Culture

Upper Room Books RRP $20.45 Despite some shortcomings, I really appreciated the way this little book (112 pages) was written with a format designed to help individuals or groups to slow down and create times and places of stillness during Advent. Simply Wait – Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent is intended to be a workbook as well as ...

Loyola Press. 2003 RRP $35.95 For those familiar with the many “7 steps”, “12 techniques” and “irrefutable laws” of leadership books out there, who value their message yet sit somewhat uneasy against their ‘leadership idolatry’, here is a book for you. In a break from the standard approach to the genre, Chris Lowney takes the Jesuit ‘company’ as his case ...

Hamish Hamilton RRP $32.95 Pat Barker is the sovereign of restraint. Her latest novel is a vivid book about artists and lovers in a time of war. Set in the build-up to, and early years of, World War 1, Life Class describes the intriguing characters of Paul, Elinor and Kit, students at the Slade School of Fine Art in central ...

Staring Joan Chen Rated M Home Song Stories is the true story of a glamorous Chinese singer, Rose, who takes her two children to Australia in the 1960s for a better life after falling for an Australian sailor. Once in Australia, Rose drifts from man to man, dragging her children with her, while she struggles with being an exotic, dynamic, ...

Blue Bottle Books RRP $24.95 A Spectator’s Guide to Worldviews provides a challenging introduction to various ways of looking at the world. A worldview is the framework or fundamental belief that shapes how we understand the world around us and the picture of our ideal world. The guide achieves its aim of presenting a balanced view of each ‘–ism’ that ...

CD RRP $25 This second offering from Scattered People once again shows that community music making can be a wonderful experience for the participants as well as the audience. A project of Lifeline’s community development unit, Normal Days brings together refugees to share their stories of struggle and triumph through music. Producer and arranger Simon Monsour of Sweet Freedom Inc ...

Monarch Books RRP $34.95 Prior to the Introduction the view of Biblical persecution is introduced and addressed. The book itself provides specific details about the lives and martyrdom of Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians who were martyred between 845 to 2006. Although there have been other books available detailing the lives of martyrs such as John and Betty Stam this ...

Published by Monarch Books RRP $21.95. On the flyleaf of Richard Holloway’s “On Forgiveness” there is a quote from Jacques Derrida: “There is only forgiveness, if there is any, where there is the unforgivable”. I was reminded of that quote as Sokreaksa describes what happened to him and his family, actions which were truly unforgivable. Socreaksa writes of his early ...

Skylight Paths Publishing, Woodstock, Vermont R.R.P $32.95 When I first saw the title of this publication I didn’t believe it would be about Scrapbooking (a current worldwide craft form) and spiritual discovery but that is exactly what it is! The author leads you on an imaginative journey which involves reflection and journaling, all the while asking and seeking answers to ...

Black Inc. Books RRP $29.95 Hillsong is a big church by any standards, so when an exposé is offered it’s bound to get big attention. That’s exactly what People in Glass Houses has achieved. Tanya Levin has been written up in The Bulletin and The Monthly and interviewed by the many including Andrew Denton and Philip Adams. Adding to the ...