Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Securing Democracy

Posted on August 10, 2009 by smellincoffee

Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College © 2001 ed. Gary Gregg II 171 pages “The Framers of the Constitution would have been appalled at the notion that over time the presidency would become an objection pf partisan ambition, … Continue reading →

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Anthropology for Dummies

Posted on August 9, 2009 by smellincoffee

Anthropology for Dummies: From Archaeology to Linguistics — Your Plain-English Guide to the Study of Humankind © 2008 Cameron Smith with Evan T. Davies 360 pages “The human species has found many ways to be human.” – p. 259 I … Continue reading →

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In the Footprints of God

Posted on August 8, 2009 by smellincoffee

In the Footprints of God © 2003 Greg Iles 459 pages The saying Deus ex machina, literally translated as “god from the machine”, refers to a plot device in which a superman power is used to suddenly resolve the conflict … Continue reading →

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Aristotle’s Children

Posted on August 7, 2009 by smellincoffee

Aristotle’s Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and illuminated the Dark Ages © 2003 Richard Rubenstein 368 pages That title is a touch misleading. While Rubenstein will mention Christians, Muslims, and Jews rediscovering ancient wisdom, he only … Continue reading →

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Gold

Posted on August 6, 2009 by smellincoffee

Gold © Nightfall, Inc. / The Isaac Asimov Estate 345 pages “At present, when there are a great many writers attempting to scale the mountainside of science fiction, it must be rather annoying for them to see the peak occupied … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (5/8)

Posted on August 5, 2009 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: Lemony Snicket’s The Carniverous Carnival, The Grim Grotto, The Slippery Slope, The Penultimate Peril, and The End. Walden, Henry David Thoreau To Have or To Be?, Erich Fromm This week I finished Lemony Snicket’s series of unfortunate … Continue reading →

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To Have or To Be?

Posted on August 5, 2009 by smellincoffee

To Have or to Be? © 1976 Erich Fromm 215 pages Society was sick when Erich Fromm penned The Sane Society in the fifties, and it hadn’t gotten any better by the 1970s when he was asked to participate in … Continue reading →

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Walden

Posted on August 4, 2009 by smellincoffee

Walden © 1854 Henry David Thoreau I remember staring up at Walden on my high school library’s bookshelf, wondering if I should check it out. I knew it was famous: it was one of those books I’d heard of in … Continue reading →

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The End (and series comments)

Posted on July 31, 2009 by smellincoffee

The End © 2006 Lemony Snicket 324 pages The End of the Series of Unfortunate Events begins on the open ocean, with the Baudelaires and Count Olaf in the same boat — having escaped a burning hotel and an angry … Continue reading →

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The Penultimate Peril

Posted on July 31, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Penultimate Peril © 2005 Lemony Snicket 353 pages As its name suggests, we are nearing The End. Following clues left for them by VFD members, the children arrive back where the series began — at Briny Beach, where Sunny … Continue reading →

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