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.

Robin Hood and his men most merrie (and Welsh)

Posted on April 24, 2023 by smellincoffee

Enter into the greenwood and consider two tales of Robin the Hood! One, the triumphant finale of Stephen Lawhead’s “Hood” trilogy, setting the Lincoln green-clad figure betwixt the rivers Wye and Severn; the other,  an examination of Robin Hood ballads … Continue reading →

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The Glory of their Times

Posted on April 23, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Glory of their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It© 1966 Paul Ritter300 pages C.S. Lewis remarked that he enjoyed nothing more than the sound of men laughing. Listeners will … Continue reading →

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The Beauty of the Beastly

Posted on April 20, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Beauty of the Beastly© 1995 Natalie Angier304 pages The Beauty of the Beastly is a fun collection of science pieces by Natalie Angier, ranging from macro to microbiology, with some science interviews added at the end. The reader will … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Blockade Billy

Posted on April 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

Blockade Billy© 2010 Stephen King112 pages Okay, this has nothing to do with Read of England, unless I can claim that it’s a baseball story, and baseball grew from rounders which was invented in England and is slightly older than … Continue reading →

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Tuesday teases and lists

Posted on April 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

This is from Will Durant’s intro to his The Story of Philosophy. I’ve wanted to read this for ages, since finishing his Story of Civilization, and saw it on sale a couple of weeks ago. I won’t be reading it … Continue reading →

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Falling into Battle

Posted on April 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

The War to End All Wars: Falling Into Battle© 2020 Andrew Wareham243 pages Christopher Sturton and Richard Baker are two young midshipmen who have come to the end of their day as mids: Christopher is moving on greater things as … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tuesday teases and lists

Posted on April 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s Tuesday Tease comes from Falling into Battle, a novel following four young men (three midshipmen and one ex-midshipman-turned-Territorial) in the first year of the war. Today’s top Ten Tuesday is about books with animals on the cover or in … Continue reading →

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Of British invasions and medieval haunts

Posted on April 10, 2023 by smellincoffee

As a followup to Hitler’s Armada, I read Frank McLynn’s Invasion from the Armada to Hitler, a history of planned attempts to invade the British isles, and has an interesting mixture of deep background and absurd simplification.  McLynn begins by … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Essex Dogs

Posted on April 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

Essex Dogs© 2023 Dan Jones464 pages In 1066 Normandy invaded England: in 1346, England returned the favor. His majesty Edward III has come to make good his claim to the French throne, and in advance of England’s troops arriving, a … Continue reading →

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Blogging prompt: Sports

Posted on April 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s blogging prompt is sports we’ve played and what we thought of them. Although spectator sports is not my bag, and I’ve always been more of a reader than an athlete, I did enjoy playing pick-up games as a kid … Continue reading →

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