Category Archives: General

September 2021

Posted on October 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

Science Survey C’est fini! With How Emotions are Made I completed my twelve categories, finishing early for the first time since I instituted the Survey back in 2017. I’ll continue to read science titles, of course. Classics Club Strikes Back:The … Continue reading →

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Sohrab Ahmari and the Unbroken Thread

Posted on September 30, 2021 by smellincoffee

Sohrab Ahmari fled Iran for the West, rejoicing in its freedoms alongside his wife, a Chinese national who had also found relief from the relentless tyranny of her own country. As they formed a family and looked to the future, … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Freebie: Ten 2021 Adds to my Goodreads Wanna Read Shelf

Posted on September 28, 2021 by smellincoffee

This week’s TTT is a freebie, so I chose to look back on some of the books added to my Godoreads wanna-read list. America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present, John Ghazvinian. Something of a perennial interest of … Continue reading →

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Random, because trolleys

Posted on September 16, 2021 by smellincoffee

Today I spotted a tourist bus from Montgomery parked outside the library in such a way that I was reminded of a postcard from over a century ago.

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9/11/2001

Posted on September 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

It’s the twentieth anniversary of an attack upon the United States, the details and legacy you’re already familiar with. If you weren’t, I’m sure there’s no shortage of offerings today. Rather than dwell on the mistakes of the past, I’d … Continue reading →

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August 2021

Posted on August 31, 2021 by smellincoffee

Science SurveyA nice month for science:The Social Instinct, Nicholai RaihaniThe Red Planet: A Natural History, Simon MordenThe Call to Antarctica, Leilani Rashida Henry What’s Eating the Universe? and other Cosmic Questions, Paul Davies (Cosmology) Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, Thor … Continue reading →

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I have found the Most Interesting Thing On YouTube

Posted on August 16, 2021 by smellincoffee

Imagine listening to a book which has strengthened minds for centuries — Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations — not as a dry narrative, but as a performance, a motivational mixtape with impassioned delivery, with a beat. I encountered “Self Control”, taken from … Continue reading →

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Back to Earth

Posted on August 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet and our Mission to Protect It© 2021 Nicola Stott304 pages A staple of astronaut memoirs is the attempt to communicate the near-religious experience of seeing the Earth … Continue reading →

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More evil than I thought

Posted on August 12, 2021 by smellincoffee

I’ve personally never been able to retain bookmarks, even the fancy ones friends have sent me from faraway places like South Korea.

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Broadcast

Posted on August 9, 2021 by smellincoffee

Broadcast© 2017 Liam Brown288 pages Most people, if approached by a corporation and asked for permission to plant a microchip in their brainstem, would say “Nope” and back away from the crazy man. But David Callow isn’t most people: he’s … Continue reading →

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