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  Parikrama - A Journey of Deity...

  Yashomatinandana Dasa

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  Parikramā means pilgrimage. This book is a compilation of all the places of Pilgrimage in Europe, Prayag, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Navadvipa, Jagannatha Puri and Vrindavana that I have personally visited. In these specific places are unique and wonderful deity forms of Kṛṣṇa called arca-vigraha. It is to contemplate, remember and deepen the connection to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, whom I worship in the form His arca-vigraha, or bonafide Deity form.  
  The beautiful Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.27.44-45) describe the festival of Deity Worship: 
  “Singing along with others, chanting loudly and dancing, acting out My transcendental pastimes, and hearing and telling stories about Me, the devotee should for some time absorb himself in such festivity. The devotee should offer homage to the Lord with all kinds of hymns and prayers, both from the Purāṇas and from other ancient scriptures, and also from ordinary traditions. Praying, “O Lord, please be merciful to me!” he should fall down flat like a rod to offer his obeisances.” 
  Deity Worship, or Arcana, is a festival for the senses, because one can see the Supreme Lord, touch His Lotus Feet, dress Him, feed Him and offer everything to Him. Especially recommended for the neophyte, Deity Worship goes hand-in-hand with the other eight limbs of devotional service, namely hearing, chanting, remembering, serving His lotus feet, offering prayers, being a servant, making friends and surrendering everything for the pleasure of the Lord. 
  Writing about Kṛṣṇa is also sravanam, kirtanam, Kṛṣṇa Smaranam, and it helps to grasp the unlimited beauty of the Lord. In 2023/24 I already compiled a book about ARCANA, Deity Worship, while being trained as a Vedic priest. This freely available book is meant for the pleasure of my Guru, Śrīla Prabhupāda and everyone who can't make the journey to Śrīdhāma Māyāpur to learn the science of Bhakti-Yoga.

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  How to Choose a Chess Move

  Andrew Soltis

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  International Grandmaster Andrew Soltis brings you a foolproof guide to choosing your best next chess move, every time.
  There are more than 20 moves you can choose from an average position, yet Chess Masters regularly manage to select the best moves – and they do it faster, more confidently and with less calculation than other players.
  This practical guide, in a fully revised and updated edition of a Batsford chess classic, explains the tricks, techniques and shortcuts Masters employ to find the best way forward, at every stage of a game. Drawing on the wisdom of some of the greatest chess players of all time, with analysis from over 180 games, it covers:
  • Employing specific cues to identify good moves.
  • Streamlining analysis of the consequences of moves.
  • Using both objective and highly subjective criteria to find the right move – from any position.
  This invaluable book provides a fascinating insight into the way Chess Masters think, and is a must for all players who want to hone their decision-making skills and cultivate a killer chess instinct.

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  Everything is Washable and Other...

  Sali Hughes

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  ‘Every home should have a copy' MARIAN KEYES 
  How to buy jeans that fit 
  Thirty-seven things to have in your kitchen cupboard 
  Tiny acts for mental health  
  How to support a friend going through IVF 
  Why bad boys are an absolute waste of your time 
  How to cope with working mum guilt 
  This smart guide will help you navigate modern life, enabling you to save money and time. Sali Hughes offers striking good sense on: home; food and drink, fashion; health and beauty; life and finances; friends, relationships and family. 
  From useful, everyday tips such as how to cut your own fringe and how to buy great second-hand clothing, to the less talked about, agonising questions like how to split finances with your partner and how to grieve, Guardian beauty editor Sali Hughes has advice on the big and the small, and everything in between. 
  In this top self-help guide, Hughes, with her best advice, takes you on a journey through the house, touching on aspects of grooming, fitness, cooking, and entertaining. She provides practical solutions to everyday problems, making Everything is Washable and Other Life Lessons a must-have in every household. 
  For fans of Nora Ephron (I Feel Bad About My Neck), Anna Murphy (Destination Fabulous), Dilly Carter (Change Your Space), Kat Farmer (Get Changed), and Alexandra Shulman (Clothes... and other things that matter). 
  HarperCollins 2022

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  A Collie Dog's Tale

  Dorothy M. Mitchell

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  This is the story of Ben the useless Border Collie! Well that's what his first owner Gwyn Thomas thought. The sheep farmer had suffered a mental breakdown at the time. He had lost his wife in a terrible accident, causing him to almost lose his mind! His daughter Belle had also been involved in the tragedy, having her arm so badly injured it had had to be removed. Ben had been her pet, but he was also supposed to be a sheep dog, helping his mum Floss to take care of the large flock. Unfortunately, Ben had been born with a weak back leg, making it almost impossible for him to control the sheep. He was ok on a straight run, but when it came to turning round his leg let him down, causing the poor dog to fall over. It always upset him, but there was nothing he could do to alter the situation try as he might. This heartwarming tale is full of danger and love, it tells of many hair-raising happenings. Read about Ben's mum Floss, and Nellie the Golden Labrador, and Peggy Owen who are all so important in the telling of this lovely tale. They are definitely the loves of this Collie's life! Please read and enjoy the riveting, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, heart warming adventure 'To Lead Us Home.'

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  Local Haunts

  Adam Scovell

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  'In this wonderfully eclectic collection of essays Adam Scovell makes a beguiling guide, leading us along numerous haunted byways of British and European literature, television and cinema.'
  – Edward Parnell, author of Ghostland
  'Scovell's incisive essays, distributed across space-time, come together in this volume to form a cohesive travelogue through the hinterlands of our cultural landscape and the imaginal topographies of great artists, writers and filmmakers. It's an enriching journey that takes regular pitstops in those enchanted zones where a place and its stories are one and the same.'
  – Gareth E. Rees, author of Sunken Lands
  For more than a decade, writer and filmmaker Adam Scovell has been preoccupied by the strange connections between place and culture: curious about the graves of writers, determined to find the locations of iconic films, intrigued by the landscapes that inspired novels.
  From obscure British television to European cinema, the poems of playwrights to the psychogeography of Weird Fiction, Local Haunts brings together a collection of essays, photographs, travelogues, and journalism that explores the connections between art and the landscapes that inspire it. With particular focus on several key figures that emphasised place in their work – including W.G. Sebald, Alan Garner, Agnès Varda, M.R. James, and Marguerite Duras – Scovell examines culture that is haunted by locales, rural and urban.
  Taken from a range of print and digital publications, including work published by Sight & Sound, Literary Hub, Caught By The River, and Little White Lies, as well as Scovell's Celluloid Wicker Man site that brought many ideas surrounding Folk Horror and the Urban Wyrd to prominence in the early 2010s, Local Haunts brings together a decade of work treading the ghostways and the corpse roads of film, literature, and art.

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  The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt -...

  Omar Khalil

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  The emergence of the pharaohs marked the beginning of one of history’s most iconic civilizations. In the early dynastic period around 3100 BCE, Egypt underwent a dramatic transformation as Upper and Lower Egypt were unified under a single ruler, traditionally identified as King Narmer or Menes. This unification not only established centralized rule but also laid the foundations for a dynastic tradition that would endure for millennia. The pharaoh, whose name means “great house,” came to be seen as both a political leader and a divine figure, embodying the will of the gods on earth. 
  As Egypt’s first kings consolidated power, they created administrative systems to manage resources, command armies, and oversee large-scale construction projects. Hierarchical governance emerged, with officials and scribes acting under the pharaoh’s authority to maintain order throughout the land. This new system allowed the pharaohs to centralize authority, control the fertile Nile Valley, and ensure the production and redistribution of grain and other goods, which became critical for sustaining a growing population and for asserting royal dominance. 
  Religious ideology played a key role in solidifying the power of the pharaohs. They were often depicted as the sons of deities, particularly associated with the sun god Ra and the sky god Horus. Temples were erected not just as places of worship, but as instruments of royal propaganda, showcasing the divine legitimacy of the ruler. Rituals, festivals, and monumental inscriptions reinforced the pharaoh’s sacred status and his role in maintaining ma’at, the cosmic order of balance and harmony.

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