myself in a dream

I had a dream last night in which I bumped into a friend in a shop. She said she’d just come from a new women’s yoga studio called HerLimberLimbs. ‘Hurlimbalims?’ I said, not understanding what I’d just heard. ‘Her Limber Limbs,’ she said slowly and clearly. ‘Oh! Right,’ I said. ‘Good name.’ Isn’t that a […]

The post On mishearing myself in a dream first appeared on Christopher Shevlin.

Series by Christopher Shevlin

Jonathon Fairfax (3 books)
by

Christopher Shevlin (Goodreads Author)

4.01 avg rating — 8,454 ratings

Jonathon Fairfax (3 books)
by

Christopher Shevlin (Goodreads Author)

4.01 avg rating — 8,454 ratings

Christopher is Currently Reading

Christopher Shevlin is currently reading

Pax Romana: War, Peace and Conquest in the Roman World

by Adrian Goldsworthy

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 05, 2025 03:21PM

Christopher Shevlin rated a book it was ok

In Search of Berlin: The Story of A Reinvented City

by John Kampfner

bookshelves: currently-reading, abandoned

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sep 03, 2025 07:35AM

rss
Christopher’s Recent Updates

Christopher Shevlin is currently reading Pax Romana: War, Peace and Conquest in the Roman World by Adrian Goldsworthy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 05, 2025 03:21PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christopher Shevlin rated a book it was amazing Augustus: From Revolutionary to Emperor by Adrian Goldsworthy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 04, 2025 03:05PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Augustus by Adrian Goldsworthy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Augustus by Adrian Goldsworthy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christopher Shevlin rated a book it was amazing After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal About Life and Beyond by Bruce Greyson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 03, 2025 07:36AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of After by Bruce Greyson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — After by Bruce Greyson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christopher Shevlin rated a book really liked it Munich by Robert Harris (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 03, 2025 07:36AM · like
Christopher Shevlin rated a book it was ok In Search of Berlin: The Story of A Reinvented City by John Kampfner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 03, 2025 07:35AM · like
Christopher Shevlin finished reading The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 03, 2025 07:35AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christopher Shevlin rated a book really liked it Fatherland by Robert Harris (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 30, 2025 03:34PM · like
Christopher Shevlin rated a book really liked it Enigma by Robert Harris (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 24, 2025 05:58AM · 1 like · like
Christopher Shevlin rated a book it was amazing An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 13, 2025 02:22PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christopher Shevlin finished reading An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 12, 2025 01:08AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Christopher's books…

Quotes by Christopher Shevlin (?)

“Both still stood in the same positions, ready to deal with a conversation, should one break out.”
― Christopher Shevlin, The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax

3 likes

“Well, I've got tomorrow morning off, so I thought I might spend that thinking about her. Basically, my plan is to maybe just romantically obsess over her but not really do anything about it.”
― Christopher Shevlin, The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax

tags: funny, humorous-quotes

1 likes

“Home’s all right for a visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.”
― Christopher Shevlin, The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax

0 likes

See all Christopher Shevlin's quotes »

Christopher’s Quotes

“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”
― Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

tags: hope

4022 likes

“Thus it has come about that our theoretical and critical literature, instead of giving plain, straightforward arguments in which the author at least always knows what he is saying and the reader what he is reading, is crammed with jargon, ending at obscure crossroads where the author loses its readers. Sometimes these books are even worse: they are just hollow shells. The author himself no longer knows just what he is thinking and soothes himself with obscure ideas which would not satisfy him if expressed in plain speech.”
― Carl von Clausewitz

14 likes

“One needs no particular talent to be polite. On the contrary, being nice is what's left when you've failed at everything else.”
― Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

tags: politeness

103 likes

“Beethoven tells you what it's like to be Beethoven and Mozart tells you what it's like to be human. Bach tells you what it's like to be the universe.”
― Douglas Adams

tags: music, power-of-music, universe

1102 likes