Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Ruled Britannia

Posted on April 13, 2015 by smellincoffee

Ruled Britannia© 2002 Harry Turtledove458 pages 1597. The 16th century is drawing to a close, and with it — seemingly — England’s fortunes. Nine years ago the vast Spanish armada triumphed in delivering its army to English shores, where grim … Continue reading →

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Armada

Posted on April 9, 2015 by smellincoffee

Armada© 2012 John Stack400 pages It is the 16th century, and a crisis looms for England.  Spain, who thanks to the plunder of the New World and its Hapsburg connections, is Europe’s heavyweight and the declared enemy of England, threatens war. Spanish … Continue reading →

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Come Rack! Come Rope!

Posted on April 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

Come Rack! Come Rope! © 1912 Robert Hugh Benson 424 pages Dear Miss Manners:       My father, having long been both a leader of resistance against religious tyranny and an inspiration to his countrymen, has surrendered most abjectly … Continue reading →

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The Inimitable Jeeves

Posted on April 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Inimitable Jeeves© 1923 P.G. Wodehouse225 pages Bertie Wooster is something of an imbecile, but his preference for the quiet life would keep him out of trouble were it not for the fact that his relations and idiot friends are … Continue reading →

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The Chosen

Posted on April 1, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Chosen © 1967 Chaim Potok 288 pages Danny and Reuven are two Orthodox Jewish boys who take one thing very seriously: baseball.  When their rival schools meet on the baseball diamond, religious passion turns play to war, and an … Continue reading →

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Little Women

Posted on April 1, 2015 by smellincoffee

Little Women© 1868 Louisa May Alcott528 pages “But you see, Jo wasn’t a heroine, she was only a struggling human girl like hundreds of others, and she just acted out her nature, being sad, cross, listless, or energetic, as the mood … Continue reading →

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The Adventures of Henry Thoreau

Posted on March 28, 2015 by smellincoffee

 The Adventures of Henry Thoreau: A Young Man’s Unlikely Path to Walden Pond© 2014 Michael Sims384 pages Shortly before retreating for two years to his self-built cabin at Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau accidentally started a forest fire. A simple … Continue reading →

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Born Fighting

Posted on March 25, 2015 by smellincoffee

Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America© 2004 Jim Webb384 pages Born Fighting is a family story of the Scots-Irish, a clan of forgotten men. Beginning with the Celts, author Jim Webb moves swiftly through British history to the establishment … Continue reading →

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The Importance of Being Earnest

Posted on March 19, 2015 by smellincoffee

“The Importance of Being Earnest” © 1895 Oscar Wilde The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility! (Algernon, Act I.)          Algernon and Earnest … Continue reading →

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Selma 1965

Posted on March 18, 2015 by smellincoffee

Selma 1965: the March that Changed the South© 1974, 1985, 2015 Chuck Fager257 pages (2nd edition), Last weekend, my hometown suddenly became host to two presidents, a hundred members of Congress, and enough people to see it swell over ten times … Continue reading →

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