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.

This Week at the Library (5/11)

Posted on November 5, 2008 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: Wampeters, Foma, and Granfallons, Kurt Vonnegut Communism, Richard Pipes Nemesis, Isaac Asimov Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages, Frances and Joseph Gies Puzzles of the Black Widowers, Isaac Asimov I started this week with Wampeters, … Continue reading →

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Puzzles of the Black Widowers

Posted on November 5, 2008 by smellincoffee

I’ve been reading Puzzles of the Black Widowers on and off for a couple of months now. Rather than reading it straight through, I’d read a puzzle or two whenever I ran out of my weekly reading. This morning, I … Continue reading →

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Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages

Posted on November 4, 2008 by smellincoffee

Marriage and the Family in the Middle AgesJoseph and Frances Gies, © 1987Harper & Row, New York369 pages. This week I continued reading Gies, this time one of their books concerning changes in the family during the middle ages — … Continue reading →

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Nemesis

Posted on November 2, 2008 by smellincoffee

Nemesis© Isaac Asimov 1989Doubleday, New York364 pages Having completed Asimov’s Foundation series, I decided to return to a volume of short stories, Robot Dreams. I had some difficulty in finding a copy, and so in the meantime I read Nemesis. … Continue reading →

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Communism

Posted on October 31, 2008 by smellincoffee

Communism Richard Pipes While wandering aimlessly through the stacks at my university library recently, my eyes fell upon Communism by Richard Pipes. I opened it up and it appeared to contain a history of the Russian Revolution. Since this is … Continue reading →

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Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons

Posted on October 30, 2008 by smellincoffee

Wampeters, Foma, and Grandfollons (Opinions)© 1974 Kurt VonnegutBantam Doubleday Dell Publishing, NY I began this week with a collection of essays by and interviews with the late Kurt Vonnegut entitled Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons. The title confused my friendly community … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (29/10)

Posted on October 29, 2008 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: A Life of Her Own, Emilie Carles Striking the Balance, Harry Turtledove Life in a Medieval Castle, Frances and Joseph Gies Death Star, Michael Reaves and Steve Perry (Click titles for individual comments.) I began this week … Continue reading →

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Death Star

Posted on October 28, 2008 by smellincoffee

Death StarMichael Reaves, Steve Perry © 2007Random House, New York363 pages. “That’s no moon. That’s a space station.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, A New HopeThe Death Star. It dominated the first Star Wars movie. Its destruction at Yavin, in the Star … Continue reading →

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Life in a Medieval Castle

Posted on October 26, 2008 by smellincoffee

Life in a Medieval Castle© Frances and Joseph Gies 1974Harper & Row, NY261 Pages A few years ago while wandering aimlessly in a bookstore — a good way to spend one’s time, I might add — I happened upon a … Continue reading →

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Worldwar: Striking the Balance

Posted on October 24, 2008 by smellincoffee

Worldwar: Striking the BalanceHarry Turtledove, © 1997Random House, NY547 pages. I concluded Harry Turtledove’s Worldwar series this week, reading Striking the Balance. To recap, in May 1942 Earth was invaded by a race of short lizard-y aliens who call themselves … Continue reading →

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