Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

This Week at the Library (28 January)

Posted on September 28, 2011 by smellincoffee

This past week has mostly been about The Reformation, which I am 2/3rds of the way through. It started out strong (The Age of Faith, part 2), but boy — hundreds of pages about fanatics screaming at and killing each … Continue reading →

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Discourses and Enchiridon

Posted on September 27, 2011 by smellincoffee

Discourses and Enchiridon, Epictetus© 1967, translated W.A. Oldfather Stoicism might be introduced to the lay reader as Buddhism for the west. Students of Stoicism often take inspiration from Buddhist philosophy, given the common emphasis on mindfulness and freedom from desire. … Continue reading →

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Marcus Aurelius

Posted on September 27, 2011 by smellincoffee

Marcus Aurelius: A Life© 2009 Frank McLynn684 pages Few figures in history can compare to Marcus Aurelius, and fewer still favorably.  Adopted into the royal family, this last of the Five Good Emperors has sat in silent judgment of politicians … Continue reading →

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Sharpe’s Escape

Posted on September 24, 2011 by smellincoffee

Sharpe’s Escape© 2004 Bernard Cornwell357 pages “Lieutenant Slingsby,” the Colonel said, “tells me that you insulted him. That you invited him to duel. That you called him illegitimate. That you swore at him.”    Sharpe cast his mind back to … Continue reading →

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The Red Pyramid

Posted on September 24, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Red Pyramid© 2010 Rick Riordian516 pages For centuries the gods of Egypt have been removed from the Earth, imprisoned by human magicians in an attempt to put an end to their destructive inter-deity conflicts. But shortly before Christmas, in … Continue reading →

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Dhammapada

Posted on September 21, 2011 by smellincoffee

Dhammapada, Annotated and Explained© 2001 translated Max Müller, annotated by Jack Macguire129 pages Yesterday I drove to the state capital, Montgomery, and while there visited the main branch library. I noticed they offered several versions of the Dhammapada, one of … Continue reading →

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Tales of Beedle the Bard

Posted on September 19, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Tales of Beedle the Bard© 2007 J.K. Rowling111 pages “Translated from the ancient runes by Hermione Granger. Commentary by Albus Dumbledore Introduction, Notes, and Illustrations by J.K. Rowling” If the end of the Harry Potter story this summer has … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (14 September)

Posted on September 14, 2011 by smellincoffee

This week at the library… I’ll be finishing a biography of Marcus Aurelius, as well as the Discourses and Handbook of Epictetus. As it turns out, reading them together gives me a complementary experience, as Epictetus’s philosophy inspired Marcus’ own, … Continue reading →

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Sharpe’s Gold

Posted on September 14, 2011 by smellincoffee

Sharpe’s Gold© 1981 Bernard Cornwell256 pages Napoleon triumphant! Spain is lost, defended only by partisans fighting a ‘little war’ — and Britain’s peninsular foothold in Portugal is teetering on the edge of an abyss: the army is right out of … Continue reading →

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The Renaissance

Posted on September 12, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Renaissance:  A History of Civilization in Italy from 1304-1576 A.D.© 1953 Will Durant776 pages I assumed the Renaissance would be a high point of this series for me, second only to The Age of Reason. After a thousand years … Continue reading →

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