Everyone, unfortunately, will see his or herself described in the pages of this booklet, as all of our sins are traceable to these seven roots: Pride, Covetousness (Avarice), Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. The Seven Capital Sins explains the true nature, degrees, acts and relationships between these seven vices, and it gives the remedies and safeguards against them.

A high-stakes game of wealth, power, and international intrigue

“Conventional wisdom,” says Roger Housden, “tells us that nobody goes to heaven for having a good time.” Seven Sins for a Life Worth Living, then, is a refreshing, liberating, and decidedly welcome dose of unconventional wisdom that awakens us to the simple delights and transformative joys of the world around us. With elegance, gentle humor, and remarkable openness, Housden takes us along as he recalls his personal journey toward an appreciation of what he calls the Seven Pleasures: The Pleasure of All Five Senses, The Pleasure of Being Foolish,The Pleasure of Not Knowing, The Pleasure of Not Being Perfect, The Pleasure of Doing Nothing Useful, The Pleasure of Being Ordinary, and The Pleasure of Coming Home. Housden writes, for instance, of submitting to the ultimate folly of falling in love, of celebrating our imperfections, of coming to understand the virtues of the Slow Food movement while enjoying an all-afternoon lunch in a small French village, and of discovering in a Saharan cave that, however extraordinary our surroundings, “we are human, a glorious nothing much to speak of”—and learning to be at peace with the notion. Such pleasures may be suspect in today’s achievement-driven, tightly scheduled, relent-lessly self-improving, conspicuously consumptive culture, but surely the greater sin lies in letting them slip away moment by precious moment. “The purpose of this book,” says Housden, “is to inspire you to lighten up and fall in love with the world and all that is in it.” Reading it is a pleasure indeed. “When you die,God and the angels will hold you accountablefor all the pleasures you were allowed in life that you denied yourself.” Roger Housden, author of the bestselling Ten Poems series, presents a joyously affirmative, warmly personal, and spiritually illuminating meditation on the virtues of opening ourselves up to pleasures like being foolish, not being perfect, and doing nothing useful, the pleasure of not knowing, and even (would you believe it?) the pleasure of being ordinary.

We live with the idea of sin every day – from the greatest transgressions to the tiniest misdemeanours. But surely the concept was invented for an age where divine retribution and eternal punishment dominated the collective consciousness? In this lively collection of new writing, Nicola Barker, Dylan Evans, David Flusfeder, Todd McEwen, Martin Rowson, John Sutherland and Ali Smith go head to head with the capital vices to explore what we really mean when we talk about sin. The resulting mixture of erudite and playful essays and startling new fiction might not make you a better person, but it will certainly give you pause for thought when you’ re next laying the law down or – heaven forfend – about to do something beyond the pale yourself.

In a world on the brink of war, love is the deadliest battle. Rogue assassins Eva Marteinn and Ari Westergaard have escaped the restrictive world of the Commonwealth, but the battle is far from over. Eva is the formidable weapon the Commonwealth wants, and they’ll stop at nothing to get her back. Plus Eva is keeping a devastating secret from Ari: the victory against the Commonwealth the two have been fighting for is doomed to break their hearts. For years, Ari has seen Eva as his temptation and his secret, his virtue and his sin. Now that they’re finally free, he wants what he’s been craving—to start a new life with her. Only one thing stands in his way: her ability to control the new powers that have grown even stronger as she nears the rebel stronghold. When Ari and Eva join the rebellion, Ari must find a place in a new society that sees him as nothing more than a Commonwealth murderer. Meanwhile Eva faces an impossible decision. She can be the face of a revolution and cast aside the boy she loves, or she can abandon everything she’s fought for to stand by his side. Can Eva find a way to fight for freedom without sacrificing her heart? Author's Note If you can’t resist fierce girls with swords, infuriating guys with hearts of gold, a plot that twists and turns when you least expect it, and star-crossed lovers who fight to the death by each other’s sides, then this is the book for you. WINNER of the 2022 Silver IPPY Award in Young Adult Fiction FINALIST for the 2020 Foreword INDIES Award in Young Adult Fiction WINNER of the 2022 Gold Moonbeam Award for Best Book Series With the propulsive action and addictive romance of Shatter Me, the high-stakes twists-and-turns of The Hunger Games, and the fantastical world-building of From Blood and Ash, this second book in the award-winning, slow-burn, romantic dystopian fantasy Seven Sins series will pull you in, break your heart, and never let you go. “This is easily one of the best books I've ever read. Siege of the Seven Sins has it all—heart-stopping action, breathtaking characters, high stakes, and a thrilling story, all wrapped up in beautiful prose.”— Madeline Dyer, SIBA-award-winning author of the Untamed series “Thrilling, heart-wrenching, and blood-pumping.”— Karissa Laurel, author of the Stormbourne Chronicles “A series everyone should know about.”—M. Lynn, USA Today bestselling author of The Queens of the Fae series

This volume looks at the history of the idea of sin as it has influenced and shaped Western culture. Emphasis is placed on an inter- and cross-disciplinary approach. The word "sin" has come to transcend the theological and enter the common parlance in both media and society. This book is an examination of that idea. It discusses how the concept of sin evolved through the Middle Ages and into the modern era. From religion to politics and from the bedroom to the boardroom, a more complete understanding of the history of sin will assist the modern reader in a wide variety of fields. This book builds on the work of Gregory the Great to explain each of the so-called seven deadly sins: pride, lust, anger, gluttony, avarice, envy, and sloth. Each chapter provides a close look at the origins and history of that individual sin, concluding with a section on contemporary applications of the idea and a case study. The central argument is that the concept of sin has been integral to the development of Western society, including not only political and religious history but also in extensive aspects of popular culture in the twenty-first century. The broader but significant issue of intention versus action permeates the study.

Sin, like death, is an unassailable fact of life. It is also one of the last great taboos for public debate. In this compelling book, the Henry Fairlie shows that it is possible and necessary to talk about sin in ways that enrich our societies and our personal lives. Fairlie relates these ancient sins to the central issues of contemporary life: liberal vs. conservative politics, discrimination, pornography, abortion, the vistas of modern science, and especially the pop-psychologies that confirm the narcissism of our age.