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.

Rebecca

Posted on April 25, 2026 by smellincoffee

Imagine your life being so overwhelmed by other people’s memories of a woman that her name is emblazoned over your story — and still worse, you don’t have a name in your story, only the title that both you and … Continue reading →

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Author in Chief

Posted on April 24, 2026 by smellincoffee

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it,” said Winston Churchill, and write it he did – histories of the World Wars and the Anglo-American people. Across the pond, American executives were also doing their writing. … Continue reading →

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Inside Camp David

Posted on April 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

President Herbert Hoover found himself homesick during his term in office in D.C, and decided to buy some land with his own money to develop as a mountain retreat. While security concerns did add some infrastructure, like telephone lines, the … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday & Memories

Posted on April 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “A few happy memories from my life”. But first. WWW Wednesday! WWW Wednesday WHAT have you finished reading recently? Magna Carta, Dan Jones. WHAT are you reading now? Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier. … Continue reading →

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Harry Potter and the Epic Backstory

Posted on April 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

Half-Blood Prince and Prisoner of Azkaban routinely compete for my favorite HP novel, and for similar reasons — humor and backstory. It is far, far more than that, however: Prisoner of Azkaban had both in spades, but HBP is a … Continue reading →

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Tuesday Teases

Posted on April 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is ‘April showers’, which a challenging one. One obvious approach that comes to mind is books in which rain is a major element, either in shaping the plot or in creating an atmosphere. The problem is that I … Continue reading →

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Magna Carta

Posted on April 20, 2026 by smellincoffee

In a sunny meadow in southern England stands a quiet monument commemorating a document signed there centuries ago: the Magna Carta. The monument is erected not by some English historical society, however, but by the American Bar Association. The Magna … Continue reading →

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Clouds of Glory

Posted on April 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

General Lee has long fascinated me as a man who did not believe in secession, but was compelled by his sense of honor and Fate to become an icon of the war which followed. He is, of course, an idol … Continue reading →

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My Cousin Rachel

Posted on April 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

Phillip and Ambrose had a good thing going: Phillip was largely raised by his older cousin, a man with twenty years on him and a tremendous unease around women that he passed on to his ward. They lived in Ambrose’ … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday + Odd Hobbies

Posted on April 15, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short reviews is….odd hobbies! I think the best I can think of is my penchant for memorizing poetry and Anglo-American folk songs. Other hobbies like photography, hiking, PC modding, gaming, etc. are fairly pedestrian. I … Continue reading →

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