Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Ten Books with Green Covers

Posted on March 17, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s treble T is books with green book covers, in honor of St. Patrick, whose feast day is today. He is the patron saint of Ireland and green rivers. Funny story: blue was originally the color associated with St. Patrick, … Continue reading →

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Robert Parker’s Blind Spot

Posted on March 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

Robert Parker’s Blind Spot is a mystery/thriller novel written to continue the stories of one of Parker’s existing characters, Sheriff Jesse Stone. I ran across the novel because I was looking for novels with baseball connections: this one begins when … Continue reading →

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Mortal Stakes

Posted on March 13, 2026 by smellincoffee

Spenser is a private detective working in the Hub City, and he’s just been approached with an interesting job. Red Sox management thinks one of their players is throwing games, and they want him to find out if their hunch … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday

Posted on March 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? Double Play, Robert Parker. WHAT are you reading now? Mortal Stakes, Robert Parker — and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, full-cast audio edition. Released yesterday but I had a night class, … Continue reading →

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Double Play

Posted on March 10, 2026 by smellincoffee

Burke has returned home from World War 2 with a body full of scars and a mind even more disturbed. He arrived home not to hugs and kisses, but to a letter from his wife telling him that she’d run … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Tuesday: Ordinal Numbers Time

Posted on March 10, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is “books with ordinal numbers in the title”. Mmkay….. But first, a tease from Robert Parker’s Double Play: “We need to work this out,” Burke said. “I don’t want to have to keep shooting people.”“We got plenty.” (1) … Continue reading →

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The Tragic Comedy of Suburban Sprawl (Revisited)

Posted on March 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

Almost twenty years ago I attended a guest lecture at my university and heard a talk that would prove to be exceptionally influential on my thinking.  The talk, by Jim Kunstler, was on how American urban design – the built … Continue reading →

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The Confessions

Posted on March 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

Fifteen years ago, I read The Confessions; I am not sure what prompted me to do so, other than perhaps a desire to read The Classics, and my belief that St. Augustine was like Cicero, a brother in avid pursuit … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday

Posted on March 4, 2026 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? The Confessions, St. Augustine. WHAT are you reading now? 2/3rds through Augustine: A Very Short Introduction, by Henry Chadwick. Also starting a re-read of The KunstlerCast: Conversations with James Howard Kunstler about the Tragic … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Tuesday Freebie: Books that Sing

Posted on March 3, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s topic is a TTT genre freebie.   I was going to do something like “My Favorite Historical Fiction Books of the Last Five Years”. Instead, I am going to do…..ten songs to pair with ten books.   “The problem in … Continue reading →

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