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.

Kennedy and Nixon

Posted on June 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

President Richard Nixon was a sweetie-pie who wrote letters so tender to Jackie Kennedy she cried, and she wrote him gracious letters back. The idea of Nixon being sweet and caring does not sit easily with modern readers, but that … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

WWW Wednesday + Know Before You Go

Posted on June 17, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “Something to know before visiting my country or city”. Well, for starters, don’t come between May and October because most of the year we endure the Great Sticky Siege. As regards Selma … Continue reading →

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SHELLI: R-Evolution

Posted on June 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

An experimental incubator synth, with high-octane empathy protocols, has just run off with a baby. The baby is due to be delivered soon, but it appears this unit has become attached to the baby she’s carried for so many months; … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Five Days in November

Posted on June 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

In his memoir of working in the Secret Service, Within Arm’s Reach, Dan Emmett said that he was inspired by seeing an agent on television jump onto the presidential convertible during the JFK assassination to join the service. That agent … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday with all the Kennedys

Posted on June 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is “bookish wishes”, with an implication that we’re talking about books on our wishlist. I have far too many books to read at the moment as it is (and I mean active interest, like I keep wanting to … Continue reading →

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A Time to Heal

Posted on June 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

What possesses a twenty-year old to read five hundred page biography of a president he knows nothing about? Evidently, I was impressed by his speechwriting. In December 2006, President Ford died, and I was honestly grieved. In my ‘memorial’ post … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday + Best Teacher

Posted on June 10, 2026 by smellincoffee

WWW Wednesday WHAT have you finished reading recently? To Rescue the American Spirit. WHAT are you reading now? A surprise SF title and A Time to Heal by Gerald Ford. Also trying to finish Kennedy and Nixon. Oh, and I … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday, brought you by yet another dead president

Posted on June 9, 2026 by smellincoffee

“Christ, Jerry, isn’t this a wonderful country? Here we can talk about this and you and I can be friends, and eighteen months from now I’ll be going around the country kicking your ass in.”That, I thought, was a one … Continue reading →

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To Rescue the American Spirit

Posted on June 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

While I hadn’t planned to read Thedore Roosevelt until I’d finished off Garfield, etc,  the ladyfriend bought this for me and I  found it fairly absorbing – as in hey, why not spend two hours after work each day reading … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Radical Exercise in Liberty

Posted on June 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

The Declaration of Independence: A Radical Exercise in Liberty  is a unique work,  as it is a history of how the Declaration came to be – not only politically, but philosophically. It begins as formal history,  recounting the early 1770s … Continue reading →

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