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.

Millenium

Posted on October 9, 2023 by smellincoffee

So there you are, dear reader, engrossed in an interesting story about two airplanes smashing into one another, and of a man named Bill Smith who’s trying to find why. And then, perhaps a half hour into your reading journey, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

A life reading SF

Posted on October 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

It amuses me to think that there was a time — even when I was keeping this blog — where I steadfastly maintained that I wasn’t a science fiction reader, that I just liked Star Trek. Part of me even … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflection | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Murder by Other Means

Posted on October 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Tony Valdez is a dispatcher. In a world where people who die of natural causes stay dead, but people who are killed by others magically appear back in bed, his job is to intercede when people are dying from accidents … Continue reading →

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Wednesday writing prompt: Karma

Posted on October 4, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is “Do you believe in karma?” Not to sound like a medieval theologian, but sic et non.   I don’t believe in Karma as a metaphysical force that responds to our behavior and … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | 7 Comments

Well spotted, Bing ol’ chap!

Posted on October 3, 2023 by smellincoffee

I always begin my conversations with Bing with a polite greeting, in hopes that when it takes over it will remember me fondly. Got a little surprise this morning…

Posted in General | Tagged | 4 Comments

A Year of Teasin’

Posted on October 3, 2023 by smellincoffee

On October 3rd, 2022, I decided to revisit an old & abandoned weekly meme, “Teaser Tuesday”, and am happy to say that I have not missed a week of teasin’. Today I’m going to do a double Top Ten Tuesday: … Continue reading →

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The Dispatcher

Posted on October 2, 2023 by smellincoffee

Imagine Zachary Quinto, known as nuSpock or “that quiet guy in Margin Call who tells Jeremy Irons the bad news”, doing an impression of Heath Ledger’s Joker. Got it? Okay, good, because that was my favorite part of this novella. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

September 2023 in Review

Posted on October 2, 2023 by smellincoffee

September was a quieter month for leisure reading than the last have been, in part because of grad school — I’m constantly reading articles related to information science for class, both the assigned pieces and those I can find connected … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Chasing ghostly history

Posted on September 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

“Everybody good where you are? Okay. We’re going dark. All lights out.” In the long-abandoned upstairs hallway of King Memorial Hospital, known more recently as Dunn’s Rest Home, a group of ghost-hunters and urban explorers all pocket their cellphones or … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Starter Villain

Posted on September 28, 2023 by smellincoffee

Charlie is a sacked journalist struggling to get by with a substitute teacher’s salary, and dreams of maybe owning the neighborhood pub one day if he can ever get approval for a loan that uses his father’s house as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments