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.

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy

Posted on April 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce was one of my favorite books of 2024, and I’ve been meaning to read its sequel for some time now. I thought Read of England as appropriate an occasion as any. … Continue reading →

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This Joyful Eastertide

Posted on April 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

Christos anesti! The choir I’m in will be attempting this piece later this morning. I knew Turner was a good musician & singer from his collabs with Allison Young, but I didn’t realize how vocally versatile he was.

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The People on Platform 5

Posted on April 2, 2026 by smellincoffee

You don’t talk to the people on the platform, or on the train. You sit in silence, lost in your headphones or your phone or even a book. But what happens when the man sitting opposite you suddenly begins choking … Continue reading →

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The Sober Diaries

Posted on April 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

In the afterwords of The Authenticity of Project, author Clare Pooley noted that it was her attempt to capture in fiction something she’s done in fact: change her life through honesty. She’d done it by blogging her journey to sobriety, … Continue reading →

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March 2026 in Review + WWW Wednesday

Posted on April 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

After a vigorous opening for the year, my reading fell back rather dramatically this month before starting to recover with some short biographies and novels at the close. (The novels were Britfic, too, a nice segue into Read of England.) … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday

Posted on March 31, 2026 by smellincoffee

Without getting ahead of my story, let’s just say that nearly every planet and moon that ever existed in the solar system was consumed by something bigger than itself, and that makes all the difference in the world. Most planets … Continue reading →

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Moviewatch: March 2026

Posted on March 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

Given that I have class tomorrow night, it’s good odds my movie-watching for March is completed! My film viewing, like my book-reading, was extremely slow for the first part of the month and then exploded in the second half. A … Continue reading →

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The Say Hayes Kid

Posted on March 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

In my Hail to the Chief series, I am embarking on a Trilogy of Unknowns: Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur. The only one I’d recognize in a lineup is Arthur because of his wonderful lambchops: they know … Continue reading →

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The Authenticity Project

Posted on March 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

Imagine, dear reader, that you encountered an obviously abandoned composition notebook in a cafe or library, and picked it up to find an invitation to tell your darkest secrets and fears. What would you say? That’s the premise of The … Continue reading →

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Paradise Lost

Posted on March 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Like Dante’s Divine Comedy, Milton’s Paradise Lost is a key bit of Christian literature which has shaped people’s understanding of Bible stories in an indirect way; that is, Milton and Dante’s interpretation of Biblical events and places has become our … Continue reading →

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