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.

Teaser Tuesday (20/7)

Posted on July 20, 2010 by smellincoffee

Tues·day   (tūz’dē, -dā’, tyūz’-)n. (Abbr. Tues. or Tue. or Tu or T)The third day of the week. Appropriate for submitting teasers, esp. for books. [Middle English Tuesdai, from Old English Tīwesdæg, Tiu’s day : Tīwes, genitive of Tīw, Tiu; … Continue reading →

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Walking towards Walden

Posted on July 19, 2010 by smellincoffee

Walking towards Walden: A Pilgrimage in Search of Place© 1995 John Hanson Mitchell301 pages Just before he set out on his journey to the netherworld, the great pilgrim Dante Alighieri had to pass through a lion-haunted forest where the straight … Continue reading →

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The Life of Elizabeth I

Posted on July 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Life of Elizabeth I© 1998, 2003 Alison Weir542 pages “She certainly is a great queen […]. Just look how well she governs! She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island, and yet she makes herself feared by Spain, … Continue reading →

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DS9 #6: Betrayal

Posted on July 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Betrayal© 1994  Lois Tilton280 pages I recently acquired a box of thirty-odd Star Trek: Deep Space Nine paperbacks, and after excitedly pawing through them, Betrayal appeared of immediate interest for its cover, which depicted Marc Alaimo as … Continue reading →

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Travels with Charley

Posted on July 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Travels with Charley in Search of America© 1962 John Steinbeck246 pages Author John Steinbeck is perhaps most famous for The Grapes of Wrath, the story of the displaced Joad family who travel to California from their home in  Oklahoma in … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday (13-7)

Posted on July 13, 2010 by smellincoffee

Patriots and citizens, we are ready for Teaser Tuesday — to the barricades! In their own persons, Lafayette and Talleyrand embodied the split personality of the French Revolution. For while it is commonplace to recognize that the Revolution gave birth … Continue reading →

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Stargazer: Three

Posted on July 12, 2010 by smellincoffee

Stargazer: Three© 2003 Michael Jan Friedman247 pages In addition to beginning the TNG relaunch this year, I also intend to pick up on loose threads in Trek literature that I have either left undone or never examined in the first … Continue reading →

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The Andromeda Strain

Posted on July 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Andromeda Strain© 1969 Michael Crichton295 pages Hours after an American space probe crash-landed in the Nevada desert, the entire populace of a small town nearby deserted their homes to die in the streets, where they were noticed by a … Continue reading →

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A Walk Across America

Posted on July 8, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Walk Across America© 1979 Peter Jenkins288 pages We walked straight west. I had everything I needed in the world resting comfortably on my shoulders, and the entire country waiting to be discovered.  (p.55) In the late spring of 1973, … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (7/7)

Posted on July 7, 2010 by smellincoffee

I never intended to make this last week “Science Fiction Week”, but it emerged that way following a series of coincidences. I finished Carl Sagan’s Contact a few days later than anticipated: his book, which portrays humanity’s first contact with an … Continue reading →

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