Category Archives: Reviews

Off to St. Augustine

Posted on May 26, 2017 by smellincoffee

Dear readers, you may remember a few months back I read a slew of books on colonial Florida’s history. I did so with purpose, for I’d then scheduled a four-day trip down to the Florida coast, with the aims of … Continue reading →

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Ten potters, one brain of clay

Posted on May 25, 2017 by smellincoffee

If we are the books we read, then for the last ten years I have been growing and changing under a public eye. Nothing I’ve read has been hidden; most of it has been commented on, if ever so lightly. … Continue reading →

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The Dark Net

Posted on May 25, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld© 2015 Jamie Barlett320 pages In middle school, the Internet was a distinct place, a world apart from ‘real life’.  Now it has grown so ubiquitous that it’s as exciting as the paved street … Continue reading →

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Visiting Harper Lee

Posted on May 21, 2017 by smellincoffee

On Saturday I visited the boyhood home of Hank Williams in Georgiana, and then decided — since I was in the neighborhood — to drive a bit further into the woods and go to Monroeville, the hometown of Harper Lee. … Continue reading →

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Best 100 Books I’ve Read in the Last Decade

Posted on May 21, 2017 by smellincoffee

Dear readers, today is a special today — the tenth anniversary of my writing about books!  In the next few days I will have some reflective posts,  but today I’d just like to thank my regular readers for your digital … Continue reading →

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Hank Williams

Posted on May 21, 2017 by smellincoffee

Hank Williams: The Biography© 1994 Colin Escott320 pages “You don’t have to call me Mister, mister —  the whole world calls me Hank.” Hank Williams is the legend of country music. I’d heard of him long before I ever heard him;  my … Continue reading →

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El Narco

Posted on May 17, 2017 by smellincoffee

El Narco: Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency© 2012 Ioan Grillo336 pages El Paso, Texas, can boast one of the lowest metropolitan crime rates in the United States. Immediately opposite it on the Rio Grande, however,  Ciudad Juarez, has until recently been … Continue reading →

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The Adventure of English

Posted on May 17, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language© 2011 Melvyn Bragg336 pages In The Adventure of English, Melvin Bragg delivers a mythic history of the language that treats our lingua franca as a living personality — battered and now … Continue reading →

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Confront and Conceal

Posted on May 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of Power 496 pages © 2012 David E. Sanger Barack Obama may have been the only Nobel Peace Prize winner in history to order lethal force used on a regular basis, … Continue reading →

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On the Shoulders of Hobbits

Posted on May 11, 2017 by smellincoffee

On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis© 2012 Louis Markos235 pages Fairy tales don’t teach children that dragons exist; they know dragons exist. Fairy tales teach children that dragons can be defeated.  GKC declared … Continue reading →

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