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.

WWW Wednesday + Favorite Book Covers

Posted on June 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War and the Catastrophe in Ukraine, Scott Horton. It’s now technically the biggest book I’ve “read” on goodreads, though a third of it was endnotes. (There are … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday & the Books of Summer

Posted on June 3, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is a summer-themed freebie. But first, the tease! “Which one is that, [the passive voice]?” said Ortegas. She looked at her colleagues. “What? It’s a reasonable question. Not everyone carries this information around in their head.”“‘Ortegas flies the … Continue reading →

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Alice, the White Rabbit, and Nixon: Short rounds, audio edition

Posted on June 2, 2025 by smellincoffee

That is not a “Go Ask Alice” reference, though I suppose it could. I’m kicking this week off with an audiobook short round. First up is The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland, read by Scarlett Johansson . I reviewed the … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

May 2025 In Review

Posted on June 1, 2025 by smellincoffee

Well, so ends May, an extremely wet month here in Alabama, with most places receiving 10-12 inches of rain — the historic average being about 5 inches. I managed to watch two baseball games and one play (“The Mousetrap”, Agatha … Continue reading →

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Moviewatch, May 2025

Posted on May 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

Party Girl, 1995. Parker Posey is a dance hall fanatic who, upon finding herself financially strapped, decides to become a librarian.   This film is amusing from a librarian POV because she begins working in an early 1990s system that … Continue reading →

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Occupation to vocation

Posted on May 29, 2025 by smellincoffee

For someone my age, I have had surprisingly few jobs: over half my working life has been at the same place! I volunteered in the soundroom at my parent’s church as a teenager, though that doesn’t really count considering the … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday & WWW Wednesday

Posted on May 28, 2025 by smellincoffee

ALTOSTRATUS is a bit of a boring cloud. Sorry if that sounds mean, but its featureless, overcast sky just hangs around, with little to say for itself. The most exciting thing Altostratus ever does is lightly drizzle. (Cloudspotting for Beginners) … Continue reading →

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Original Sin

Posted on May 26, 2025 by smellincoffee

It was fairly obvious to critics of the Biden administration that the president was in cognitive decline and increasingly unfit to hold office, despite the barrage of Sharp as a Tack! statements emanating from DC’s faithful handmaidens, the corporate press. … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Coming to Palestine

Posted on May 24, 2025 by smellincoffee

Given the current horrors going on in Gaza, and that Israel/Palestine is largely a blind spot for me, I figured this was worth a look, especially given that I haven’t read anything on the subject since Peace not Apartheid (2007!) … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

WWW Wednesday

Posted on May 21, 2025 by smellincoffee

WHAT have you finished reading recently? Memories from the Microphone, a history of baseball broadcasting. WHAT are you reading now? I’ve been nibbling at a few books this week, but am most committed to Provoked, a history of DC/NATO vs … Continue reading →

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