Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Together Tonight: A Founding Fathers Triwizard Tournament

Posted on January 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

After listening to The Rivalry, a play based on the Lincoln-Douglas debates and delivered with aplomb by the Los Angeles Theater Works Productions company, I wanted to experience more of LATW. Then I saw this, another play based on debate … Continue reading →

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The Rivalry

Posted on January 14, 2026 by smellincoffee

The Rivalry proceeds from an ambitious and fascinating idea for a play. The Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858 led to Douglas being elected to the Senate, but they also allowed for a sustained public debate over slavery—and gave Lincoln far more … Continue reading →

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John Grisham’s The Widow

Posted on January 12, 2026 by smellincoffee

Simon Latch is a seasoned attorney in a dead marriage who struggles to make ends meet, even as he sleeps on a cot in his office. When an elderly woman approaches him for some estate work and mentions that she … Continue reading →

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Buy one, get one free: Jackson and Lincoln

Posted on January 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

I thought it would be amusing to do a history short round after realizing I’d read two books in which Jon Meacham focuses on Kentucky-born presidents who became icons and who dealt with secession crises. First up, Andy Jackson! Andrew … Continue reading →

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The Great Gatsby: Dramatized

Posted on January 9, 2026 by smellincoffee

As ifThe Great Gatsby needed more drama! LA Theater Works’ The Great Gatsby is a condensed audio adaptation (2 hours) of Fitzgerald’s original that focuses primarily on the relationships between Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Jordan Baker, Tom Buchanan, and — … Continue reading →

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Chorus of the Union

Posted on January 8, 2026 by smellincoffee

Before the last month or so, my awareness of Stephen Douglas was that he had sparred against Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. I did not realize until reading 1858 that these debates were not part of the 1860 presidential … Continue reading →

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Harry Potter and the Cat Who Rescues Books

Posted on January 7, 2026 by smellincoffee

Harry Potter and the Cat Who Rescues Books I only made it a week before doing a short-round!  First up, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, full cast audio edition.  I loved the full-cast audio edition of Harry Potter … Continue reading →

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Boston in the American Revolution

Posted on January 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

When people ask me, a son of the Deep South, why I root for the Red Sox, my usual answer is that I began wearing their hat decades ago because I liked the look of it, and then they went … Continue reading →

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John Tyler: The President Without a Party

Posted on January 2, 2026 by smellincoffee

I was instantly intrigued by John Tyler when I learned that his entire Cabinet, with the exception of the Secretary of State, had resigned on him in protest of his actions and that he had been declared excommunicate by his … Continue reading →

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Train Dreams

Posted on January 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

My first movie for 2026 was Train Dreams, a beautiful but tragic story of a man who found happiness, then saw it ripped away from him, and then was forced to grapple for meaning like Job. After dealing with an … Continue reading →

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