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.

Carrying the Fire

Posted on July 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

Yet a higher call was calling, and we vowed we’d reach it soonSo we gave ourselves a decade to put fire on the moonAnd Apollo told the world, we can  do it if we try —There was One Small Step, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The First Family Detail

Posted on July 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

Dan Emmett, in chronicling his career as a member of the Secret Service, harrumphed at those associated with serving the executive branch who got gossipy. It was unprofessional and vulgar, said he. Perhaps, but when the executive is himself unprofessional … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Forever Young

Posted on July 20, 2023 by smellincoffee

If ever the title “Mr. Astronaut” was given out, it would not go to John Glenn, despite his being the posterboy of Mercury; it wouldn’t even go to Neil Armstrong, who fifty-four years ago today became the first human to … Continue reading →

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

LAS prompt: fun facts

Posted on July 19, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is an interesting fact the blogger knows. In keeping with this week’s Space Camp theme, I’m going to throw some astronaut trivia atcha! And so, some astronaut fun facts from previous and current … Continue reading →

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Top Ten One-Word Titles

Posted on July 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s top ten list from the Artsy Reader Girl is one-word titles, so I’m going to look back at the first three years of this blog to check out what I was reading back then. These from 2007 – 2009 … Continue reading →

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Breaking the Chains of Gravity

Posted on July 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight before NASA© 2016 Amy Shira Teitel304 pages You know the story. The scene: 1950s America. Everyone is drinking on the back patio in suburbia, dressed in cardigans or pearls and pastel … Continue reading →

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

SPACE CAMP!!!!

Posted on July 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

Two years ago I decided to celebrate the anniversary of the lunar landing on July 20, 1969, with a week devoted to astronaut memoirs and space race histories. I enjoyed that so much I repeated it, and now here I … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 4 Comments

Not Tonight, Josephine!

Posted on July 14, 2023 by smellincoffee

‘You realise that most of the population of Harlowton was conceived in that park?’ ‘Really? We had no idea.’ ‘Well there ain’t much to do around here. So folks are either drinking in here, or else making out over in … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

First in Line

Posted on July 14, 2023 by smellincoffee

First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power© 2018 Kate Anderson Brower327 pages The office of vice president was, for most of the 19th century, a near-superfluous one — but in the mid-20th century, the men holding … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Residence

Posted on July 13, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House© 2016 Kate Anderson Brower336 pages They say that no man is a hero to his valet, but perhaps no man is properly a villain, either. Richard Nixon, despised by the … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , | 3 Comments