Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations

Posted on August 30, 2015 by smellincoffee

Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations© 2013 Jules Evans320 pages  For most, philosophy is a subject that screams impotent academic prattle, the practice of strange individuals who are clearly paid too much to gaze into their navels and pontificate … Continue reading →

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Sword of the Angles

Posted on August 25, 2015 by smellincoffee

Leofric: Sword of the Angles© 2015 S. J. Arnott412 pages The days are dark for Angeln. Surrounded by enemies and increasingly depopulated as her people flee to more peaceful fields in Britain, her king has seen fit to enlist one-time … Continue reading →

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Tevye’s Daughters

Posted on August 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

Tevye and his Seven Daughters© 1894 Sholom Aleichem300 pages Consider the question: is it possible to enjoy a book while having music from a movie it inspired playing incessantly in your head every time a page is turned? Well, more … Continue reading →

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The Devil Knows Latin

Posted on August 22, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition© 1999 E. Christian Kopf327 pages Earlier in the week I read The Devil Knows Latin, which like Who Killed Homer? contends for the value of a classical education to western civilization.  … Continue reading →

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Vanished World

Posted on August 13, 2015 by smellincoffee

A Vanished World: Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Medieval Spain© 2005 Chris Lowney320 pages Vanished World sets medieval  Spain before the reader with the warning; we may be blessed or cursed by emulating its example. The Iberian peninsula is the very perimeter of … Continue reading →

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Cod

Posted on August 10, 2015 by smellincoffee

Cod: A Biography of a Fish that Changed the World© 1997 Mark Kurlansky294 pages In Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky detailed the surprisingly impactful career of a table condiment on human history. The importance of salted fish, both as … Continue reading →

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10 Don’ts On Your Digital Devices

Posted on August 6, 2015 by smellincoffee

10 Don’ts On Your Digital Devices© 2015 Eric Rzesut, Daniel Bachrach180 pages Networked computers are no longer the hulking monsters of the 1970s,  only found in  industrial and military installations. In the second decade of the 21st century, they are … Continue reading →

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Pedal to the Metal

Posted on August 6, 2015 by smellincoffee

Petal to the Metal: The Work Lives of Truckers© 1994 Lawrence Ouelett247 pages ICC is a-checkin’ on down the lineI’m a little overweight, and my logbook’s way behind But nothin’ bothers me tonight, I can dodge all the scales all … Continue reading →

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The Great Cities in History

Posted on July 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Great Cities in History© 2009 ed. John Julius Norwich302 pages             The Great Cities in History takes readers on a literary world tour, traveling through space and time to visit the greatest political bodies in history.  Civilization is nothing … Continue reading →

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The Space Between Us

Posted on July 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Space Between Us© 2007 Thrity Umrigar321 pages “A hard land, yes, full of mountains, but toughness has its own beauty.” p. 200 The Space Between Us is a modern Indian tragedy, told through the plight of two women who guide … Continue reading →

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