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.

Wednesday Blogging Challenge: Favorite historic personage to read about?

Posted on March 15, 2023 by smellincoffee

….favorite historic personage to read about, eh? That’s a tough one. There are a few people I’ve read several biographies about, including Joan of Arc and John Adams. I’ve found Joan fascinating since watching a CBS drama based on her … Continue reading →

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Paul Among the People

Posted on March 14, 2023 by smellincoffee

Paul Among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in his Own Time© 2010 Sarah Ruden240 pages Although liberal Quaker Sarah Ruden had heard criticisms of Paul all her life,  after becoming familiar with the culture of the Greco-Roman world … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring Reads

Posted on March 14, 2023 by smellincoffee

First up, a little Tuesday teasin’, from Sarah Ruden’s Paul Among the People. This interesting little read compares Paul’s understanding of humanity to that of the first-century Roman world. Juvenal displays [women] as cheerfully, irredeemably evil. I am a woman, … Continue reading →

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Stuff is not-life

Posted on March 13, 2023 by smellincoffee

I adopted anti-consumerism shortly after I began working, largely out of self-defense because I began to appreciate that paying money for a thing meant trading hours of my life for a thing. Was a $100 set of Star Trek dvds … Continue reading →

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Thinking about women authors

Posted on March 10, 2023 by smellincoffee

A few years back, out of a matter of curiosity, I  went through my data on books-read since May 2007 and determined that nearly 80% of my reading came from male authors. This is not something that bothers me, since … Continue reading →

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Betrayer and Betrayed

Posted on March 9, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed© 2006 Bart Ehrman198 pages In the 1970s a small collection of previously unknown texts surfaced, one of which (“The Gospel of Judas”) was of great interest to … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Other Side of the Bay

Posted on March 8, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Other Side of the Bay© 2014 Sean Dietrich177 pages There’s a broken down  truck in the woods holding three men,  two drunk brothers and a passed-out football has-been.   By morning, the truck will be discovered in perfect working … Continue reading →

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I SAY, Jeeves. Rather alarming, what?

Posted on March 7, 2023 by smellincoffee

Since it’s early March, I’m doing my April/Read of England planning, including a draft of the “Reading of England, 20__!” post I publish on the first. I’d written up a very brief intro paragraph in the style of Bertie Wooster, … Continue reading →

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Blood of Honour

Posted on March 7, 2023 by smellincoffee

Blood of Honour© 2011 James Holland384 pages It’s May 1941, and it looks like the good guys may actually win one for once.   British troops have arrived in Crete to defend it against an anticipated German invasion,   making … Continue reading →

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

Teaser Tuesday: Heroes and villains

Posted on March 7, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s tease comes from The Romance of Religion by Dwight Longenecker. Reviews/comments for it, The Reactionary Mind, and Blood of Honour to come this week.. The truly romantic warrior sees the evil in the world and wants to fight it, … Continue reading →

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