Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

With Good Intentions? The Myth of Progress

Posted on November 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

Wait, wait, wait. Before I comment on this book, I want to say first that patience is a virtue, and so is persistence. I stumbled on Bill Kauffman nine years ago, possibly via Front Porch Republic, and was immediately taken … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Make it ho, ho, ho!

Posted on November 24, 2023 by smellincoffee

When I saw that Audible had a version of “A Christmas Carol” performed by Patrick Stewart, there wasn’t a chance in the world I would not listen to it. I made myself wait until after Thanksgiving, though, because I’m a … Continue reading →

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

Racism, medieval feasting, and housing

Posted on November 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

Between work and school projects my list of read-but-unreviewed titles is growing, so…alas, it’s short rounds time. First up, The Color of Law, on how housing segregation was purposely pursued, not merely tolerated, by the federal government — primarily through … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Devil’s Pact

Posted on November 15, 2023 by smellincoffee

Jack Tanner is just a working class lad from the west country. He doesn’t belong aboard a transport plane, waiting for his turn to jump into the darkness with an aim of landing somewhere in Sicily, hopefully to meet the … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Hellfire

Posted on November 8, 2023 by smellincoffee

August, 1942. The English and the Germans have been trading punches with bloody noses for a while now, and while American tanks and G.I’s are on the way, the Desert Fox is still plenty dangerous — as he proves when … Continue reading →

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

The Outlaw Ocean

Posted on November 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Secret Life of Groceries was a disturbing wake-up call for me last year, exposing as it did how slavery is a core part of the fishing industry that supplies seafood the world around — in which men are trapped … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The People vs Tech

Posted on November 3, 2023 by smellincoffee

Democracy must bring big tech to heel, adapt itself to thrive despite big tech, or perish. Born of different times, with different expectations, they cannot coexist in their present date: the latter will surely destroy the other. In The People … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged | 3 Comments

How Social Media Rewired Our Minds

Posted on November 2, 2023 by smellincoffee

One of my core beliefs is that we live in a world which we made for ourselves, and yet which is not fit for ourselves. Our eyes expect to see what they do not see, our arms reach for which … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Influx

Posted on October 31, 2023 by smellincoffee

Jon Grady is ecstatic. Tonight he has ushered in a new era in human civilization. He’s created antigravity. A thousand years from now, schoolchildren will recite his name alongside Newton and Einstein. Or….they would, if a strike team from a … Continue reading →

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

Metatropolis

Posted on October 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

Metatropolis collects five short stories from a “shared future”, all in or about the future of the city. That vision is not one of growth, however, but of retraction and collapse. Expect nothing like the Sprawl here. I was drawn … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments