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.

Self Help

Posted on February 6, 2024 by smellincoffee

Jack Diller is a loser in denial, a failed actor who keeps the bills paid (barely) by delivering food to Los Angeles’ upper middle classes, staring in awe at their mansions while trying not to think about the tiny rental house … Continue reading →

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Teeesing Tooosday

Posted on February 6, 2024 by smellincoffee

After delving through them, I discovered three local history books, none of any significant value. I offered him £15 for them. He told me that he’d never been so insulted and that he was going to donate them to the … Continue reading →

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From London with Love

Posted on February 5, 2024 by smellincoffee

Valentina was just a girl entering her teens when her mother disappeared — to London, her dad said. The years passed and nothing was heard from her. Now, as Val reels from the death of her marriage, she receives word of … Continue reading →

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The Lunar Missile Crisis

Posted on February 4, 2024 by smellincoffee

The moon race began in earnest when Yuri Gagarin launched off the pad in April 1961. It ended really quickly when he collided with an alien spaceship and exploded, leading to a full nuclear launch by the Soviets which failed … Continue reading →

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Movie Watch: January

Posted on February 1, 2024 by smellincoffee

Movie watching has become more of a pasttime for me in the last year or so, so I suspect posting a list at the end of the year would be….ungainly. A buddy of mine and I have been watching 2 movies … Continue reading →

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Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops

Posted on January 31, 2024 by smellincoffee

This book is exactly what it says on the tin: a collection of odd remarks overheard in bookstores, numbering a little over a hundred pages. If you are familiar with the Overheard in New York / Overheard in the Office / etc … Continue reading →

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January 2024 in Review

Posted on January 31, 2024 by smellincoffee

Welcome to the first monthly wrapup of the New Year. My preference in January is to do a grab-bag of topics, a kind of teaser for the year to come. I was….slightly successful in that, since we touched on little politics, … Continue reading →

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Texas in the Med

Posted on January 30, 2024 by smellincoffee

Well, things is gettin’ interesting around these parts. All of Gaul France is divided into three parts: Nazi Germany occupies part, the tyrant Petain who knocked off the democratic president before Hitler invaded rules Vichy France; and then there’s a few colonies and ships … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Authors From 2023 I Want to Read More Of

Posted on January 30, 2024 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is authors from 2023 who were new to us. But first, a tease! CUSTOMER: Doesn’t it bother you, being surrounded by books all day? Ithink I’d be paranoid they were all going to jump off the shelves and … Continue reading →

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