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.

The Wit and Wisdom of Gandhi

Posted on March 23, 2023 by smellincoffee

© 2005, 2019 General Press Publishers183 pages The Wit and Wisdom of Gandhi is a book better judged by its cover than its title, for the title makes it sound like a collection of jokes and sage observations from a … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Other Side of the Bridge

Posted on March 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Other Side of the Bridge© 2022 Timothy E. Paul124 pages This is one of the stranger books I imagine I’ll read this year. Its title, setting, and opening disclaimer make the reader suspect that it’s a story set in … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Wednesday blogging: famous book you’ve not read?

Posted on March 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

Long and Short Reviews’ blogging challenge this week is ‘A famous book you haven’t read, and why’. Immediately before college and a little during (before assignments took priority), I sought out books that had changed the world for good or … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 7 Comments

Exciting news

Posted on March 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

Eleven years ago tomorrow I accepted an offer of employment at the library, and have served as its local history librarian and computer lab manager since, growing in both technical and personal skills along the way, and taking no small … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 8 Comments

Invasion! Sie kommen!

Posted on March 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

Invasion! Sie kommen! | Invasion! They’re Coming!© 1960, 1963 Paul Carell288 pages Invasion! is a German account of the D-Day landings and the battles that followed as the Allies worked to unite their separate beachheads and secure a foothold in … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Top Ten + Teaser Tuesday

Posted on March 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s Tuesday teases come from three different books: one, a collection of extended quotations from Mohandas Gandhi; a book on the study of ice, air, and oceans; and a history of D-Day from a German historian. A man who aspires … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The Boys from Biloxi

Posted on March 20, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Boys from Biloxi© 2022 John Grisham453 pages Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco were among the best of friends,   who grew up playing ball and exploring the Gulf Coast together.  Third-generation immigrants,    they both admired their fathers intensely  … Continue reading →

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

Pompey and Caesar

Posted on March 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

And do you now strew flowers in his wayThat comes in triumph over Pompey’s blood? Be gone! The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare The narrative of Julius Caesar and the fall of Rome that we get in elementary school … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

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 →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

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