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.

Snowed in

Posted on January 18, 2018 by smellincoffee

For the second time in as many months, we’ve received a hearty dose of snow and ice. This time seems to have been much more disruptive, as roads have been shut down completely. Last month ice wasn’t too bad, but … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 24 Comments

Fares Please!

Posted on January 17, 2018 by smellincoffee

Fares, Please! A Popular History of Trolleys, Horsecars, Streetcar,s, Buses, Elevateds, and Subways© 1941, 1960 John Anderson Miller204 pages With her high starch collar and her high-topped shoes,  and her hair piled high above her headShe went to find a … Continue reading →

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

Amsterdam

Posted on January 16, 2018 by smellincoffee

Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City© 2013 Russell Shorto369 pages In the early 14th century, a group of fisher-folk around the Amstel river came together with a dream: to build a place where people could smoke weed … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Munich

Posted on January 14, 2018 by smellincoffee

Munich© 2018 Robert Harris354 pages By this time tomorrow, Adolf Hitler could be dead… The year is 1938, and Europe is again sliding into war — a war that only one man wants.  The man is Adolf Hitler, who is … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Fools and Mortals

Posted on January 12, 2018 by smellincoffee

Fools and Mortals© 2017 Bernard Cornwell384 pages Brevity is the soul of wit, so here’s an attempt at a quick  review.  Bernard Cornwell usually writes war novels, and he’s magnificent at it. But he surely gets tired of it, and … Continue reading →

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

Grocery

Posted on January 10, 2018 by smellincoffee

Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America© 2017 Michel Ruhlman324 pages Let’s go shopping! There’s a few errands to take care of first — an homage to dad, a quick review of the history of grocery stores — … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant To Read But Didn’t Actually

Posted on January 8, 2018 by smellincoffee

This week the Broke and Bookish are tackling books they meant to read last year, but didn’t. Well, so am I. 1. India: A History & China: A History, John Keay These were on the short list for last year’s … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 13 Comments

Peaceable Kingdoms

Posted on January 8, 2018 by smellincoffee

Star Trek, The Fall: Peaceable Kingdoms384 pages© 2013 Dayton Ward Nearly two months have passed since the most popular and widely respected president in Federation history was publicly assassinated, but in that time her temporary replacement has not been standing … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Lessons from a Lemonade Stand

Posted on January 7, 2018 by smellincoffee

 Lessons from a Lemonade Stand: An Unconventional Guide to Government© 2017 Connor Boyack145 pages Who knew  lemonade was a gateway drug to anarchism?   Beginning with the true story of several girls who were bullied and fined by their local Officer … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The Poisoned Chalice

Posted on January 5, 2018 by smellincoffee

Star Trek the Fall: The Poisoned Chalice© 2013 James Swallow395 pages Without warning or reason, the starship Titan – specialized for deep space exploration – has been recalled and ordered to patrol…Earth. Captain Riker has been promoted to admiral and … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 8 Comments