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.

This and that

Posted on December 5, 2019 by smellincoffee

Well, good news and bad news. The good news is…my book buying ban is OVER, so I have five books on the way.   A few are for next year, but I may try a couple beforehand: Rubbish: The Archaeology of … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Sword of Kings

Posted on November 29, 2019 by smellincoffee

Sword of Kings © 2019 Bernard Cornwell 334 pages “Tighten the sail!” I shouted. The trap was sprung, and now the snake would discover how the wolf and the eagle fought.  p. 19 Uhtred of Bebbanburg has been fighting all … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Sunshine Award

Posted on November 27, 2019 by smellincoffee

Sarah of All the Book Blog Names are Taken has gracefully nominated me for a Sunshine Blogger award, with the implication that I spread sunshine to the blogging community. Well, shucks.     There are questions that I’m meant to answer, and … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 6 Comments

Tiny houses and zero waste

Posted on November 26, 2019 by smellincoffee

I’ve recently read two books which can be paired together nicely, so that’s what I’m doing.      Enter Tiny House Living and 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste.      In the last few weeks I’ve been watching Tiny House Nation … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

White Cliffs of ‘Bama

Posted on November 24, 2019 by smellincoffee

For a while now I’ve wanted to visit the White Cliffs of Epes, Alabama,  which were created around the same time as the far more famous White Cliffs of Dover.   Today was a beautiful autumn day that begged for some … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 9 Comments

I Must Speak Out

Posted on November 20, 2019 by smellincoffee

I Must Speak Out: The Best of The Voluntaryist, 1982-1999 © 1999 Carl Watner 485 pages What distinguishes the State from an organized gang?     Carl Watner argues in I Must Speak Out that nothing whatsoever does, except its subjects’ belief. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

1899 Questionnaire (via Classics Considered)

Posted on November 17, 2019 by smellincoffee

Last week Marian of Classics Considered posted a survey which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle participated in — a Victorian meme, if you will.  (He didn’t participate in her survey, because he’s dead, but — you know what I mean.)  Its … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 3 Comments

A Lesson Before Dying

Posted on November 15, 2019 by smellincoffee

A Lesson Before Dying © 1993 Ernest Gaines 256 pages “And that’s all we are Jefferson, all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood. until we – each of us, individually- decide to become something else. I … Continue reading →

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Armistice Day – Never Forget

Posted on November 11, 2019 by smellincoffee

As well as it is to honor veterans, let us never forget the original meaning of this date, November 11th. 101 years ago the guns fell silent in Europe, and the great horror of the First World War ended. Twenty … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Unthinkable

Posted on November 7, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes — and Why © 2008 Amanda Ripley 288 pages   We all wonder what we would do in an emergency. How would it feel to be onboard a doomed plane, or trapped in … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments