Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Selections from The Unbroken Thread

Posted on September 16, 2021 by smellincoffee

“The great benefit to be derived from reading pre-modern authors is to come to realise that after all we [moderns] might have been mistaken.” – C.F.J. Martin  [C.S. Lewis] argued that instinct, science’s go-to answer to our central question, just … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations, Religion and Philosophy | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Revolutionary Ride

Posted on September 16, 2021 by smellincoffee

Revolutionary Ride: On the Road to find the Real Iran© 2017 Lois Pryce304 pages It was a note from a stranger that took her to Iran, a request from a Habib of Shiraz that she one day visit his home … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Eagles at War

Posted on September 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

Eagles of Rome: Eagles at War© 2015 Ben Kane448 pages Cast from solid gold, and larger than a man could hold in both hands, the eagle was depicted lying forward on its breast. A golden wreath encircled its almost-touching wings, … Continue reading →

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

Of anthropology, Solzhenitsyn, and a return to the gulag archipelago

Posted on September 12, 2021 by smellincoffee

If I’ve been quiet as of late, I’ve been bedridden with a severe sinus infection, one that came with headaches so severe that I couldn’t even use my four days off of work to read. Yesterday was the first day … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants

Posted on September 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans© Garrett Ryan 288 pages For those interested in the life of Greece and Rome beyond senatorial politics and agricultural policy, Naked States offers an … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Warehouse

Posted on September 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

Paxton used to be a man with a promising idea, one that was flourishing in the market — but then The Cloud said “Lower your prices”. The Cloud wasn’t the voice of God, floating in the heavens — but it … Continue reading →

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

The Moon is Down | The Pearl | The Red Pony

Posted on September 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

Yesterday I made the mistake of having a sinus headache, and in our Brave New World of Perpetual Hypochondria, I was ordered to the doctor’s office to have my nose jabbed in search of the dreaded Beer Bug. To no … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Traitors of Rome

Posted on August 30, 2021 by smellincoffee

Traitors of Rome© 2019 Simon Scarrow351 pages Young Tribune Cato and his grizzled enlisted mentor Macro have come a long way together, from the dismal bogs of Britannia to the even more dismal desert wastes of the eastern border. Across … Continue reading →

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

Unsubscribing from romantic-comedy dreams

Posted on August 26, 2021 by smellincoffee

Within the last month I’ve read two somewhat related titles: No More Mr. Nice Guy and The Unplugged Alpha, both mens-interest books but with different tones.  No More Mr. Nice Guy is written by a psychologist who treats men trapped … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Soviets…..in Space

Posted on August 23, 2021 by smellincoffee

Soviets in Space: The People of the USSR and the Race to the Moon© 2021 Colin Turbett232 pages In 1959, Soviet Russia shocked the world, and especially its rival the United States, by launching an artificial satellite into orbit. Sputnik-I’s … Continue reading →

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