The first is that something as fragile, as beautiful and so obviously precious as this can get to be so old without losing any of its allure or charm. If the experts are right this intricate work of art is just over 500 years old. It was conceived and crafted while Columbus and his successors were still filling in the blanks on their maps of the new world, Australia remained a terra incognita to the south and the Reformation had not yet shaken the religious and cultural supremacy of the Catholic church in Europe.

The second is that we can identify with the people shown in its pages. The images, mostly of holy men but also of ordinary people going about their daily lives, still touch us directly and testify to the universal nature of the human condition. Having grown up on a farm I was intrigued by an image from the winter months in the calendar showing workers slaughtering a cow in a snow-filled yard. While one stoops to cut the animal's throat another kneels with a saucepan to catch the blood. Nothing was to be wasted. We used to kill pigs this way when I was a boy.

The third is the simplicity and elegance of the pictures themselves. I love the fact the artists have chosen to acknowledge Jesus' Middle Eastern origins by painting him as a dark-haired, olive-skinned "hipsterish" everyman who would not look out of place standing behind a bank counter, driving a cab or sitting next to you at the office. While we know many artists collaborated in the creation of the book it does look as if all the pictures of Christ may have come from the one hand.

The fourth is the detail in the landscapes that serve as backdrops for many of the saints. Often idealised with green and verdant hills, rolling streams and castles and abbeys that may have only existed in dreams, each seems to be a window onto paradise.

The fifth thing I love about this book is that until August I can go to the National Library and, at no charge, be in the presence of a work of art Kerry Stokes paid $15.5 million to call his own. That's got to be the deal of the century.