Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The Invisible Man

Posted on April 5, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Invisible Man© 1897 H,G, Wells149 pages The Invisible Man opens with the arrival of a Mysterious Stranger to a country inn. He is covered from head to toe, and remains so even after he takes a room. The townsfolk don’t … Continue reading →

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Lord of the Flies

Posted on April 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Lord of the Flies© 1954 William Golding156 pages A group of boys marooned on a tiny Pacific Island must work together, battling the elements and one another. If they don’t adapt, they’ll be voted off the island — or thrown … Continue reading →

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Reads to Reels: Great Expectations

Posted on April 3, 2016 by smellincoffee

“Hallo! Here’s a church. Let’s go in. Hallo! Here’s some gloves. Let’s put `em on! Hallo! Here’s Ms. Skiffins. Let’s have a wedding!”  I’ve never done a reels this close on the heels to a read before, but there’s no … Continue reading →

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Great Expectations

Posted on April 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

Great Expectations© 1861 Charles Dickens544 pages Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the … Continue reading →

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The News

Posted on April 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

The News: A User’s Manual© 2014 Alain de Botton272 pages The news more than any other modern institution has taken the role of shaping a nation’s collective consciousness, but  what shape does that leave us in? Alain de Botton’s The … Continue reading →

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Brideshead Revisited

Posted on March 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

Brideshead Revisited: The Secular and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder© 1945 Evelyn Waugh350 pages My theme is memory, that winged host that soared about me one grey morning of war-time. These memories, which are my life–for we possess nothing … Continue reading →

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The First Congress

Posted on March 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government© 2016 Fergus Bordewich416 pages The first attempt at creating an American confederation resulted in a chronically bankrupt and impotent organization which no one … Continue reading →

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The Scotch-Irish

Posted on March 26, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Scotch-Irish: A Social History© 1989 James Leyburn397 pages         Though they have long ceased to be a distinct ethnic group outside of Appalachia, for years the greatest non-English minority in the United States were the Scotch-Irish. … Continue reading →

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The Road to Little Dribbling

Posted on March 26, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain© 2015 Bill Bryson380 pages “When people asked me where I was bound, I could gaze toward the northern horizon with a set expression and say ‘Cape Wrath, God willing’. … Continue reading →

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Return to Bag End

Posted on March 23, 2016 by smellincoffee

On March 25th, by the reckoning of the Shire,  the Ring of Power was cast into the Cracks of Doom and the vicious horde facing the Men of the West melted away.  I would it would be appropriate, therefore, to … Continue reading →

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