Author Archives: smellincoffee

Unknown's avatar

About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger

Posted on February 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering © 2005 David Gregory 100 pages  When  Nick Cominsky received a personalized dinner invitation from Jesus of Nazareth, self-proclaimed Deity Extraordinaire, he was more than a little dubious. Obviously, his friends … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

This Week at the Library (18/2)

Posted on February 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

I haven’t done a review post in nearly a month, as I’ve been toying with the idea of dropping the weekly summaries. When I changed from a weekly to an individual format over a year ago, I maintained the weekly … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged | 2 Comments

I Am Spock

Posted on February 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

I Am Spock© 1995 Leonard Nimoy356 pages Leonard Nimoy’s autobiographical I Am Spock has been one of my favorite books for years. I purchased it perhaps over a decade ago: it’s a very battered paperback now, well-thumbed. I revisted it … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Emperor’s Handbook

Posted on February 17, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Emperor’s Handbook: A New Translation of the Meditations© 2002, translated by David and Scot Hicks.160 pages I first read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations in 2007 and have returned to selected passages from the book time and again. The good emperor … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Teaser Tuesday (16-2)

Posted on February 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Teaser Tuesday time once more, from Should be Reading.  I complained to Houghton Mifflin that a reviewer in  discussing my book The Neutrino (my 70th) spoke of my “factory production”. I said that made it sound as though I had … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 5 Comments

A Guide to the Good Life

Posted on February 14, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Guide to the Good Life: the Ancient Art of Stoic Joy© 2009 William Irvine314 pages Last year when I began to examine Stoicism in depth, having found strength in the works of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, I read or … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A Power Governments Cannot Suppress

Posted on February 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Power Governments Cannot Suppress © 2007 Howard Zinn 293 pages This year I have become convincted that democracy is not something that happens at the ballot-box but on the streets. It consists in mass movements forcing the institutions that … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

Posted on February 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Tyrannosaurus Prescription and 100 Other Essays© 1989 Isaac Asimov323  pages I take for granted that I will enjoy a work by Asimov, particularly a collection of essays, but this made for a particularly enjoyable read. The Tyrannosaurus Prescription covers … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Teaser Tuesday

Posted on February 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

Via Should be Reading. A reader once wrote: “If violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, why is there so much violence in the world?”And I replied, “Because there is so much incompetence.” – p. 206-207. – Isaac Asimov, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | Leave a comment

Storm of Steel

Posted on February 8, 2010 by smellincoffee

Storm of Steel © 1921 Ernst Jünger 319 pages Storm of Steel is the oddest war memoir I have ever read. I’ve read a few of them in hopes of understanding various motivations for young men marching off to war, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment