Monthly Archives: December 2011

2011 Cumulative Reading List

Posted on December 31, 2011 by smellincoffee

Earlier in the year I took advantage of blogger’s “pages” function to keep a running list of everything I’ve read, since the blog’s own index tends to become cluttered. Tomorrow the page shall be wiped clean in preparation for 2012, … Continue reading →

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Sharpe’s Enemy

Posted on December 30, 2011 by smellincoffee

Sharpe’s Enemy: Richard Sharpe and the Defense of Portugal, Christmas 1812© 1984 Bernard Cornwell351 pages It’s Christmastime, but winter quarters don’t exist for Richard Sharpe,  our tall, scar-faced soldier-turned-officer with flint in his eyes. Deserters from the Spanish, Portuguese, British, and … Continue reading →

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The Litigators

Posted on December 29, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Litigators© 2011 John Grisham385 pages The Litigators may be unique among John Grisham’s work in that from the start, it’s written as a comedy. The lead character (David Zinc) intoduces himself to the story by having a nervous breakdown … Continue reading →

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11/22/63

Posted on December 29, 2011 by smellincoffee

11/22/63© 2011 Stephen King849 pages What would you do if you could walk through a door and into another world — the land of ago, where it’s always September 1958, where gas is cheap, root beer is creamy, and cars … Continue reading →

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The City in Mind

Posted on December 29, 2011 by smellincoffee

The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition© 2001 James Howard Kunstler272 pages The study of civilization is nothing less than the study of the culture of cities. Humanity has survived on the Earth for hundreds of thousands of … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Books I’d Like to See Under the Tree

Posted on December 20, 2011 by smellincoffee

This week the Broke and the Bookish want to know what books we’d most like to receive for Christmas. There’s virtually no chance of my getting books for Christmas, because despite being from a family of readers,  everyone claims they … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday (20 December)

Posted on December 20, 2011 by smellincoffee

Teaser Tuesday! Happy teasing and Merrie Yuletide/Solstice/Christmas! “It sounds as though you’ve been trying to sew your skin back together,” said Mrs. Weasley with a snort of mirthless laughter, “but even you, Arthur, wouldn’t be that stupid –“  “I fancy a … Continue reading →

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Bicycle Diaries

Posted on December 19, 2011 by smellincoffee

Bicycle Diaries© 2009 David Byrne297 pages Though I’ve never heard of the musician and visual artist David Bryne before, his recollections of time spent in some of the world’s greatest cities had my attention from the start — for he … Continue reading →

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Incognito

Posted on December 19, 2011 by smellincoffee

Incognito: the Secret Lives of the Brain© 2011 David Eagleman304 pages Carl Sagan once described astronomy as a ‘profoundly humbling experience’, for it allows us to appreciate how infinitesimally small Earth — and ourselves –are in relation to the size … Continue reading →

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Redwall

Posted on December 15, 2011 by smellincoffee

Redwall© 1986 Brian Jacques351 pages At the edge of a great wood there stands a tall, red-brick abbey that offers peace, medicine, food, and sanctuary to call creatures in need. Its name is Redwall…and it is run by a quasi-religious … Continue reading →

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