Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Hunting a Detroit Tiger

Posted on March 28, 2024 by smellincoffee

Utility infielder Mickey Rawlings is in a fix. A man trying to organize baseball players into a union has been shot dead, and everyone is saying Mickey did it. In self defense, sure, so the police don’t care: indeed, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tales from the Diamond

Posted on March 27, 2024 by smellincoffee

The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told is a mixed collection of fiction, nonfiction, and in-between pieces inspired by America’s game. The subtitle, “Tales from the Diamond”, makes it sound as though these are stories about amazing plays, games, etc, which … Continue reading →

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

Literature: What Every Catholic Should Know

Posted on March 26, 2024 by smellincoffee

Years ago I stumbled upon a podcast called “Great Works in Western Literature” by a man named Joseph Pearce, and immediately a became fan of it. Pearce’s love of literature was infectious, especially seeing I was just beginning to read … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, General, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ballpark

Posted on March 26, 2024 by smellincoffee

Regardless of one’s personal beliefs about the origins of baseball, there’s no getting around the fact that the game as we know it is a product of the cities, particularly New York: the cities were where the people were, and … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Right to Read: Segregation and Civil Rights

Posted on March 25, 2024 by smellincoffee

Alabama public libraries were early stages for Civil Rights projects, given their high public profile and higher deals: libraries were created for the common good, for the benefit of society, meant to serve everyone. How could they bar someone from … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Plum, in his own Words

Posted on March 22, 2024 by smellincoffee

I’d intended to save this for Read of England, but — rum thing, when you begin reading Wodehouse it’s as hard to resist finishing him as it is to rescue Bertie Wooster’s Aunt Agatha when she topples down the stairs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Anxious People

Posted on March 19, 2024 by smellincoffee

The scene: an apartment showing, the day before New Year’s. The apartment is filled with people, and then enters one more: a masked individual wielding a gun, panicked. They’ve just tried to rob a bank, only the bank is a … Continue reading →

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

Short rounds: Idols, community, and baseball bros

Posted on March 15, 2024 by smellincoffee

Despite appearances, I have been reading this past week… Elizabeth Scalia’s Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols of Everyday Life invites readers to consider those things which get between them and God. I heard sermons on this topic in my youth … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Eat, Poop, Die

Posted on March 11, 2024 by smellincoffee

Now there’s a sign you won’t see decorating someone’s living room. Their bathroom, maybe. Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World takes a look at the way animals shape ecosystems. It begins with the absolutely fascinating study of Surtsey, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Video Game of the Year

Posted on March 8, 2024 by smellincoffee

I came of age with video games, arriving in the world around the same time as Mario, and have enjoyed their maturation into a genuine art form, with sophisticated storytelling that makes most Hollywood offerings look like a middle school … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , | 9 Comments