Author Archives: smellincoffee

Unknown's avatar

About smellincoffee

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

Dopesick

Posted on November 17, 2022 by smellincoffee

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America© 2018 Beth Macy384 pages More people are expected to die from accidental drug overdoses in the next five years than have died in the previous fifteen, part of an overall … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Oh, hai, it’s Tuesday

Posted on November 15, 2022 by smellincoffee

Two Teases today! When we’re on the digital tether, she says, we’re not fully present in either our virtual or our physical life. Also, we’re not fooling anyone. Others can tell when we’re not paying attention, and it makes them … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Every

Posted on November 9, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Every© 2021 Dave Eggers608 pages Nearly ten years ago, Dave Eggers published The Circle,   about the rise of an uber-corporation whose products had transformed not only the digital world, but were beginning to shape society as well.  Think … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Go Set a Watchman

Posted on November 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Go Set a Watchman© 2015 Harper Lee 288 pages When it was announced that Harper Lee had published a sequel to her legendary book, Go Set a Watchman,  I was skeptical, as were many.  Given how close its author was … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Teaser Tuesday: Every

Posted on November 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Happy Tuesday! Teasing from Dave Eggers’ The Every today, the story of one woman’s quest to destroy an uber-corporation that’s Facebook/Google/Apple/Amazon rolled into one. “Now I’m thinking if I can just kill emojis, that would be enough,” Delaney said. “You … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 4 Comments

October 2022 in Review

Posted on November 1, 2022 by smellincoffee

Starting October, I had two things in mind: one, a nod to Mental Health Awareness Month; two, a nod to Halloween that would come in either some appropriate nonfiction (I have books on blood and skeletons) or in a look … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 11 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Go Set a Watchman

Posted on November 1, 2022 by smellincoffee

She walked down the steps and into the shade of a live oak. She put her arm out and leaned against the trunk. She looked at Maycomb, and her throat tightened: Maycomb was looking back at her. Go away, the … Continue reading →

Posted in General, quotations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Spinning Atoms in the Desert

Posted on October 27, 2022 by smellincoffee

Bombast: Spinning Atoms in the Desert© 2010 Michon Mackedon236 pages Which is more breathtaking, the power of the atom bomb or the hubris of governments that use it? Michon Mackedon’s Bombast will leave readers wondering. It reviews the approach of … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Bombast

Posted on October 26, 2022 by smellincoffee

…..wait a tic, it’s not Tuesday. Oh, well. Today’s teaser comes from Bombast: Spinning Atoms in the Desert, about the government’s efforts to convince Nevadans that dropping nukes on a regular basis a half-hour’s drive from their homes was hunky-dory. … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | Leave a comment