Category Archives: Reflection

Between stimulus and response, there is a space

Posted on May 1, 2024 by smellincoffee

Nearly twenty years ago I stumbled upon Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and the writings of the Stoics. I can’t tell you the exact story because too much time has passed: at the time I was not religious but had an inexplicable … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection, Religion and Philosophy | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A day without a phone

Posted on October 24, 2023 by smellincoffee

One of my class assignments this week is to go 24 hours without touching my phone, and since that aligns fairly well with some of the books I‘ve written about here over the years, I thought I might share my … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Tagged | 2 Comments

A life reading SF

Posted on October 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

It amuses me to think that there was a time — even when I was keeping this blog — where I steadfastly maintained that I wasn’t a science fiction reader, that I just liked Star Trek. Part of me even … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Tagged , | 10 Comments

The Philosopher Book Tag

Posted on July 23, 2021 by smellincoffee

Spotted at Thoughts on Papyrus, and couldn’t resist borrowing! Thales is considered the first known philosopher. Which text introduced you to philosophy or which text would you like to read to get you into philosophy? Oddly enough, a sermon from … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection, Religion and Philosophy | Tagged | 2 Comments

Three cheers for anarchy — three reads, anyway

Posted on June 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

While everyone else was honoring dead soldiers by buying things, shooting off fireworks (dear neighbors: why?), and grilling out, I was in bed all weekend with a case of food poisoning. Naturally, I wound up reading books about anarchism and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reflection, Religion and Philosophy, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

An uncluttered thought or two

Posted on July 4, 2020 by smellincoffee

Yesterday the library was closed in observance of Independence Day, and I have been using the time to get a little closer to my minimalist goals. This is a constant undertaking, an intermittent weekend project. Although I am frequently given … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Tagged | 5 Comments

Digital minimalism baby steps

Posted on October 31, 2019 by smellincoffee

A few readers were interested in updates on my experiment in digital minimalism,  so…here goes!   The ground rules I’ve followed have been: Email checked only 2-3 times a day, around meals, preferably not starting until after lunch. Social media … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | 8 Comments

You Still Can’t Call me Inspector Gadget

Posted on February 23, 2016 by smellincoffee

A few years ago I penned a few thoughts  (“Go Go Gadget Literature?”) distancing myself from e-readers and e-books, then exploding in popularity. A recent post by Lori at Should Be Reading made me think of it, and for good … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection, Reviews | Tagged | 7 Comments

Christmas Reading

Posted on November 28, 2011 by smellincoffee

Today the Christmas spirit finally found me. Usually we embrace immediately after Thanksgiving, but the weather has been unseasonably warm lately. Sunday brought with it grey skies and a constant drizzle, though, which is partially inconvenient (for someone who walks … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Tagged | 1 Comment

Stock Phrases

Posted on June 5, 2011 by smellincoffee

Tonight I stumbled upon a list of “Top 20 Most Annoying Book Reviewer Cliches“. I figured I would be guilty of some of them, and that suspicion was confirmed.  As I’ve been trying to move from informal comments to more … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Tagged | 4 Comments