Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Controversial Polemics

Posted on April 8, 2026 by smellincoffee

When he was twenty-three, Michael Mohr read On the Road and decided to pursue the life of Sal Paradise himself. He hit the road for a life of drinking and adventures, but by the end of his twenties had lost … Continue reading →

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The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy

Posted on April 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce was one of my favorite books of 2024, and I’ve been meaning to read its sequel for some time now. I thought Read of England as appropriate an occasion as any. … Continue reading →

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The People on Platform 5

Posted on April 2, 2026 by smellincoffee

You don’t talk to the people on the platform, or on the train. You sit in silence, lost in your headphones or your phone or even a book. But what happens when the man sitting opposite you suddenly begins choking … Continue reading →

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The Sober Diaries

Posted on April 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

In the afterwords of The Authenticity of Project, author Clare Pooley noted that it was her attempt to capture in fiction something she’s done in fact: change her life through honesty. She’d done it by blogging her journey to sobriety, … Continue reading →

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The Say Hayes Kid

Posted on March 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

In my Hail to the Chief series, I am embarking on a Trilogy of Unknowns: Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur. The only one I’d recognize in a lineup is Arthur because of his wonderful lambchops: they know … Continue reading →

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The Authenticity Project

Posted on March 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

Imagine, dear reader, that you encountered an obviously abandoned composition notebook in a cafe or library, and picked it up to find an invitation to tell your darkest secrets and fears. What would you say? That’s the premise of The … Continue reading →

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Paradise Lost

Posted on March 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Like Dante’s Divine Comedy, Milton’s Paradise Lost is a key bit of Christian literature which has shaped people’s understanding of Bible stories in an indirect way; that is, Milton and Dante’s interpretation of Biblical events and places has become our … Continue reading →

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Eleanor Oliphant is Per *hic* Perfect *hic* SHE’S FINE

Posted on March 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Eleanor Oliphant  has worked at the same firm every year since she graduated college, and she has an unvarying routine of going home and watching tv while eating packaged meals. On weekends, she drinks vodka by the liter, staying  pleasantly  … Continue reading →

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Sam Grant

Posted on March 27, 2026 by smellincoffee

Ulysses Grant opens with Josiah Bunting III’s rueful observation that Grant is almost always thought of “General Grant”, never president — despite being the only man between Lincoln and Wilson to serve two consecutive terms. Bunting attributes this to both … Continue reading →

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Losing the Signal

Posted on March 25, 2026 by smellincoffee

Despite coming of age as cellphones were becoming ubiquitous, I developed an immediate dislike for them on arrival; I grudgingly bought one in 2005 when I began working, purely to keep in the car for emergencies, and but was not … Continue reading →

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