Author Archives: smellincoffee

Unknown's avatar

About smellincoffee

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

My Man Jeeves

Posted on April 8, 2016 by smellincoffee

My Man Jeeves© 1919 P.G. Wodehouse132 pages “There’s only one thing to do,” I said. “What’s that?” “Leave it to Jeeves.” What ho, readers all!   My Man Jeeves renews my acquaintance with young Bertie Wooster, exemplar of the aristocracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Frodo’s Journey

Posted on April 8, 2016 by smellincoffee

Frodo’s Journey: The Hidden Meaning of the Lord of the Rings © 2015 Joseph Pearce 158 pages Noting that Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring trilogy is rich with symbolism is rather akin to observing that the Pacific Ocean is big. … Continue reading →

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

The Invisible Man

Posted on April 5, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Invisible Man© 1897 H,G, Wells149 pages The Invisible Man opens with the arrival of a Mysterious Stranger to a country inn. He is covered from head to toe, and remains so even after he takes a room. The townsfolk don’t … Continue reading →

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

Lord of the Flies

Posted on April 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Lord of the Flies© 1954 William Golding156 pages A group of boys marooned on a tiny Pacific Island must work together, battling the elements and one another. If they don’t adapt, they’ll be voted off the island — or thrown … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Reads to Reels: Great Expectations

Posted on April 3, 2016 by smellincoffee

“Hallo! Here’s a church. Let’s go in. Hallo! Here’s some gloves. Let’s put `em on! Hallo! Here’s Ms. Skiffins. Let’s have a wedding!”  I’ve never done a reels this close on the heels to a read before, but there’s no … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged | 2 Comments

Great Expectations

Posted on April 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

Great Expectations© 1861 Charles Dickens544 pages Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The News

Posted on April 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

The News: A User’s Manual© 2014 Alain de Botton272 pages The news more than any other modern institution has taken the role of shaping a nation’s collective consciousness, but  what shape does that leave us in? Alain de Botton’s The … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Read of England 2016

Posted on April 1, 2016 by smellincoffee

WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote The droghte  of Marche hath perced to the roote,.. (The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer) It’s April, everyone, and that means it’s time for this year’s tribute to merrie old England, in which I read … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 5 Comments

Brideshead Revisited

Posted on March 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

Brideshead Revisited: The Secular and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder© 1945 Evelyn Waugh350 pages My theme is memory, that winged host that soared about me one grey morning of war-time. These memories, which are my life–for we possess nothing … Continue reading →

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

When Gourmands Write Fiction

Posted on March 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

I rejoiced in the Burgundy. How can I describe it? The Pathetic Fallacy resounds in all our praise of wine. For centuries every language has been strained to define its beauty, and has produced only wild conceits or the stock … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment