Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Eating on Mars, Cap’n Mal, and organic gardening on steroids

Posted on January 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

Since twelve men left their mark on the Moon,  humanity has wondered about the prospects of venturing further out, to the Red Planet.  It’s a daunting undertaking, from the journey itself to the prospects for sustaining life on a planet … Continue reading →

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Revolutionary Characters

Posted on January 24, 2023 by smellincoffee

Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different© 2006 Gordon S. Woods352 pages Revolutionary Characters reviews the lives of several of the United States’ founding fathers to examine how the personal strengths and ambitions of these men allowed them to play … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors from 2022

Posted on January 24, 2023 by smellincoffee

This week’s top ten Tuesday is “Favorite new-to-me-authors from 2022”. I encountered a lot of authors, but how many will I revisit? Let’s see… (1) Sean Dietrich. Sean of the South visited my library in December, and I was gifted … Continue reading →

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The Incredible Winston Browne

Posted on January 23, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Incredible Winston Browne© Sean Dietrich 2021 352 pages In a little place called Moab,  a man is dying. His name is Winston Browne, and he’s a man who lives with regrets, memories of a love gone awry, of an … Continue reading →

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Unread Shelf Assignment #3: TBR Priorities

Posted on January 19, 2023 by smellincoffee

The first Unread shelf assignment for this year was to list all unread titles and move them into one location; the second was to purge The Unwanted. I did the first but a sudden outbreak of tornadoes in my area … Continue reading →

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Of galaxy and creeply-crawlies

Posted on January 19, 2023 by smellincoffee

Origins is a history of life, the universe, and everything. (Sort of).  It’s an odd book, in that  it begins in an expected fashion: Tyson and Goldsmith look first to the origin of matter, delving into the first seconds of … Continue reading →

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One Life at a Time, Please

Posted on January 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

One Life at a Time, Please© 1988 Ed Abbey204 pages Ed Abbey’s final few years were spent in obsessive work, as he knew he was dying and wanted to make provisions for his family.  The Fool’s Progress and One Life … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday: Seeing from outside

Posted on January 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

Science is not just about seeing. Science is about measuring — preferably with something that’s not your own eyes, which are inextricably conjoined with the baggage of your brain: preconceived ideas, post-conceived notions, imagination unchecked by reference to other data, … Continue reading →

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Adventures with Ed

Posted on January 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Abbey© 2003 Jack Loeffler308 pages “He walked across the desert at least a thousand times,” Tom Russell sang of Abbey in his “Ballad” thereof. Jack Loeffler was with him many of those times, as … Continue reading →

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At the dawn of recovery

Posted on January 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

Well. After a weekend of frantic work, now the rain is moving in and we’re pondering all the work that remains. An amazing amount of work has been done in the last few days to clear the road and make … Continue reading →

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