Sunday, 31 December 2023
Saturday, 30 December 2023
Monday, 25 December 2023
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Sunday, 24 December 2023
Saturday, 23 December 2023
The Bridesman by Savyon Liebrecht
About the book: From one of the most important voices in contemporary Hebrew literature, The Bridesman (2023) is the gripping story of a reunion between two family members that brings back a long-forgotten past and reveals secrets that will change their lives forever.
Micha, an Israeli expat in Los Angeles working as a ghostwriter, receives an unexpected invitation. Adella, married to his beloved uncle, has bought him a ticket to Israel and booked a boutique hotel, so that he can return home and meet with her.
Years before, Micha was the bridesman at Adella’s wedding. He remembers her as a rebellious young woman, and orphan and an outsider, who was mocked by his close-knit family of Persian Jews. Micha is stunned by the Adella of today–poised, confident, with nothing of the uneasy woman he remembers from the past. When finally Adella reveals the true story of her life, powerful memories resurface in Micha, although nothing can prepare him for the surprise she has in store for him.
The Bridesman presents a beguiling cast of characters, whose stories are interwoven into a gripping and moving tale about family, place, and the unceasing power of the past to reshape our lives and identity.
The Bridesman is translated from the Hebrew from the original HaShoshbin by Gilah Kahn-Hoffman.
About the author: Savyon Liebrecht was born in Munich in 1948, to Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel soon afterwards. She studied philosophy and literature at Tel Aviv University and began her writing career in 1986. She has received several awards for her work, including the Alterman Prize and the Amelia Rosselli Prize, and has been named Israel’s Playwright of the Year twice. Her books have been translated into nine languages. She lives in Tel Aviv.
About the translator: Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann moved from Montreal to Jerusalem after studying theater, literature, and communications at McGill University. Starting out as a freelance journalist, translator, writer, and editor, she became a feature writer at the Jerusalem Post and, subsequently, editor of the paper's youth magazines. After working for NGOs in East Jerusalem and the developing world, she has recently returned to literary translation. She lives in Jerusalem.
Rating: 5/5
Friday, 22 December 2023
The Church And Her Enemies by Father Michael Müller CSsR
About the book: The Church and Her Enemies is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1880.
The story is told of a Western-bound train, flying along with lightning speed: the time was shortly after sunset. Suddenly, a crash was heard. The train stopped. "What is the matter?" the passengers asked one another.
A huge owl, dazzled by the glare, had struck against the reflector in front of the engine, shivered the glass, and tried to extinguish the light, and a great bull had set its head against the engine, to stop the train.
The lamp was rekindled, the engine sped on, but the stupid owl and the obstinate bull were cast aside, dead, and left to rot, and be devoured by wild beasts. An Irishman, on seeing them, exclaimed: "I admire your courage, but condemn your judgment."
This train may be likened to the holy Catholic Church, speeding on, on her heaven-sent mission, to lead men to heaven by the light of her holy doctrine. The foolish owl, the enemy of light and the friend of darkness, represents Lucifer, who, as the foe of God, and of the light of God's holy religion, has always been endeavouring to extinguish the light of the true religion.
The bull represents the kings and emperors, the heretics and members of secret societies, whom Lucifer uses to stop, if possible, the progress of the Catholic Church, the bearer of the light of faith. Although it is hard, in a certain sense, not to admire the courage of Lucifer's agents, yet we cannot but condemn their judgment, their folly and wickedness, in opposing the work of God, and bringing down upon themselves the everlasting curse of the Almighty.
About the author: Fr Michael Müller (1825-1899) CSsR was a prolific Catholic writer of the 19th century in the United States.
Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Tuesday, 19 December 2023
The Armour Of Light (The Kingsbridge Novel Series) by Ken Follett
About the book: The grand master of gripping fiction is back. International No 1 bestseller Ken Follett returns to Kingsbridge with an epic tale of revolution and a cast of unforgettable characters.
Revolution is in the air
1792. A tyrannical government is determined to make England a mighty commercial empire. In France, Napoleon Bonaparte begins his rise to power, and with dissent rife, France’s neighbours are on high alert.
Kingsbridge is on the edge
Unprecedented industrial change sweeps the land, making the lives of the workers in Kingbridge’s prosperous cloth mills a misery. Rampant modernization and dangerous new machinery are rendering jobs obsolete and tearing families apart.
Tyranny is on the horizon
Now, as international conflict nears, a story of a small group of Kingsbridge people – including spinner Sal Clitheroe, weaver David Shoveller and Kit, Sal’s inventive and headstrong son – will come to define the struggle of a generation as they seek enlightenment and fight for a future free from oppression.
Taking the reader straight into the heart of history with the fifth novel in the ground-breaking Kingsbridge series, The Armour of Light (2023) is master storyteller Ken Follett’s most ambitious novel to date.
About the author: Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales. Barred from watching films and television by his parents, he developed an early interest in reading thanks to a local library. After studying philosophy at University College London, he became involved in centre-left politics, entering into journalism soon after. His first thriller, the wartime spy drama Eye of the Needle, became an international bestseller and has sold over 10 million copies. He then astonished everyone with his first historical novel, The Pillars of the Earth, the story of the building of a medieval cathedral, which went on to become one of the most beloved books of the twentieth century. One of the most popular authors in the world, his many books including the Kingsbridge series and the Century trilogy - a body of work which together chronicles over a thousand years of history - and his latest novel Never - which envisages how World War III could happen - have sold more than 188 million copies. A father and husband, Ken lives with his wife in England and enjoys travelling the world when he can.
Rating: 5/5
The Duchess of Kent: The Troubled Life of Katharine Worsley by Mary Riddell
About the book: The Duchess of Kent, tireless and genuinely compassionate, is perhaps best known for her presence at Wimbledon, her work for UNICEF and other charities and as a devoted mother.
But there has also been a darker side to Katharine Worsley's royal existence. Despite her anxieties about the wisdom of her marriage to the Duke of Kent in 1961, she struggled to come to terms with royal duty and endured the shadow of her formidable mother-in-law, Princess Marina. Then personal tragedies - chiefly a termination and the stillbirth of her last child - led to a nervous breakdown and a chronicle of ill-health.
She continued to carry out royal duties, some of which she relished, such as her appearances at Wimbledon. Finally, it was announced she was suffering from ME. At around the same time, she was received into the Roman Catholic Church. Underlying her search for physical and spiritual healing were other undisclosed problems.
Mary Riddell's much-discussed, analytical and immaculately researched book also examines the destructive impact of the Royal Family, and its courtiers, on outsiders drawn into the inner circle.
In this account of the Duchess' search for a means of survival, Mary Riddell has accomplished the definitive biography of one of the most liked and well-respected members of the Royal Family.
The Duchess of Kent (1999) is Mary Riddell's first book.
About the author: Mary Riddell is a journalist and writer. She was a columnist for the Observer (2001-2008). After reading modern languages at Nottingham University, she began her journalistic career on regional papers. She is a former deputy editor of Today, and her writing awards include Interviewer of the Year in the British Press Awards for a portfolio of political profiles. She interviewed for The Times, the Guardian and YOU magazine before becoming a weekly columnist and later an interviewer for the New Statesman and the Daily Mail. Mary Riddell is a member of the advisory board of Out of Trouble, which is affiliated with the Prison Reform Trust. Riddell is married to John Shute, an oilfield exploration manager. They have two sons and live in London.
Hold Your Breath, China (An Inspector Chen Mystery Series) by Qiu Xiaolong
About the book: Inspector Chen is on the case of a serial murderer when he is called away to report on environmentalists trying to tackle the pollution issues in China.
Chief Inspector Chen and Detective Yu Guangming are brought into a serial murder case when the Homicide squad proves incapable of solving it. But before Chen can make a start, he is called away by a high-ranking Party member for a special assignment: to infiltrate a group of environmental activists meeting to discuss the pollution levels in the country and how to prompt the government into action.
Chen knows it will be a far from simple task, especially when he discovers the leader of the group is a woman from his past. Meanwhile, Yu is left to investigate a serial murder case on his own.
Both Chen and Yu face pressure from those above to resolve the cases in a satisfactory way even if that means innocents face the punishment.
Hold Your Breath, China (2020) is the tenth instalment in the well-crafted Inspector Chen Mystery series set in modern Shanghai, China.
About the author: Anthony Award winning author Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai and moved to Washington University in St Louis, US, to complete a PhD degree in comparative literature. After the Tiananmen tragedy in 1989, he stayed on in St Louis where he still lives with his wife. Qiu’s sold over two million copies of his Inspector Chen mysteries worldwide and been published in twenty languages. On top of his fiction, he is a prize-winning writer of poetry. All the titles in the Inspector Chen series, including Hold Your Breath, China, have been dramatized in BBC Radio 4 productions.
Rating: 5/5
The Psalter Of The Blessed Virgin Mary by Saint Bonaventure
About the book: Author's Preface: "Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee: thou shalt be glorified by her, when thou shalt embrace her. She shall give to thy head increase of graces, and protect thee with a noble crown." (Proverbs 4:8-9.)
Glory be to God on high, and thanksgiving, and the voice of praise, who at one time by the mysteries of prophecy, at another by oracles from Heaven, again by the reading of the Gospel, and now by the mouth of preachers, in many ways and by divers channels, most sincerely urges and invites us to honour the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven and of the Angels; that by her holy merits, most worthy of all acceptance, we, being delivered from the depths of hell, may be inscribed by her in the ranks of the angels.
Wherefore, although Solomon spoke the aforesaid words of Wisdom, nevertheless the Holy Spirit, by a mystical application, intends them to be understood of the most excellent Virgin Mary.
By means of these words, dearly beloved, He is drawing you to His love, and by various promises is attracting and softening your hearts, that you may enjoy His divine embraces.
His meaning is that you will obtain four wonderful gifts, if this glorious Virgin is joined to you by a spiritual bond, and is embraced by you in the arms of fervent desire, with great reverence and devotion.
First, she will bring you exaltation; and she shall exalt thee; secondly, glorification; and thou shalt be glorified by her; thirdly, the abundance of graces; she shall give to thy head increase of graces; fourthly, the unfading crown of perpetual glory, and protect thee with a noble crown.
Therefore I beseech thee, dearly beloved and most desired, do not repel so noble and so beautiful a virgin; do not make little of so admirable and revered a queen as the Virgin Mary: lest, if she should see herself despised by you, you will be, I will not say, deprived of such great favours, but, which God forbid, you will incur perpetual evils.
Expand the bosom of your mind to serve her, prepare your heart to praise and glorify her, lose your tongue, and with swift service hasten to please her.
For there is no doubt that from her nearness to you, you will become more devout, from contact with her you will grow more pure, from her embrace you will abound more in grace and be more resplendent in purity.
That I may give you an occasion of obtaining such great gifts, I send you the Psalter of this most Holy Virgin (published in 1852), put together and composed indeed by my feeble intelligence, but with her grace and help; by means of it you will praise with divers hymns, now her virginity and chastity, now her fecundity and sanctity, now her clemency and bounty.
You will be able to salute her as full of all grace, or as filled with all knowledge, or as illumined by all understanding and wisdom.
There you will bless the Fruit of her glorious womb, the members of His holy body, and the prerogatives of His soul, bestowing all sanctity.
There you will invoke the aid of all the choirs of angels to praise her, and of all the multitudes of holy men, the isles of the nations, the heavens, the beauty of all luminaries and of the whole world.
There you will beseech her to destroy the power of your spiritual enemies, to obtain for you pardon of all your sins, that she may render the great Judge propitious to you, that she may illumine your deathbed by her gracious presence, and obtain for you joy without end.
Therefore, O dearly beloved souls, graciously receive this little gift which I offer you, and strive to draw fruit there from; by means of it frequently praise the Mother of God; and thus perchance she will turn to you her gracious countenance, receiving you to her love, refreshing your soul in the present, and placing upon your head a crown of precious stones in the world to come.
About the author: Saint Bonaventure OFM (1221-1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he also served for a time as Bishop of Albano. He was canonised on 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor" (Latin: Doctor Seraphicus). His feast day is 15 July. Many writings believed in the Middle Ages to be his are now collected under the name Pseudo-Bonaventure (Wikipedia).
Monday, 18 December 2023
Sunday, 17 December 2023
Saturday, 16 December 2023
Lockdown With The Devil by Kennedy Hall
About the book: The 2020 worldwide lockdown unleashed a fog of confusion and uncertainty into the world. Times like these are fertile breeding grounds for demonic activity in the family.
In Lockdown with the Devil (2020), Kennedy Hall explores the ways the demons attack the family in a fictional account of diabolically coordinated attacks on a modern family. The book follows a typical family of four - mother, father, son and daughter - as they navigate through the hardships many families have faced during the worst parts of the pandemic.
This story gives insight into how the diabolical entities use our circumstances in order to rip apart the most fundamental institution of society: the family.
“Part thriller, part documentary and part Catholic catechism, Hall has woven the three elements together in a hoot of a read that has its ‘eureka, I knew it!’ and on the flip-side, sorrowful ‘really bad things happen to good people’ moments. A worthy contribution in the tradition of Screwtape during the era of the COVID lockdown.” - Mike Church, Radio & TV Host of The Mike Church Show.
About the author: Kennedy Hall is a contributing editor for OnePeterFive. He is the author Terror of Demons: Reclaiming Traditional Catholic Masculinity and Lockdown with the Devil, a novel published by Our Lady of Victory Press. He is a writer at Catholic Family News, LifeSiteNews and and has a growing YouTube channel where he hosts The Kennedy Report. He is married with six children and lives in Ontario, Canada.
Rating: 5/5
Thursday, 14 December 2023
The Art of Divine Love Or Berthe Petit
About the book: "The Heart of My Mother has the right to the title of Sorrowful, and I wish it placed before that of Immaculate, because she herself has acquired it." (The Words of Our Lord to Berthe Petit, 8 September 1911)
In India, Devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary began in 1952 through the instrumentality of Father Louis M Shouriah, SJ. He was miraculously cured from grave heart trouble by Our Lady in circumstances that are not without interest. When he asked the Blessed Virgin Mary how he could best show his gratitude for this unsolicited favour, the response was, "Spread the Devotion to my Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart in your country."
The Reverend Louis M Shouriah adapted the writings of Reverend I Duffner MSC and added his own research and thoughts in this unique book on the Messages from the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, which also includes a short biography of His messenger, Berthe Petit (1870-1943), a Franciscan Tertiary.
Jesus tells Berthe Petit, "Universal recourse to my Mother under the title I wish for her universally, is the last aid God gives to the world before the end of time." (2 July 1940)
This little book is presented to the public in the fervent hope that it will inspire the faithful to a deeper devotion and urge them to make known to others the message contained therein. Its pages, so appropriate to our times, will be read with profit; they will make Our Lady better known and loved; they will bring into prominence the ardent desire of Our Lord to save the world through the most Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His beloved Mother. Our hearts will be moved to gratitude and urged to prayer and penance, so that by the fulfilment of the conditions so mercifully offered by the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the salvation and peace of the world may fully be realized.
The Art of Divine Love or Berthe Petit (1955, 2003 (republished), 2005 (revised)) is adapted from the French by Reverend Louis M Shouriah. The front cover is a photograph of Berthe Petit at the age of 39.
Chinese Homestyle: Recipes For The Modern Kitchen by Flo Lum
About the book: With almost 400,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel, Flo Lum has years of experience creating simple and delicious recipes that have helped and inspired thousands of viewers.
"I am so excited to share this cookbook with you. It is filled with many childhood favourites and dishes I’ve recreated over the years that were influenced by my Chinese heritage and using modern cooking techniques.
Each recipe has been created using the best tool for the job. Sometimes it is a wok, an electric pressure cooker, air fryer or the humble stove. When possible, I have included alternative cooking methods.
I hope these recipes will evoke some feelings of nostalgia and I hope they become some of your family favourites as well." - Flo Lum
Chinese Homestyle: Recipes For The Modern Kitchen (2021) is almost 200 pages, complete with beautiful full-page photos for almost every recipe. Flo Lum's recipes are simple and never fussy or complicated. With the basic Asian sauces in your pantry, you will be able to handle all the recipes in this cookbook.
Her latest cookbook, published on 1 February 2023, is Daily Special: Chinese Restaurant Favourites.
About the author: Flo Lum is a wife and mom who loves to laugh, cook and eat. She shares her family’s journey to live a Simple, Ordinary & Joyful life on her YouTube channel, Instagram and Patreon, ranging from fantastic family-friendly recipes, travel, to Vlogs, about their perfectly imperfect lives in Vancouver, Canada and beyond.
Writings Of Elder Cleopas Volumes 1-5 St by George Monastery
About the book: Writings of Elder Cleopas Volumes 1-5 (2020) is translated from the Romanian by Anna Skoubourdis and published by Virgin Mary of Australia and Oceania.
The following writings are in this volume:
Volume 1: On the Types of Witchcraft
Volume 2: About Creation, the Fall of Man and Heaven and Hell
Volume 3: About Faith, Hope, Love and Grace
Volume 4: About Prayer and the Divine Liturgy
Volume 5: About Sin, Confession and Holy Communion
About Elder Cleopas/Cleopa: Elder Cleopas/Cleopa (1912-1998) was an abbot of the Sihastria Monastery. He was a well-known spiritual representative of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Thursday, 7 December 2023
Monday, 4 December 2023
Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf
About the book: Our Souls at Night (2017), Kent Haruf's exquisite final novel, is a deeply affecting love story, adapted into a film starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.
This is a love story.
A story about growing old with grace.
Addie Moore and Louis Waters have been neighbours for years.
Now they both live alone, their houses empty of family, their quiet nights solitary.
Then one evening Addie pays Louis a visit.
Their brave adventures form the beating heart of Our Souls at Night.
"Simple, low-key and absolutely beautiful." - The Times
About the author: Kent Haruf is the author of six novels (and, with the photographer Peter Brown, West of Last Chance). His honours include a Whiting Foundation Writers' Award, the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Award, the Wallace Stegner Award, and a special citation from the PEN/Hemingway Foundation; he was also a finalist for the National Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and The New Yorker Book Award. Benediction (2014) was shortlisted for the Folio Prize. He died in November 2014, at the age of seventy-one.
Sunday, 3 December 2023
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