Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

What If? 2

Posted on November 19, 2024 by smellincoffee

A few years back I read a silly science book called What If? in which the author of the webcomic XKCD (known for its math and science humor), tackled preposterous questions with scientific seriousness. On seeing the sequel available via … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Illustrated Man

Posted on November 18, 2024 by smellincoffee

I’ve read to encounter a Bradbury piece that didn’t give me food for though, and The Illustrated Man is no exception. A collection of short stories framed by a mysteriously-tattooed stranger showing off his array of colorful and ever-changing ‘illustrations’, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Rise and Reign of the Mammals

Posted on November 15, 2024 by smellincoffee

Mammals, we learn in elementary school, are warm-blooded critters who give birth to live young, produce milk, and are noted for their hair. Only….as we get older, we learn about marsupials and platypuses and whales and realize the story of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Hello, Everybody!

Posted on November 13, 2024 by smellincoffee

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a host of technologies released that utterly transformed society, and few as dramatic as radio. Hello, Everybody! is an engaging history of the early decades of radio, filled with some dramatic, unbelievable … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

American Carnage

Posted on November 12, 2024 by smellincoffee

I fell out with both wings of the old uniparty in the mid-2000s over the war on terror and its attendant police state, which both parties supported despite some gum-flapping on the part of the Dems during the Bush years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Firefly: Lifesigns + SciFi Prompt 7

Posted on November 7, 2024 by smellincoffee

SciFi Month prompt #7 is, “What’s your favorite SF book read in the last year”, which is easy: Influx by Daniel Suarez. The ending was too “make this a movie, you guys, Michael Bay will make it EPIC”, but the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Beauteous Truth

Posted on November 5, 2024 by smellincoffee

I encountered Joseph Pearce over a decade ago via a podcast on literature: he is a man whose life was transformed through literature and the grace he experienced through it. His passion seeking the ‘good, the true, and the beautiful’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

SciFi Prompt #4 — and, the worst novel I’ve read this year

Posted on November 4, 2024 by smellincoffee

Today’s SciFi prompt is “Little Blue Dot”, or books about coming and going from “this fragile Earth, our island home”. Contact comes to mind immediately, and given that today is Carl Sagan’s birthday, I can’t imagine a better response.  Contact … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

The War of the Worlds as witnessed by Teddy Roosevelt

Posted on November 2, 2024 by smellincoffee

There came suddenly a blinding flash of flame from the pit, andanother and another, and the whole delegation met with a terrible instant death, forty souls in all. The fiery beam also ignited adjacent trees and brought down a portion … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist

Posted on October 28, 2024 by smellincoffee

Two years ago I read a Wendell Berry collection of essays edited not by Brother Berry himself, but by someone named Paul Kingsnorth. Being the nosy sort that I am, I inquired of Google who Kingsnorth might be, I knew … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments