Category Archives: General

Did they beat the drums slowly? Did they play the fife slowly?

Posted on November 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today marks the anniversary of the end of the slaughter of the Great War. The guns fell silent at 11:00, and Europe’s attempt at suicide took a twenty-year break before continuing. Well how do you do, Private William McBride?Do you … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 3 Comments

WWW Wednesday

Posted on November 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? The Lathe of Heaven, Ursula le Guin; On Writing by CS Lewis; and Conversations on Writing, featuring interviews with le Guin. WHAT are you reading now? I am paying more attention to Into the … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Teaser Tuesday

Posted on November 10, 2026 by smellincoffee

Amazon is having a Lewis sale! Just in time for A Week with Jack. I’ve already gotten halfway through one of the titles I picked up, but I think I’ll schedule the posting for said Week — which, this year … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

WWW Wednesday

Posted on November 4, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s topic from Long and Short reviews is “Something I always thought was true, but isn’t”. One thing the presidents project taught me was that things we receive as compressed crises that unfold within a few months, like the American … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Teaser Tuesday + SciFiMonth2026 One Word Reviews

Posted on November 3, 2026 by smellincoffee

Teaser Tuesday “Memories breed memories. They multiply like vermin. As soon as I catch one, another emerges — some incident or conversation I had forgotten about entirely. My pen cannot keep pace with them all.” – Robert Harris, AGRIPPA Is … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

SciFiMonth2026: Engage!

Posted on November 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

It’s SciFi Month, and for the third year in a row I’m planning on participating. What will I be reading? Well, let’s make some wild plans so I can laugh wildly or shake my head ruefully in a month’s time, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 14 Comments

Moviewatch October 2026

Posted on October 31, 2026 by smellincoffee

I did not watch a lot during October, but the monthly recap was ungainly enough without throwing in movies. No TV streaming, either — just history and literature lectures from Brad Birzer and evenings spent on my own writing. Scarface, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 7 Comments

October 2026 in Review

Posted on October 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

Well, October was quite a month! I’m posting this early because my internet is out at home and depending on when the outage is resolved, I might not be online again until Monday. I began the month with four goals: … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 5 Comments

WWW Wednesday

Posted on October 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is “Favorite Memory from Your Childhood”, which…is very ambitious. I think the aging process tends to apply a groovy filter to all our childhood memories, because back then we were full of wonder, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Twelve Books for Halloween

Posted on October 27, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s treble T is a Halloween freebie: I’ve never gotten into Halloween (aside from a few costume parties over the years), but I will give this the old college try. But first, the tease! In fact, the thing Lorraine and … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 9 Comments