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.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore

Posted on June 16, 2025 by smellincoffee

Clay is the newest hire at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, occupying the clerk’s desk through the midnight hours and trying not to go out of his mind with boredom. He is there not because he has a passion for books, … Continue reading →

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Saturday Shorts — This Long Vigil

Posted on June 14, 2025 by smellincoffee

Amid the deep, cold black of space, the generation ship Hermes cruises her way toward finding a new home for humanity at Tau Ceti. Or, at least the thousand souls who are aboard her. Unusually, though, these are not the … Continue reading →

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SHELLI: MurderMind

Posted on June 13, 2025 by smellincoffee

One of my favorite reads of 2024 was SHELLI, a SF mystery featuring a pair of detectives — one human, one synthetic — who investigated crimes relating to sythentic lifeforms, i.e. androids. Jake and Shelli are back in MurderMind, but … Continue reading →

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1984 (Dramatization)

Posted on June 12, 2025 by smellincoffee

Earlier in the year I re-read 1984, along with Cyberkitten, and when I spotted this full-cast adaptation of the classic dystopia on Audible. I knew I had to try it, if only to hear Tom Hardy’s Big Brother. The adaptation … Continue reading →

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Favorite season

Posted on June 11, 2025 by smellincoffee

This one is interesting because my answer has changed over the years. At one point it would’ve been fall because “SUMMER IS OVER!”. However, the oldeer I get the more I realize Fall is increasingly “NATURE WANTS YOU DEAD” season. … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday & Favorite Things to Do in Summer

Posted on June 11, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? Black Badge #3: Ace in in the Hole, and SHELLI: MurderMind. Reviews for both pending. Actually, I’m writing this in advance so Ace in the Hole may have posted already. “Killing me won’t solve … Continue reading →

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Black Badge: Ace in the Hole

Posted on June 10, 2025 by smellincoffee

For untold years, the thought-dead gunslinger James Crowley has roamed the wild west doing the bidding of the White Throne – hunting wretched nephilim that prey on humans and subvert creation, like vampires. This was his reward for dying in … Continue reading →

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Top Ten “Bookish Wishes”

Posted on June 10, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s theme is supposed to be about our book wishlists — i.e. books we want to buy or receive — but I’m going to play with the theme a bit. Recently the ladyfriend and I were trapped in a bookstore … Continue reading →

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Strange New Worlds: Asylum

Posted on June 6, 2025 by smellincoffee

It’s been nearly two years since the season-two cliffhanger of Strange New Worlds, so thank goodness for Trek literature to keep us junkies out of withdrawal until July’s airing of season there. Asylum is a novel told across two periods … Continue reading →

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The Presidents and the Pastime

Posted on June 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

On October 30th, 2001,   President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch of Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. It was a powerful moment, a symbolic step forward in recovering from the trauma of … Continue reading →

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