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.

Teaser Tuesday

Posted on November 25, 2025 by smellincoffee

As we approach the end of November, I’m afraid it doesn’t look terribly good for my SciFi month goals. I have a Heinlein novel I’m almost done with, but I keep pecking at several Star Trek and Star Wars novels … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 3 Comments

Shadowlands: A Play

Posted on November 22, 2025 by smellincoffee

C.S. Lewis died on 11/22/63, a week before his 65th birthday. Over the years, I have taken up the habit of spending “a week with Jack” — reading something of his in that space, to spend time with an author … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Fresh Air with Terry Grosz

Posted on November 21, 2025 by smellincoffee

When it’s time for me to do my annual writeup in a month or so, I will have to mention the Black Swan event that was game warden-oriented books suddenly exploding onto the scene, bursting out of nowhere like a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

For Cause and Comrade

Posted on November 20, 2025 by smellincoffee

The moment I saw this book at a university booksale I knew I wanted it, because in the second story of that same library I’d researched my senior seminar paper to earn my BA in history.  For Cause and Comrades … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

WWW Wednesday, SciFi Month Prompt 19, and Books that Shaped Me

Posted on November 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

WWW Wednesday WHAT have you finished reading recently? The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South, which was fairly mixed. Some interesting Civil War content that I’m still fact-checking, bookended by fluff. WHAT are you reading now? Double Star, Bob Heinlein. … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Teaser Tuesday & SciFi Month

Posted on November 18, 2025 by smellincoffee

Today’s tease is from Robert Heinlein’s Double Star! “Before my revered father died, he made me promise him three things: first, never to mix whisky with anything but water; second, always to ignore anonymous letters; and lastly, never to talk … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Over Yonder

Posted on November 15, 2025 by smellincoffee

Woody is an aging defrocked priest in jail for — well, let’s not say, since that’s not fully revealed until the end. At any rate, he’s getting out with a bad heart and an ex-wife who is engaged to another … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Reviews | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

The Politically Incorrect Guide to….Science Fiction?

Posted on November 13, 2025 by smellincoffee

I was surprised to spot this on the shelves, and intrigued enough to give it a go — especially since this is SF month, after all. It’s not that science fiction is not political: politics is arguably inseparable from SF … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Springtime for Northheim

Posted on November 13, 2025 by smellincoffee

“Tomorrow Belongs to Me” is one of the more disturbing songs in the musical Cabaret, not because of the song itself, but because of what the viewer knows it portends. It begins simply, with one sweet voice singing at a … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Midweek Meming

Posted on November 12, 2025 by smellincoffee

I didn’t post anything yesterday because of Armistice Day/Veterans Day: while some years I do not give it a great deal of attention, I’d been watching All Quiet on the Western Front the night prior and was more somber than … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 21 Comments