Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Captain Horatio Hornblower

Posted on April 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

Captain Horatio Hornblower© 1937 C.S. Forester504 pages Captain Picard: Just imagine what it was like. No engines, no computers… Just the wind…and the sea… and the stars to guide you. Commander Riker: Bad food, brutal discipline… no women. (Star Trek: … Continue reading →

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Strength to Love

Posted on March 30, 2010 by smellincoffee

Strength to Love© 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr158 pages         Strength to Love is a collection of some fourteen sermons written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,  with an “epistle” to American Christians written by King in … Continue reading →

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Infernova

Posted on March 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

Infernova: An Infidel Reinvents Dante’s Hell© S.A. Alenthony220 pages Go to Hell. Go there with Mark Twain. In fact, let him give you a tour of Hell. It’s actually the kind of place he approves of, because in an ironic twist, … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (25/3)

Posted on March 25, 2010 by smellincoffee

This week at the library… Letter from the Birmingham Jail, written by Martin Luther King Jr, is a response to King’s critics in which King explains the necessity and appropriateness of civil disobedience in the Civil Rights movement. The letter … Continue reading →

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Lost Discoveries

Posted on March 24, 2010 by smellincoffee

Lost Discoveries: the Ancient Roots of Modern Science — from the Babylonians to the Maya© 2002 Dick Teresi453 I spotted this while collecting books for a paper on the emergence of Renaissance science, and it looked so interesting that I … Continue reading →

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The Road to Wigan Pier

Posted on March 21, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Road to Wigan Pier© 1937 George Orwell191 pages, including forward for members of the Left Book Club.  (My own copy: I adore tattered old paperbacks.)        I read this primarily for a European history class taught by … Continue reading →

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Conspirata

Posted on March 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

Conspirata© 2009/2010 Robert Harris340 pages “Until this moment, gentlemen, I did not realize the extent to which there were two conspiracies I had to fight. There was the conspiracy which I destroyed, and then there was the conspiracy behind that … Continue reading →

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Letter from the Birmingham Jail

Posted on March 17, 2010 by smellincoffee

Letter from the Birmingham Jail © 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. 35 pages Don’t say it can’t be done: The battle’s just begun Take it from Doctor King, You too can learn to sing, So — drop the gun! (Pete … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (17/3)

Posted on March 17, 2010 by smellincoffee

This week at the library: It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes! proved a breezy but interesting read, containing some forty essays on the world above — the sky and both the celestial and earth-bound bodies that inhabit it. The essays cover not … Continue reading →

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Joan of Arc: the Legend and the Reality

Posted on March 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Joan of Arc: the Legend and the Reality© 1959 Frances Gies306 pages Few historical characters, and no women, are more famous than Joan of Arc. Her name and story are known throughout the world. In the Middle Ages there were … Continue reading →

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