Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The 99% Invisible City

Posted on June 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Ordinary Design© 2020 Roman Mars400 pages I’ve spent many hours in two of my city’s oldest buildings — one a church, the other a mixed-use Italianate beauty turned … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A Man Called Ove

Posted on June 26, 2023 by smellincoffee

A Man Called Ove© 2012 Fredrik Backman368 pages Ove is a simple man. He likes to wake early, patrol the neighborhood and look for trouble, take care of what needs fixing, grouse about people not doing things properly, and then … Continue reading →

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Of blood and brilliant butlers

Posted on June 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

Rose George has previously shared with readers her voyages across the world following cargo ships and movements to make sanitation both more eco-friendly and readily available to poorer communities. In Nine Pints, she dips into the circulatory system. The result … Continue reading →

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

The Psychopath Test

Posted on June 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry© 2011 Jon Ronson290 pages Jon Ronson’s journalistic niche is the weird, so when he learned that numerous intellectuals across the western world had received identical volumes of the same modified book … Continue reading →

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The Island of Doctor Moreau

Posted on June 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

“It was not in eating the apple that I sinned, but in overstepping the mark set for me. ” – Adam, Paradiso.   Adrift at sea,  a young biologist named Prendick – who had taken to natural history to relieve … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Farming for xp and fields

Posted on June 16, 2023 by smellincoffee

More short rounds today, bringing together a lite SF title and a collection of Wendell Berry’s farming essays. First up is Craig Anderson’s Level Up, a title in the relatively new field of ‘litrpg’ in which video game elements are … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, science fiction, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Billy Yank @ Johnny Reb Stadium: PLAY BALL!

Posted on June 15, 2023 by smellincoffee

That title is just a way of me combining two Civil War short rounds into one post. (Billy Yank wins the five-game series, 3 to 2, but in a show of terrible sportmanship, burned the stadium on their departure.) First … Continue reading →

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

The Debutante

Posted on June 15, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Debutante: From High Society to White Supremacy© 2023 Jon RonsonAudible original, 3 hrs The Debutante is Jon Ronson’s investigation into the rumors and contradictions surrounding Carol Howe, a young woman who became interested in white nationalism and associated with … Continue reading →

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The Dirty Life

Posted on June 13, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love© 2011 Kristin Kimball287 pages When Kristin Kimball left her cozy confines in the big city to interview a passionate young farmer in the sticks, she had no idea her life … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Angels, barbarians, Trump, and boring Klansmen

Posted on June 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

Short rounds time! Angels, Barbarians, and Nincompoops is a wonderful romp through a few score words in the English language. Esolen has always impressed me as a man deep in word & song, saturated by the beauty of language — … Continue reading →

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