Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Rubbish!

Posted on December 18, 2019 by smellincoffee

Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage © 1992 William Rathje and Cullen Murphy 250 pages Given that historians often use the contents of middens to glean information about societies which have long faded away, it’s only fair to see what our … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Of stars and saints

Posted on December 14, 2019 by smellincoffee

Two also-reads in recent weeks have been Brian Cox’s Wonders of the Solar System and Kevin Vost’s 12 Life Lessons from St. Augustine. I’m familiar with Cox from his many appearances in Symphony of Science videos (a YouTube series in  … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

War and Peace

Posted on December 11, 2019 by smellincoffee

War and Peace pub. 1869 Leo Tolstoy trans.  1957 Rosemary Edmunds 1444 pages My word, what a book!   In the beginning, dear readers, I’ll confess that I anticipated failure. Tolstoy’s epic addressing the nature of history and war,  and the … Continue reading →

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Junkyard Planet

Posted on December 6, 2019 by smellincoffee

Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade © 2013 Adam Minter 304 pages I once encountered a pair of supermarket clerks unloading cases of bottled water from their pallet jack to the shelves where the water awaits the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

This and that

Posted on December 5, 2019 by smellincoffee

Well, good news and bad news. The good news is…my book buying ban is OVER, so I have five books on the way.   A few are for next year, but I may try a couple beforehand: Rubbish: The Archaeology of … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Sword of Kings

Posted on November 29, 2019 by smellincoffee

Sword of Kings © 2019 Bernard Cornwell 334 pages “Tighten the sail!” I shouted. The trap was sprung, and now the snake would discover how the wolf and the eagle fought.  p. 19 Uhtred of Bebbanburg has been fighting all … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Tiny houses and zero waste

Posted on November 26, 2019 by smellincoffee

I’ve recently read two books which can be paired together nicely, so that’s what I’m doing.      Enter Tiny House Living and 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste.      In the last few weeks I’ve been watching Tiny House Nation … Continue reading →

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I Must Speak Out

Posted on November 20, 2019 by smellincoffee

I Must Speak Out: The Best of The Voluntaryist, 1982-1999 © 1999 Carl Watner 485 pages What distinguishes the State from an organized gang?     Carl Watner argues in I Must Speak Out that nothing whatsoever does, except its subjects’ belief. … Continue reading →

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A Lesson Before Dying

Posted on November 15, 2019 by smellincoffee

A Lesson Before Dying © 1993 Ernest Gaines 256 pages “And that’s all we are Jefferson, all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood. until we – each of us, individually- decide to become something else. I … Continue reading →

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The Unthinkable

Posted on November 7, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes — and Why © 2008 Amanda Ripley 288 pages   We all wonder what we would do in an emergency. How would it feel to be onboard a doomed plane, or trapped in … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments