Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Desert Solitaire

Posted on February 10, 2012 by smellincoffee

Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness© 1968 Edward Abbey269 pages Journey to the expansive southwestern American desert and take it in — the vast stretches of open ground, bounded by mountains and broken by marvelously intriguing rock formations that … Continue reading →

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Famous at Last

Posted on February 7, 2012 by smellincoffee

Today a patron at the library told me that I was famous — and so I walked downstairs to find myself on the corner of the front page of the Selma Times-Journal.  I don’t think I’ve ever posted my picture … Continue reading →

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A Journey to the Center of the Earth

Posted on February 5, 2012 by smellincoffee

A Journey to the Center of the Earth© 1864 Jules Verne291 pages “Is the Master out of his mind?” she asked me.I nodded.“And he’s taking you with him?”I nodded again.“Where?” she asked.I pointed towards the center of the Earth.“Into the … Continue reading →

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Reporter

Posted on January 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

Reporter: Covering Civil Rights…and Wrongs in Dixie© 2006 Alvin Benn388 pages When a young Alvin Benn left the Marine Corps to beome a civilian editor working with United Press International,  he was asked by UPC’s vice president where he wanted … Continue reading →

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Siddhartha

Posted on January 29, 2012 by smellincoffee

Siddhartha© 1922 Hermann Hesse119 pages Once in India there lived a young man whose life was everything one might dream of. Not only did he come from a wealthy family, but people loved him for who he was; a handsome, … Continue reading →

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Death from the Skies!

Posted on January 29, 2012 by smellincoffee

Death from the Skies! These are the Ways the World Will End…© 2008 Phil Plait326 pages By anyone’s standards, 2011 was a banner year for disasters, with Earth’s ful inventory of catastrophes on display. Flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, hurricanes, … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (25 January)

Posted on January 25, 2012 by smellincoffee

Pending Reviews: How the Mind Works, Steven Pinker;  If Walls Could Talk, Lucy WorsleyCurrently Reading: Death from the Skies!, Phil Plait; The Fabric of the Cosmos, Brian GreenePotentials: Sharpe’s Regiment, Bernard Cornwell =============T=H=E===W=E=E=K===I=N===Q=U=O=T=E=S=========== One Victorian cartoon shows a desperate father … Continue reading →

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Choices of One

Posted on January 23, 2012 by smellincoffee

Star Wars: Choices of One© 2011 Timothy Zahn366 pages The choices of one shape the futures of all. (Jedi saying) Timothy Zahn’s Allegiance (2006) introduced us to the Hand of Judgment, a band of “rogue stormtroopers” — deserters turned do-good … Continue reading →

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At Home

Posted on January 21, 2012 by smellincoffee

At Home: A Short History of Private Life© 2011 Bill Bryson512 pages How much history and how many laughs can you put under one roof? Take a tour of Bill Bryson’s old English home with him and find out.  At … Continue reading →

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The Oceans

Posted on January 21, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Oceans© 2000 Ellen J. Prager with Sylvia A. Earle314 pages Seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, constituting a vast and largely unknown world of its own — vitally important to ours, but scarcely explored and … Continue reading →

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