Book View Cafe

The Battlefield as Heroin

Dave Smeds November 26, 2023

When you think of all the things people might get addicted to, war isn’t the first thing that springs to mind. But as one of

Building a Book Cover: Between Silk and Sand by Marissa Doyle

Dave Smeds November 12, 2023

When planning for the 2018 release of her novel Between Silk and Sand, Marissa Doyle knew she wanted certain things on the cover. Moreover, she

On the Illinois Frontier 1817-1818

Dave Smeds October 29, 2023

When my great great great grandparents Rachel Starr and Jacob Strader reached Vermilion County, Illinois in the autumn of 1822, they had multiple households of

Palimpsests of Pioneer History

Dave Smeds October 15, 2023

Once I had delved into genealogy thoroughly enough, I began enjoying one of the rewards I would have missed if I had invested myself in

A Karate Scrapbook, Part 2

Dave Smeds October 1, 2023

Old Dogs Do Learn New Tricks I am sixty-eight years old. That means I’m at the point where age alone is enough to affect my

In Search of the Great Antagonist

Dave Smeds September 17, 2023

Even as the final episode of Game of Thrones wound down to its closing moments, the howls of outrage reverberated around the globe. “How could

A Karate Scrapbook, Part 1

Dave Smeds September 3, 2023

HANGING OUT BY THE DOJO, SAN FRANCISCO, 1981 The headquarters dojo of Goju-Kai Karate-Do USA was for many years located at Eighteenth and Collingwood in

You Really Have No Idea

Dave Smeds August 20, 2023

Any writer in the creative arts can share a version of this story. It is invariably something that has directly happened to them: They’re at

BVC Eats: Finnish coffee bread (pulla)

Dave Smeds August 6, 2023

This is the recipe of Mary Rautiainen Smeds (1893-2001). This treat was often known among her family and friends simply as Grandma’s coffee bread. Her