In his own words
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Not Under 40
Review: I really enjoyed this, and I wasn’t confident that I would when starting out. This was one of the last books published by Willa Cather and it was later in her life, in 1936. So many times I find that the early stuff and the late stuff from any author is not as good…
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Great Uncle Harry
Review: This was excellent, a really engaging and enjoyable read. Imagine finding out about a great uncle that you had no idea really existed and then resolving to find out who this man was and what his life was like. Michael Palin did exactly that with his Great Uncle Harry. Researched his life from his…
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The Poems of Hesiod
Review: First book done for 2024 and this was a great one to ring in the new year with. I’ve read Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Lucretius but Hesiod for one reason or another had escaped. It was better to come upon this late as it it uses a lot of references to the other works. Having…
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O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Review: First off, a beautifully crafted book and slipcase that will make a striking addition to any bookshelf or mantlepiece. Really beautiful paper, lovely printing and excellent design throughout. The author has taken his jesus delusion to new, unrivalled heights, as he uses meditations and songs along with biblical text to completely reinforce his nonsensical…
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DK Classical Music
Review: This was excellent, really it was. Like all DK books it is our world told in pictures, and of course experts providing the text. I’ve been a classical music lover since the 1980s but I learned a lot. A LOT! That’s better, I needed the emphasis to show just how much I learned. From…
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Chasing Bright Medusas
Review: Being a Willa Cather enthusiast and a member of the National Willa Cather Center every new biography is pretty much required reading. So I pre-ordered this volume and eagerly awaited it. Well, I got it and I read it, and I’m very disappointed. First of all this slim volume is, a slim volume. 154…
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Cyberpunk
Review: Excellent anthology from the best Cyberpunk notables from the last 40 years. 40 years, seriously it’s been that long since the genre was introduced in Omni magazine. Some old favorites here, and ones that are often hard to find like Mozart in Mirrorshades by Bruce Sterling. As I was reading it I observed to…
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The Prague Cemetery
Review: This was. This was. Give me a moment. This was, something, there, that sums it up. In other words, this was typical Umberto Eco material: erudite, researched, intellectually challenging and confusing as IKEA instructions in the original Swedish. So what’s it about? Sort of a historical novel about anti-semitism in 19th century Europe, plus…
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History Year by Year
Review: This was excellent. A long tour through the whole of human history, from Australopithecus to the smart phone. Fully illustrated throughout with photos and diagrams on every beautiful page. The timeline runs through the entire volume but every few pages there is a deep dive on a particular area of interest, like life in…
