Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Daily Life in Anglo-Saxon England

Posted on March 13, 2014 by smellincoffee

Daily Life in Anglo-Saxon England© 2008 Sally Crawford224 pages             Who were the Anglo-Saxons? For a people conquered in 1066, their culture seems strangely dominant;  the land the Normans conquered remains England, not Greater Normandy, and Norman French is only … Continue reading →

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On Desire

Posted on March 13, 2014 by smellincoffee

On Desire: Why We Want What We Want© 2007 William Irvine337 pages Why do we want what we want? William Irvine’s On Desire examines the nature of desire, exploring first how profoundly it affects our lives, then surveying psychological inquiries … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: Chimpanzees, El Niño, and simple living

Posted on March 13, 2014 by smellincoffee

This week at the library I’ve been working through a lull, having finished my last Stack o’ Books and having not yet gotten another one. My plans to fetch said stack were modified after I did a twelve-mile hike through … Continue reading →

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dirt

Posted on March 7, 2014 by smellincoffee

dirt: the erosion of civilizations© 2007 Peter R. Montgomery295 pages             Civilizations rise or crumble on the soundness of their dirt, says David Montgomery. The life of a people is tied to the life of its soil, in its ability … Continue reading →

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Look Homeward, America!

Posted on March 6, 2014 by smellincoffee

Look Homeward, America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front-Porch Anarchists© 2006 Bill Kauffman250 pages “The Little Way. That is what we seek. That — contrary to the ethic of personal parking spaces, of the dollar-sign god — is the … Continue reading →

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A Place on Earth

Posted on March 5, 2014 by smellincoffee

A Place on Earth320 pages© 1983 Wendell Berry “I ain’t saying I don’t believe there’s a Heaven. I surely hope there is. That surely would pay off a lot of mortgages. But I do say it ain’t easy to believe. … Continue reading →

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Voyage

Posted on March 4, 2014 by smellincoffee

Voyage: A Novel of What Might have Been© 1996 Stephen Baxter511 pages             On November 22nd, 1963, John F. Kennedy narrowly escaped assassination while touring Dallas, Texas. A gunman’s assault left his wife Jacqueline dead and the president hospitalized, but … Continue reading →

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Excerpts from "A Place on Earth"

Posted on February 27, 2014 by smellincoffee

From Wendell Berry’s A Place on Earth,  the story of a great flood and a terrible war. In the preacher’s words the Heavenly City has risen up, surmounting their lives, the house, the town — the final hope, in which … Continue reading →

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Look Away!

Posted on February 26, 2014 by smellincoffee

Look Away! A History of the Confederate States of America© 2003 William C. Davis496 pages While most Civil War histories concentrate on military campaigns, Look Away! chronicles the history of the Confederacy from a political and social perspective. Its attempt … Continue reading →

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What’s Wrong with the World

Posted on February 20, 2014 by smellincoffee

What’s Wrong with the World© 1910 G. K. Chesterton200 pages What’s wrong with the world? Too many people are proposing answers to the wrong questions.  What’s Wrong is a curious collection of thoughts, voiced at the turn of the 20thcentury, … Continue reading →

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