Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis

Posted on October 25, 2024 by smellincoffee

Most people encounter C.S. Lewis as a Christian apologist or an author of stories — either the children’s series of Narnia, or his fascinating “space trilogy”, which combined mythology, medieval cosmology, and character drama to good effect. His occupation, though, … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Old Lion

Posted on October 21, 2024 by smellincoffee

Imagine if someone wrote a fictional biography of Chuck Norris, but they used the internet legend version of Norris as their inspiration rather than the actor himself. That’s what impression The Old Lion gives me, frankly, a worshipful depiction of … Continue reading →

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How Librarians Will Save us All

Posted on October 17, 2024 by smellincoffee

As promised, I read This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Will Save us All, by Marilyn Johnson. Before getting into it, though, I found a very quick work on KU that amused me, so I’m sharing it here … Continue reading →

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The Dead Beat

Posted on October 16, 2024 by smellincoffee

Searching for obituaries is the most frequent kind of local history request I field at the library, and I like to joke when I’m disappearing into the archives room that I’m off hunting for dead people. I’ve noticed over the … Continue reading →

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