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.

The Sleeping Beauty

Posted on June 19, 2022 by smellincoffee

A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms #5: The Sleeping Beauty(c) 2010 Mercedes Lackey352 pages Rosamond has the bad luck to be an orphaned princess in a wealthy little kingdom surrounded by larger, hostile enemies, any one of whom will … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Of kidneys, the Lionheart, and Star Trek

Posted on June 18, 2022 by smellincoffee

Ever since my kidney transplant Tuesday, I’ve seen doctors, surgeons, and nurses on a daily basis with updates. They’re all very pleased about the progress I’m making toward recovery: my new kidneys (I received two, from a deceased juvenile) are … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Update

Posted on June 15, 2022 by smellincoffee

Good morning, all. Yesterday around 5 am I was taken down for transplant surgery. I am in recovery now. Lots of discomfort and some pain but those will pass in time. Kidney appears to be working.

Posted in General | 6 Comments

Exciting update

Posted on June 13, 2022 by smellincoffee

Earlier today at work I received a call from UAB, which at first sounded very routine: I was asked if anything had changed in the last few months. Then “Gregory” announced that they had a possible kidney for me, and … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 9 Comments

Collateral Damage

Posted on June 13, 2022 by smellincoffee

Star Trek TNG: Collateral Damage© 2019 David Mack383 pages Years ago, the decisions of Federation leadership and Starfleet command placed Captain Picard and the Enterprise between a moral Scylla and Charybdis, and his dogged efforts to keep the peace were … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

CS Lewis, alt-history Brits, and a Trek repast

Posted on June 9, 2022 by smellincoffee

Still offline, so — quickie reviews. Call C.S. Lewis’ friends to mind and the mental image, invariably, will be that of Lewis and the Inklings gathered around a table at the Eagle and Child, drinking and talking.  But one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Doctorow duo on digital rights activism

Posted on June 2, 2022 by smellincoffee

I recently read two short titles by Cory Doctorow, a SF author and internet freedom activist. For  at least the last twenty years, Cory Doctorow has been thinking about the future of intellectual property, copyright, and the open internet. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Warmer

Posted on June 1, 2022 by smellincoffee

I’m currently without internet (going on a week now) because AT&T is as efficient as one might expect a bloated former monopoly with decades of entrenched bureaucracy and labyrinthine phone trees to be. I’m still reading, though: I recently finished … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 10 Comments

CS Lewis and the Catholic Church

Posted on May 26, 2022 by smellincoffee

C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church© 2013 Joseph Pearce280 pages When C.S. Lewis began writing on Christian belief and practice in the mid-20th century,  reviewers at the time took it for granted that he had joined the Catholic church, despite … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Optimal

Posted on May 23, 2022 by smellincoffee

Optimal© 2020 J.M. Berger355 pages Jack has known nothing but the System his entire life.  He rises when it tells him to, he dresses in the outfit its algorithms choose for him, he follows prompts to a selected diner and … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments