Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Becoming Mrs Lewis

Posted on February 12, 2019 by smellincoffee

Becoming Mrs Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis © 2018 Patti Callahan 415 pages Few books transfix me in the way that Becoming Mrs Lewis did; I suppose it helps to have a strong affection … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Couples Redux

Posted on February 12, 2019 by smellincoffee

Eight years ago, in another Top Ten Tuesday,  I almost managed to think up ten literary couples I liked. I’ve read…more books since then, so can I think of ten more? 1. Jayber Crow and Mattie. Jayber Crow (Wendell Berry) … Continue reading →

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Ghost in the Wires

Posted on February 9, 2019 by smellincoffee

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker© 2011 Kevin Mitnick, William Simon. Forward by The Woz.393 pages CYBERPUNK introduced me to the story of Kevin Mitnick, a teenage phone phreaker turned celebrity hacker,  who boasted that … Continue reading →

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Ever wonder how those Animorphs covers were made?

Posted on February 8, 2019 by smellincoffee

  The Lazy Game Reviewer,  YouTube’s favorite guide to retrotech, Sims reviews, and computer oddities, finds the program used for  the covers and tries his hand at it. Pretty cool if you were into Animorphs like me! 

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Status Anxiety

Posted on February 7, 2019 by smellincoffee

Status Anxiety© 2004 Alain de Botton 306 pages Who said “comparison is the thief of joy”?  If they hadn’t, Alain de Botton would, as here he argues that most of our misery comes from the constant comparison of ourselves to others … Continue reading →

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The Big Ones

Posted on February 5, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them)© 2018 Lucy Jones256 pages Earth is not a peaceful place; even it were stripped of all life, it would still teem with energy, from … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Happy City

Posted on February 3, 2019 by smellincoffee

Happy City: Transforming Our Lives through Urban Design© 2013 Charles Montgomery368 pages City air makes one free, but — happy? Throughout the 20th century, Americans fled the urban centers seeking Arcadian bliss. They didn’t find it, and despite an abundance … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe

Posted on February 1, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe: How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake© 2018 Dr. Steven Novella, Bob Novella,  Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Burnstein512 pages …wow.  Okay, so…back in 2006 I … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Odd Egg Editor

Posted on January 30, 2019 by smellincoffee

Odd-Egg Editor © 1990 Kathryn Tucker Windham 170 pages Anyone who grew up in Selma, Alabama, prior to 2011 had heard of Kathryn Tucker Windham, and odds were they cherished her.  A master storyteller, she inspired an annual Tale-Tellin’ Festival … Continue reading →

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Our Time Has Come

Posted on January 30, 2019 by smellincoffee

Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World ©  2018 Alyssa Ayres360 pages The India of the 21st century is more than  the word’s back office;  by some measures, it has already overtaken Japan as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments