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.

Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR

Posted on September 22, 2020 by smellincoffee

This week for Top Ten Tuesday, we’re sharing our fall reading lists!   In my case, it’s a literal fall TBR: I’m currently diligently working on my Pile of Doom, complete with scheduled titles and the like,  with other materials mixed … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 9 Comments

The Forest Unseen

Posted on September 20, 2020 by smellincoffee

In his Becoming Wild, Carl Safina remarked, “How long and rich a morning can be if you bring yourself fully to it. Come to a decent place. Bring nothing to tempt your attention away. Immerse in the timelessness of reality. … Continue reading →

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What Judgments Come

Posted on September 18, 2020 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Vanguard: What Judgments Come© 2011 Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore354 pages For three years, Vanguard Station’s mission of facilitating the exploration and colonization of the Taurus Reach has been sidetracked by its covert attempts to come to grips … Continue reading →

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Becoming Wild

Posted on September 17, 2020 by smellincoffee

Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace© 2020 Carl Safina375 pages In Becoming Wild, ecologist Carl Safina recounts his time spent with field scientists studying cetaceans, macaws, and chimpanzees, to share insights and speculation about … Continue reading →

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

Selections from “Becoming Wild”

Posted on September 16, 2020 by smellincoffee

“Until now, culture has remained a largely hidden, unappreciated layer of wild lives. Yet for many species, culture is both crucial and fragile. Long before a population declines to numbers low enough to seem threatened with extinction, their special cultural … Continue reading →

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Wisdom Wednesday: Through adversity, excellence

Posted on September 16, 2020 by smellincoffee

Today’s reminder is from Seneca’s essay, “On Providence”, included in the volume Dialogues and Essays. Seneca was a practicing Stoic in the Roman court, a one-time tutor to Emperor Nero (not a very good student, Nero), one whose counsel and … Continue reading →

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A Thousand Splendid Suns

Posted on September 16, 2020 by smellincoffee

A Thousand Splendid Suns© 2007 Khaled Hosseini372 pages “There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life, and they don’t teach it in school . . . Only one skill. And it’s this: … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Quick note

Posted on September 15, 2020 by smellincoffee

The gulf’s hurricanes have been ignoring Alabama for a couple of years now, hitting states on either side of us. I can’t say that we mind, but the windy hiatus is over. One is expected to roll in tomorrow right … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 12 Comments

The Vanishing American Adult

Posted on September 15, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming of Age Crisis , and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance© 2017 Ben Sasse320 pages Why are teenagers and young adults floundering into maturity? Ben Sasse believes that much of the problem is … Continue reading →

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

Of WW2 and alternate schools

Posted on September 14, 2020 by smellincoffee

Early last week I accidentally bought a ‘book’ called One Man Air Force, by Don S. Gentle. I say “book” because it’s only 50 pages, and I would have returned it (I was browsing WW2 books and hit the ‘buy … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments