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.

A Brief History of Motion

Posted on July 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Tom, Tom, Tom. You know drinking and driving is a bad idea, but what did you do? You followed A History of the World through Six Glasses with this A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel to the Automobile. … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday: Move over, Gagarin

Posted on July 4, 2023 by smellincoffee

When he got the call, Kittinger knew he had enough oxygen to stay up a little longer, and he wasn’t keen to end the mission just yet. Now at ninety-six thousand feet, he had a view of the Earth that … Continue reading →

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Naked at Lunch

Posted on July 1, 2023 by smellincoffee

Naked at Lunch: Adventures of a Reluctant Nudist© 2015 Mark Haskell Smith288 pages Beware all enterprises which require new clothes, Henry David Thoreau opined. Say what you will about naturism, or nudism – it’s the only hobby I can think … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Midyear Review & June 2023

Posted on July 1, 2023 by smellincoffee

June was a proper broadside, no holds barred, no quarter given! Books tumbled from Mount Doom by the day, screaming in terror and leaving behind stray bookmarks and badly-bound pages in their wake. We are halfway through the year, so … Continue reading →

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Wednesday blogging prompt: recent song I’ve loved

Posted on June 28, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s topic from Long and Short reviews is a song that’s been stuck in our heads recently. “A” song. A SONG? Music and song have been a part of my everyday life as long as I have memories, so I … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday because it’s Tuesday and not Wednesday as I’d previously believed

Posted on June 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

Harry and I were standing outside watching the sunset when Maria-Grazia came out dragging her suitcase. She was driving back to Italy that night, but that’s not why I did a double take. She appeared to be transformed. I almost … Continue reading →

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The 99% Invisible City

Posted on June 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Ordinary Design© 2020 Roman Mars400 pages I’ve spent many hours in two of my city’s oldest buildings — one a church, the other a mixed-use Italianate beauty turned … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A Man Called Ove

Posted on June 26, 2023 by smellincoffee

A Man Called Ove© 2012 Fredrik Backman368 pages Ove is a simple man. He likes to wake early, patrol the neighborhood and look for trouble, take care of what needs fixing, grouse about people not doing things properly, and then … Continue reading →

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Of blood and brilliant butlers

Posted on June 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

Rose George has previously shared with readers her voyages across the world following cargo ships and movements to make sanitation both more eco-friendly and readily available to poorer communities. In Nine Pints, she dips into the circulatory system. The result … Continue reading →

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The Psychopath Test

Posted on June 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry© 2011 Jon Ronson290 pages Jon Ronson’s journalistic niche is the weird, so when he learned that numerous intellectuals across the western world had received identical volumes of the same modified book … Continue reading →

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