Tag Archives: mythology

Talking to the Ground

Posted on November 12, 2018 by smellincoffee

Talking to the Ground: One Family’s Journey on Horseback Across the Sacred Land of the Navajo© 1995 Douglas Preston284 pages “How does the trail look?” Christine asked.“Ask me at the bottom,”  I said, feeling a certain queasiness in my stomach. … Continue reading →

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Short rounds: things that are not Star Trek, like North Koreans and Aeneas

Posted on May 5, 2018 by smellincoffee

Believe it or not, I have been reading books without a Star Trek label appended to them this week. Just recently I finished off Don’t Go There, a short collection of travel pieces that interested me with its mention of visits to … Continue reading →

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Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth

Posted on April 3, 2017 by smellincoffee

Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth:  Understanding Middle-Earth© 2002 Brad Birzer255 pages How better to kick off Read of England than by visiting the world of Tolkien, who has enraptured readers for decade after decade now?  Tolkien is not merely an English writer; … Continue reading →

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The Sword of Summer

Posted on October 18, 2016 by smellincoffee

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer© 2015 Rick Riordan491 pages Magnus Chase is the Boy Who Lived.  As a youngster he witnessed his mother sacrifice herself for him, dying at the hands of some evil … Continue reading →

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The Wisdom of the Myths

Posted on March 7, 2016 by smellincoffee

Wisdom from the Myths: How Greek Mythology Can Change Your Life© 2014 Luc Ferry416 pages Well over a year or so ago, in a mood to read about the classical tradition, I happened upon Wisdom from the Myths: How Greek … Continue reading →

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Horse

Posted on December 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Human Civilization© 2006 J. Edward Chamberlin288 pages How do I love thee, O horse? Let me count the ways.   J. Edward Chamberlin’s Horse begins with one lonely native American mare separated from her tribe … Continue reading →

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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 →

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That Hideous Strength

Posted on June 13, 2014 by smellincoffee

That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy Tale for Grown Ups© 1945 C.S. Lewis384 pages Mark Studdock is a newly married sociologist who has been given the opportunity of a lifetime; the chance to work with a promising and ambitious new … Continue reading →

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The Penelopiad

Posted on June 2, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Penelopiad© 2006  Margaret Atwood224 pages               Which is worse, waiting twenty years for a rascal of a husband to return home while simultaneously managing his kingdom, raising his son, and fending off scores of … Continue reading →

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Stonehenge

Posted on January 3, 2014 by smellincoffee

Stonehenge: 2000 BC© 2000 Bernard Cornwell400 pages          For millennia the hanging rocks of Stonehenge have stricken visitors with awe and mystery. Who  built them, and to what purpose?  Stonehange: 2000 BC  tells the story of those people, the ancient … Continue reading →

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