Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

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 →

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War Lord

Posted on December 2, 2020 by smellincoffee

War Lord© 2020 Bernard Cornwell352 pages As a boy, Uhtred saw his father and brother slain by an invading enemy, an enemy who took his home from him. Unwilling to turn and run, the boy Uhtred attacked these ferocious warlords … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Suspicious Minds

Posted on December 1, 2020 by smellincoffee

Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories304 pages© 2015 Rob Brotherton We’re caught in a trap, and we can’t walk out*. Our brains orient us towards belief. No sex, no political leaning, no cultural demographic has a monopoly on conspiracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Ready Player Two: Spoiler Free

Posted on November 26, 2020 by smellincoffee

Ready Player Two© Ernest Cline384 pages Ready Player One remains one of my favorite novels, ever; for me it is the Starburst jellybean of books, a perfect sweet spot between geekery and pop culture. I couldn’t wait to get my … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged | 3 Comments

Too Much Magic: Same arguments, different cover

Posted on November 25, 2020 by smellincoffee

Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation© 2012 Jim Kunstler336 pages Twelve years ago, at the urging of my sociology professor, I attended a lecture on Peak Oil and the Future of Suburbia, by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments