John Lennon: The Life By Philip Norman HarperCollins, 853 pp, $35 A fine biography shows how postwar Liverpool was the ideal incubator for a musical force.

WHAT David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries WHERE The Auspicious Arts Incubator, 166 Sturt Street, Southbank WHEN Today, 7.30pm, 9.30pm; tomorrow, 2pm, 7.30pm TICKETS $28, $24, 96390096, www.easytix.com.au

THE SANTALAND DIARIES Presented by John Paxinos & Associates. At Auspicious Arts Incubator, 166 Sturt St, Southbank. Until Dec 24. $28/$24. Tel: 9639 0096

THEATRE REVIEW: THE SANTALAND DIARIES By David Sedaris Auspicious Arts Incubator, 166 Sturt Street, Soutbank, until December 21. Running time: 60 minutes. www.santaland.com.au

ONE OF the first things a visitor sees when entering Sydney Boys' High School's main building is a display of the insignia of its Great Public Schools Association rivals, set out on each side of a facing archway. The school, the only government school with GPS affiliation, takes great pride..read more