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.

After Christendom

Posted on August 8, 2026 by smellincoffee

I no longer remember when I first encountered Michael Warren Davis, but his critique of modernity and his countercultural vision of Christianity appealed to me in much the same way that The Plain Reader and Rod Dreher’s Crunchy Conservatives did … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Republic or Empire? The True Flag

Posted on August 7, 2026 by smellincoffee

I’ve been wanting to read this title for years now after having found Stephen Kinzer’s various books on DC’s overseas adventures, while at the same time stumbling upon Mark Twain’s anti-war writings collected in Weapons of Satire. Coming of age … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Stephen Fry’s Troy

Posted on August 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

While I enjoyed Stephen Fry’s Mythos tolerably well a few years ago, it didn’t fire up my engines so much that I went after the next ones immediately; recently a Greek wind has hit my imagination, though, and after listening … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, General | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

WWW Wednesday + Series we Didn’t Finish

Posted on August 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? After Christendom, Michael Warren Davis WHAT  are you reading now? Listening to Troy, prepared and read by Stephen Fry. WHAT  are you reading next?   Probably The True Flag by Stephen Kinzer, focusing on Theodore Roosevelt … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 22 Comments

Today is August 4, 2026, in the City of Allendale, California

Posted on August 4, 2026 by smellincoffee

I can’t believe I almost missed this. Ray Bradbury’s story, “And There Will Come Soft Rains”, was the creepiest bit of short fiction I ever read in middle or high school. Images of it have haunted me since. The best … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The Age of Eisenhower

Posted on August 4, 2026 by smellincoffee

Apologies if you are on the list and received a blank email earlier: WordPress ate my words. Fortunately I always draft off-platform. Many presidents have a defining moment – a call to arms in a speech, a decisive action,  a … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Top Ten Covers I’ve Eyeballed Recently

Posted on August 3, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is a “Book Cover Related Freebie”. I was going to do “My Favorite Covers for 2026 (So Far)”, but honesty my reading has not been great-cover heavy. So, I’m going to …paste an image of my Amazon browsing … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 20 Comments

Stephen Fry’s Odyssey

Posted on August 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

A couple of years ago I read Stephen Fry’s Mythos, his attempt to bring together some of the primordial Greek mythological characters into one narrative; he followed it with Heroes, Troy, and finally Odyssey. The recent release of an Odyssey … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, General, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Moviewatch July 2028

Posted on July 31, 2026 by smellincoffee

Annnd that’s a wrap for movies this month! Young Washington, 2026.   Watched on opening weekend with the ladyfriend, who indulged my historical asides (“That’s Thomas Gage, he’s going to be an antagonist in twenty years.”)  and and the film’s … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 8 Comments

July 2026 in Review

Posted on July 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

While I’ll finish The Age of Eisenhower today and could wrap up Stephen Fry’s Odyssey tomorrow,, reviews for either before August are unlikely. So, let’s wrap up July in books! We travel ever deeper into the oppressive heatsink of July, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments