Tag Archives: audiobook

Red Dead’s History

Posted on February 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

As a student of history who also plays a lot of video games which touch on history, I wonder sometimes what skewed version  of history unread players take from it.  Tore Olsson takes that same question and applies it to … Continue reading →

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Strong Towns: the Book

Posted on January 22, 2025 by smellincoffee

Years ago I heard an engineer being interviewed on a podcast about urbanism, castigating his fellow planners and engineers for supporting an approach to urbanism that was dishonest and financially ruinous. This engineer, Chuck Marohn, had recently started a blog … Continue reading →

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Strange Weather in Tokyo

Posted on January 3, 2025 by smellincoffee

There’s no resisting that cover! Tsukiko is a young woman on the cusp of middle age, not far from sailing into her forties. One night at her local sake bar, she puts in a order for snacks and hears an … Continue reading →

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Christmas shorts: of Grinches and Herdmans

Posted on December 11, 2024 by smellincoffee

Because of the holidays I’m doing a lot of house and dogsitting at the moment, and driving more than I usually do: consequently I’m also chewing through some audiobooks! Recently I finished two short Christmas “reads”. First up, Walter Matthau … Continue reading →

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Tim Curry Presents: A Christmas Carol

Posted on December 10, 2024 by smellincoffee

A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite pieces of literature, ever, not only for its story of Christmas grace and human redemption, but for Dickens’ frequently amusing writing. I recently saw a theatrical production of it (via the Montevallo … Continue reading →

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Oceans and fishes and magic needles

Posted on December 6, 2024 by smellincoffee

Within the last few weeks I’ve read a couple of science titles, one of which was a big ol’ book that deserves a proper review, but given that my mental energies are entirely focused on my last project for this … Continue reading →

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What If? 2

Posted on November 19, 2024 by smellincoffee

A few years back I read a silly science book called What If? in which the author of the webcomic XKCD (known for its math and science humor), tackled preposterous questions with scientific seriousness. On seeing the sequel available via … Continue reading →

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Recoding History

Posted on June 29, 2024 by smellincoffee

A few years ago I read Broad Band, a history of women in early computing, which blew my mind. I’d taken for granted that computers and the early internet were wholly the domain of socially awkward dudes with glasses wearing … Continue reading →

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Fan Fiction

Posted on June 22, 2024 by smellincoffee

First up: do not read this. Do not read this. Listen to it. Reading this is the equivalent of getting your knowledge of War and Peace from a Wishbone classics edition. Fan Fiction is an audiobook that’s transcended to the … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Diamond

Posted on March 27, 2024 by smellincoffee

The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told is a mixed collection of fiction, nonfiction, and in-between pieces inspired by America’s game. The subtitle, “Tales from the Diamond”, makes it sound as though these are stories about amazing plays, games, etc, which … Continue reading →

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