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.

A thought of Thanksgiving

Posted on October 4, 2022 by smellincoffee

A year ago I was hospitalized with what could have been a life-ending illness. When I was told that I had chronic kidney disease and would need to be on dialysis for the forseeable future, I thought my life was … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Tuesday & Teaser Tuesday

Posted on October 3, 2022 by smellincoffee

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is “Favorite Bookstores”, or “Bookstores You’d Like to Visit”. As a child of rural post big-box America, I’ve only ever known places like Bookland, Books-A-Million, etc, and until recently could only visit ‘real’ bookstores while … Continue reading →

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September 2022 in Review

Posted on October 1, 2022 by smellincoffee

Well, this was….not a month for being productive on my reading goals, but at least I had fun. I revisited some favorite history books from my teen years and stumbled on two authors who were fascinating and a delight to … Continue reading →

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On Love

Posted on September 29, 2022 by smellincoffee

On Love / The Course of Love / Essays on Love© 2006 Alain de Botton240 pages “The philosopher in the bedroom is as ludicrous a figure as the philosopher in the nightclub,” Alain de  Botton offers in On Love,  a … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Act of Oblivion

Posted on September 26, 2022 by smellincoffee

Act of Oblivion(c) 2022 Robert Harris477 pages The puritan despot Cromwell is dead and the English king restored, but the balance books of history are not yet straight. There remain in England still breathing the men who presumed to put … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Dark Matter

Posted on September 20, 2022 by smellincoffee

Dark Matter© 2016 Blake Crouch352 pages Jason Desseys is a first-rate physicist, one who could have earned his place in the history books alongside Feynman,  Planck, and Hawking.  He chose instead to focus on an unexpected role as a father, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , | 8 Comments

The rat race

Posted on September 19, 2022 by smellincoffee
Posted in General | 5 Comments

Recursion

Posted on September 19, 2022 by smellincoffee

Recursion© 2019 Blake Crouch324 pages Imagine a sudden headache, a nosebleed, and the instantaneous arrival of a lifetime’s worth of memories that are yours — and yet, not. Imagine remembering being married to someone for decades, having children with them, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , | 3 Comments

A Preface to Paradise Lost

Posted on September 15, 2022 by smellincoffee

A Preface to Paradise Lost© 1941 C.S. Lewis192 pages Although I’ve read much of C.S. Lewis, I’ve never encountered him in his chosen role as a master of English literature. I spotted some discussion about this Preface on Classical Carousel … Continue reading →

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Overlord | Victory in the Pacific

Posted on September 13, 2022 by smellincoffee

Many years ago when the world was new, the Twin Towers stood over Manhattan, and Europe was just starting to adopt the euro, I discovered a trilogy of books in my high school library about World War 2. They formed … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments