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.

Top Ten Favorite Books of 2025

Posted on January 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

The first TTT for 2025 is our favorite reads of 2026. But first, a tease! “That just tears it then,” Grainier said, quite agitated. “I’m pulling this team up, and you can walk from here, if you want to beat … Continue reading →

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Boston in the American Revolution

Posted on January 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

When people ask me, a son of the Deep South, why I root for the Red Sox, my usual answer is that I began wearing their hat decades ago because I liked the look of it, and then they went … Continue reading →

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Classics Club: 26 in 2026

Posted on January 3, 2026 by smellincoffee

The Classics Club, now thirteen years strong, posted a fun-looking survey yesterday morning.

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John Tyler: The President Without a Party

Posted on January 2, 2026 by smellincoffee

I was instantly intrigued by John Tyler when I learned that his entire Cabinet, with the exception of the Secretary of State, had resigned on him in protest of his actions and that he had been declared excommunicate by his … Continue reading →

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Train Dreams

Posted on January 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

My first movie for 2026 was Train Dreams, a beautiful but tragic story of a man who found happiness, then saw it ripped away from him, and then was forced to grapple for meaning like Job. After dealing with an … Continue reading →

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2026: America @ 250

Posted on January 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

This year the United States of America will celebrate its 250th anniversary. I was too young by a decade or so to celebrate the Bicentennial, and unless future medicine is very magic I doubt I will witness the Tricentennial. So, … Continue reading →

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December 2025 in Review + Moviewatch

Posted on December 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

Well, December was a heckuva month, that’s all I can say. I read twenty books this month alone, though quite a few entries were ‘short’ — I’ve been making my way through The American Presidents series, all volumes of which … Continue reading →

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What I Read in 2025

Posted on December 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

Books in bold are superior favorites. I’ve been trying to whip one of my drafts of Provoked into shape fit for posting but am still not happy yet. It will happen, though. I’m close. January(1) Strange Weather in Tokyo, Hiromi … Continue reading →

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The Best of 2025 — Annual Year in Review!

Posted on December 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

Here we are at the end of another year. After the distressing takeover of fiction in 2024,  I was determined to not let that happen again. Then entered CJ Box, whose 26-strong Joe Pickett series lassoed my intentions off their … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday – 2025’s Last One!

Posted on December 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finish reading recently? Marce Catlett: The Force of Story, Wendell Berry. WHAT are you currently reading? President without a Party, Christopher Leahy. An ….incredibly…..detailed….policy history of the Tyler presidency. Also, Jon Meacham’s biography of Andrew Jackson. I … Continue reading →

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