Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Religion for Atheists

Posted on August 18, 2013 by smellincoffee

Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion© 2012 Alain de Botton320 pages What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? … Continue reading →

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A reading on your mind

Posted on August 17, 2013 by smellincoffee

The brain is like a book, the first draft of which is written by the genes during fetal development. No chapters are complete at birth, and some are just rough outlines waiting to be filled in during childhood. But not … Continue reading →

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Basic Economics

Posted on August 14, 2013 by smellincoffee

Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy © 2010 Thomas Sowell 789 pages (4th edition) Basic Economics is a sweeping introduction  to the fundamental principles of market economics and their application to  constituent elements of the local and global economy like … Continue reading →

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The Conservative Mind

Posted on August 5, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot© 1953 Russell Kirk534 pages (7th Edition) For most of human history, change has been a glacier — slow to move, retreating as much as it advances. Since the scientific and industrial revolutions, however, … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: airborne chivalry, unschooling, and cool, cool, considerate men

Posted on August 5, 2013 by smellincoffee

The week’s reads: A Higher Call, Adam Makos | The Unschooling Handbook, Mary Griffith | Hannah Coulter, Wendell Berry | 1632, Eric Flint This week I’ve been reading from two larger works, both challenging: Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind and … Continue reading →

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1632

Posted on August 4, 2013 by smellincoffee

1632© 2000 Eric Flint608 pages Tremble, lords of Germany. A new breed has come into the world. What happens when you throw a small American mining town from the 20th century into the middle of Germany…during the 17th-century’s Thirty Years … Continue reading →

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Hannah Coulter

Posted on August 3, 2013 by smellincoffee

Hannah Coulter© 2005 Wendell Berry190 pages This is the story of my life, that while I lived it weighed upon me and pressed against me and filled all my senses to overflowing and is now like a dream dreamed. […] … Continue reading →

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The Unschooling Handbook

Posted on August 1, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the Whole World As Your Child’s Classroom© 1998 Marry Griffith240 pages What does it mean to educate a child? In the United States, schooling is dominated by standards, by regular exams that force educators … Continue reading →

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A Higher Call

Posted on July 31, 2013 by smellincoffee

A Higher Call© 2012 Adam Makos and Larry Alexander400 pages “You follow the rules of war for you — not your enemy. You fight by rules to keep your humanity.” The Eighth Air Force operating over Germany in the early … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: France, airborne chivalry, and Wendell Berry

Posted on July 29, 2013 by smellincoffee

Dear readers: This past week saw the conclusion of my annual tribute to France after reading An Outline of French History, by Rene Sedillot. The work is translated from French, but bears no weakness on that account: it is as … Continue reading →

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