Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Right Ho, Jeeves!

Posted on March 29, 2018 by smellincoffee

Right Ho, Jeeves© 1934 P.G. Wodehouse284 pages What ho, readers all!  What better way to start off a new month than a Wodehouse story, featuring our favorite lovable idiot Bertie Wooster and his impeccable valet, Jeeves?   Unlike previous laughs with … Continue reading →

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The World as Stage

Posted on March 28, 2018 by smellincoffee

Shakespeare: The World as Stage© 2007 Bill Bryson245 pages Shakespeare: The World as Stage surprised me when it arrived. Such a slender little volume for a man whose legacy is strong even today!  Bryson’s aim is not to deliver a … Continue reading →

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The Return of Horatio Hornblower

Posted on March 24, 2018 by smellincoffee

Hornblower AddendumCollected 2011 eNet press79 pages Has it been eight years since I last sailed with Horatio Hornblower?  The naval adventure series by C.S. Forester, and the A&E movie series based on it were one of the highlights of 2010, … Continue reading →

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Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am

Posted on March 23, 2018 by smellincoffee

Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am© 2011 Robert Gandt351 pages How does a world-class airline fall so quickly from the heights that its pilots are accidentally locked in the building when it closes its doors for the last time, forced … Continue reading →

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Door to Door

Posted on March 22, 2018 by smellincoffee

Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation© 2016 Edward Humes384 pages Are you interested in the Port of Los Angeles? Do you hate cars and find hushed reports of every auto death in a single day great … Continue reading →

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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 →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , | 1 Comment