Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Romance of the Rails

Posted on March 21, 2019 by smellincoffee

Romance of the Rails: Why the Trains We Love Are Not the Transportation We Need© 2018 Randal O’Toole300 pages “These are the 1930s again, with all the charm and romance, all the gaiety! That was a carefree world, Danny, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Magnificent Nine

Posted on March 20, 2019 by smellincoffee

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine pub. 2019 James Lovegrove 384 pages Jayne Cobb is not the most conventionally faithful man aboard the good ship Serenity; he did, after all, enter Mal’s service for purely mercenary ends.  But there’s more to him … Continue reading →

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

The USS Alabama

Posted on March 17, 2019 by smellincoffee

Images of America: USS Alabama © 2013 Kent Whitaker & Battleship Memorial Park 128 pages When visiting downtown Mobile, one can’t help but notice the enormous battleship parked in the bay.  It’s the USS Alabama, tenth to bear the name, … Continue reading →

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Walkable City Rules

Posted on March 16, 2019 by smellincoffee

Walkaable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places © 2018 Jeff Speck312 pages In Walkable Cities, Jeff Speck argued for the virtues of a city optimized for pedestrian travel, and offered ten general guidelines  for making it happen — … Continue reading →

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Mockingbird Songs

Posted on March 14, 2019 by smellincoffee

Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee ©  2017 Wayne Flynt 251 pages When I read Poor but Proud by Wayne Flynt some years ago, I never imagined I’d meet the author, let alone help him carry in boxes of … Continue reading →

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Locked In (and Unlocked)

Posted on March 12, 2019 by smellincoffee

Lock In and Unlocked, a bonus novella pub. 2014 John Sclazi 336 pages Read by Wil Wheaton It looks, from the outside, like a simple case. There’s a body with a knife in it, recently planted. There’s a man in … Continue reading →

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

A Forest in the Clouds

Posted on March 11, 2019 by smellincoffee

A Forest in the Clouds © 2018 John Fowler336 pages John Fowler’s A Forest in the Clouds is his account of studying gorillas alongside famous naturalist Dian Fossey.   Although I picked it up for the gorillas (as one would), the … Continue reading →

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Alone Together

Posted on March 7, 2019 by smellincoffee

Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other © 2011 Sherry Turkle 384 pages Alone Together has been on my to-read list since it was released, though it’s taken me years to actually read it.  … Continue reading →

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Johnny Reb’ s War

Posted on March 3, 2019 by smellincoffee

Johnny Reb’s War: Battlefield and Homefrontpub. 2001 David Williams102 pages Johnny Reb’s War is a curious collection of two historical articles by David Williams, the contents of which were later encompassed by his impressively depressing People’s History of the American … Continue reading →

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Of Caesar, Aeneas, and Selma

Posted on March 2, 2019 by smellincoffee

This past week I’ve been dogsitting in the country, and if you’ve never enjoyed a rural sunset with a glass of wine and Chloe Feoranzo playing in the background, it’s an experience I can recommend. While I was away, February … Continue reading →

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