Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

My Man Jeeves

Posted on April 8, 2016 by smellincoffee

My Man Jeeves© 1919 P.G. Wodehouse132 pages “There’s only one thing to do,” I said. “What’s that?” “Leave it to Jeeves.” What ho, readers all!   My Man Jeeves renews my acquaintance with young Bertie Wooster, exemplar of the aristocracy … Continue reading →

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Frodo’s Journey

Posted on April 8, 2016 by smellincoffee

Frodo’s Journey: The Hidden Meaning of the Lord of the Rings © 2015 Joseph Pearce 158 pages Noting that Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring trilogy is rich with symbolism is rather akin to observing that the Pacific Ocean is big. … Continue reading →

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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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