Tag Archives: bookshops and libraries

Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade

Posted on June 26, 2024 by smellincoffee

France, 1918: the Great War is almost over, but it doesn’t feel like it for civilians close to the lines, where the threat of a German resurgence hangs as close to the battered ground as the dust from the constant … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

How has technology changed your job?

Posted on March 26, 2024 by smellincoffee

Oh, good lord. Where to begin? As some of you may know, I’m a librarian — not an official Librarian because I’m still working on MLS, but I’ve worked for a library for twelve years as a local historian, IT … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

A Right to Read: Segregation and Civil Rights

Posted on March 25, 2024 by smellincoffee

Alabama public libraries were early stages for Civil Rights projects, given their high public profile and higher deals: libraries were created for the common good, for the benefit of society, meant to serve everyone. How could they bar someone from … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Littlest Library

Posted on February 21, 2024 by smellincoffee

Such is my mood for cozy village novels featuring libraries and bookstores that I read this even knowing it was a romance. And I liked it. Granted, it’s set in a cozy rural village in Devon and features a librarian, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Lonely Hearts Book Club

Posted on February 14, 2024 by smellincoffee

Sloane is a librarian in her late twenties, idly drifting into a contented if wholly nondescript and unsatisfying life. One of the few things she genuinely looks forward to are visits by an old crank, Arthur, a verbose curmudgeon whose erudite insults … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 2 Comments

From London with Love

Posted on February 5, 2024 by smellincoffee

Valentina was just a girl entering her teens when her mother disappeared — to London, her dad said. The years passed and nothing was heard from her. Now, as Val reels from the death of her marriage, she receives word of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops

Posted on January 31, 2024 by smellincoffee

This book is exactly what it says on the tin: a collection of odd remarks overheard in bookstores, numbering a little over a hundred pages. If you are familiar with the Overheard in New York / Overheard in the Office / etc … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 7 Comments

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Posted on January 20, 2024 by smellincoffee

A.J. Fikry is a widower with a bookstore and an increasingly serious drinking problem. (He’s not an alcoholic, he says, he just drinks to the point of passing out at least once a week.) The one bright spot: he has Tamerlane, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Door to Door Bookstore

Posted on January 19, 2024 by smellincoffee

In the city of Munster, after the bookshop closes for the night, an aging fellow named Carl begins his rounds. Walking the city’s cobblestone paths, he visits a village within the metropolis that only he is aware of: a little community … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 4 Comments