Tag Archives: fathers and sons

The Poacher’s Son

Posted on April 27, 2025 by smellincoffee

Game Warden Joe Pickett Mike Bowditch just got a call about a bear attacking a man’s prized pig.  Mike’s just a rookie serving the Game and Fish department of the State of Maine in the middle of nowhere, so taking … Continue reading →

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Frank and Red and Arthur and Maddy and —

Posted on December 20, 2024 by smellincoffee

This week I’ve read three books about lonely old men finding connection. I already posted a review for The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, but here are two more. They were both absolutely lovely, and featured friendships and connection across … Continue reading →

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Happy father’s day ft. one of my favorite videos on YouTube

Posted on June 16, 2024 by smellincoffee

Today is Father’s Day in the United States, and to celebrate I’d like to share a father and son duet from Johnny and Nick Clegg. Johnny Clegg was a groundbreaking musician who, in apartheid South Africa, creating several illegal mixed-race … Continue reading →

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Anxious People

Posted on March 19, 2024 by smellincoffee

The scene: an apartment showing, the day before New Year’s. The apartment is filled with people, and then enters one more: a masked individual wielding a gun, panicked. They’ve just tried to rob a bank, only the bank is a … Continue reading →

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The World’s Largest Man

Posted on February 24, 2024 by smellincoffee

When Harrison Scott Key was young, his father opted to uproot the family from Memphis and moved to an old farmstead out in the country – -the reason being, a boy needed to grow up outdoors doing things. Harrison did … Continue reading →

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My Name is Asher Lev

Posted on August 31, 2023 by smellincoffee

How to describe My Name is Asher Lev? The book opens with Asher himself describing himself as an apostate, a traitor, a mocker — and yet the reader will find no cruel intentions here, only a young man struggling with … Continue reading →

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The Last Republicans

Posted on August 3, 2023 by smellincoffee

I was interested in reading this book even before my unexpected presidential reading tangent of this last month, in part because of my age: George H.W. Bush was the first president I remember, and holds that title somewhat fixedly in … Continue reading →

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Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

Posted on April 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

Will the Circle Be Unbroken? A Memoir of Learning to Believe You’re Gonna be Ok© 2020 Sean Dietrich261 pages A memoir about a boy growing up in the deep shadow cast by his father’s suicide has no right to be … Continue reading →

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The Other Side of the Bay

Posted on March 8, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Other Side of the Bay© 2014 Sean Dietrich177 pages There’s a broken down  truck in the woods holding three men,  two drunk brothers and a passed-out football has-been.   By morning, the truck will be discovered in perfect working … Continue reading →

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The Job

Posted on July 15, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Job: True Tales from a New York City Cop © 2015 Steve Osborn 272 pages Steve Osborn grew up by his father’s side in a bar, standing on boxes to play pinball and idolizing the men his father hung … Continue reading →

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