Saint Paisios of Mount Athos Spiritual Counsels I - With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man

About the book: "How can a man feel truly consoled if he does not believe in God and in the true eternal life after death? When we grasp the deeper meaning of the true life, anxiety falls away, and divine consolation comes and we are healed." - Saint Paisios the Athonite

With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man (1996, 2019 2nd Reprint) is the first volume of the inspiring spiritual counsels of Saint Elder Paisios of Mount Athos.

A true ascetic who spent his life cultivating the virtues of humility and love, Elder Paisios always sought to draw people closer to the Kingdom of Heaven. 

In these spiritual counsels one sees the living, eternal wisdom of the Church Fathers through the suffering love of a beloved saint and modern guide of souls.

The book is divided into four thematic parts. Each part is subdivided into chapters and every chapter into sections with the appropriate subheadings:

• Part 1 Sin and the Devil

• Part 2 Modern Civilization

• Part 3 The Spirit of God and the Spirit of the World

• Part 4 The Church in our Times

With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man is translated from the Greek by Cornelia A Tsakiridou PhD and edited by Maria Spanou PhD in cooperation with the Holy Hesychasterion "Evangelist John the Theologian."

"It is good to have a good brain and go to the moon and spend billions of dollars in fuel expenses and so on. But it is far better to have the spiritual powers that raise man to God, his ultimate destination, with only a bit of fuel, a mere dried piece of bread." - Saint Paisios the Athonite 

About the author: The Blessed Elder Paisios was born on 25 July 1924. From the time that he was a child, Elder Paisios lived an ascetic life, and was nourished by the lives of the Saints, whose feats he sought to imitate with great zeal and admirable precision. He practised unceasing prayer, cultivating all along the virtues of humility and love. 

He led an ascetic life on Mount Athos, in the Holy Monastery of Stomion in Konitsa, and on Mount Sinai in Egypt. He lived in obscurity, giving himself completely to God, and God in turn revealed him and gave him to the whole world. He guided, consoled, healed and granted peace to multitudes of people who sought him. His sanctified soul overflowed with divine love and his saintly face radiated the divine Grace. All day long, he tirelessly gathered the human pain and imparted divine consolation. 

He is the founder of the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti of Thessalonik, Greece, which he also guided spiritually for twenty-eight years (1967-1994). After suffering excruciating pains, which, as he used to say, benefited him more than the ascetic struggles of his entire life, he fell asleep in the Lord on 12 July 1994.

Flight To Freedom: From Lockdowns To Liberty by Mark Ameerali CFA, CFP

About the book: Freedom is not free. 

We have all heard the saying, but few have ever had to pay the price.

This modern-day drama tells the tale of one family fleeing Canada for freedom and the American dream.

Flight to Freedom (2023) is a harrowing tale of escape and a lighted path for those who wish to follow. 

The author has skillfully marked the trail behind him for those wanting to find their freedom.

Canadians looking to leave can do so more easily using this resource as it provides detailed information for those who want to relocate from Canada to the United States.

What would you sacrifice for freedom?

About the author: Mark Ameerali is from Vancouver, Canada. After completing an undergraduate degree in business and three years of postgraduate studies in Asia, he began to invest in US real estate following the housing market decline in 2008. He began investing in US single-family homes and built a consulting service to facilitate purchases by Canadians looking to do the same. Mark started to syndicate capital into multi-family projects and eventually created a fund enabling Canadians to purchase multi-family homes in the US using their retirement assets.

Mark also invested in Canadian real estate, and in 2012, he founded a practice in private wealth management, raising capital for private investments in Canada and the US. In 2021, Mark and his wife decided to move to the US. Mark has authored two books - Common Cents: 12 Money Lessons You Should Have Learned in School and Perfect Cents - focused on personal finance and investments. He is the founder of the My Money 101 financial literacy program.

Definition: Liberty

Fig Leaves Are Not Enough: Open Letters On Modesty In Dress by Dom Pius Mary Noonan, OSB

About the book: A young woman in her early twenties, Amanda discovers the importance of modesty in a somewhat unexpected way, thanks to an experience that transforms her life.

In a world that seemingly does not understand her quest for peace, she finds support in a priest, her spiritual father, from whom she learns much more than what it means to dress modestly.

In the spiritual correspondence that ensues, of which Fig Leaves are Not Enough: Open Letters on Modesty in Dress (2024) consists, true feminine dignity, the meaning of human love, the complementary roles of man and woman, and the ongoing spiritual combat that is required for the peace and salvation of the soul are the major themes that emerge and that make these letters a must read for any soul that longs for God over and above the ephemeral flattering of the senses.

This book is reverently and gratefully dedicated to all those women who, now or in the future, glorify God and edify the world by the beauty and dignity of their dress.

About the author: Dom Pius Mary Noonan is a Benedictine Monk and Priest. Born in Kentucky (USA), he became a professed monk at Abbaye Saint Joseph in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain (France). Since 2017, he has been the Prior of a Benedictine Foundation called Notre Dame Priory in Colebrook, Tasmania. Dom Pius holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Saint Thomas d'Aquin (Institut Catholique of Toulouse, France), and before leaving France was Director of Studies at the Abbey of Flavigny. As part of his community's apostolate, Dom Pius conducts spiritual retreats in various places around Australia and in the United States. 

Other works by Dom Pius Mary Noonan are The Grace to Desire It, Whilst It Is Day and Divine Providence and Human Freedom. To order these titles or to see more of the titles published by Cana Press, go to notredamemonastery.org/product-category/cana-press/ 

All titles are available on Amazon and other major book sellers or ask your local bookstore to order in a copy from their distributor.

When You’re Stirring The Jam

Murder In Canaryville (True Crime) by Jeff Coen

About the book: The grandson and great-grandson of Chicago police officers, Chicago Police Detective James Sherlock was CPD through-and-through. 

His career had seen its share of twists and turns, but on this day, he was at the records center to see the case file for the murder of John Hughes, who was seventeen years old when he was gunned down in a park on Chicago’s Southwest Side on 15 May 1976. 

The case had haunted many in the department for years and its threads led everywhere. 

More than forty years after the Hughes killing, he was hopeful he could finally put the case to rest. 

Then the records clerk handed Sherlock a thin manila folder. 

Sherlock could have left the records center without the folder and cruised into retirement, and no one would have noticed. 

Instead, he tucked the envelope under his arm and carried it outside.

Murder in Canaryville: The True Story Behind a Cold Case and a Chicago Cover-Up (2021) is about a murder case gone cold, with the son of a Chicago Outfit member suspected of pulling the trigger, and the efforts of a determined detective to unravel a cover-up.

About the author: Jeff Coen is the Chicago Tribune crime and justice editor. He is the author of Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob and the coauthor of Golden: How Rod Blagojevich Talked Himself Out of the Governor's office and into Prison.

Owned 50,000 Books

Camino Ghosts (Camino Island Series) by John Grisham

About the book: #1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham takes you back to Camino Island where bookseller Bruce Cable and novelist Mercer Mann always manage to find trouble in paradise.

In this new thriller on Camino Island, popular bookseller Bruce Cable tells Mercer Mann an irresistible tale that might be her next novel. 

A giant resort developer is using its political muscle and deep pockets to claim ownership of a deserted island between Florida and Georgia. 

Only the last living inhabitant of the island, Lovely Jackson, stands in its way. 

What the developer does not know is that the island has a remarkable history, and locals believe it is cursed…and the past is never the past.

Camino Ghosts (2024) is the third book in the compelling Camino Island series. Its publication date is 28 May 2024 and is available to pre-order now.

About the author: John Grisham is an expert storyteller, whose unforgettable characters fight for justice in a world that is not always fair.

John Grisham is the author of forty-nine consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include The Judge’s List, Sooley, and his third Jake Brigance novel, A Time for Mercy, which is being developed by HBO as a limited series.

Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honoured with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.

When he is not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.

John lives on a farm in central Virginia.

Rating: 5/5

Lies & Weddings by Kevin Kwan

About the book: Lies & Weddings (2024) is the hottest book of the summer!

Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshamsbury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel, is drowning in debt. The only solution, according to his mother, is for him to attend his sister’s wedding and seduce a woman with money.

Will it be the French hotel heiress with a royal bloodline? The venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or will Rufus betray his family and confess his love for his best friend and ‘girl next door’ Eden? 

But when a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans – and their reputation – go up in flames, making Rufus’ choice all the more impossible.

Taking us from the sand beaches of Hawaii to the skies of Marrakech, from the glitzy bachelor pads of Beverly Hills to the inner sanctums of England’s oldest family estates, Kevin Kwan has written a juicy, hilarious and sophisticated tale of love, money, murder, sex, and the lies we tell about them all.

Lies & Weddings is expected to be released in the UK on 20 June 2024. It is available to pre-order now.

About the author: Kevin Kwan is the author of Crazy Rich Asians, the international bestselling novel that has been translated into more than 30 languages. Its sequel, China Rich Girlfriend, was released in 2015, and Rich People Problems, the final book in the trilogy, followed in 2017. For several weeks in 2018, the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy commanded the top three positions of the New York Times bestseller list - an almost unprecedented single-author trifecta, and the film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians became Hollywood's highest grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. In 2018, Kevin was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Rating: 5/5 

Think On This

Settles Down With A Good Book

The Dubrovnik Book Club by Eva Glyn

About the book: In a tiny bookshop in Dubrovnik’s historic Old Town, a book club begins.

Newly arrived on the sun-drenched shores of Croatia, Claire Thomson’s life is about to change forever when she starts working at a local bookshop. 

With her cousin Vedran, employee Luna and Karmela, a professor, they form an unlikely book club.

But when their first book club pick – an engrossing cosy crime – inspires them to embark upon an investigation that is close to the group’s heart, they quickly learn the value of keeping their new-found friends close as lives and stories begin to entwine.

According to USA Today bestselling author Faith Hogan, The Dubrovnik Book Club (2024) is 'the perfect summer escape, I adored it!’

Enjoy! 

About the author: Eva Glyn fell in love with Croatia during her first holiday there in 2019; the incredible scenery, the delicious food, the country’s dramatic twentieth century history all played their part, but most of all it was the friendliness of the people.

One of these was tour director Darko Barisic, who told an incredible story about growing up in underground shelters during the war in the 1990s, and she knew she had to write a book around his experiences. This became her first Croatian novel, The Olive Grove (2021), and she and Darko have become good friends and he continues to advise her on all aspects of Croatia. Her other books are The Missing Pieces of Us (2021), An Island of Secrets (2022) and The Collaborator's Daughter (2023).

Eva delves into Croatian history and everyday life for her inspiration, and visits the country as often as she can, having uncovered so many stories by talking to local people. Travel in general is her passion, followed closely by food and wine, which also find their way between her pages.

Although Welsh by birth she now lives in Cornwall with the man she met and fell in love with almost thirty years ago. She also writes as Jane Cable. She can also be found on Facebook (EvaGlynAuthor), Instagram (evaglynauthor) and Bookbub (authors/eva-glyn).

Rating: 3/5

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (d 373 AD), Theologian

For It Is Only When He Is Alone