Category Archives: General

A Lenten WWW Wednesday

Posted on February 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? The Dark Sacred Night, Michael Connolly. A Bosch/Ballard novel in which his grumpy retired cop and his increasingly-annoyed-at-the-system novice cop join forces to drink black coffee, listen to jazz, and grouse about the system … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday, Feb 17

Posted on February 17, 2026 by smellincoffee

From Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America, by Walter J. Bornman: It has long been popular to paint James K. Polk as a dark horse, but the record does not square with that tradition. If he was … Continue reading →

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Paradise Valley

Posted on February 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

And so ends my chaotic run at the Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell series — right in the middle, when the serial killer known as The Lizard King is finally rendered extinct like his tyrannranous namesake. Here, Cassie is still a lead … Continue reading →

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Worth Reading: A Guide to Surviving the Great Forgetting

Posted on February 13, 2026 by smellincoffee

My substack subscriptions have an obvious cluster concerning humanity and the machine — or more specifically, how modern technology, particularly devices and the omnipresent digital world, warp or distort humanity. I was fortunate to encounter The Shallows and Neil Postman’s … Continue reading →

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The Highway

Posted on February 13, 2026 by smellincoffee

I am evidently reading the Cassie Dewell series in the most chaotic way possible, because I’m three books in and have only just finished #1. The Highway introduces Cassie Dewell, a sheriff’s inspector working in Montana who has been manipulated … Continue reading →

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Favorite Song Lyrics & WWW Wednesday

Posted on February 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short reviews is “Favorite Song Lyrics“, which is ridiculous. If you know me, you know I’m always listening to music and singing, even in the library, which has gotten me in trouble before. (‘Whistle while … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Heard it in a Love Songs

Posted on February 10, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s teaser comes from When the Earth Had Two Moons: The lunar calendar is a living thing: when you try to write it down, it resists. Today’s TTT is a love freebie, so I’m going to go with….ten love songs! … Continue reading →

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Oddly Specific Things I Love in Books

Posted on February 7, 2026 by smellincoffee

Marian of Classics Considered has tagged me in a meme, the rules of which are: The Outline  One is done, ditto two and three. Four is funny because Alabama does not have a transition from summer into fall. We don’t … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday + Long and Short REviews

Posted on February 4, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is…..WILL YOU WATCH THE SUPER BOWL? The Super Bowl is literally the only football game I watch all year, any year: ever since 2012, I have attended a friend’s Super Bowl Party. The … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday, Bakken Oilfields Edition & Classics Club Spin 43

Posted on February 3, 2026 by smellincoffee

Welcome to the first week of February! I am starting to feel a bit burned out on all the heavy history I’ve been reading, and am planning on reading some detective thrillers or other relaxing fiction this week. Teaser Tuesday … Continue reading →

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