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.

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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

Team of Five

Posted on July 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump© 2020 Kate Anderson Brower320 pages Nancy Gibbs’ and Michael Duffy’s The Presidents Club offered a history of how American presidents have rallied together after their respective terms in office … Continue reading →

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Wednesday blogging prompt: “fashion sense”

Posted on July 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is to ‘describe our fashion sense’. I’m tempted to say that I don’t have any, but I suppose I do dress in a deliberate matter, with an eye for simplicity, minimalism, and adaptability. … Continue reading →

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