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 Autobiogaphy of Miss Jane Pittman

Posted on January 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman259 pages© 1982 Ernest Gaines A young girl carries water for both exhausted rebels and the jubilant army chasing them.  An elderly lady who has seen sorrow after sorrow visited on herself and her loved … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Off-topic: RDR2 shots with snow

Posted on January 12, 2021 by smellincoffee

During the Christmas season, the world of RDR2 online got a wintry makeover — somehow making an already pretty game even more dazzling.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Hopes for 2021

Posted on January 12, 2021 by smellincoffee

This week, the Artsy Reader Girl is taking a look at bookish hopes for 2021. A strong start to the Classics Club Strikes Back. By strong,  I’d like to have read at least 20 entries from my list by the … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 8 Comments

The Old Man and the Boy

Posted on January 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Old Man and the Boy© 1957 Robert Ruark303 pages Of the various titles on my Classics Club Strikes back list, The Old Man and the Boy is something of an outlier; I’d venture to say that most people haven’t … Continue reading →

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Permanent Record

Posted on January 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

Permanent Record© Edward Snowden352 pages Nearly a decade ago we bore witness to magnificent acts of rebellion and alarm-calling, as dissidents like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden began exposing DC’s global surveillance state and abuses of power. DC acted with … Continue reading →

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Ten Songs (or Artists) that Made My Year

Posted on January 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

This started as a “Things I’m grateful for at the end of a crappy year”-esqe post, but then inspired by Marian I decided to make it all-music. It was meant to be an end-year 2020 or January 1st post, but … Continue reading →

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Wisdom Wednesday: Thoughts on love and pain

Posted on January 6, 2021 by smellincoffee

These are two quotes from two rather different authors “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must … Continue reading →

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Scaling Mount Doom: 2020

Posted on January 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

The following titles were TBR titles read in 2020. From August on, they were part of the on-going Scaling Mount Doom series, in which I suspended book purchases except as rewards for reading TBR titles. The ban on book purchases … Continue reading →

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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Posted on January 4, 2021 by smellincoffee

“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw round, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”“But I don’t want to go among mad … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

The best of 2020 — in books

Posted on January 3, 2021 by smellincoffee

2020 was….a heck of a year. Hurricanes, pandemic, fires,  the existential dread of an election featuring a wide variety of creepy corrupt politicians, all with their own plans for spending other people’s money badly and killing people overseas on behalf … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 4 Comments