Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

No Hill Too High for a Stepper

Posted on November 17, 2014 by smellincoffee

No Hill Too High for a Stepper: Memories of Montevallo, Alabama© 2014 Mike Mahan384 pages No Hill Too High for a Stepper is a work of reminiscence, a country dentist’s recollections of growing up in a small Alabama town during … Continue reading →

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Under the Eagle

Posted on November 10, 2014 by smellincoffee

Under the Eagle© 2000 Simon Scarrow256 pages If given the choice between being attacked by foul-smelling, weirdly-painted Germans, and being attacked by foul-smelling, weirdly-painted Celts, which would you choose? For Centurion Macro, it’s rather obvious: the Germans! At least monitoring … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Master of Rome

Posted on November 8, 2014 by smellincoffee

Master of Rome384 pages© 2011 John Stack     Winning a naval war against the Carthaginians is such a pain in the ol’ gluteus maximus. Invade Africa, threaten their very capital, and what do they do? They break an entire Roman legion … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Player Piano

Posted on November 6, 2014 by smellincoffee

Player Piano© 1952 Kurt Vonnegut352 pages “I’d be in exile now, but everywhere’s the same…”      Not since the roaring twenties was American society so giddily obsessed with newfangled stuff than in the 1950s.  Americans were awash in material prosperity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Ghostly Watch and Wait: A Reading

Posted on November 5, 2014 by smellincoffee

“The most hideous scenes of all, however, were enacted in St. Sophia. Matins were already in progress when the beserk conquerors were heard approaching. Immediately the great bronze doors were closed, but the Turks soon smashed their way in. The … Continue reading →

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Between the Testaments

Posted on October 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Between the Testaments© 1960 D.S. Russell176 pages             The sudden eruption of Christianity from Judaism is inexplicable when considering only the Protestant Bible.  From nowhere burst the Trinity, Satan as a rebel, and an obsession with … Continue reading →

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Gone Girl (No Spoilers)

Posted on October 24, 2014 by smellincoffee

Gone Girl© 2012 Gillian Flynn432 pages Gone Girl is a dark pleasure, a thriller driven by loathsome people whose greatest achievements are an exercise in sociopathy. Like The Sopranos or The Tudors,  the story is a gripping one, utterly captivating and … Continue reading →

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Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist

Posted on October 23, 2014 by smellincoffee

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist© 2011 Brad Pitre240 pages Communion, the eating of bread and wine regarded as the body and blood of Jesus, is the heart of liturgical worship. Its place in Christian history holds such … Continue reading →

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They Thought They Were Free

Posted on October 22, 2014 by smellincoffee

They Thought they Were Free: the Germans, 1933-1945346 pages© 1955 Milton Mayer How could ordinary, decent people abide the Nazis for the span of twelve years — to allow a baby born at the NSDAP’s seizure of power to practically … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Reading on the Eve of Destruction

Posted on October 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

We know no spectacle in human history more instinct with pathos than that of these twelve million men, busy with the cares, hopes and joys of daily life, working in their fields or mills, or seated these summer evenings by … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations, Reviews | Tagged , | 5 Comments