Author Archives: smellincoffee

Unknown's avatar

About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Rapt

Posted on October 15, 2010 by smellincoffee

Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life© 2009 Winifred Gallagher256 pages  You’re sitting comfortably in your favorite chair, reading, when out of the corner of your eye your brain registers movement, and you automatically turn to look for its source. You … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged | 1 Comment

Booking through Thursday: Rewrite

Posted on October 14, 2010 by smellincoffee

Booking through Thursday (via Joy) asks: If you could rewrite the ending of any book, which book would it be? And how would you change it?John Grisham’s The Appeal is notable for its disheartening ending. The novel’s subject is political corruption: … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 1 Comment

Unworthy

Posted on October 14, 2010 by smellincoffee

Unworthy© 2009 Kirsten Beyer384 pages These are not the friendly stars of the Federation. The unknown and the unexpected are the everyday. Not five years after the good ship Voyager returned home from involuntary exile in the Delta Quadrant, Starfleet … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

These Weeks at the Library (28 Sept – 13 October)

Posted on October 13, 2010 by smellincoffee

Two weeks ago at the library, I… …started with Spook, Mary Roach’s investigations into tales of the afterlife. Stephen Fry in America, the titular British humorist’s account of his state-by-state tour of the United States, followed that.  Christine by Stephen King proved … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Posted on October 12, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson©  Edited 1987, Alfred Ferguson378 pages Two summers ago I began to read Thoreau, and as I continue to find him philosophically compelling I wanted to read the works of Thoreau’s contemporary and like-minded friend, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Caesar and Christ

Posted on October 12, 2010 by smellincoffee

Caesar and Christ© 1944 Will Durant752 pages Ave, Caesar! Athens’ grip on my imagination is rivaled only by Rome — Rome, navel of the world; Rome, which established the languages laws, and religion of western Europe. Like Our Oriental Heritage … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teaser Tuesday (12 October)

Posted on October 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

Teaser Tuesday — going boldly where no man has gone before, except for last Tuesday. “For the next few hours I don’t wish to be disturbed by anything less than the arrival of a Borg armada in Earth orbit.” “If … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 17 Comments

Full Circle

Posted on October 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

Full Circle© 2009 Kirsten Beyer576 pages Following the success of the Deep Space Nine relaunch, both The Next Generation and Voyager‘s crews received new life in the form of book series. Voyager‘s series stalled after four books, but her characters … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Packing for Mars

Posted on October 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

Packing for Mars: the Curious Science of Life in the Void© 2010 Mary Roach334 pages It’s a long way to Tipperary.  Humans are not extremophiles. We have very specific environmental requirements for not dying in all manner of unpleasant ways, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Life of Greece

Posted on October 6, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Life of Greece© 1939 Will Durant754 pages Ancient Greece is the cradle of western civilization, and from my elementary school days on, this world occupied by serene columns and men in togas has fascinated me. That interest grew with … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment