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reviewed Fair Game. December 28, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
Fair Game
Although Fair Game ends with a rousing call to arms in defense of democracy, and justice is somewhat served, you won't walk out of the theater with a smile on your face.  In fact, when I looked …
reviewed Life. December 09, 2010
Life
If Billy Strayhorn, and Richard Price hadn't been first, Keith Richards' autobiography should have borne the title "Lush Life." Here we've got almost 600 pages of the life and times of a mostly unapologetic …
reviewed Dog Walks Man. November 30, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Dog Walks Man
This review contains a spoiler, though I don't think it will be a spoiler to anyone who reads dog books, but - who knows.      I had a very strange reaction to this book. It's …
reviewed Rhino Ranch. November 27, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Rhino Ranch
The nice thing about picking up a book by Larry McMurtry is that no matter what genre he's writing in - essay, memoir, history, or novel you're in the hands of a master story teller.    Rhino …
reviewed The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and th.... November 21, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest
In one afternoon 120,000 men met on the field of battle at Cannae.  By the end of the day 48,000 Roman soldiers were slaughtered in what amounted to a "mass knife fight." Everyone killed …
reviewed Three Stations: An Arkady Renko Novel. November 06, 2010
It pains me to give An Arkady Renko Novel a meager two stars, but Martin Cruz Smith has put out a book that falls short of his usual great work. It remains true that Mr. Smith paints a picture of modern …
reviewed The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, F.... October 27, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and
I was surprised to discover The Wave to be more a study of surfers and surfing than the science of waves but I don't think Susan Casey had much of a choice. The ocean is huge, filled with waves (who …
reviewed Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life. October 25, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life
  This is an edited review. I'm not changing my mind about the writing, just trying to be a little kinder.      Full disclosure: I gave up on page 35. Here's why:   …
reviewed The Social Network. October 09, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
The Social Network
If The Social Network is about brilliant but shallow people building a brilliant but shallow website making scads of money and screwing their co-conspirators in the process, then this movie deserves four …
reviewed Bob Dylan in America. September 24, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Bob Dylan in America
Sean Wilentz's "Bob Dylan in America" follows Greil Marcus's "The Old, Weird America" as an attempt to place Dylan in the cultural history of the United States, and it's …
reviewed Burn this Book. September 13, 2010
Burn this Book
Shelley called poets "the unacknowledged legislators of the world."  He was wrong.  Poets make no laws.  I think poets and writers are the acknowledged witnesses of the world, …
reviewed The Saxon Stories. September 12, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Saxon Stories
The Saxon Stories is a collection of  five novels (to date) by Bernard Cornwell that tracks the adventures of an English  boy named Uhtred, who is orphaned and raised by Danes, and  grows …
reviewed Here. September 09, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Here
I'm not sure I know what makes an author a Nobel Laureate. Unequal parts talent, promotion, and politics, I suppose. According to the Nobel Prize webpage Wislawa Szymborska was awarded "for …
reviewed The Winter King (The Arthur Books #1). September 01, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Winter King (The Arthur Books #1)
I've read all the  Arthur Books (3), though this is a review of book 1 - The Winter King. As with all the Cornwell I've read, I really liked it, although I have to say if you've read …
reviewed The Wake of Forgiveness. August 30, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
the wake of forgiveness
"This is the bloodlust of brothers, the vengeful rage of the father, all of it born out and somehow flawless in its wickedness, like some depraved reenactment of Genesis staged solely for the amusement …
reviewed Delhi Noir (Akashic Noir). August 24, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Delhi Noir (Akashic Noir)
I don't know how much I would have enjoyed this book without having spent time in Delhi, and gotten used to the general feeling of India.      To paraphrase the Naked City, "There …
reviewed Holy Warriors: A Modern History of th.... August 24, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades
I thought I was going to give this a quick look over, maybe read about my old faves Richard and Saladin, check into the Children's Crusade, but I got hooked early in the first chapter.   …
reviewed The Strain: Book One of The Strain Tr.... August 24, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Strain: Book One of The Strain Trilogy
I pretty much had my fill of vampire fiction by the time I got through Anne Rice's "The Queen of the Damned." By that point she'd milked her series dry. Prior to that I was happy with …
reviewed Agincourt. August 23, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Agincourt
Books about wars and battles have to do three things: 1. Match the Iliad in scope; put you unequivocally into the scene; leave you with the understanding that ultimately no good comes from wars and battles. …
reviewed The Bread of Angels. August 23, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Bread of Angels
The Bread of Angels is just short of amazing.       This is a year long journey of the heart that takes us from a fairly mundane family life to a fairly mundane love affair between …
reviewed The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete,.... August 23, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored
The best thing about this book is the title from "Footnote to Howl" by Allen Ginsberg. The sub-title is a bit of marketing flair. Bill Morgan, a one-man Beat Generation history machine tapped …
reviewed Books: A Memoir. August 22, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Books: A Memoir
Possibly entertaining mostly to people who love books, bookstores, and booksellers. I love all three (well, books, and bookstores more than booksellers.) It's really a collection of anecdotes about …
reviewed The Gamble: General David Petraeus an.... August 22, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the
Fiasco is the story of the mess we made following invasion and Pres. Bush's historic "mission accomplished" gaffe. The Gamble is the follow up, and the story of General Petraeus's groundbreaking …
reviewed Animal Dreams. August 22, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Animal Dreams
Ok, I cried. Laughed, too, but books that can actually squeeze a tear out of me are few and far between - especially one's that aren't overtly manipulative.       I waited …
reviewed Savages: A Novel. August 21, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Savages: A Novel
     OK, it's great. Yes, candy. Kind of like the first chocolate covered cherry with cognac you ever had. Sex, drugs, rock&roll ultra violence. The Mexican drug wars ignite in …
reviewed The Power of the Dog. August 21, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Power of the Dog
4.5 stars, anyway. I've been lately interested in the Mexican drug cartels and the ramifications of drug use in the world's largest user market - the good ole US of A. Don Winslow has been interested …
reviewed The Frozen Rabbi. August 21, 2010
The Frozen Rabbi
Absolutely amazing. The Marx Brothers catapulted into the Yiddisher stratosphere. The hilarious adventures of a Rabbi frozen into a block of ice, carted around Europe to American, finally stored in an …
reviewed Cordoba House. August 21, 2010
Cordoba House
All religions are a mess because they all demand exclusivity.  Even religions that profess to be open finally come down to, at the very least - our way is better, no matter how gently preached.  A …
reviewed Lift Audio Icon Series 6 mm Premium E.... August 02, 2010
Lift Audio Icon Series 6 mm Premium Earphones
I'm sold on this item, I'm also sold on the idea that small is big when it comes to audio. I'm a Bose booster.    That being said, I'm also a late adapter of most technology. For instance, …
reviewed The Man Who Ate His Boots: The Tragic.... June 16, 2010
The Man Who Ate His Boots: The Tragic History of
Not the exciting adventure story I expected. After a great lead in, it was down to the minutia a exploration. Not a beach read my any stretch.
reviewed Alcestis. April 17, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Alcestis
Alcestis is a wonderful first novel from Katharine Beutner, and the only reason I mention it as a first is just because it amazes me that someone can be this good right out of the starting gate.    Al …
reviewed Einstein's God: Conversations About S.... April 15, 2010
Einstein's God: Conversations About Science and
Let me get something off my chest, and maybe vent just a little. This book will probably be unjustly categorized as some type of New Age reading. I hate the New Age (or as Gooch said, "I can't afford …
reviewed Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bern.... April 15, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery
I couldn't help myself, There it was under "new fiction" at the library, and I snapped it up much like Chet would snap up a Slim Jim - and I read it just as quickly as he'd devour said Slim Jim. Bernie …
reviewed Mornings in Jenin: A Novel. March 20, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Mornings in Jenin: A Novel
I wanted to read Mornings in Jenin because I was looking for an artful corrective to the American media slant of Israeli/good, Palestinian/terrorist. Unfortunately, Mornings in Jenin is neither artful …
reviewed Scent of the Missing: Love and Partne.... March 11, 2010
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a
Here's what a good dog book should do: touch your heart, make you laugh, tense you up, teach you something, reaffirm your faith in human and dog. (A great dog book does all that in a big way.) Dog books …
reviewed The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales .... February 17, 2010
The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder,
The reason I've been a New Yorker reader for the passed forty years has as much to do with the quality of the writing as the contents of the magazine. (Tina Brown's tenure excepted.) Almost without fail, …
reviewed Blood's A Rover. December 22, 2009
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Blood's A Rover
Some kind of cross between William S. Burroughs and Hunter Thompson, James Ellroy is possessed by the devil of genius. Part three of his American Gangster Trilogy might even be uglier than parts one and …
reviewed Chronic City. October 10, 2009
Chronic City
i think Jonathan Lethem is a wizardly writer. Fortress of Solitude had it all together: style, plot, character. I read and reread chapters just to try to figure out how he did it. Lethem gave us a piece …
reviewed L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul .... August 11, 2009
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's
This was a good read, and an interesting history of L.A. through the lives of two of its more prominent denizens - the "good" police chief, and the bad guy gangster - but the title proposes an epic that …
reviewed The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan .... June 13, 2009
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan (Cambridge
Dylan is sure keeping some rarified company in the Cambridge Companion series, hanging out with the likes of Homer and Wittgenstein, and every great of the Western world in between. Is the Bobster really …
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