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.

Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

Posted on August 24, 2024 by smellincoffee

Nearly eighty years ago, a single B-29 bomber flew over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and dropped a single bomb, baptizing humanity into a dark new era once the blinding white glow had ended. In the fifties and sixties, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sunlight at Midnight: St Petersburg and the Rise of Modern Russia

Posted on August 22, 2024 by smellincoffee

I must confess to not knowing much at all about Russian cities: say Moscow, and I think of the Kremlin and the subway art; say St. Petersburg, and I have some hazy idea that it was built in the model … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

What’s in a name?

Posted on August 21, 2024 by smellincoffee

When I first searched my name in high school, I saw “crown” and was quite pleased, but later I saw it meant “crown of martyrdom” I was raised in a devout Pentecostal home, and when I was born, they named … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

WWW Wednesday + A Book I Wish Was More Popular

Posted on August 21, 2024 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “What’s a book you wish were more popular?” Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death was published in 1985, but Postman’s analysis of how modern technology, especially television, trivializes information and supplants it … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 11 Comments

California Diaries finale: bittersweet goodbye

Posted on August 20, 2024 by smellincoffee

Round One | Round Two And….here we are, at the end of one of my absolute favorite series. The third round is a bit like Return of the Jedi, in that we have really strong books plus some stuff that, … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Tuesday: Relationship Freebies

Posted on August 20, 2024 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is a freebie about relationships, so I’m going to just throw out the first platonic relationships that pop up in my head. But first, teases! (1) Battle-bros: Sharpe and Pat Harper. These two are great together. From their … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Historic Pensacola

Posted on August 19, 2024 by smellincoffee

I don’t know that I’d ever given much thought to Pensacola before immersing myself in Florida’s colonial history prepping for my St. Augustine weekend a few years back, but reading those made me aware of how chaotic and interesting Florida’s … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

California Diaries, round two: double the drama, double the ….fun?

Posted on August 15, 2024 by smellincoffee

California Diaries consists of diaries from five characters in three rounds: round one’s review is here. We open round two with Sunny, who is…still not doing well. Her last diary ended with her trying to run away from home with … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Fun times at Wayside school

Posted on August 15, 2024 by smellincoffee

Wayside School Wayside School was, I believe, my introduction to absurdist writing, and Sachar was a master at it in the realm of kiddie-fic. Imagine a school built sideways: instead of being 30 classrooms in a single-story campus, it’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Marvin Redpost

Posted on August 14, 2024 by smellincoffee

I was going to do a big Sachar post, but realized it would get…erm, unwieldly. Going to seperate Marvin and the Wayside kids up! Marvin Redpost When straining the ol’ cranium for books I was reading in the nineties, an … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 9 Comments