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.

Dawn of Battle

Posted on April 19, 2016 by smellincoffee

Four hundred years before, near a village called Azincourt, an English army had waited to do battle with the French, and on that October night it had rained and rained and the sky had echoed with thunder. It had been … Continue reading →

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Murder on the Orient Express

Posted on April 16, 2016 by smellincoffee

Murder on the Orient Express© 1934 Agatha Christie256 pages “Why does everyone on this train tell lies?!” A dark and snowy night; the Orient Express, rolling from Istanbul to Paris, slows to a stop in the wilderness, trapped by the … Continue reading →

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When the Eagle Hunts

Posted on April 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

When the Eagle Hunts© 2002 Simon Scarrow274 pages The Emperor Claudius is determined to make good the conquest of Britain, but his supply fleet sleeps with the fishes. The only Romans to survive a wintry crossing of the (English) channel … Continue reading →

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The English Resistance

Posted on April 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

The English Resistance: the Underground War Against the Romans© 2006 Peter Rex I was scandalized to learn, in seventh grade, that once ages ago, England was conquered. Already I had acquired the mythic conception of England as an indomitable island … Continue reading →

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Master and Commander

Posted on April 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

Master and Commander© 1969 Patrick O’Brian411 pages This morning, in a quiet courtyard, I finished Master and Commander, the first book in Patrick O’Brian’s Napoleonic naval stories.  These have been recommended to me ever since I finished Horatio Hornblower, though … Continue reading →

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Dickens’ Descent of Desertion

Posted on April 12, 2016 by smellincoffee

“…the great paradox of morality is that the very vilest sort of fault is exactly the most easy kind. We read in books and ballads about the wild fellow who might kill a man or smoke opium, but who would … Continue reading →

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This week: 1066 and all that

Posted on April 11, 2016 by smellincoffee

A third of the way into April, this year’s Read of England is already a roaring success. It helps that I had a head start in March, of course. The main reason I tried to reserve a block of time … Continue reading →

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Jane Eyre

Posted on April 11, 2016 by smellincoffee

Jane Eyre© 1847 Charlotte Bronte525 pages   Years ago an online quiz declared to me that of all the characters in English literature, I was most like…Jane Eyre. It may have been a quiz intended for women, but I had … Continue reading →

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Reads to …er, Reels: War of the Worlds

Posted on April 10, 2016 by smellincoffee

“…coming this way, about twenty yards from my ri—” Tonight I turned off the lights and put on a recording of Orson Welles’ 1938 radio dramatization of H.G. Wells’ (confusing, that) The War of the Worlds.  According to a popular … Continue reading →

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Bilbo’s Journey

Posted on April 9, 2016 by smellincoffee

Bilbo’s Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning of the Hobbit©  2012 Joseph Pearce147 pages The Hobbit begins with the sudden arrival of a pack of dwarves at Bilbo Baggin’s house. Though he is very much the quiet homebody, they have arrived … Continue reading →

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