Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Goosebumps and Boxcar Children

Posted on July 26, 2023 by smellincoffee

I’m lumping these two together because as much as I liked them as a kid, I wasn’t able to get access to many copies while I was prepping for this project, so I’m limited to one or two books . … Continue reading →

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Henry, Beezus, and Ramona

Posted on July 26, 2023 by smellincoffee

I wish I could tell you when I met Henry, Beezus, and Ramona, but it’s been 30+ years and a child’s early life is full of firsts, too many to hold on to. I do know that it was Ribsy … Continue reading →

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Matthew Martin!

Posted on July 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

This week’s reading owes its existence to the Matthew Martin books, which I found in my home library and devoured. The star? Matthew Martin (no prizes for guessing that), who the series follows for four years, through the awkward tween … Continue reading →

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We Have Capture

Posted on July 24, 2023 by smellincoffee

Tom Stafford is the last man of Gemini, having outlived all of his previous colleagues. Born in 1930 on the Oklahoma plains, he sought escape from poverty like many through the armed forces. Though too young for World War 2, … Continue reading →

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Carrying the Fire

Posted on July 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

Yet a higher call was calling, and we vowed we’d reach it soonSo we gave ourselves a decade to put fire on the moonAnd Apollo told the world, we can  do it if we try —There was One Small Step, … Continue reading →

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The First Family Detail

Posted on July 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

Dan Emmett, in chronicling his career as a member of the Secret Service, harrumphed at those associated with serving the executive branch who got gossipy. It was unprofessional and vulgar, said he. Perhaps, but when the executive is himself unprofessional … Continue reading →

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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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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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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 →

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