Tag Archives: Alabama

The Hidden History of Chilton County

Posted on February 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Hidden History of Chilton County© 2022 Billy J. Singleton144 pages Forget Georgia peaches. The best to be had are in Chilton County, Alabama,  which has been so long proud of its peach orchards that the local water tower, visible … Continue reading →

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Stories, southern and otherwise

Posted on November 23, 2022 by smellincoffee

Rick Bragg is one of those authors I gave a shot simply because people around me wouldn’t shut up about him. It’s easy to understand why, after only a page or two;  he has a gift for storytelling, one he … Continue reading →

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Afternoons with Harper Lee

Posted on October 31, 2022 by smellincoffee

Afternoons with Harper Lee© 2022 Wayne Flynt256 pages Recently I had the pleasure of listening to historian Dr. Wayne Flynt speak at my local library,  drawing from his new book, Afternoons with Harper Lee.   As with Mockingbird Songs, a … Continue reading →

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Alabama’s Amazon

Posted on September 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Saving America’s Amazon: Our Most Biodiverse River System is Under Siege© 2020 Ben Raines200 pages The Mobile river delta is one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, but few know and still fewer appreciate this: for thousands of … Continue reading →

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On horses, septic tanks, and roving Spainards

Posted on January 14, 2022 by smellincoffee

I began the year by returning to a favorite subject of mine: horses! The Equine Legacy is a history of not only horses in America, but donkeys and mules, from the Age of Discovery to just after the Great War. … Continue reading →

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A southern trilogy: Rick Bragg’s folks

Posted on December 30, 2021 by smellincoffee

All Over but the Shoutin’ is perhaps Rick Bragg’s most well-known work, beginning a trilogy that, in its focus on one family in the early and mid-20th century,   takes readers into the generally ignored territory of the poor white working class of the South.   … Continue reading →

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The Speckled Beauty

Posted on December 16, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and his People© 2021 Rick Bragg256 pages There’s no bond like that between a boy and his dog – except, maybe, that of an old man and his dog.   Rick Bragg never meant to adopt “Speck”, the mangy and … Continue reading →

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Double play: Mobile & Latin America

Posted on February 15, 2021 by smellincoffee

This past week has seen a little progress on the ol’ TBR front, as I knocked out three books from the list, including The Network and those below. First up was E.O. Wilson’s Why We Are Here: Mobile and the … Continue reading →

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Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Posted on February 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe© 1987 Fannie Flagg416 pages “You know, a heart can be broken, but it keeps on beating, just the same.” Evelyn Couch is too young to feel this old. Despairing and lonely, she … Continue reading →

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