This book is hotter than the hot I expected

This is the most productive handful of bucks I've spent since I discovered Byron Bay's Fiery Food Works Coriander Salsa. And this big, handsome book is hot!

What a joy it is to sample Anne Therese Margis's 'Why IS the Cow Holy?', to flick through idly and taste, or to sit down long with and fully savour -- much like the aforementioned superior chili sauce. Best of all is the double dipping.

Wittily written and beautifully illustrated (it must have taken the author years), the book is also erudite, revealing the author's wide-ranging interests and skills, especially her knowledge of world religions and folklore. You read this book at your own speed and no traffic overtakes you.

This volume will, I'm sure, be more than friendly for people with little knowledge of gods, goddesses, demons, archangels, and all Margis's marvellous pandemoniums and heavens. Still, I'm confident it will also be gobbled up by both casual and serious students of mythology and lore alike. I am one of the former -- an ardent hobbyist rather than a true scholar -- and every page is a delight for me.

'Why IS the Cow Holy?' should find its way into school libraries in all English-speaking countries, and soon. It's a true winner and a stirling example of how Lulu's products sometimes put the conventional publishers' to shame.

Can we see an edition with a drilled hole and strong board cover? I would buy that as well, to hang on the wall like a calendar, year after year, as it is a perpetual calendar, handily not confined to any one particular year. I'm sure guests in my home, and my own family, would enjoy it day by day.

Tagged: books, folklore, mythology, religion, christianity, pagan, neopagan