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.

SPQR

Posted on September 12, 2025 by smellincoffee

SPQR is an unusual history of Rome, one that largely ignores the imperial period to focus instead on ancient Rome — first, the early city-state, and then the expansive republic it grew into. It also ignores a general narrative, choosing … Continue reading →

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Fall and Rise

Posted on September 11, 2025 by smellincoffee

24 years ago today, the ‘severe clear’ skies above New York were overwhelmed by ash and smoke, by ignorance and hate. Fall and Rise is a history of that day, one that was good enough to be favorably compared to … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday

Posted on September 10, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? A couple of memoirs about people who escaped from the North Tower on 9/11. WHAT are you reading now? SPQR by Mary Beard (~70% through) and Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11, Mitchell … Continue reading →

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Top Ten (Recent) Villains

Posted on September 9, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is “Villains”.     We did this one ….over a decade ago, so I’m going to compose this list without looking at  that prior list, and try to focus on recent villains I’ve read.  Turns out it’s…a lot … Continue reading →

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From the Inside Out: Twin Tower Escapes

Posted on September 8, 2025 by smellincoffee

Erik Ronningen came close to death several times on 9/11 as he made his way from the heights above Manhattan to the relative safety of the sidewalks below. The day after, while comparing notes with his wife, Ronningen was struck … Continue reading →

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The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World

Posted on September 5, 2025 by smellincoffee

I’ve been collecting WTC photos since high school, haunted by watching the Towers burn and fall on live tv. Some of the most interesting I’ve seen have been inside Windows of the World, a restaurant that occupied two of the … Continue reading →

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The Great Deluge

Posted on September 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

In September 2005, I remember watching the approach of Hurricane Katrina with a wary eye; just a year before, my own area had been savaged by Hurricane Ivan. I had no desire to live through that again, especially now that … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday +Books I Keep Meaning to Read

Posted on September 2, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Book Reviews is, “Books I Keep Meaning to Read But Haven’t”. But first, WWW Wednesday. WHAT have you finished reading recently? The Great Deluge, a quasi-history of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation of New … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Books with Occupations in the Title

Posted on September 2, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is books with occupations in the title: I’m going to go back to 2007 and work my way forward, limiting each year to one book. But first, a tease! What they understood at Johnny White’s, however, was what … Continue reading →

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August 2025 in Review + Moviewatch August 2025

Posted on August 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

August ended with a surprisingly abrupt break from the intense heat and humidity that usually mark this period in Alabama: a cold front moved in, and as our air-conditioners suddenly turned off for the first time since May we sat … Continue reading →

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