Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England

Posted on April 8, 2021 by smellincoffee

A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England© 2014 Sue Wilkes224 pages Fancy a visit with Jane? Sue Wilkes has created here a light introduction to Austen’s society, the landed gentry of the mid-Georgian period. Although its approach reminds one of … Continue reading →

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

The Blooding

Posted on April 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

Master of War: The Blooding© 2013 David Gilman512 pages Thomas Blackstone is a free man, a stonemason who learned his trade alongside his deaf-mute brother Richard.  When Richard is accused of raping and killing a young woman,  the price for … Continue reading →

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

The Rebel Killer

Posted on April 3, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Rebel Killer© 2019 Paul Fraser Collard432 pages Jack Lark is a defeated man. Soul-scarred after the campaign in northern Italy, he came to the United States desiring nothing but to deliver a letter from a mortally wounded comrade to … Continue reading →

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

The Fox from his Lair

Posted on April 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Fox from his LairOriginal pub. year unknown, Kindle edition © 2020220 pages In the wake of a disastrous training exercise, bodies are washing up on the shores of England. If intelligence from one of those bodies falls into German … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Beyond Tenebrae

Posted on March 25, 2021 by smellincoffee

Beyond Tenebrae: Christian Humanism in the Twilight of the West© 2019 Brad Birzer258 pages Most people, including myself until a few years ago, would describe humanism as a worldview championing the possibility of, and the need for, humans living moral, … Continue reading →

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

Davita’s Harp

Posted on March 21, 2021 by smellincoffee

Davita’s Harp© 1985 Chaim Potok384 pages Are you a Jew?  Ilana Davita Chandel  gets that question a lot. It’s lobbed at her from Irish and Italian street toughs, and from inquisitive neighbors who see  her swimming on the Sabbath.  Is … Continue reading →

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

Conspiracies and other stories that make us human

Posted on March 16, 2021 by smellincoffee

Early last week I read Brian Dunning’s Conspiracies Declassified: The Skeptoid Guide to the Truth Behind the Theories. I used to listen to Skeptoid over a decade ago, enjoying Dunning’s research into the facts behind popular theories and unsolved mysteries. … Continue reading →

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

Rebekah

Posted on March 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

Rebekah© 2001 Orson Scott Card416 pages When I stumbled upon Orson Scott Card’s ‘women of the bible’ series, I knew I had to try it just out of curiosity. The idea of a science fiction writer turning his hand to … Continue reading →

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Tuesday trifecta: hacking, prepping, and making shine

Posted on March 9, 2021 by smellincoffee

I’ve been dog & cat-sitting away from my computer since last week, and without a TV or computer to distract me I’ve been doing that ‘reading’ thing. First up, I read Just in Case, a prepping-for-newbies book the library acquired … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, science fiction, Society and Culture | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Disaster by Choice

Posted on March 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

Disaster by Choice: How our Actions Turn Natural Hazards into Catastrophes© 2020 Ilan Kelman180 pages What makes a natural event — rising waters, a hurricane, a sudden slip of tectonic plates — a disaster? Human suffering — and Illan Kelman … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , | 9 Comments