Author Archives: smellincoffee

About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

STish: The Dark Veil

Posted on October 3, 2021 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Picard: The Dark Veil© 2021 James Swallow336 pages When the USS Titan arrives at the Jazari homeworld to return one of their last serving members in Starfleet, they find something of a surprise waiting for them. The planet … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Mephisto

Posted on October 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

Mephisto© 1936 Klaus Mann272 pages I was fortunate, in my time at the University, to have a class with my favorite professor every semester that I was there; he had an enormous command of late 19th century and early 20th … Continue reading →

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

The Evolution of My Reading (borrowed)

Posted on October 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

Borrowed from Cyberkitten who likewise got it from Bookolive. When did you get into reading?I literally grew up reading; my parents barred television from the home, something I hated then but am very thankful for now. Was it something you … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 2 Comments

September 2021

Posted on October 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

Science Survey C’est fini! With How Emotions are Made I completed my twelve categories, finishing early for the first time since I instituted the Survey back in 2017. I’ll continue to read science titles, of course. Classics Club Strikes Back:The … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 2 Comments

Sohrab Ahmari and the Unbroken Thread

Posted on September 30, 2021 by smellincoffee

Sohrab Ahmari fled Iran for the West, rejoicing in its freedoms alongside his wife, a Chinese national who had also found relief from the relentless tyranny of her own country. As they formed a family and looked to the future, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Top Ten Freebie: Ten 2021 Adds to my Goodreads Wanna Read Shelf

Posted on September 28, 2021 by smellincoffee

This week’s TTT is a freebie, so I chose to look back on some of the books added to my Godoreads wanna-read list. America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present, John Ghazvinian. Something of a perennial interest of … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 6 Comments

Touching History

Posted on September 27, 2021 by smellincoffee

Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11©2008 Lynn Spencer 320 pages When the brilliant blue skies over the continental United States became a place of confusion, dread, loss, and death, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

American Contempt for Liberty

Posted on September 23, 2021 by smellincoffee

American Contempt for Liberty© 2015 Walter Williams432 pages American Contempt for Liberty caught my eye immediately, for its title alone, for I’ve had a growing suspicion that the failure of the American republic lies not only in the ever-expanding state, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Selected quotes from Anti-Politics

Posted on September 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

“Power and authority, as substitutes for performance and rational thought, are the specters that haunt the world today. They are the ghosts of awed and superstitious yesterdays. And politics is their familiar. Politics, throughout time, has been an institutionalized denial … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, quotations, Religion and Philosophy | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Anti-Politics

Posted on September 19, 2021 by smellincoffee

Anti-Politics: A Collection of Agorist Essays© 2021 ed. Sal Mayweather165 pages If you’re still waiting for your masters for permission to live after nearly two years of “two weeks to flatten the curve”, don’t bother reading further. This isn’t your … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments