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.

Change Agent

Posted on May 30, 2019 by smellincoffee

Change Agent© 2017 Daniel Suarez417 pages Deep into the 21st century,   global civilization has been transformed by bioengineering.  Consumer products  which were once manufactured are now grown, from knives to car bodies; the streets are illuminated not by bulbs, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Better Off

Posted on May 24, 2019 by smellincoffee

Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology© 2004 Eric Bende256 pages When Eric and Mary Bendes tied the knot, they chose to kick off their marriage in the traditional fashion: struggling together to make a go of a family farm.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Mark Twain and the Swiss Family Robinson

Posted on May 22, 2019 by smellincoffee

May’s theme for the classics was “Adventure”, as I paired Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain with The Swiss Family Robinson.     Twain’s former is  a collection more than a monograph, as he presents together his recollections of growing up … Continue reading →

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

Freedom™

Posted on May 21, 2019 by smellincoffee

Freedom™©  2010 Daniel Suarez416 pages The global economy is crashing, nearing its end, but few are willing to recognize it. The sinking markets, soaring inflation and unemployment, and civil chaos are regarded by those in power as merely another hiccup, … Continue reading →

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

John Grisham: Favorites and Unfavorites

Posted on May 17, 2019 by smellincoffee

John Grisham was the first novelist whose entire bibliography I ever finished, though these days I must limit that to “adult” biblography, given his kid lawyer series.     Given that there are so many, I thought it would  be fun … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Reviews | Tagged | 10 Comments

On books and decluttering

Posted on May 13, 2019 by smellincoffee

I keep a photo in my  bedroom of my college dorm —  not for sentimental musings over my  halcyon college days,  but for the simplicity expressed.  The room is largely open, containing a twin bed,  an end table with a … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 7 Comments

One Word Kill

Posted on May 10, 2019 by smellincoffee

©  Mark Lawrence 2019 260 pages Nick’s young life was shattered when he got the diagnosis: cancer.  Leukemia, specifically.  The odds weren’t good that he’d live five years to see the 1990s.  But whatever was happening to him, inside, something … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged | 4 Comments

Scarlet

Posted on May 8, 2019 by smellincoffee

Scarlet © 2007 Stephen Lawhead 443 pages Young William Scatlock has been reduced to a landless vagrant, courtesy of  malevolent Norman lords and their toadies.  It seems as good an occasion as any to trek west and join forces with … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Two books on deer

Posted on May 2, 2019 by smellincoffee

 Two friends of mine have deer who visit their yard on a regular basis. The does happily tolerate my friends’ presence in the yard, as they’re picking up sticks or watering the flowers. If, however, my friends have guests, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 10 Comments

English broadside

Posted on May 1, 2019 by smellincoffee

Well…this has been the saddest Read of England, and the saddest reading month, since my college days.  At least the few I read were all fairly good! Read of England isn’t quite over, as I’ll be working on a few … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments