The Journal of Contemplative Studies invites book reviews for the following monographs and edited volumes.
Monographs:
- David Michelson. The Library of Paradise: A History of Contemplative Reading in the Monasteries of the Church of the East. Oxford University Press, 2022.
- Julien Decharneux. Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background. De Gruyter Brill, 2023.
- Jeffrey W. Cupchik. The Sound of Vultures’ Wings: The Tibetan Buddhist Chod Ritual Practice of the Female Buddha Machik Labdron. State University of New York Press, 2024.
- Kevin Hart. Contemplation: The Movements of the Soul. Columbia University Press, 2024.
- Ariel Evan Mayse. Laws of the Spirit: Ritual Mysticism, and the Commandments in Early Hasidism. Stanford University Press, 2024.
- Yael Bentor. The Cosmos, the Person, and the Sashana: A Treatise on Tibetan Tantric Meditation. University of Virginia Press, 2024.
- Stephen Phillips. The Metaphysics of Meditation: Sri Aurobindo and Ādi Śaṅkara on the Īśā Upaniṣad. Bloomsbury, 2024.
- Shannon L. Mariotti. Contemplative Democracy: Politics, Practices, and Pedagogy. Oxford University Press, 2025.
- Giacomella Orofino. The Dawn of Physical Yoga: Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality. UniorPress, 2025.
- David M. DiValerio. Mountain Dharma: Meditative Retreat and the Tibetan Ascetic Self. Columbia University Press, 2025.
Edited volumes:
- David Yaden, Yukun Zhao, Kaiping Peng, and Andrew B. Newberg, eds. Rituals and Practices in World Religions. Springer International Publishing, 2020.
- Rita D. Sherma, Purushottama Bilimoria, eds. Contemplative Studies and Hinduism: Meditation, Devotion, Prayer, and Worship. Routledge, 2021.
- Purushottama Bilimoria, Cogen Bohanec, Rita D. Sherma, eds. Contemplative Studies and Jainism: Meditation, Prayer, and Veneration. Routledge, 2024.
The JCS seeks a double review for the following pair of books:
- Jamie Kreiner. The Wandering Mind: What Medieval Monks Tell Us About Distraction. Liveright Publishing, 2023.
- John Cassian. How to Focus: A Monastic Guide for an Age of Distraction, translated and edited by Jamie Kreiner. Princeton University Press, 2024.
JCS book reviews are long-form, scholarly reviews (1,500–2,500 words) of publications related to Contemplative Studies. If you are interested in reviewing any of these or other publications, please contact our book review editor James MacNee (jm2bm@virginia.edu).
Updated August 29, 2025.
