Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Dune

Posted on June 21, 2024 by smellincoffee

For as long as I’ve been online, I’ve heard of Dune, have heard expressions like “The spice must flow” and seen the “I must not fear / fear is the mind-killer / fear is the little death (etc)” recitation embedded … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Mythos

Posted on June 21, 2024 by smellincoffee

This book will hold a record for the title it took me the longest to complete, as I’ve been listening to it off and on since fall 2021, attracted by both the premise and (chiefly) the narrator, Stephen Fry — … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Zero Days

Posted on June 20, 2024 by smellincoffee

Jack and her husband, Gabe, are professional security analysts — pen-testers, red-teamers. Their job is to test the security measures of companies, both digital and physical, to find weaknesses. After one case goes a little sideways and Jack is briefly … Continue reading →

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

The spice must flow: Dune, the Graphic Novel(s)

Posted on June 12, 2024 by smellincoffee

Purists may give me the stink-eye, but when I spotted these in our new acquisitions in the children’s department, I snatched them right up. I aim to read Dune this year, and I figured a graphic novel version might break … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 33 Comments

Tiger Chair

Posted on June 11, 2024 by smellincoffee

War. War never changes. Oh, the execution of it changes — spears become rifles, scouts on fast horses are replaced by drones and mining photos for GPS data — but the horror of it remains, as does certain truths like … Continue reading →

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

Top Ten Bookish Wishes

Posted on June 11, 2024 by smellincoffee

Today’s a day for sharing the books we’d really love to own. But first, teases! Pondering the implications of a red-hot cowpat landing on my head, I felt a surge of unease and retraced my steps. I hadn’t gone far … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 20 Comments

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Posted on June 10, 2024 by smellincoffee

Last week I finished A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, the second in the Monk and Robot duology. In the first book, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, we were introduced to the Monk, Dex, who journeyed into the wilderness looking for … Continue reading →

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

The Lives of the Stoics

Posted on June 7, 2024 by smellincoffee

Some seventeen years ago I discovered The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and the Discourses and Handbook of Epictetus. Neither men meant to publish these: the first was a private diary that was publically shared after the Emperor’s death, the second … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Posted on June 6, 2024 by smellincoffee

What do people need? Dex is a garden monk who should, by all accounts, enjoy a perfectly happy life. Health, a meaningful job, people who love them — what’s missing? Dex doesn’t know. After departing from the monastery to pursue … Continue reading →

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

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

Posted on June 5, 2024 by smellincoffee

Constance is a young woman who’s just arrived in Hazelbourne, there to take care of an older family friend who’s just had a bout with flu. She enters into a new social circle thanks to this connection, and despite the … Continue reading →

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