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.

Colonization: Second Contact

Posted on November 22, 2008 by smellincoffee

Colonization: Second Contact© 1999 Harry Turtledove598 pages A few weeks ago I read the Worldwar series by Harry Turtledove, which depicts what happens when lizard-like aliens who call themselves the Race invade Earth. While they expected to face humans armed … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library

Posted on November 19, 2008 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: I, Asimov, Isaac Asimov Buy Jupiter and Other Stories, Isaac Asimov Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel, Frances and Joseph Gies Great Feuds in Science, Hal Hellman Writings on an Ethical Life, Peter Singer (Click titles for individual commentaries.) … Continue reading →

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Writings on an Ethical Life

Posted on November 19, 2008 by smellincoffee

Writings on an Ethical LifePeter Singer, © 2000329 pages, plus an index Almost every Friday, I listen to an online show called “Point of Inquiry“, which features 20-minute (or so) interviews with various personalities. While the show is produced by … Continue reading →

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Great Feuds in Science

Posted on November 17, 2008 by smellincoffee

Great Feuds in Science: Ten of the liveliest disputes everHal Hellman © 1998192 pages, plus bibliography and index Last week I wanted to read a little science, and while roaming through the shelves, my eyes found this book. It looked … Continue reading →

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Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel

Posted on November 16, 2008 by smellincoffee

Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages© 1994 Frances and Joseph Gies291 pages, plus notes, an extended bibliography, and an index The Gies’ various books on life in the middle ages have continued to delight and … Continue reading →

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Buy Jupiter and Other Stories

Posted on November 14, 2008 by smellincoffee

Buy Jupiter and Other StoriesIsaac Asimov, © 1979207 pages Today while in the library taking notes for my two term papers, I read through Buy Jupiter and Other Stories. I did not intend to finish it, but I realized I … Continue reading →

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I, Asimov

Posted on November 12, 2008 by smellincoffee

I, Asimov© Isaac Asimov, 1994Doubleday, New York Ben Bova visited me [in the hospital] and, noticing the manuscript spread over my bed, asked what I was doing. I explained. “In this autobiography,” I said, “I’m including every stupid thing I … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (12/11)

Posted on November 12, 2008 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: Robot Dreams, Isaac Asimov World Made by Hand, James Kunstler I began this week with World Made By Hand, written by James Kunstler. Kunstler is a social critic who spoke at my university a few weeks back, … Continue reading →

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Robot Dreams

Posted on November 11, 2008 by smellincoffee

Robot DreamsIsaac Asimov © 1986Berkely Publishing, NY349 pages When I first started reading Asimov’s fiction, I started with short story collections — and this week I returned to that type of literature. Robot Dreams is a collection of short stories … Continue reading →

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World Made By Hand

Posted on November 8, 2008 by smellincoffee

World Made By Hand © 2008, James Kunstler Atlantic Monthly Press, NY 317 pages I think this is the first book I’ve ever seen with its own trailer — with the narration taken directly from the plot summary on the … Continue reading →

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