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.

Top Ten Random Titles

Today’s TT is a freebie, and I can’t think of anything so I’m going to go with….ten random books. I asked Bing to supply a random number, which proved to be #73, so I’m going to go with the 73rd … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Redcoats , los presidentes, and medieval making-merry

Alllrighty, short rounds time, featuring: British Soldiers, American War; The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women; and The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Secret Fraternity. First up, British Soldiers, American War. This is an interesting volume in which … Continue reading

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

Emergency Alert

Earlier today a disaster befell the citizens of Bedroom, when half of Mount Doom suddenly collapsed in a landslide covering not only parts of Bed, but part of the floor as well. Search parties were sent out and confirmed that … Continue reading

Posted in General | 9 Comments

A Brief History of Motion

Tom, Tom, Tom. You know drinking and driving is a bad idea, but what did you do? You followed A History of the World through Six Glasses with this A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel to the Automobile. … Continue reading

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Move over, Gagarin

When he got the call, Kittinger knew he had enough oxygen to stay up a little longer, and he wasn’t keen to end the mission just yet. Now at ninety-six thousand feet, he had a view of the Earth that … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Naked at Lunch

Naked at Lunch: Adventures of a Reluctant Nudist© 2015 Mark Haskell Smith288 pages Beware all enterprises which require new clothes, Henry David Thoreau opined. Say what you will about naturism, or nudism – it’s the only hobby I can think … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Midyear Review & June 2023

June was a proper broadside, no holds barred, no quarter given! Books tumbled from Mount Doom by the day, screaming in terror and leaving behind stray bookmarks and badly-bound pages in their wake. We are halfway through the year, so … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged | 3 Comments

Wednesday blogging prompt: recent song I’ve loved

Today’s topic from Long and Short reviews is a song that’s been stuck in our heads recently. “A” song. A SONG? Music and song have been a part of my everyday life as long as I have memories, so I … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Teaser Tuesday because it’s Tuesday and not Wednesday as I’d previously believed

Harry and I were standing outside watching the sunset when Maria-Grazia came out dragging her suitcase. She was driving back to Italy that night, but that’s not why I did a double take. She appeared to be transformed. I almost … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The 99% Invisible City

The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Ordinary Design© 2020 Roman Mars400 pages I’ve spent many hours in two of my city’s oldest buildings — one a church, the other a mixed-use Italianate beauty turned … Continue reading

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment