Category Archives: Classics and Literary

Stephen Fry’s Heroes

Posted on September 8, 2026 by smellincoffee

What do I know of the Greek heroes? Precious little. I recognize the phrase, Labors of Hercules, but could not tell you more than a couple of them – cleaning out stables and helping Atlas with the sky for some … Continue reading →

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Stephen Fry’s Troy

Posted on August 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

While I enjoyed Stephen Fry’s Mythos tolerably well a few years ago, it didn’t fire up my engines so much that I went after the next ones immediately; recently a Greek wind has hit my imagination, though, and after listening … Continue reading →

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Stephen Fry’s Odyssey

Posted on August 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

A couple of years ago I read Stephen Fry’s Mythos, his attempt to bring together some of the primordial Greek mythological characters into one narrative; he followed it with Heroes, Troy, and finally Odyssey. The recent release of an Odyssey … Continue reading →

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Rebecca

Posted on April 25, 2026 by smellincoffee

Imagine your life being so overwhelmed by other people’s memories of a woman that her name is emblazoned over your story — and still worse, you don’t have a name in your story, only the title that both you and … Continue reading →

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My Cousin Rachel

Posted on April 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

Phillip and Ambrose had a good thing going: Phillip was largely raised by his older cousin, a man with twenty years on him and a tremendous unease around women that he passed on to his ward. They lived in Ambrose’ … Continue reading →

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Paradise Lost

Posted on March 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Like Dante’s Divine Comedy, Milton’s Paradise Lost is a key bit of Christian literature which has shaped people’s understanding of Bible stories in an indirect way; that is, Milton and Dante’s interpretation of Biblical events and places has become our … Continue reading →

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The Confessions

Posted on March 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

Fifteen years ago, I read The Confessions; I am not sure what prompted me to do so, other than perhaps a desire to read The Classics, and my belief that St. Augustine was like Cicero, a brother in avid pursuit … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Posted on December 8, 2025 by smellincoffee

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens with one of my favorite lines from Lewis’s fiction, and repeats that achievement toward its close. “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” Said lad is the … Continue reading →

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Of Shasta & Caspian

Posted on December 1, 2025 by smellincoffee

This past week I have been taking care of animals a county away, and have had plenty of time to make further progress on my Chronicles of Narnia audiobook experience. I am listening to the Audible versions, not the full-cast … Continue reading →

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Alice, the White Rabbit, and Nixon: Short rounds, audio edition

Posted on June 2, 2025 by smellincoffee

That is not a “Go Ask Alice” reference, though I suppose it could. I’m kicking this week off with an audiobook short round. First up is The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland, read by Scarlett Johansson . I reviewed the … Continue reading →

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