Art Study

In the chaos of daily life, many Christians long for the time and mental clarity to reflect on scripture, to worship, and to pray. The Tarot can become an unexpected tool in this journey, inviting us to pause, contemplate, and find insight and wisdom in our walk. In The Contemplative Tarot, author Brittany Muller draws deeply on Christian tradition and theology to create a tarot practice built on spiritual reflection, prayer, and worship.

Recently named the #1 piece of 20th century literature, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is more than a great story. It's a much-needed reminder that, like J.R.R. Tolkien's hobbits, Christians are all on an epic quest. In examining the Christian themes in the trilogy, authors Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware find that truth and fiction are not as far apart as they seem.

In this engaging and deeply informed audiobook, Stephen Knight looks at the different manifestations of Robin Hood at different times and places in a mythic biography with a thematic structure. The best way to get at the essence of the Robin Hood myth, Knight believes, is in terms not of chronological and generic progression but of the purposes served by heroes.

A follow-up to the bestseller Sigil Witchery, Visual Alchemy takes a deeper look at the extraordinary connection between art and magic. Laura Tempest Zakroff expands on her signature sigil witchery method, an accessible and intuitive approach to crafting effective sigils. She covers numerous topics, including how to connect to the artist within, draw inspiration to you, and easily incorporate art into your ritual practice. Featuring more than fifty shared magic sigils, this book empowers you to put aside fear and unleash the full potential of your imagination.

Widely recognized as the finest definition of existentialist philosophy ever written, this book introduced existentialism to America in 1958. Irrational Man begins by discussing the roots of existentialism in the art and thinking of Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Baudelaire, Blake, Dostoevski, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Picasso, Joyce, and Beckett. The heart of the book explains the views of the foremost existentialists - Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. The result is a marvelously lucid definition of existentialism and a brilliant interpretation of its impact.

The multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. This is a full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Universally accepted as Shakespeare's finest play, we peel back the layers of Hamlet to discover how and why it deserves such a place of honour in world literature.

IELTS is the most popular English exam in the world today. It is also the ideal way to perfect the English language from a basic to advanced level. In this series, you will be escorted through the course with Richard Aspinall, a teacher who has a proven track record in teaching the IELTS curriculum successfully all over the world, he will take you through this "easy to follow" step-by-step guide, in which you will be represented by a student and you will learn everything you need to know to improve your English.

A confession and manifesto from a senior leader in the emerging church movement, A Generous Orthodoxy calls for a radical, Christ-centered orthodoxy of faith and practice in a missional, generous spirit. Brian McLaren argues for a post-liberal, post-conservative, post-protestant convergence, which will stimulate lively interest and global conversation among thoughtful Christians from all traditions.

Why is it that some things explode online, while others linger in anonymity for years? Why do some things hook our attention, while others flop? Is there a pattern behind how social media captivates us? Viral fame is not just a coincidence. There is an easy-to-learn strategy behind it. Whether your dream is YouTube stardom, or just creating opportunity with a personal brand, The Art of Going Viral is your blueprint for digital success. Stand out, get noticed, and captivate online.

The Four Loves (1960) by C. S. Lewis explores the nature of love from a Christian theological perspective. Making a careful distinction between “like” and “love", the author first defines the terms. The discussion is based on four Greek words for love: storgē, philía, éros, and agápe. These four types are friendship, affection, erotic love, and charity, or the love of God. Lewis defines each of these types of love and how they affect our lives. Lewis considers affection, friendship, and eros as natural loves, while charity is supernatural since it is closest to the form of love which is defined by the expression “God is love”. Lewis examines each of the four loves in detail, including their benefits and potential dangers.

"Why do conservatives hate comedy? Why is there no right-wing Jon Stewart?" These sorts of questions launch a million tweets, a thousand op-eds, and more than a few scholarly analyses. That's Not Funny argues that it is both an intellectual and politically strategic mistake to assume that comedy has a liberal bias. Matt Sienkiewicz and Nick Marx take listeners—particularly self-described liberals—on a tour of contemporary conservative comedy and the "right-wing comedy complex."

For seven decades Katharine Hepburn played a leading role in the popular culture of the 20th century, reigning as an admired actress, a beloved movie star, and a treasured icon of the modern American woman. She also remained one of the most private of all the public figures of her time.

By early 1943, it had become increasingly clear the Allies would win the Second World War. Christian intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic thought the soon-to-be-victorious nations were not culturally or morally prepared for their success. These Christian intellectuals - Jacques Maritain, T. S. Eliot, C. S. Lewis, W. H. Auden, and Simone Weil, among others - sought both to articulate a sober and reflective critique of their own culture and to outline a plan for the moral and spiritual regeneration of their countries in the post-war world.

Marshall McLuhan was the greatest prophet of the digital age. In the 1960s, McLuhan, a Canadian literary theorist, turned his attention toward the budding and befuddling electronic age. Like most prophets, McLuhan became one through a fascination with God. Prophets divine their wisdom from a source, and Digital Communion shows that McLuhan's was his own Catholic faith. In other words, the greatest prophet of the digital age was an ardent Christian. A reconsideration of his vision can change the way we view the online world.

From prehistoric Mexico to modern Istanbul, Mary Beard looks beyond the familiar canon of Western imagery to explore the history of art, religion, and humanity. Conceived as an accompaniment to How Do We Look and The Eye of Faith, the famed Civilizations shows on PBS, renowned classicist Mary Beard has created this elegant volume on how we have looked at art.

A fearless deep dive into the 2020 election from former MSNBC “Road Warrior” and now NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitali, who covered the campaign trail every step of the way—investigating the gendered double standards placed on women presidential candidates of that cycle and those who came before, and what it will take for a woman to finally break the glass ceiling and win the White House.

The Cost of Living explores the subtle erasure of women's names, spaces, and stories in the modern everyday. In this "living autobiography" infused with warmth and humor, Deborah Levy critiques the roles that society assigns to us and reflects on the politics of breaking with the usual gendered rituals. What does it cost a woman to unsettle old boundaries and collapse the social hierarchies that make her a minor character in a world not arranged to her advantage?

The never-before-published edition of Francis Ford Coppola's notes and annotations on The Godfather novel by Mario Puzo reveals the story behind one of the world's most iconic films. In this one-of-a-kind audio production, Coppola provides listeners with unfiltered access to his creative process in his own voice. Featuring notes from eight scenes - handpicked by Coppola himself - The Godfather Notebook is a must-listen for fans of the 1972 film.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the landscape of television began an unprecedented transformation. While the networks continued to chase the lowest common denominator, a wave of new shows, first on premium cable channels like HBO and then basic cable networks like FX and AMC, dramatically stretched television’s narrative inventiveness, emotional resonance, and artistic ambition. Just as the Big Novel had in the 1960s and the subversive films of New Hollywood had in 1970s, television shows became the place to go to see stories of the triumph and betrayals of the American Dream.

The goodness of God is waiting for us to taste and see. The aroma of Christ surrounds us. In Sensing God, musician and theologian Joel Clarkson points us to a life of faith that is enchanted by the glory of divine craftsmanship, inviting us to practice a faith that is true, good, pure, and altogether lovely.