Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

On Bikes

Posted on January 26, 2017 by smellincoffee

On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life© 2011 ed. Amy Walker384 pages On Bicycles collects fifty cycling pieces, collecting in categories on why biking is awesome, how gear can make it better, how biking can … Continue reading →

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The Digital Divide

Posted on January 25, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Digital Divideed. © 2011 Mark Bauerlein 368 pages For those who often think about the way the internet has transformed every aspect of our society — our daily social interactions, the ways we shop and work, etc — The Digital … Continue reading →

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The Big Necessity

Posted on January 21, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Big Necessity: the Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why it Matters © 2008, 2014 Rose George 238 pages In its initial publication, The Big Necessity may have been an eye-opening look into how many human beings still suffer … Continue reading →

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A reading on the Presidency: The Ship of State Turns Not Easily

Posted on January 19, 2017 by smellincoffee

Another reading from The Twilight of the Presidency: Newton’s first law holds that a body at rest will remain at rest and a body in motion will continue in motion along the same line until acted upon by an outside … Continue reading →

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A reading on the Presidency: A Man Divided?

Posted on January 18, 2017 by smellincoffee

The president really has two jobs. The first that has received is that of his managerial role, his responsibility for handling the nation’s affairs. Coupled with that is his role of personifying the nation and becoming thereby the unifying factor … Continue reading →

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In the Land of the Tiger

Posted on January 15, 2017 by smellincoffee

In the Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent© 1997 Valmik Thapar285 pages Imagine a Planet Earth episode focused entirely on India, and then presented in book form. The result is In the Land of the … Continue reading →

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Mean Streets

Posted on January 15, 2017 by smellincoffee

Mean Streets: Confessions of a Nightime Taxi Driver© 2002 Peter McSherry256 pages Mean Streets takes readers into the dark side of Canada, or at least the dark side of Toronto. Ever since the 1970s, Peter McSherry has been driving the night … Continue reading →

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In the City of Bikes

Posted on January 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

In the City of Bikes: the Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist© 2013 Pete Jordan448 pages “It is quite possible that all the bicycles in the world are not in Amsterdam, but you’ll never be able to convince me.”  American tourist, … Continue reading →

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The Twilight War

Posted on January 12, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Twilight War: the Secret History of America’s Thirty-Year War with Iran656 pages© 2013 David Crist  In the presidential campaign of 2008, John McCain made plain what kind of aggressive foreign policy he would pursue by half-singing a chipper little … Continue reading →

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New features

Posted on January 11, 2017 by smellincoffee

The beginning of the New Year brings with it a good opportunity to try new things.  Since this blog’s creation in 2007, nonfiction has always dominated fiction, for my mission  in life is to learn all I can about this … Continue reading →

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