Category Archives: Religion and Philosophy

My Dear Hemlock

Posted on December 12, 2024 by smellincoffee

During Advent I like to revisit The Screwtape Letters as a devotional exercise, but this year my ladyfriend discovered My Dear Hemlock, a new Screwtape-esque book that focuses on a female “patient”, and follows her from early young adulthood through … Continue reading →

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Living in Wonder

Posted on December 12, 2024 by smellincoffee

“The world is not what you think it is.” Rod Dreher opens Living in Wonder with that line, one that can rattle the reader when it actually begins sinking in throughout the course of this book. I’ve struggled with writing … Continue reading →

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Selections from Living in Wonder

Posted on December 11, 2024 by smellincoffee

Review to follow tomorrow.

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Beauteous Truth

Posted on November 5, 2024 by smellincoffee

I encountered Joseph Pearce over a decade ago via a podcast on literature: he is a man whose life was transformed through literature and the grace he experienced through it. His passion seeking the ‘good, the true, and the beautiful’ … Continue reading →

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The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis

Posted on October 25, 2024 by smellincoffee

Most people encounter C.S. Lewis as a Christian apologist or an author of stories — either the children’s series of Narnia, or his fascinating “space trilogy”, which combined mythology, medieval cosmology, and character drama to good effect. His occupation, though, … Continue reading →

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The Lives of the Stoics

Posted on June 7, 2024 by smellincoffee

Some seventeen years ago I discovered The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and the Discourses and Handbook of Epictetus. Neither men meant to publish these: the first was a private diary that was publically shared after the Emperor’s death, the second … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Literature: What Every Catholic Should Know

Posted on March 26, 2024 by smellincoffee

Years ago I stumbled upon a podcast called “Great Works in Western Literature” by a man named Joseph Pearce, and immediately a became fan of it. Pearce’s love of literature was infectious, especially seeing I was just beginning to read … Continue reading →

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Short rounds: Idols, community, and baseball bros

Posted on March 15, 2024 by smellincoffee

Despite appearances, I have been reading this past week… Elizabeth Scalia’s Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols of Everyday Life invites readers to consider those things which get between them and God. I heard sermons on this topic in my youth … Continue reading →

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How To Stay Married

Posted on February 28, 2024 by smellincoffee

On an ordinary day, a book called How to Stay Married would have never broached my radar, given the dismal marriage prospects of eccentric librarians, but as it happened one of my favorite authors mentioned Harrison Scott Key last week … Continue reading →

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