What do you call a book that brings together a recipe for Coca Cola Roast, the elegant observations of ancient Japanese writer Shonagon, the scripts for numerous documentaries and a very convincing argument for vegetarianism? Oh, and a love story. And an anti-love story. I think that's about it.

Jostein Gaarder hit bestseller lists from Berlin to Brisbane in the early 1990s with Sophie’s World (1991) – essentially a primer on philosophy wrapped in a novel. Gaarder, a former philosophy lecturer in Bergen, Norway, wrote Sophie’s World as a way to introduce philosophy to Norwegian teenagers. He says he was taken aback by the novel’s worldwide success. But this has only served to spur him to write more focused works addressing the ‘big questions’: where do we come from? Why are we here?

One might have thought that Paul Barnett had sorted out New Testament history aleady. But the Preface to the new book reveals a ‘regret’: ...after a lifetime of attempting to do so by other means, I am now at last beginning to grasp the message and meaning of the New Testament (p11). Clearly we are invited to look for something fresh and profound that has emerged in this comprehensive study, something not fully grasped in its predecessors.

Diana Williams, a former US corporate high flyer, seems an unlikely partner for an Australian ‘Bush Aboriginal’. Yet in 1984 Diana and (Uncle) Ron Williams married, living in and out of tents, in the desert, creek beds and anywhere they could help meet the needs of Indigenous people.

John Spong’s autobiography has been published to coincide with his retirement as Bishop of Newark. It is hardly surprising then that this book should read like a defence of his ecclesiastical career. It is dominated by Spong’s conviction that his leadership has provided the direction which will allow the Christian church to survive into the next millennium.

Harrys real-world fans say he has done the impossible - got young boys around the world reading again. They say he is noble, courageous, funny, a champion of the underdog, promoter of goodness, and a perfect representative of the world of 21st century adolescents. Harrys detractors, many of whom are Christians, say that he is quietly promoting witchcraft, is disrespectful to adults, doesnt forgive others, and is becoming too strong an influence on young minds.

Living a life which truly reflects the faith we profess is no new problem. We all relate to the Apostle Paul when he says… I have the desire to do good, but I cannot carry it out… the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing… when I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (Romans 7: 14 ff.) No doubt the problem seems even more pronounced for paid church workers and their families who feel constantly watched and assessed by parishioners and congregation members.

In the turmoil of the abortion debate, the to and fro between pro-choice and pro-life there are voices that are rarely heard. They are the women who have undergone abortions and have been horribly scarred emotionally and even physically as a result.