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.

I have found the Most Interesting Thing On YouTube

Posted on August 16, 2021 by smellincoffee

Imagine listening to a book which has strengthened minds for centuries — Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations — not as a dry narrative, but as a performance, a motivational mixtape with impassioned delivery, with a beat. I encountered “Self Control”, taken from … Continue reading →

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Attack Surface

Posted on August 14, 2021 by smellincoffee

Attack Surface© 2020 Cory Doctorow385 pages When the Bay Bridge blew up, Masha wanted to catch the guys that did it. That desire for justice and revenge brought her to employment with the Department of Homeland Security, and still later … Continue reading →

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Back to Earth

Posted on August 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet and our Mission to Protect It© 2021 Nicola Stott304 pages A staple of astronaut memoirs is the attempt to communicate the near-religious experience of seeing the Earth … Continue reading →

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There Is No Cloud

Posted on August 12, 2021 by smellincoffee

There Is No Cloud© 2021 Kat Wheeler189 pages Okay, Google,  I’d like to set up a Routine. When I am murdered alone in my office, please call the police, unlock the door, and turn off the coffee pot.   Matt Rodriguez … Continue reading →

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More evil than I thought

Posted on August 12, 2021 by smellincoffee

I’ve personally never been able to retain bookmarks, even the fancy ones friends have sent me from faraway places like South Korea.

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Of Mars, Antarctica, and the human condition

Posted on August 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

Mars is a cold tease, an object of immediate interest to anyone who believes humanity needs to continue to venture outward.  It’s neither so hostile or so far from us to preclude manned missions entirely,  and it has its own resources that … Continue reading →

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Broadcast

Posted on August 9, 2021 by smellincoffee

Broadcast© 2017 Liam Brown288 pages Most people, if approached by a corporation and asked for permission to plant a microchip in their brainstem, would say “Nope” and back away from the crazy man. But David Callow isn’t most people: he’s … Continue reading →

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The Disappeared

Posted on August 6, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Disappeared© 2019 Amy Lord368 pages Clara Winter was only a child when her father disappeared. A poet and English teacher, he made the mistake of criticizing Britain’s new order, the martial rule imposed on it after a terrorist attack … Continue reading →

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Obey little, bake much: The Choice

Posted on August 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Choice© 2019 Claire Ward400 pages “Let them eat cake,” Marie Antoinette supposedly said of the people too poor to buy bread, and the words inspired revolution. The Choice throws that on its head, and makes it rallying cry — … Continue reading →

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Ghost Sub

Posted on August 4, 2021 by smellincoffee

Ghost Sub© 2013 Todd Tucker166 pages Ghost Sub opens with a scene reminiscent of “There Will Come Soft Rains”: an automated environment, eerily chugging along through its pre-programmed routines, an imitation of life in the midst of death. The USS … Continue reading →

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