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.

WWW Wednesday

Posted on August 27, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? Operation Underworld, a look into collaboration between the Italian America Mafia and the American government during World War 2. WHAT are you reading now? There is No Place For Us, on the working poor … Continue reading →

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Top Ten of my Most-Watched Youtube Favorites

Posted on August 25, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is a non-bookish freebie, so I’m going to….spotlight YouTube clips I tend to watch and re-watch, excluding purely music videos. But first, the tease! Maranzano had tried to live like Julius Caesar, so Luciano’s board of directors ordered … Continue reading →

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Operation Underworld

Posted on August 25, 2025 by smellincoffee

In New York harbor,  one of the largest and fastest passenger ships ever built lies on its side, a victim of fire. French-built, the United States seized the Normandie after France fell to Hitler and renamed it the Lafayette, intending … Continue reading →

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Havana Nocturne

Posted on August 22, 2025 by smellincoffee

I used to be obsessed with la cosa nostra, but its Cuban ambitions never popped on my radar until I watched The Godfather II. I’ve long been curious about the Mafia’s role in developing Cuba and inadvertently feeding the revolution … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday

Posted on August 20, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend, Jason Bailey. WHAT are you reading now? Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba, T. J. English WHAT are you reading next? Frequent readers should … Continue reading →

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Gandolfini

Posted on August 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

Like many, I was awed by James Gandolfini’s performance throughout The Sopranos,  which made him an actor whose presence guarantees I’ll watch any movie he’s in. Gandolfini is a professional biography of an actor whose charisma and commitment to his … Continue reading →

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Top Ten High Pagecount Books

Posted on August 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT prompt is books with a high pagecount. I’ve read the entire Story of Civilization, so this should be easy. But first, a tease from Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend. Jim had built an entire … Continue reading →

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Husk

Posted on August 16, 2025 by smellincoffee

A plague has destroyed much of human civilization, but in Texas, at least, there is a remainder. Before the plague and subsequent collapse, pioneering scientists had created a way for human consciousness to be transferred to a digital world — … Continue reading →

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The Henchman’s Book Club

Posted on August 14, 2025 by smellincoffee

Mark is a henchman who has served the Agency for several years, surviving numerous bosses’ demises at the hands of talented superspies. The overwhelming majority of the time, he and his fellow minions are sitting bored, waiting for something to … Continue reading →

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Of Ben Franklin and Andy Jackson’s America

Posted on August 14, 2025 by smellincoffee

For whatever reason I’ve been struggling to find inspiration or motivation to review two history books I’ve read in the last month or so, and since they’re similar — early American history — I’m going to regretfully short-round them. Most … Continue reading →

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