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.

Righteous in their time

Posted on March 16, 2022 by smellincoffee

We live in a time when it has become politically correct to destroy statues of such historic figures as Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Christopher Columbus, Andrew Jackson, and others. A lesson about such statue-tory destruction can be learned by comparing the … Continue reading →

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Gone with the Wind

Posted on March 15, 2022 by smellincoffee

Gone with the Wind© 1936 Margaret Mitchell1037 pages It’s been nearly twenty years since I visited the joined worlds of antebellum Tara and postwar Atlanta, tied together through the life of a ruined plantation belle turned business magnate, Scarlett O’Hara. … Continue reading →

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

Man against the mob

Posted on March 14, 2022 by smellincoffee

“The problem with going along [with the mob] is that it demoralizes you. It makes you a smaller person, inside. You’ll know you shouldn’t have done that, you’ll think badly of yourself for having done it, you’ll feel cowardly, and … Continue reading →

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Caesar’s Last Breath

Posted on March 11, 2022 by smellincoffee

Caesar’s Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us© 2017 Sam Kean384 pages In The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean offered a history of early chemistry, as we began to understand the elements that create our world, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ms. Adventure

Posted on March 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Ms. Adventure: My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava, and Life© 2021 Jess Phoenix272 pages Some scientists work in nice, safe labs, with bright lights and sanitized equipment, and their greatest fear is that grant funding will fall through next year. … Continue reading →

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

The Devil’s Company

Posted on March 7, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Devil’s Company© 2007 David Liss371 pages Benjamin Weaver is in trouble. An ex-boxer who now works as a private detective of sorts in 18th century London, he’s made a name for himself as a man who can get things … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Eagles in the Storm

Posted on March 2, 2022 by smellincoffee

Eagles in the Storm© 2017 Ben Kane352 pages Six years ago, a German auxiliary named Arminius used his place of respect within the Roman army to lure Governor Vaurs and three legions into a devastating ambush. Rome began to exact … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

February 2022 in Review

Posted on March 1, 2022 by smellincoffee

I read a lot of books in February. Few of them applied to my challenges, though. The good news is that I continue to make progress on my great and worthy opponent, Mount TBR. Climbing Mount Doom (Base goal: read … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Slanted

Posted on February 25, 2022 by smellincoffee

Slanted: How the News Media Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism© 2020 Sharyl Attkisson316 pages I stopped watching television news in 2009, a decision made for me by the overnight obsolescence of my TV set when the industry … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Of cyclists, colonial Catholics, and crappy endings

Posted on February 21, 2022 by smellincoffee

Last weekend I stayed at the Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, there to be evaluated for admission to their kidney transplant list. Much of my downtime was spent (how else) reading. How Cycling Can Save the World is a straightforward argument … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments