Category Archives: General

May 2026 in Review

Posted on May 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

So ends the merrie month o’ May; the green buds are no longer swelling, but bursting into full flower. Summer is here, what I….lovingly….call the Great Sticky Siege. The outside world is quickly becoming not a place of warmth and … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 11 Comments

Lincoln

Posted on May 27, 2026 by smellincoffee

Gore Vidal’s Lincoln is a fictional rendering of President Lincoln across five years, from his rise to power to his sudden end at an assassin’s hands in 1865.  Unlike the modern film Lincoln, Vidal does not try to give us … Continue reading →

Posted in General, historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

WWW Wednesday, America @ 250 Edition

Posted on May 27, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s Long and Short reviews prompt is: animals we’d like as pets. Ideally I’d one day like to have a more rural home (as in, no neighbors but deer) with chickens and even a horse. WHAT have you finished reading … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Top Ten Books From My Favorite Authors

Posted on May 26, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s treble-T is “Books By My Favorite Authors”, which is unfair but I shall do my best. But foist, Teaser Tuesday! Today Jupiter radiates twice as much heat as it receives from the Sun. Early on it would have glowed … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 8 Comments

WWW Wednesday & Long and Short Prompt

Posted on May 20, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “A Typical Day in My Life”. I’m as-yet unmarried and as-yet still working, so my day to day is fairly predictable. I wake up at 7, make coffee, read substack and blogs, … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Teaser Tuesday & CC Spin 44

Posted on May 19, 2026 by smellincoffee

Teaser Tuesday “If Aliens landed in Los Angeles, their first impression might be that Earth’s dominant life-form is the automobile. An obvious conclusion. When one gets injured, another version of that life-form shows up to haul it away and get … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Harry Potter and the VERY SCREAMY CAMPING TRIP

Posted on May 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

One minute Harry and company are attending the wedding of Bill and Fleur, the next moment they’re running for their lives and living like vagabonds in the woods while trying to figure out how to take down the second coming … Continue reading →

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

Decision Points

Posted on May 14, 2026 by smellincoffee

I have a ….complicated relationship with George W. Bush. He was the president when I was in high school, and most importantly during 9/11: his “I can hear you!” response still makes me want to find a table, stand on … Continue reading →

Posted in General, history, Politics and Civic Interest | Tagged , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Classics Club Spin #44

Posted on May 14, 2026 by smellincoffee

It’s time for another Classics Club spin, in which we’re given until May 17th to produce a list of 20 titles remaining on our Classics Club list, and then on that date a random number tells us which book on … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 23 Comments

WWW Wednesday

Posted on May 13, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, what’s something we’d like to know more about? ….well, everything. You know when we’re children, we pester adults with question after question — what’s that? What’s that? Why does it do this? … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 10 Comments