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.

The Rebel Killer

Posted on April 3, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Rebel Killer© 2019 Paul Fraser Collard432 pages Jack Lark is a defeated man. Soul-scarred after the campaign in northern Italy, he came to the United States desiring nothing but to deliver a letter from a mortally wounded comrade to … Continue reading →

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

The Fox from his Lair

Posted on April 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Fox from his LairOriginal pub. year unknown, Kindle edition © 2020220 pages In the wake of a disastrous training exercise, bodies are washing up on the shores of England. If intelligence from one of those bodies falls into German … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Read of England, 2021!

Posted on April 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

Bang upon the big drum, crash upon the cymbals — it’s April 1st, and time to Read of England. This is an annual tradition at ReadingFreely in which I devote the month’s reading to English literature and English history. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 2 Comments

2021: March Review

Posted on March 31, 2021 by smellincoffee

Challenge Progress: Science Survey: The Storytelling Animal, Johnathan Gottschall (Anthropology & Archaeology)Conspiracies Declassified, Brian Dunning. (Thinking Scientifically) That’s now 5/12 categories filled. Classics Club Strikes Back: Davita’s Harp, Chaim Potok. We are now 5/50. Climbing Mount Doom: Jesus, Son of … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Beyond Tenebrae

Posted on March 25, 2021 by smellincoffee

Beyond Tenebrae: Christian Humanism in the Twilight of the West© 2019 Brad Birzer258 pages Most people, including myself until a few years ago, would describe humanism as a worldview championing the possibility of, and the need for, humans living moral, … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Wisdom for your Wednesday: To fall but rise again

Posted on March 24, 2021 by smellincoffee

For Lent I”ve been reading How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches us About Happiness, Meaning, and Community. I’d like to share some quotations from it. “The spiritual life is this,” a monastic elder from the Egyptian … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations | Tagged | 5 Comments

Ten Winningest Titles

Posted on March 23, 2021 by smellincoffee

Five years ago I created a list called “Titles that Win”, not for Top Ten Tuesday but because I was inspired by How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had it Coming. Today’s TT on our favorite ‘titles’ offers a … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 9 Comments

Davita’s Harp

Posted on March 21, 2021 by smellincoffee

Davita’s Harp© 1985 Chaim Potok384 pages Are you a Jew?  Ilana Davita Chandel  gets that question a lot. It’s lobbed at her from Irish and Italian street toughs, and from inquisitive neighbors who see  her swimming on the Sabbath.  Is … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

After action report: Central Alabama Twisters 3/17/2021

Posted on March 18, 2021 by smellincoffee

Yesterday at eleven o’clock I was sitting in a sunny courtyard, enjoying coffee with friends. An hour later I was in the library’s tornado-shelter room, trying to keep people from wandering out into the open hallway to look at the … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 10 Comments

Conspiracies and other stories that make us human

Posted on March 16, 2021 by smellincoffee

Early last week I read Brian Dunning’s Conspiracies Declassified: The Skeptoid Guide to the Truth Behind the Theories. I used to listen to Skeptoid over a decade ago, enjoying Dunning’s research into the facts behind popular theories and unsolved mysteries. … Continue reading →

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