Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Exploding the Phone

Posted on May 25, 2018 by smellincoffee

Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws who Hacked Ma Bell© Phil Lapsley 2013416 pages WANTED HARVARD MIT Fine Arts no. 13 notebook. (121 pages) & 40 page reply K.K. & C.R. plus 2,800; battery; m.f. … Continue reading →

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The Ministry of Guidance Invites You Not To Stay

Posted on May 23, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Ministry of Guidance Invites You Not to Stay© 2010 Hooman Majd272 pages Hooman Majd left Iran for the first time as a young boy, barely eight months old, and when his own son was eight months old, Majd returned. … Continue reading →

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Alone

Posted on May 19, 2018 by smellincoffee

Alone: Britain, Churchill, and Dunkirk: Defeat Into Victory© 2017 Michael Korda544 pages Judging by most World War 2 histories, the war only heats up once Hitler’s rapid takeover of northern and western Europe is accomplished in the spring of 1940, … Continue reading →

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Mirrors of the Unseen

Posted on May 16, 2018 by smellincoffee

Mirrors of the Unseen:  Journeys in Iran © 2006 Jason Elliot 432 pages Readers uninterested in the origins and history of Islamic art, metaphysics, or pigeons, should skip to the next chapter, here. In the late nineties, before Afghanistan was … Continue reading →

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California Dreamin’

Posted on May 15, 2018 by smellincoffee

At some point in 1997 I saw this cover in a now-defunct WaldenBooks and was intrigued, both by the shoes and that oddly simple title: “DUCKY”.    The book was a fictional diary, rendered in a font-like handwriting, and it … Continue reading →

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Ta’arof on Reddit

Posted on May 14, 2018 by smellincoffee

I recently shared a book called The Ayatollah Begs to Differ which covered the Iranian culture of hospitality. Oddly enough the same subject came on reddit, so I share it below for the curious. Click on the picture to expand..

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The Ayatollah Begs to Differ

Posted on May 10, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran288 pages© 2008 Hooman Majd Whatever nebulous conception most Americans have of the Middle East, Iran should stand apart. Not because it is currently DC’s designated enemy,  but because Iran is … Continue reading →

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Tales from a Mainframe Mechanic

Posted on May 9, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Computer Guy Is Here! Mainframe Mechanic© 2018 John Sak201 pages When John Sak began his training with IBM as a young college drop out, instructors informed his class that the only constant they could expect from their careers was … Continue reading →

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Tales from a Techie

Posted on May 7, 2018 by smellincoffee

Tales from a Techie: Funny Real Life Stories from Tech Support© 2014 Matt Garrett250 pages I’ve been reading tech support horror stories since I was first online in 1997, from Rinkworks’ “Computer Stupidities” to Reddit’s “TalesfromTechSupport” subreddit. On a whim … Continue reading →

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Short rounds: things that are not Star Trek, like North Koreans and Aeneas

Posted on May 5, 2018 by smellincoffee

Believe it or not, I have been reading books without a Star Trek label appended to them this week. Just recently I finished off Don’t Go There, a short collection of travel pieces that interested me with its mention of visits to … Continue reading →

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