Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Imperium

Posted on February 27, 2009 by smellincoffee

Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome© Robert Harris 2006305 pages I would not have expected to find a novel set in ancient Rome, nor would I expect the author of a mystery novel set in a world where Nazi Germany … Continue reading →

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Ten Things

Posted on February 27, 2009 by smellincoffee

Ten Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You (But Can’t Because He Needs the Job!)© Rev. Oliver “Buzz” Thomas, 2007108 pages.I do not subscribe to the Christian faith, but I’ve heard of this book through one podcast or another and … Continue reading →

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The Gifts of the Jews

Posted on February 25, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everybody Thinks and Feels© Thomas Cahill293 pages This week I continued in Thomas Cahill’s Hinges of History series with The Gifts of the Jews. Rather than … Continue reading →

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What the Buddha Taught

Posted on February 23, 2009 by smellincoffee

What the Buddha Taught© 1974 Walpola Rahula I’m a member of a philosophy group on YahooGroups, and this book came up in discussion. Since my knowledge of Buddhism is quite limited, I decided to indulge in a little literacy-expanding this … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (23/2)

Posted on February 23, 2009 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: Mythology, Edith Hamilton The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, Peter Quammen Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Thomas Cahill I began this week with Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, which is concerned chiefly with the Greco-Roman legends. Hamilton is an author I have … Continue reading →

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Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea

Posted on February 21, 2009 by smellincoffee

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter© 2003 Thomas Cahill303 pages, including index I believe I picked this book up years ago, but never finished it. Very little seemed familiar as I read through the book this week, so … Continue reading →

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The Reluctant Mr. Darwin

Posted on February 19, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of his Theory of Evolution© 2006 Peter Quammen304 pages, including chronology, bibliography, notes, and index. I intended to read this for the week of Charles Darwin’s birthday … Continue reading →

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Mythology

Posted on February 18, 2009 by smellincoffee

Mythology© 1942 Edith Hamilton333 pages In the past, I have both read books by Edith Hamilton and tried to read books on Greco-Roman mythology. I have never succeeded in finishing a mythology book before my interest in the subject waned, … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (16/2)

Posted on February 16, 2009 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill Deer Hunting with Jesus, Joe Bageant Shatterpoint, Matthew Stover A World Waiting to be Born, M. Scott Peck I began this week by continuing in Thomas Cahill’s entertaining Hinges of … Continue reading →

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A World Waiting to be Born

Posted on February 15, 2009 by smellincoffee

A World Waiting to be Born: Civility Rediscovered© 1993 M. Scott Peck366 pages “Society is sick”, declares author M. Scott Peck by way of introduction to his book A World Waiting to be Born. Peck is a psychiatrist and author … Continue reading →

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