Tag Archives: Mississippi

The Great Deluge

Posted on September 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

In September 2005, I remember watching the approach of Hurricane Katrina with a wary eye; just a year before, my own area had been savaged by Hurricane Ivan. I had no desire to live through that again, especially now that … Continue reading →

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Short rounds: people and their places

Posted on April 29, 2025 by smellincoffee

In One No, Many Yeses, journalist and green activist Paul Kingsnorth detailed his journeys across the world, spending time with people who were actively resisting globalization — or rather, the disruptions that globalization caused in their local communities. Real England: … Continue reading →

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Oceans and fishes and magic needles

Posted on December 6, 2024 by smellincoffee

Within the last few weeks I’ve read a couple of science titles, one of which was a big ol’ book that deserves a proper review, but given that my mental energies are entirely focused on my last project for this … 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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Cemetery Road

Posted on December 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

Marshall McEwan (who is not Marshall McLuhan, disappointingly) ran away from small-town Mississippi to become a journalist in D.C. He found great success there as  a talking head on what passes for TV news, talking down with great condescension about the place … Continue reading →

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The Boys from Biloxi

Posted on March 20, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Boys from Biloxi© 2022 John Grisham453 pages Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco were among the best of friends,   who grew up playing ball and exploring the Gulf Coast together.  Third-generation immigrants,    they both admired their fathers intensely  … Continue reading →

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Natchez Burning

Posted on October 18, 2021 by smellincoffee

Natchez Burning© 2015 Greg Iles816 pages When the choice is your father or the truth,  who could choose the truth?  Penn Cage has always idolized his father Tom.  A dedicated physician from the 1950s-on,  the senior Cage developed a reputation as a devoted and impartial … Continue reading →

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The Unvanquished

Posted on March 22, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Unvanquished© 1938 William Faulkner254 pages Years ago in a ninth-grade literature class,  I chose to read a book by William Faulkner for a class project on the basis that he was a southern writer. My teacher cautioned me against … Continue reading →

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