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.

Captain Horatio Hornblower

Posted on April 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

Captain Horatio Hornblower© 1937 C.S. Forester504 pages Captain Picard: Just imagine what it was like. No engines, no computers… Just the wind…and the sea… and the stars to guide you. Commander Riker: Bad food, brutal discipline… no women. (Star Trek: … Continue reading →

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Strength to Love

Posted on March 30, 2010 by smellincoffee

Strength to Love© 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr158 pages         Strength to Love is a collection of some fourteen sermons written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,  with an “epistle” to American Christians written by King in … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday (30-3)

Posted on March 30, 2010 by smellincoffee

This is the day that Should Be Reading has made: let us rejoice and Tease in it. “Character formation began early, with family games of tossing naked children into the snow. (They were pulled out quickly and placed next to … Continue reading →

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Infernova

Posted on March 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

Infernova: An Infidel Reinvents Dante’s Hell© S.A. Alenthony220 pages Go to Hell. Go there with Mark Twain. In fact, let him give you a tour of Hell. It’s actually the kind of place he approves of, because in an ironic twist, … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (25/3)

Posted on March 25, 2010 by smellincoffee

This week at the library… Letter from the Birmingham Jail, written by Martin Luther King Jr, is a response to King’s critics in which King explains the necessity and appropriateness of civil disobedience in the Civil Rights movement. The letter … Continue reading →

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Lost Discoveries

Posted on March 24, 2010 by smellincoffee

Lost Discoveries: the Ancient Roots of Modern Science — from the Babylonians to the Maya© 2002 Dick Teresi453 I spotted this while collecting books for a paper on the emergence of Renaissance science, and it looked so interesting that I … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday (23-3)

Posted on March 23, 2010 by smellincoffee

Give us this day our Tuesday Tease — from Should Be Reading. In this world there are two main paths: the yoga of understanding, for contemplative men; and for men  who are active, the yoga of action. Not by avoiding … Continue reading →

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The Road to Wigan Pier

Posted on March 21, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Road to Wigan Pier© 1937 George Orwell191 pages, including forward for members of the Left Book Club.  (My own copy: I adore tattered old paperbacks.)        I read this primarily for a European history class taught by … Continue reading →

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Conspirata

Posted on March 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

Conspirata© 2009/2010 Robert Harris340 pages “Until this moment, gentlemen, I did not realize the extent to which there were two conspiracies I had to fight. There was the conspiracy which I destroyed, and then there was the conspiracy behind that … Continue reading →

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Letter from the Birmingham Jail

Posted on March 17, 2010 by smellincoffee

Letter from the Birmingham Jail © 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. 35 pages Don’t say it can’t be done: The battle’s just begun Take it from Doctor King, You too can learn to sing, So — drop the gun! (Pete … Continue reading →

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