Monthly Archives: February 2012

Teaser Tuesday (28 February)

Posted on February 27, 2012 by smellincoffee

The last teaser of February? Time flies! “Anthropologically speaking it was only yesterday that men ceased to club and ravish on the spot any female that attracted their passing whim.”“Yes, I suppose, Doctor”, I said, “Life must have been one … Continue reading →

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Sharpe’s Regiment

Posted on February 25, 2012 by smellincoffee

Sharpe’s Regiment©  1986 Bernard Cornwell416 pages The year is 1813, and the Allied army stands upon the Pyrenees awaiting the invasion of France and victory. Napoleon’s empire is shrinking: he once stood as master of Europe, but Wellington’s army and … Continue reading →

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The Age of Louis XIV

Posted on February 23, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Age of Louis XIV© 1963 Will and Ariel Durant816 pages To read Will Durant is to feast from the smorgasbord of human history. Before the reader lies the full scope of human concern, frailty, and accomplishment, like so many … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (22 February)

Posted on February 22, 2012 by smellincoffee

Pending Reviews: The Age of Louis XIV, Will Durant; Sharpe’s Regiment, Bernard Cornwell; If Walls Could Talk, Lucy Worsley. The latter is badly overdue, but I’ve been waiting until the publishment date drew closer. I also didn’t want to post … Continue reading →

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Lucifer’s Hammer

Posted on February 15, 2012 by smellincoffee

Lucifer’s Hammer© 1977 Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle629 pages The chances that Lucifer’s Hammer would hit Earth head-on were one in a million. Then one in a thousand. Then one in a hundred. And then… The eeriest part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Asphalt Nation

Posted on February 14, 2012 by smellincoffee

Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back© 1997 Jane Holtz Kay418 pages Lord, Mister Ford, I just wish you could see what your simple horseless carriage has become! It seems your contribution … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday (14 Valentine)

Posted on February 14, 2012 by smellincoffee

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly event in which participants share a tidbit from their current reads; play along at Should Be Reading. It did something to the watchers. The power of the thundering rocket, the knowledge that had gone into … Continue reading →

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The Ingredients

Posted on February 11, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Ingredients: A Guided Tour of the Elements© Phillip Ball 2002216 pages There’s antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium, And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium […] (Tom Lehrer, “The Elements”). Chemistry is not an arcane subject solely practiced in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Desert Solitaire

Posted on February 10, 2012 by smellincoffee

Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness© 1968 Edward Abbey269 pages Journey to the expansive southwestern American desert and take it in — the vast stretches of open ground, bounded by mountains and broken by marvelously intriguing rock formations that … Continue reading →

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Famous at Last

Posted on February 7, 2012 by smellincoffee

Today a patron at the library told me that I was famous — and so I walked downstairs to find myself on the corner of the front page of the Selma Times-Journal.  I don’t think I’ve ever posted my picture … Continue reading →

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