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.

Barefoot Boy with Cheek

Posted on September 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

Barefoot Boy with Cheek (© 1943)From Max Shulman’s Large Economy Size © 1948207 pages Blessings on thee, little man, Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan! With thy turned-up pantaloons, And thy merry whistled tunes; With thy red lip, redder still Kissed … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Stiff

Posted on September 24, 2010 by smellincoffee

Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers© 2003 Mary Roach303 pages Being dead is absurd. It’s the silliest situation you’ll find yourself in. Your limbs are floppy and uncooperative. Your mouth hangs open. Being dead is unsightly and stinky and embarrassing, … Continue reading →

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

Booking through Thursday: Current

Posted on September 23, 2010 by smellincoffee

Booking through Thursday asks: What are you reading right now? What made you choose it? Are you enjoying it? Would you recommend it? (And, by all means, discuss everything, if you’re reading more than one thing!)I checked out The Life of … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 2 Comments

Teaser Tuesday (21 Sept)

Posted on September 20, 2010 by smellincoffee

Teases on Tuesdays sometimes come in threes. Here, anyway. Let us begin with fundamentals. The first requisite for a young writer is paper. You will find that the work will go much better if the paper has not been previously … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged | 9 Comments

The King of Torts

Posted on September 20, 2010 by smellincoffee

The King of Torts© 2003 John Grisham472 pages “Why won’t they just throw money at me to make me go away?” “Now you’re thinkin’ like a real mass tort boy!” Clay Carter is an underpaid and overworked Public Defender, providing … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Mao Case

Posted on September 19, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Mao Case: An Inspector Chen Novel© 2009  Qiu Xiaolong289 pages This novel’s title caught my attention, but the setting hooked me. A police mystery set in contemporary China? Eager to explore what is for me terra incognita, I happily … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Casino

Posted on September 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas© 1995 Nicholas Pileggi363 pages The first gangster movie I ever watched was Martin Scorcese’s Goodfellas, based off of Nicholas Pileggi’s Wiseguy. Pileggi’s account of life in the Sicilian mob is considerably more gritty … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged | Leave a comment

Booking through Thursday: Day and Night

Posted on September 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Booking through Thursday asks:  Do you divide your books into day and night reads? How do you decide?Although I don’t think of books in terms of “day” and “night” readings, I distinguish between books I can read in public, or … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 10 Comments

This Week at the Library (8 Sept – 15 Sept)

Posted on September 15, 2010 by smellincoffee

This week at the library… Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir is the story of Lady Jane Grey, a young girl who was made queen in an effort to  Karl Marx: the Passionate Logician by Joel Carmichael is a brief biography of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Top Ten Books I’m Dying to Read

Posted on September 14, 2010 by smellincoffee

A few weeks ago I found a blog that does a weekly activity called “Top Ten Tuesdays”, but I haven’t yet managed to participate:  I’m still working on “Top Ten Books I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read”, and….well, it’s been … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 1 Comment