Category Archives: Reviews

The Ice at the End of the World

Posted on October 16, 2019 by smellincoffee

© 2019  Jon Gertner 418 pages My reading journeys have taken me to Greenland recently, but instead of reading more about the Viking settlements there,  I wanted to read about another tribe:   the explorers and scientists who willingly endured months … Continue reading →

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IRL

Posted on October 15, 2019 by smellincoffee

© 2014 Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang 192 pages I happened to see Cory Doctorow’s name on the cover of this graphic novel, and had to take a look.  The plot is heavily based on a short story of Doctorow’s, … Continue reading →

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Needful Things

Posted on October 13, 2019 by smellincoffee

Needful Things © 1992 Stephen King 940 pages A new shop has come to Castle Rock, one with a curious name: NEEDFUL THINGS. Its wares appear to run the gamut from cheap antiques to one-of-a-kind oddities. Even in a small … Continue reading →

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How To Break Up With Your Phone

Posted on October 12, 2019 by smellincoffee

How To Break Up With Your Phone © 2018 Catherine Price 192 pages In just over a decade, smartphones have become ubiquitous and transformative. But for all the ease they add to our lives,   smartphones also have an inherent capacity … Continue reading →

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The Histories of Herodotus

Posted on October 10, 2019 by smellincoffee

One doesn’t study history for very long, at least in the West,  before running into Herodotus.  I’ve meant to read him for years,  given his reputation as one of the earliest, if not the earliest,  historian —  that is, someone … Continue reading →

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The Jungle

Posted on October 8, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Jungle © 1906 Upton Sinclair 475 pages Welcome to The Jungle, but we don’t have fun and games. We have despair, ruin, and death.    The Jungle begins as the story of the Rudkus-Lukoszaite family, who have arrived in America … Continue reading →

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FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOMMMMM!

Posted on October 5, 2019 by smellincoffee

This has nothing to do with reading, but last night I celebrated a huge milestone. My student loans are….no more! Vanquished! Signing my master promissory note in summer 2007,  preparing to go to college: Making the final-final payment of $0.16 … Continue reading →

Posted in history | 12 Comments

The Sea Wolves

Posted on October 1, 2019 by smellincoffee

© 2014 Lars Brownsworth 300 pages “Deliver us, Lord, from the hands of the Northmen!”    While that exact prayer may be apocryphal,  the sentiment certainly resounded in communities from Ireland to Cordoba to Constantinople.  In two of the final centuries … Continue reading →

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Tick, tick, tick

Posted on October 1, 2019 by smellincoffee

It’s October 1,  meaning only three months remain  in 2019 to meet my reading goals.  How am I doing?  Classics Club: I am slightly ahead of  schedule, despite at one point being a month and a half behind.  However,  the … Continue reading →

Posted in General, history | 2 Comments

The Faith Healers

Posted on September 26, 2019 by smellincoffee

© 1987  James Randi 328 pages Recently I chanced to watch a lecture by “The Amazing” James Randi, a professional magician who, in the 1980s,  began investigating paranormal racketeers — and exposing them.   As someone who used people’s assumptions to … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged | 4 Comments