In his own words
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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…
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How to Spot a Fascist
Review: This was less of a book, more of a booklet. It contained three essays or speeches from Umberto Eco regarding the elusive fascism. Elusive as in we hear it used every day, but it’s difficult for most of us to define. In the first essay he outlines 14 points of commonality with all fascist…
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Underworld
Review: I didn’t read this book as much as I experienced this book. What an absolutely brilliant novel. From the first sentence to the last word this was stunning, emotional, captivating. I originally heard of this book when reading an old newspaper piece by Salman Rushdie when he was reviewing some of his favorite reads…
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Philosophy for Beginners
Review: Everything I ever learned I learned in elementary school right? Spot on. This is a book geared towards younger readers that taught me more in two days than I have gleaned from 51 years of reading adult tomes on this weighty subject. The idea to read this came from a cartoon that a friend…
