Coffee Books

This book is perfect for poolside. Light and enjoyable.
I liked the parts about Turkish man too.

First of all, please disregard all of the hoopla of Pirsig's name being included in this book. Pirsig only wrote a 2 page introduction to the book, and it contains no new insights to his Metaphysics of Quality. It is simply a short introduction to Plato. So if you are a devoted follower to Pirsig, like I am, don't freak out and purchase this book, like I did.

That said, this is a nice little book on the very basics of Plato. Having read a majority of Plato's works, as well as 2 or 3 other introductions on the man, I found this book to be pleasant and somewhat refreshing. Donald R. Moor writes in extremely simple terms, and very clearly breaks Plato down. In fact, it is so simple, that it cleared up a few things that I had missed in reading on Plato previously. He also takes a few of the outstanding differences between Plato's thought and 21st century morality and puts them in perspective. So, the fact that you might find Plato's notion of killing all atheists reprehensible is cleared up a bit, by placing this notion into Plato's mindset on the world.

Essentially, if you are brand new to Plato, this will serve as a good introduction. Although it lacks the beauty of Plato's writing, it does give a very basic and simple framework from which to understand him. And for those who are familiar with Plato, it does serve to clear up some outstanding, if not subconscious, issues with him.

This book may have been around for a few years but it is still pertinent today. It is written as a scientific reference and doesn't make for easy reading but is an excellent reference for those interested in coffee production, coffee processing, and the botanical aspects of the plant. I would recomend this book for anyone with a little background in plant science, botany, or simply a deep interest in production aspects of coffee.

Most famous for his authorship of the "2000 Words" manifesto issued during the Prague Spring of 1968, Ludvik Vaculik has also written hundreds of "feuilletons"--short essays, slivers of gossip, eulogies and tributes, or political commentary that originally (during the 1970s and early 1980s) were distributed secretively among Czech dissidents. This slim volume, translated and published 20 years ago, collects 23 of those pieces written between 1977 and 1987.

Although a number of the items refer to events and people that will be unfamiliar to most American readers, nearly all manage to be entertaining and informative--alternating between humorous and disturbing--but always with a devil-may-care, tongue-in-cheek flippancy that makes the collection as a whole quite endearing. In the background is the specter of the secret police and its interrogators; Vaculik assumes that much of his prose might reach the eyes of government officials, and so he subtly digs and teases, as in the title piece: "I know you'll put all this into one of your articles," says the lieutenant-colonel who has confiscated all his writing. "And you'll call it: 'A Cup of Coffee with the Interrogator.'"

The last pieces are triumphant in their cynical optimism, whether from the awe in being allowed to watch Richard Attenborough's film "Ghandhi" in a public theater ("dangerous, good thoughts which will go on maturing with time") or from the skepticism with which he greets the "glasnost" paternally granted to the Czech government by the Soviets ("So that, should Moscow now order us to be allowed freedom, I'll resist."). The Czechs had played Charlie Brown in Lucy's football game so often that Vaculik's pessimism is understandable, but, in spite of himself, he can't help but instill the final pieces reprinted here with the delusion of hope.

I found this to be a nice little book written in a familiar manner. Very good for a beginner desiring a bit of tea information or someone who enjoys a spot of tea. Attractive and compact.

This one is a collection of poems and short stories that I'd been waiting for its author to publish for some time. I loved reading this. If you enjoy anything in the erotica genre, but nothing especially hard-core, then I recommend this light, but fulfilling snack of a book.

E~Enchanting Stories is 124 pages of carnal pleasure. It is visceral and smooth with its delivery of stories and poems, with a couple of noticeably recurring themes. These are mostly episodes of reconnections and/or reacquaintances, or encounters of some kind with strangers, all told from the first-person point of view. It is the stuff of unlived fantasies, and escapism from the mundane.

The most pleasurable thing about the characters is that all of the male characters deliver the goods every single time, sometimes simultaneously. They are all well endowed, and they never disappoint. What is that, if not the stuff of fantasy?

The women in these short pieces have an air of independence that is subtly tempered with a dose vulnerability, and seasoned with an unapologetically submissive nature. Make no mistake, though. They are all very empowered by their sexuality, even if some of them are clearly taken by their own surprise of how they submit to their hidden desires. Some of them give more than the reader would initially expect.

Among my personal favorites are "Bound", "Wrong Number", "Lunch Break", and a very funny, very sexy, "None of Your Mutha [...]' Business". The poems have an endearing, gentle sexiness, too, with a fair amount of heat, but I happen to be partial to prose.

I found the delivery of the series that started with "Pissed", and its subsequent installments, "Beyond Pissed", "Why Was I Pissed Again?" and "The Knockout" nothing short of tantilizing, and those bits are included for what I suspect as precursors to another Enchantress body of work. I would like to have seen them in a series of stories by themselves, but that's just me.

As well, there are some sporadic typos sprinkled about, which one might expect in any first edition work, but the stories and poems speak for themselves. Enchantress, Tracy G.'s alter-ego, is a prolific writer with an abundance of natural talent that is bursting out of these pages. This is an easy read and an exciting ride.

I recommend E~Enchanting Stories for any women who want a brief indulgence into thoughts not always spoken, and for any men who want a glimpse into what women are saying about some of the best sex they've never had.

This book was recommended to me after a friend of mine heard Mr. Healey lecture in her creative writing class. It has fast become one of my favorites; the metaphors, language, and offbeat attitude make it more than just fun to read. The humor of his poems almost challenge you to read more into them, even if you suspect there may not be any more meaning beneath the surface than what he's already presented to you. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for something new and different.

Mr. Gluck weaves us a tapestry of many and shifting tones. Offers us a city entered at dusk, or at dawn, and perhaps midnight. These stories together and apart speak to a rich internal life. One as comfortable with the sensual as the intellectual. As evocative of the moment as much as history. A book moving in many directions and in all directions moving. Thank you, Mr. Gluck.

I am only half way finished with the book and I have learned so much from it already. The edition I have is 1982, and other than the interest rates and other figures being off from current rates I can find nothing wrong. It covers pretty much everything you need in financing a home or a condo. I will be a first time home buyer and I feel much more confident regarding the process. A key phrase I will remember is "how can you NOT afford to buy a house"?

FORBIDDEN STRANGER is a fast read following characters a reader can enjoy. As romantic suspense goes, this is an outstanding book. For gifted author Marilyn Pappano, it is good, but not her best. I know. I read a LOT of Pappano.