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.

Wednesday Prompt: Legends and Tales

Posted on September 13, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is “Favorite Legend or Fairytale”. Without a doubt, mine is Robin Hood. Perhaps because when I was a kid, I watched the Disney version of the story, in which Robin appeared as a … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Favorite Character Relationships

Posted on September 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is “Top Ten Favorite Character Relationships”. Similar ground to 2011’s “Best Duos”. First up, though, a tease: “Hemmer, we’re in a place where basic physical laws can’t be trusted, and random things are failing on Enterprise. You’re sure … Continue reading →

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Star Trek Day: May the Spock Be With You

Posted on September 8, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today is Star Trek day, which I’m pretty sure is something Paramount made up to compete with May the Fourth. I’ve been a Trekkie since a trampoline accident landed me in a hospital for three weeks and I suddenly got … Continue reading →

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The Lives They Saved

Posted on September 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

“Look for the helpers”, Mr Rogers advised children who were frightened by disaster. L. Douglas Keeney here offers a spyglass to readers. Instead of fixating on the flaming towers, the clouds of smoke filled with dust, jet engine fumes, and … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Tuesday: Surprises and Spells

Posted on September 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is books that surprised us. First up. a tease from Jim Butcher’s Storm Front. I had several enchanted items around—or half-enchanted items, anyway. Carrying out a full enchantment is expensive and time-consuming, and I just couldn’t … Continue reading →

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Friday the Rabbi Slept Late

Posted on September 1, 2023 by smellincoffee

The small Massachusetts village of Barnard’s Crossing is shaken when the body of a young woman is found lying behind a garden wall, and no one more than Rabbi David Small — because the woman’s purse was in his car, … Continue reading →

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August 2023 in Review

Posted on September 1, 2023 by smellincoffee

August is one of the few months of the year where I don’t mind if it passes too quickly. In the Gulf Coast, it’s a month for holing up inside and giving thanks for freon and electricity. The unexpected presidents … Continue reading →

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My Name is Asher Lev

Posted on August 31, 2023 by smellincoffee

How to describe My Name is Asher Lev? The book opens with Asher himself describing himself as an apostate, a traitor, a mocker — and yet the reader will find no cruel intentions here, only a young man struggling with … Continue reading →

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Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season II

Posted on August 31, 2023 by smellincoffee

No, Strange New Worlds is not a book. It is, in fact, a TV show. But I pay the bills ’round these parts, so I reckon’ I’ll write about what I want. The long dead period of onscreen Trek was … Continue reading →

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Wednesday Writing Prompt: Strange Loves

Posted on August 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

This week’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is “weirdest thing I loved as a kid”. I suppose every kid is weird in their way — I knew one who loved eating Cool-Whip with a spoon right out of the … Continue reading →

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