Monthly Archives: December 2025

December 2025 in Review + Moviewatch

Posted on December 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

Well, December was a heckuva month, that’s all I can say. I read twenty books this month alone, though quite a few entries were ‘short’ — I’ve been making my way through The American Presidents series, all volumes of which … Continue reading →

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What I Read in 2025

Posted on December 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

Books in bold are superior favorites. I’ve been trying to whip one of my drafts of Provoked into shape fit for posting but am still not happy yet. It will happen, though. I’m close. January(1) Strange Weather in Tokyo, Hiromi … Continue reading →

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The Best of 2025 — Annual Year in Review!

Posted on December 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

Here we are at the end of another year. After the distressing takeover of fiction in 2024,  I was determined to not let that happen again. Then entered CJ Box, whose 26-strong Joe Pickett series lassoed my intentions off their … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday – 2025’s Last One!

Posted on December 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finish reading recently? Marce Catlett: The Force of Story, Wendell Berry. WHAT are you currently reading? President without a Party, Christopher Leahy. An ….incredibly…..detailed….policy history of the Tyler presidency. Also, Jon Meacham’s biography of Andrew Jackson. I … Continue reading →

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Marce Catlett and the Force of Story

Posted on December 30, 2025 by smellincoffee

Marce Catlett  The Force of a Story takes a life we’ve visited with previously and then visits with it for a while, learning how the story of Andy Catlett was really a continuation of a story in which his grandfather … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Movie Favorites for 2025

Posted on December 30, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is our ten most recent acquisitions, but I’m going to be wicked and do my top ten favorite films watched for this year, instead. But first, the Teaseday Tues! [Tyler] was an Old Republican who pledged fealty to … Continue reading →

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End Year Short Rounds: Frankenstein, Merlin, and Stephen Douglas

Posted on December 29, 2025 by smellincoffee

Although I ostensibly took a break from the blog on Christmas eve to focus on real life and all that, part of my brain is resolutely blog-oriented and insisted I keep reading so that I did not fail the Science … Continue reading →

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Harry Potter and the Quest to Get Expelled: Full Cast Audio!

Posted on December 28, 2025 by smellincoffee

Recently I took a chance on the full-cast audio version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone that’s just come out. I say “took a chance” because the preview on Audible does not communicate the nature of the book especially … Continue reading →

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Science Survey, 2025!

Posted on December 28, 2025 by smellincoffee

Yes, despite entering the month with three items pending, and despite my history obsession and the sloth that comes with the holidays, I knocked out Chemistry/Physics, Biology, and Local Astronomy this past week. Hurrah for the Christmas holidays! ….reviews will … Continue reading →

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And this is why we do not discuss politics at Christmas lunch

Posted on December 24, 2025 by smellincoffee

(Yes, yes, I know I’m taking a break, but I read this today and it was too funny and too appropriate to leave alone.) “On December 25, 1847, one day after Cass wrote to Nicholson, [Jefferson] Davis confronted colleague Henry … Continue reading →

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