` Masterfully opens up a little explored realm: how the quest for religion & spirituality drives hundreds of millions of Chinese` Pankaj Mishra`A fascinating odyssey.. . a nuanced group portrait of Chinese citizens striving for non-material answers in an era of frenetic materialism` Julia Lovell, Guardian` The reappearance & flourishing of religion is perhaps the most surprising aspect of the dramatic changes in China in recent decades...this is a beautiful, moving & insightful book` Michael Szonyi In no society on Earth was there such a ferocious attempt to eradicate all trace of religion as in modern China. But now, following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is awash with new temples, churches, & mosques
- as well as cults, sects, & politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty
- over what it means to be Chinese, & how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality & is still searching for new guideposts. The Souls of China is the result of some fifteen years of studying & travelling around China. The message of Ian Johnson`s extraordinary book is that China is now experiencing a ` Great Awakening` on a vast scale. Everywhere long-suppressed religions are rebuilding, often in new forms, & reshaping the values & behaviours of entire communities. Ian Johnson is as happy explaining the wonders of the lunar calendar as talking to the yinyang man who ensures proper burials. He visits meditation masters & the charismatic head of a Chengdu church. The result is a rich & funny work that challenges conventional wisdom about China. Xi Jinping, China`s current leader, has put a return to morality & Chinese tradition at the heart of his ideas for his country
- but, Johnson asks, at what point will the rapid spread of belief form an unmanageable challenge to the Party`s monopoly on power?


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In no society on Earth was there such a ferocious attempt to eradicate all trace of religion as in modern China. But now, following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is awash with new temples, churches, & mosques
- as well as cults, sects, & politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty
- over what it means to be Chinese, & how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality & is still searching for new guideposts. The Souls of China is the result of some fifteen years of studying & travelling around China. The message of Ian Johnson`s extraordinary book is that China is now experiencing a ` Great Awakening` on a vast scale. Everywhere long-suppressed religions are rebuilding, often in new forms, & reshaping the values & behaviours of entire communities. Ian Johnson is as happy explaining the wonders of the lunar calendar as talking to the yinyang man who ensures proper burials. He visits meditation masters & the charismatic head of a Chengdu church. The result is a rich & funny work that challenges conventional wisdom about China. Xi Jinping, China`s current leader, has put a return to morality & Chinese tradition at the heart of his ideas for his country
- but, Johnson asks, at what point will the rapid spread of belief form an unmanageable challenge to the Party`s monopoly on power?


...

With an introduction by Richard Hughes Ever since the first furore was created on its publication in 1929, The Sound & the Fury has been considered one of the key novels of this century. Depicting the gradual disintegration of the Compson family through four fractured narratives, The Sound & the Fury explores intense, passionate family relationships where there is no love, only self-centredness. At its heart this is a novel about lovelessness
- `only an idiot has no grief; only a fool would forget it. What else is there in this world sharp enough to stick to your guts?`
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4:30 in the morning, trekking in the open wilderness of the Alps, 2, 900 meters above sea level, storm clouds disappearing behind the nearest mountain, the sun rising- these are the moments when Guerel Sahin captures his best outdoor photographs. It is perhaps precisely because they are often shot in extreme situations that Sahin`s breathtaking mountain panoramas, photographs of mountain lakes, & rugged landscapes are such a social media hit. Thousands follow him on Instagram et al., while a wide audience also knows him as the face of Jack Wolfskin. Now, for the first time, he gathers his most awe-inspiring photographs in one volume, sharing insights into his life & work. Where does this longing for untouched, authentic nature come from? How does it feel to reach a mountain summit by sunrise? What if, contrary to expectations, an entire vista is obscured by clouds & photography becomes impossible? In images & words, the acclaimed star photographer shares his own emotional world in a paradigm of ” Generation Instagram.” Sahin`s book is for those whom the next mountain peak & open nature cannot be close enough- for all hikers, climbers, & outdoor junkies. ...

FROM THE WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2014. In the winter of 1954, in a construction camp in the remote Tasmanian highlands, when Sonja Buloh was three years old & her father was drinking too much, her mother disappeared into a blizzard never to return. Thirty-five years later, Sonja returns to the place of her childhood to visit her drunkard father. The shadows of the past begin to intrude ever more forcefully into the present, changing forever his living death & her ordered life. ...

No sooner does he get to know Ricardo Laverde in a seedy billiard hall in Bogota than Antonio Yammara realises that the ex-pilot has a secret. Antonio`s fascination with his new friend`s life grows until the day Ricardo receives a mysterious, unmarked cassette. Shortly afterwards, he is shot dead on a street corner. Yammara`s investigation into what happened leads back to the early 1960s, marijuana smuggling & a time before the cocaine trade trapped Colombia in a living nightmare. ...

Only once in his life had Sean met a man whose strength matched his own
- & now, again, they were pitted against each other..
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Set in a remote fishing village in Japan, The Sound of Waves is a timeless story of first love. It tells of Shinji, a young fisherman & Hatsue, the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest man in the village. Shinji is entranced at the sight of Hatsue in the twilight on the beach & they fall in love. When the villagers` gossip threatens to divide them, Shinki must risk his life to prove his worth. ...

Three children are spending their summer on a wild Scottish isl&. Fraser is desperate for adventure; Hayley is fed up she`s even there; while Dunny spends his days staring out to sea. He hasn`t said a word in years. But everything changes with the discovery of two bodies on the beach: a whale & a man. Fraser & Hayley see a mystery-adventure to be solved, but Dunny is inconsolable. & in the end, it will take someone who listens to the sea to put it right. ...

In 1950, Katherine Proctor leaves Ireland & her family for Barcelona, determined to become a painter. There she meets Miguel, an anarchist veteran of the Spanish Civil War, & proceeds to build a life with him. But Katherine cannot escape her past, as Michael Graves, a fellow Irish emigre to Spain, forces her to re-examine all her relationships: to her lover, her art & the homeland she only thought she knew. ...