Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The Inevitable

Posted on March 21, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future© 2016 Kevin Kelly336 pages No one can say where exactly a ball thrown in the air will land,  but at least on Earth it’s a certainty that a … Continue reading →

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City of Fortune

Posted on March 15, 2018 by smellincoffee

City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas© 2012 Roger Crowley464 pages In the north of the Adriatic grew a city built not on land, but upon the water — whose fortune was earned in transit, by  running the ships … Continue reading →

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Declassified

Posted on March 13, 2018 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Vanguard: Declassified© 2011 Kevin Dilmore, David Mack,  Marco Palmieri, and Dayton Ward404 pages At the edge of Federation space, at its shared border with the Klingons and the Tholian Assembly, lies trouble.  The area known as the Taurus … Continue reading →

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Short rounds: of cybercities and medicinal ectasy

Posted on March 8, 2018 by smellincoffee

Recently I’ve read a couple of books that I wasn’t particularly impressed with, but  they weren’t stinkers enough to merit one of those rare-but-fun-to-write negative reviews.  They’re in that “I can manage a paragraph of mixed interest and disappointment” grey … Continue reading →

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This Is Your Brain on Parasites

Posted on March 7, 2018 by smellincoffee

This is Your Brain on Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Brains and Shape Society© 2016 Kathleen McAuliffe299 pages Are you under the influence?  There’s a chance that you may be, even if you haven’t darkened the door of a … Continue reading →

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How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

Posted on March 6, 2018 by smellincoffee

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness© 2014 Russ Roberts269 pages\ An economist and a rabbi walk into a bar and co-author a work on the meaning of life. That’s not the … Continue reading →

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Springing forward

Posted on March 4, 2018 by smellincoffee

At the library I’ve put out the gardening books, which means it’s officially springtime! …at least, in central Alabama.  I’m still not certain we’re past the threat of a sudden frost, but I am looking forward to my annual spring … Continue reading →

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Gut

Posted on February 28, 2018 by smellincoffee

Gut: The Inside Story Of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ© 2015 Giulia Enders271 pages Through the teeth, past the gums, look out stomach, here we come! Gut is a tour of your innards, of the surprisingly clean but bustling twists … Continue reading →

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Atlas Shrugged

Posted on February 27, 2018 by smellincoffee

Atlas Shrugged © 1957 Ayn Rand 1168 pages Sometimes the chains that bind us are made by our own hands.   Dagny Taggart knew as a young girl that she wanted to grow up to be the master of her family’s … Continue reading →

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The Silent Intelligence

Posted on February 26, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Silent Intelligence: The Internet of Things© 2013 Daniel Kellmereit, Daniel Obodovski166 pages A couple of years ago I created a Digital World label in recognition of the fact that the Internet was no longer a discrete service that one could … Continue reading →

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