Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Permanent Record

Posted on January 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

Permanent Record© Edward Snowden352 pages Nearly a decade ago we bore witness to magnificent acts of rebellion and alarm-calling, as dissidents like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden began exposing DC’s global surveillance state and abuses of power. DC acted with … Continue reading →

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

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Posted on January 4, 2021 by smellincoffee

“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw round, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”“But I don’t want to go among mad … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

The Awakening of Miss Prim

Posted on January 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Awakening of Miss Prim© 2014 Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera315 pages The Awakening of Miss Prim is a funny little novel, and not the sort of thing that would ordinarily be on my radar: a cozy romance, set in a ridiculously … Continue reading →

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The Screwtape Letters

Posted on December 23, 2020 by smellincoffee

In the 1940s, as war waged in Europe, another war raged in England:  a struggle for one man’s soul. Advised by his uncle Screwtape, a young demon faced with a new convert to Christianity must work overtime to stifle his … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

1913: A Year of Gossip

Posted on December 21, 2020 by smellincoffee

I reviewed this title on goodreads, I described it as “People magazine for prewar Germany & Austria, with Louis Armstrong and a stray Frenchman thrown in for good measure.” There’s no traditional narrative, more a long series of vignettes that … Continue reading →

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

Present Concerns and even more Lewis quotes

Posted on December 17, 2020 by smellincoffee

Although Present Concerns’ title makes it sound as though it consists of essays by Lewis written about 1940s issues,   the contents still speak to our present day.  One of the passages, quoted to me from a friend, leapt out … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

You are not so smart, and animals are not so dumb: a science twofer

Posted on December 10, 2020 by smellincoffee

Last week I read You Are Not So Smart, an often interesting if sometimes trivial review of how mental shortcuts get us in trouble. My reading of Suspicious Minds led into this, and they shared some common ground. The shortcuts … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Silent Night: The Christmas Truce

Posted on December 8, 2020 by smellincoffee

Silent Night: The Remarkable Story of the Christmas Truce© 2002 Stanley Weintraub240 pages One of the most extraordinary stories to come out of the Great War is that of the Christmas Truce, a spontaneous outbreak of caritas in which English, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Go Ask Alice

Posted on December 7, 2020 by smellincoffee

© 1971 Beatrice Sparks271 pages Go ask Alice / I think she’ll know / When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead… Recently, while doing some cleaning to the sounds of the Vietnam War, I heard a song urging me … Continue reading →

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Headlong Flight

Posted on December 5, 2020 by smellincoffee

Star Trek TNG: Headlong Flight© 2017 Dayton Ward251 pages A mysterious nebula and a rogue planet bring together three ships across the gulf of time and space. In our universe, the Enterprise-E can’t resist data that indicates there are lifeforms … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 3 Comments