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.

July 2023 in Review

While it’s conceivable that I could finish a book today (I’m halfway through The Last Republicans, and ditto for Off the Planet: Five Months on Mir), I doubt it. I spent the weekend saying goodbye to a friend: the Harmony … Continue reading

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Amber Brown and Matilda

Most of this week’s reading has been of books I read in the 1990s, or at least were books from series I read in the 1990s. I never read Amber Brown, though, possibly because by the time they were published … Continue reading

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Charlie and Harriet

At some point in 1996 or ’97, I got to watch Harriet the Spy. I also began keeping a journal in 1997, which is not an accident, though I found California Diaries at the same time. As part of this … Continue reading

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Goosebumps and Boxcar Children

I’m lumping these two together because as much as I liked them as a kid, I wasn’t able to get access to many copies while I was prepping for this project, so I’m limited to one or two books . … Continue reading

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Henry, Beezus, and Ramona

I wish I could tell you when I met Henry, Beezus, and Ramona, but it’s been 30+ years and a child’s early life is full of firsts, too many to hold on to. I do know that it was Ribsy … Continue reading

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Wednesday blogging prompt and song of sixes

Today’s blogging prompt from Long and Short Reviews is “A Job I’d Be Good At”, which is…pretty easy. I’ve been told on multiple occasions in the past twenty years that I’d make a good monk, which is….not surprising given my … Continue reading

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Top Ten Teaseday

Today’s TTT is the last ten books we DNFed, but I’m picky about the books I pick up and don’t DNF very often. So, I’m going to wander off the reservation a bit and go with “The Last Ten Books … Continue reading

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Matthew Martin!

This week’s reading owes its existence to the Matthew Martin books, which I found in my home library and devoured. The star? Matthew Martin (no prizes for guessing that), who the series follows for four years, through the awkward tween … Continue reading

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Blast from the Past: NINETIES KIDLIT WEEK!

Featured so far:The Henry Huggins / Beezus and Ramona Quimby booksThe Matthew Martin series by Paula DanzingerThe Boxcar ChildrenGoosebumps Welcome to a special week here at Reading Freely, in which I’m going to be revisiting some of the books I … Continue reading

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We Have Capture

Tom Stafford is the last man of Gemini, having outlived all of his previous colleagues. Born in 1930 on the Oklahoma plains, he sought escape from poverty like many through the armed forces. Though too young for World War 2, … Continue reading

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