Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The Roving Mind

Posted on June 12, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Roving Mind© Isaac Asimov 1983350 pages In the first place, I type quickly — 90 words a minute, when I am happy, carefree, and in a good mood. And that’s my typing rate when I am composing, too, because I don’t … Continue reading →

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Memories of Old Cahaba

Posted on June 12, 2010 by smellincoffee

Memories of Old Cahaba © 1905 Anna M. Gayle Fry 122 pages I live perhaps fifteen miles from the conjunction of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers, where once sat a booming and stately city — home to the Alabama legislature … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (9/6)

Posted on June 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

This week… I started off with Michael Jan Friedman’s Death in Winter, the origin of The Next Generation‘s “relaunch” in novelizations. With the Enterprise still being repaired following Nemesis, Picard is tasked with carrying out a secret mission in Romulan … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Cities

Posted on June 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Tale of Two Cities© 1859 Charles Dickens353 pages It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it … Continue reading →

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Dinosaur Lives

Posted on June 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

Dinosaur Lives: Unearthing an Evolutionary Saga© 1998 John Horner256 pages    I picked up John Horner’s Dinosaur Lives  out of idle curiosity, not having read anything about dinosaurs since childhood. They remain of interest, of course, but it’s not an … Continue reading →

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Around the World in 80 Days

Posted on June 6, 2010 by smellincoffee

Around the World in 80 Days© 1872 Jules Verne160 pages Like most highly-praised  western literature, I first read Around the World in 80 Days through the Great Illustrated Classics series, along with other Verne works. I’ve never read Verne as … Continue reading →

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Death in Winter

Posted on June 5, 2010 by smellincoffee

Death in Winter© 2007 Michael Jan Friedman368 pages I’ve been meaning to dive back into contemporary Trek lit for some time now, but have been somewhat daunted by a shift in the literature: instead of new releases being published as … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (2/6)

Posted on June 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

This week…. I started off with Revenge of the Sith, Matthew Stover’s excellent novelization of Star Wars’ Episode III. Stover improved upon the movie by expanding characterization and creating deeper tension between the lead characters that redeemed weaker parts of … Continue reading →

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Africa

Posted on June 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

Africa: a Biography of the Continent© 1997  John Reader816 pages And we are scatterlings of Africa, both you and I  We’re on the road to Phelemanga, beneath a copper sky; And we are scatterlings of Africa, on a journey to … Continue reading →

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The Reunion

Posted on May 31, 2010 by smellincoffee

Animorphs #30: The Reunion© 1999 K.A. Applegate176 pages Ever have one of those nights? Where you’re exhausted, where you’d pay anything just to fall asleep? But the wheels in your head just keep spinning and spinning and spinning? Imagined conversations. … Continue reading →

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