Author Archives: smellincoffee

About smellincoffee

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

November 2021

Posted on December 3, 2021 by smellincoffee

November proved to be a reasonably productive month! Classics Club Strikes Back:The Great Gatsby, F. Scott FitzgeraldWatership Down, Richard AdamsThe Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka Climbing Mount Doom:Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terror, Scott HortonWhen Harry Became Sally: Responding … Continue reading →

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Studying naked people

Posted on December 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body © 2005 Desmond MorrisThe Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body © 2009 Desmond Morris Years ago I read Desmond Morris’ The Naked Ape, an anthropological look at humanity. In scrutinizing human beings’ animal … Continue reading →

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

Once Upon a Wardrobe

Posted on December 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

Once Upon a Wardrobe© 2021 Patti Callahan 311 pages Once Upon a Wardrobe takes us to Oxford, 1950, where a young woman named Megs nervously approaches a tutor of English, C.S. Lewis, and asks: where did Narnia come from? She … Continue reading →

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Advent hello

Posted on November 29, 2021 by smellincoffee

A close relative of mine was rushed to the hospital last week and discovered to have kidney (!) cancer, so it’s been a stressful few days. Their offending kidney has been removed and they’re recovering nicely. Who knew such little … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 7 Comments

The Reading Life

Posted on November 23, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Reading Life: The Joy of Seeing New Worlds through Others’ Eyes © 2019 C.S. Lewis 192 pages One of the reasons I’ve grown so fond of Jack Lewis over the years is that he and I share some of … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Razor’s Edge

Posted on November 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Razor’s Edge© 1944 W. Somerset Maugham314 pages Larry Darrell was an unremarkable young man with a pre-determined future: possessing independent wealth from his family background, he needed only marry his childhood friend and fiancé Isabel, take his place in … Continue reading →

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Watership Down

Posted on November 19, 2021 by smellincoffee

Watership Down© 1972 Richard Adams413 pages A small community sits on the precipice of destruction, but the few who realize it are unable to fully warn their comrades. A small band leave everything they’ve ever known behind, to face the … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

The Great Gatsby

Posted on November 18, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Great Gatsby© F. Scott Fitzgerald It is interesting how the passage of years can suddenly alter a reader’s take on a given book. Take The Great Gatesby, for instance, which I read in early college and was so underwhelmed by that … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

A Furious Sky

Posted on November 17, 2021 by smellincoffee

A Furious Sky: The Five Hundred Year History of America’s Hurricanes© 2020 Eric Jay Dolin415 pages A Furious Sky is a history of hurricanes in American history, opening with Columbus’ attempts to warn a rival governor of imminent danger and … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Harry Potter Fanfic: They Shook Hands

Posted on November 15, 2021 by smellincoffee

I’m officially reading two nonfiction works. My weekend was spent, however, reading through a fanfiction series called “They Shook Hands“, an alternate-history approach to the Harry Potter adventures. The titular point of departure is that Harry and Draco’s initial meeting … Continue reading →

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