Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

An Ice Cream War

Posted on March 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

An Ice Cream War© 1982 William Boyd408 pages Although most of the action of the Great War took place in Europe, it spread throughout the world wherever Europe’s nations had allies or colonies. An Ice Cream War is a novel … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A reading from "Confederates in the Attic"

Posted on March 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Awakening the next morning in a $27 room at Salisbury’s EconLodge, I recognized the appeal of dwelling on the South’s past rather than its present. Stepping from my room into the motel parking lot, I gazed out a low-slung horseshoe … Continue reading →

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

I’ll Take My Stand

Posted on March 29, 2014 by smellincoffee

I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition © 1930 various authors. 410 pages  “There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called The Old South…Here in this pretty world Gallantry took its last bow…Here was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Long Loneliness

Posted on March 28, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Long Loneliness© 1952 Dorothy Day288 pages (Harper Collins, 2009(             Dorothy Day came of age amid the Great War, a child of struggling parents whose labors to make ends meet stayed with her even after they had achieved some … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Body Electric

Posted on March 26, 2014 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Cold Equations, Book Three: The Body Electric© 2013 David Mack352 pages Bad news. There’s a planet-sized machine with a companion black hole ominously named “Abaddon” using artificial wormholes to suck entire star systems into its maw.  Worse news: … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

This week at the library: astronauts, cities, and very serious business

Posted on March 24, 2014 by smellincoffee

Dear readers: On last Sunday I raided my university library and got lost on a hike (sometimes the fork less traveled by takes you to an 18-hole golf course where you wander lost for hours until emerging in a subdivision), … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Simple Living Guide

Posted on March 23, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living© 1997 Janet Luhrs444 pages Life distracts easily and passes by without being noticed. The Simple Living Guide is written as an antidote, one which both prompts people to … Continue reading →

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

The Call of the Mall

Posted on March 21, 2014 by smellincoffee

Call of the Mall: the Geography of Shopping© 2005 Paco Underbill240 pages Paco Underhill wants to take a little walk with you through the local mall, to see it with his eyes- the eyes of  a “retail anthropologist” and marketing … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sycamore Row

Posted on March 20, 2014 by smellincoffee

Sycamore Row© 2013 John Grisham 464 pages  I have been less than impressed with John Grisham’s books in recent years; The Racketeer made me suspect Grisham or his publishers were merely milking the success of his name.  Sycamore Row, however, … Continue reading →

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

The Redneck Manifesto

Posted on March 17, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Redneck Manifesto: How Hicks, Hillbillies, and White Trash Became Amerca’s Scapegoats© 1998 Jim Goad272 pages Rednecks of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your bills.   Jim Goad’s The Redneck Manifesto is a raucous mixture of southern … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment