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.

1932: Franklin and Adolf

Posted on September 29, 2026 by smellincoffee

I’m afraid 1932 won’t get much of a review because frankly, it exhausted me. It’s the story of two men who were rising to national leadership on their respective sides of the pond in the same year – two men … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Best of Teaser Tuesday, Oct ’25-’26

Posted on September 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is a “Fall Freebie”. As it happens, since I resumed doing regular Teaser Tuesdays in early October of 2022, I have made a point of sharing my favorite Teasers for the last year around that time. First, though, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Recollected Books

Posted on September 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Happy end-of-September week, bookish friend! I started another book over the weekend, so this week is going to be a bit of famine-and-feast: no book reviews at the outset and then an absolute barrage of them later on. Over the … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 4 Comments

WWW Wednesday — and Pet Peeves

Posted on September 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “One of my pet peeves”. I don’t need to think about it. It’s cellphones. I hate cellphones. I don’t mean “Ugh, cellphones annoy me”, I mean part of my brain actively wants … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Grandpa Harrison, President for a Month

Posted on September 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

Before I began this reading project, there was a short file in my head of presidents who governed too short a season, or who were too undistinguished, to merit thinking about. I did not know that Chester Arthur had anything … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Hoover Experience

Posted on September 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

When I opened this book, I had some faint appreciation of Herbert Hoover as an accomplished engineer and disaster-relief organizer, a man who intervened after Black Thursday far more than is generally known, and who is unfairly blamed for the … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Top Ten Books on Autumn 2026’s TBR

Posted on September 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT topic is Books on our Fall TBR. As always, let’s check in with the last quarter’s TBR to see how I did, and — oh. Oh, dear. I wish I hadn’t done that, as I only managed four … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Keep Cool with Coolidge!

Posted on September 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

Calvin Coolidge has long been one of my favorite presidents; I think as a child I was drawn to his nickname of Silent Cal, with its reputation for taciturnity; later on, I respected his approach to government — keep the … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Benjamin “I’m More than the Guy Between Cleveland Terms” Harrison

Posted on September 17, 2026 by smellincoffee

What do I know about Benjamin Harrison? Well, he was a core part of the Cleveland Hero Sandwich, the thin bit of meat between two enormous Cleveland halves. And his granddaddy was president for a month before dying and giving … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jimmy

Posted on September 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

What do I know about Jimmy Carter? Carter is, interestingly, the first president who ever appeared on Reading Freely. I read his Peace Not Apartheid and Our Endangered Values in the very early months of the blog, possibly following up … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments