Tag Archives: Classics and Literary

2001: A Space Odyssey

Posted on February 12, 2016 by smellincoffee

2001: A Space Odyssey© 1986 Arthur C. Clark, Stanley Kubrick316 pgs At the dawn of the twenty-first century, mankind makes an extraordinary discovery: unmistakable evidence of life outside the environs of Earth. An object on the moon makes plain the … Continue reading →

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

Little Women

Posted on April 1, 2015 by smellincoffee

Little Women© 1868 Louisa May Alcott528 pages “But you see, Jo wasn’t a heroine, she was only a struggling human girl like hundreds of others, and she just acted out her nature, being sad, cross, listless, or energetic, as the mood … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Adventures of Henry Thoreau

Posted on March 28, 2015 by smellincoffee

 The Adventures of Henry Thoreau: A Young Man’s Unlikely Path to Walden Pond© 2014 Michael Sims384 pages Shortly before retreating for two years to his self-built cabin at Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau accidentally started a forest fire. A simple … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sailing from Byzantium

Posted on December 17, 2014 by smellincoffee

Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World© 2005 Colin Wells368 pages                   Isaac Asimov referred to Byzantium as a forgotten empire, lost and dismissed to the western mind as a decayed remnant of a once-great … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Race with the Devil

Posted on December 3, 2014 by smellincoffee

Race with the Devil: My Journey from Racial Hatred to Rational Love© 2013 Joseph Pearce264 pages How does a neo-Nazi become a Catholic literary critic?  An act of God?   Joseph Pearce would surely make the claim, his life having … Continue reading →

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

The Age of Voltaire

Posted on September 30, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Age of Voltaire: A History of Civilization in Western Europe from 1715 to 1756898 pages© 1965 Will and Ariel Durant             The ninth work in Will Durant’s sweeping Story of Civilization, The Age of Voltaire picks up … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fellowship of the Ring

Posted on September 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Fellowship of the Ring, being the first part of the Lord of the Rings© 1954 J.R.R Tolkien570 pages Not many birthday gift involves a life-threatening quest to defeat a Dark Lord and prevent the enslavement of all living creatures, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Posted on July 2, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer© 1876 Mark Twain202 pages             There is truly no better time to revisit The Adventures of Tom Sawyerthan the summer, with its long, languid days bringing back memories of childhood liberty from school, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Scarlet Letter

Posted on June 28, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Scarlet Letter ©  1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne 180 pages                    In 18thcentury Boston, a young woman stands upon the gallows in the center of town, facing down the contempt of the assembled mob. Having broken the … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Odyssey

Posted on June 19, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Odyssey© 1884 trans. George Herbert Palmer, original author Homer313 pages Three years ago I read The Illiad, and intended to follow it shortly with The Odyssey. Like Odysseus, however, my own attention was blown of course. This is course a classic, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment