Monthly Archives: June 2016

TBR Bodycheck

Posted on June 20, 2016 by smellincoffee

Another week, more solid progress on the TBR. There are a couple of reviews pending. I plan one more big push this week, then a switch to American lit, then another drive to finish this one off! Taken down! Liberty, … Continue reading →

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Green, Blue, and Grey

Posted on June 18, 2016 by smellincoffee

Green, Blue, and Grey: the Irish in the American Civil War©  2009 Cal McCarthy325 pages Three cheers for the red, white, and blue! For the green flag of Erin so true.. The music of the Civil War reflects the sheer … Continue reading →

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The Orthodox Church

Posted on June 17, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Orthodox Church© 1963, 1993 Kallistos (Timothy) Ware368 pages Who are the Orthodox? To the extent Americans have heard of them, it is through eastern European immigrant communities. Those who paid marginal attention in western civ might remember something called … Continue reading →

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Bratva

Posted on June 17, 2016 by smellincoffee

Sons of Anarchy: Bratva© 2014 Christopher Golden256 pages For Jax Teller, the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club has always been his family, its members his brothers. His father started the Sons, with a philosophy directly inspired by Emma Goldman. But over … Continue reading →

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Reads to Reels: Roswell

Posted on June 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

In 1998, Melinda Metz introduced a new series of young-adult science fiction: the story of three teenagers whose earliest memories were of climbing out of incubation pods in the desert outside of Roswell, New Mexico.  When they emerged, they appeared … Continue reading →

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Celebrating America: Independence Day Reading

Posted on June 14, 2016 by smellincoffee

Every year since this blog’s inception I have committed part of June and July to Independence-Day reading. The number and variety of the books has grown every year, and usually includes material on the colonial period, the revolution, and the … Continue reading →

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Tubes

Posted on June 14, 2016 by smellincoffee

Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet© 2012 Andrew Blum303 pages It turns out Ted Stevens was right: the Internet really is a series of tubes, connecting large boxes, and usually in nondescript warehouses that look like self-storage units. … Continue reading →

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TBR Progress Report

Posted on June 13, 2016 by smellincoffee

A few weeks into the new TBR Takedown Challenge (Bigger! Better!), I’m making excellent progress: Taken down!Liberty, Defined, Ron PaulBig Box Swindle, Stacy MitchellSaving Congress from Itself, James BuckleyCyber War: The Next Threat to National Security, Richard ClarkeWhen Asia Was … Continue reading →

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Lights Out

Posted on June 13, 2016 by smellincoffee

Lights Out: A Cyberattack, a Nation Unprepared© 2015 Ted Koppell288 pages In Lights Out,  investigatory journalist Ted Koppel comments on the vulnerability of the United States’ power grid to a cyber attack,  and reviews the way government agencies, private citizens, … Continue reading →

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When Asia was the World

Posted on June 10, 2016 by smellincoffee

When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the ‘Riches of the East© 2009 Stewart Gordon256 pages When Asia was the World revisits, through the lives of traveling monks, traders, and warriors,  the extraordinary vistas and … Continue reading →

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