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.

Saturday Shorts: The Hammer of God

Posted on June 28, 2025 by smellincoffee

TIME magazine, unlike many other older magazines, never had a tradition of publishing short fiction — until golden age of SF author Arthur C. Clarke offered to change that. “The Hammer of God” takes us a century into the future, … Continue reading →

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

Short rounds: giant radioactive catfish and Congressional ballgames

Posted on June 27, 2025 by smellincoffee

It’s been a quiet week for reviews, largely because I’m nibbling on several books at once instead of committing to anything. Chernobyl’s Wild Kingdom is, as I discovered upon laying eyes on it at the post office, a junior-level science … Continue reading →

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

WWW Wednesday

Posted on June 25, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long & Short Reviews is: do we follow celebrity gossip? I do follow a few celebrities on instagram, but they’re mostly musicians and their shared media is largely music clips — with the exception of Morgan Wade’s … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Grease (is the word)

Posted on June 24, 2025 by smellincoffee

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched Grease over the years: much of its music is firmly lodged in my head (and insisted on playing itself as I read this), so you might say I’m a fan. Grease: … Continue reading →

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

Top Ten Tuesday

Posted on June 24, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is “Top Ten Books Anticipated Releasing in 2025”, which doesn’t work for me because I don’t really follow potential publishing unless it’s an author I stalk or it’s Star Trek related. So, here’s a tease or two for … Continue reading →

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Content & Context

Posted on June 23, 2025 by smellincoffee

Content collects several of Cory Doctorow’s favorite pieces of his written on “technology, creativity, copyright, and the future”, clumping in the mid-2000s. The content is mixed in medium, but united in message: herein are essays, speeches, and interviews that cover … Continue reading →

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

Saturday Shorts – Clarke and Asimov

Posted on June 21, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s short story is a pair of stories, chosen because they share a common theme. The first, Arthur C. Clarke’s “Into the Comet”, opens on a science ship in despair. The Challenger was commissioned to investigate Randall’s Comet, a long-period … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

WWW Wednesday & Funny Book Titles

Posted on June 18, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finish reading recently? War, Bob Woodward, focusing on Biden, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Israel. WHAT are you reading now? The Summer Before the War, Helen Simonson. Bit of light historical fiction set prior to The Great War. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 10 Comments

War

Posted on June 17, 2025 by smellincoffee

War  takes us into the Biden White House and its foreign policy challenges.    Biden had no shortage of  heavy issues coming into office amid a pandemic,  but the changing global scene would create far more.   Woodward’s narrative sews … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Top Ten Summer To-Reads

Posted on June 17, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s treble T is our summer booklists, which prompts me to first take a look back at my spring list. Boy, did I not do well: to borrow from baseball, I only hit .400. (Actually, in baseball that would be … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 17 Comments