Tag Archives: Society and Culture

The Great Good Place

Posted on June 24, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and the Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community© 1989 Ray Oldenburg336 pages In Our Oriental Heritage, Will Durant wrote that man is not willingly a political animal, … Continue reading →

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

Something from the Oven

Posted on June 24, 2012 by smellincoffee

Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America 306 pages © 2004 Laura Shaprio      The latter half of the 20th century saw the United States convulsed with social change. Millions of women and blacks who found their … Continue reading →

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

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Posted on June 16, 2012 by smellincoffee

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why America Needs a Green Evolution: And How it Can Renew America© 2006 Thomas Friedman438 pages    The world is changing. Regardless of the consoling reassurances of corporations, industries, and the silk-tongued politicians who lobby on their … Continue reading →

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

Cinderella Ate My Daughter

Posted on June 10, 2012 by smellincoffee

Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture© 2012 Peggy Orenstein260 pages When did every little girl become a princess to be bedecked in pink and fawned over? Such is the question posed by … Continue reading →

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

Why We Get Fat

Posted on June 9, 2012 by smellincoffee

Why We Get Fat: and What To Do About It© 2011, 2012 Gary Taubes267 pages The secret of weight, we are told, is as simple as physics, as the laws of thermodynamics. If we take in more energy in eating … Continue reading →

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

Cheap

Posted on June 8, 2012 by smellincoffee

Cheap: the High Cost of Discount Culture © 2009 Ellen Ruppel Shell  296 pages  A few weeks ago I read Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, which is a critical history of  the 20th-century trend in business toward cheaper … Continue reading →

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

Books in the News

Posted on June 4, 2012 by smellincoffee

Every so often I see news articles which touch on subjects I’ve been reading about; I used to link to them in weekly review posts from time to time, but I may start doing it in this format. For Consuming … Continue reading →

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

Suburban Nation

Posted on June 2, 2012 by smellincoffee

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream© 2000, 2010 Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck294 pages Compare a modern American city to its European counterparts, or even an older American city, and the … Continue reading →

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

So Sexy So Soon

Posted on May 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

So Sexy So Soon:  the New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids© 2008 Diane E. Levine, Jean Kilbourne226 pages For me, the filthiest show on television is Toddlers and Tiaras. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned: I’m generally … Continue reading →

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

Consuming Kids

Posted on May 29, 2012 by smellincoffee

Consuming Kids: the Hostile Takeover of Childhood© 2004 Susan Linn288 pages To some, children are the joy of our lives; a refreshing source of curiosity, energy, youth, and joy. To others, they are nothing but grist for the mill. In … Continue reading →

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