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.

Wisdom Wednesday: Memento mori

Posted on July 7, 2021 by smellincoffee
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Top Ten Tuesday: A Reader’s Manifesto

Posted on July 6, 2021 by smellincoffee

Today’s top ten Tuesday is more of an invitation to reflect —  Jana asks us why we like to read.  For me, that answer begins with my parents – not only were my siblings and I feted with books growing … Continue reading →

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Posted on July 4, 2021 by smellincoffee
Posted in General | 3 Comments

June 2021: Midyear

Posted on July 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

Halfway through the year,  my literary ambitions are doing moderately well. I’m on track to reach the usual 150, my science survey is keeping pace with the year, and reaching 20 classics before the year is out is still a plausible goal.   I’m mostly behaving myself … Continue reading →

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Return of the Primitive

Posted on June 30, 2021 by smellincoffee

Return of the Primitive© 1971 Ayn Rand, The New Left© 1999 Ayn Rand and Peter Schwartz290 pages   The Return of the Primitive  collects Ayn Rand’s  written responses to the eruption of the student movement in the late sixties,  particularly … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Nomadland

Posted on June 24, 2021 by smellincoffee

Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century© 2017 Jessica Bruder273 pages America has always been a nation on the move, but some people take that more literally than others.  Nomadland takes us into the aftermath of the great recession, as … Continue reading →

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A clump o’ reviews, because I’m house/dog/pool-sitting sans PC

Posted on June 20, 2021 by smellincoffee

I am in town for Father’s Day and thus taking a moment to scribble on my computer, having spent the past few days happily bobbing in a pool. Taking care of friends’ houses in their absence is such a chore, … Continue reading →

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

Never a Dull Moment

Posted on June 15, 2021 by smellincoffee

Never a Dull Moment: A Libertarian Looks at the Sixties© 2016 Murray Rothbard, ed. Justin Raimondo 168 pages I first encountered Murray Rothbard in 2013, when reading Radicals for Capitalism, a history of market libertarianism. As I was someone who … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Wednesday Warning

Posted on June 9, 2021 by smellincoffee

I saw an excerpt of this quote in Never a Dull Moment, and when I looked for the full article online, I was amused to find it posted on what was once a big anti-Bush forum: Jim Garrison, Playboy Interview, … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations | 8 Comments

Steal this Book

Posted on June 8, 2021 by smellincoffee

pub. 1971 Abbie Hoffman308 pages At some point in the early 2000s, I stumbled onto a digital copy of Steal this Book and was appropriately scandalized. Because of the unique religious subculture in which I was raised, most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , | 4 Comments