Book Blog – Page 29 – …on the B.L.

Snooze an A.M. Eatery

August 2, 2017 RaeAnna

I am a huge fan of food. I love cooking just slightly less than I love eating, and I love eating just barely less than I love reading. For me, eating and reading are intrinsically linked in my heart. In my humble opinion, the best way to start the day is a hearty helping of nourishment for the body and the soul. Snooze an A.M. Eatery is a fabulous place to do just that! I love eating, so I’m trying to eat my way through the multitudinous neighborhoods of Houston. I am trying my hardest not to repeat, but I failed.

The first time I went to Snooze was in March. A friend was visiting from out of town, and we were looking for somewhere memorable to brunch on a Wednesday midmorning. After some digging through Yelp, Zagat, and Instagram we decided on Snooze. Figuring it was 10:45 on a Wednesday, we didn’t think there would be a wait. Woah. Were we wrong. We ended up waiting for forty-five minutes before being seated. It was worth the wait. I had the breakfast pot pie: yum. I don’t recall what she had, but it was sweet and delicious.

Yesterday morning, I broke my one time rule for restaurants.

I had to be up dreadfully early this morning. After my obligations were fulfilled, I decided breakfast was in order. It was only 8:30, and I was on the south side of downtown Houston, which, with the traffic, is anywhere between twenty minutes and an hour away from my home. Since I was only a 1.2 miles from Snooze, I decided it was a must.

I enjoyed the Benny Duo. Basically, it’s for those indecisive people who can’t choose just one Eggs Benedict. So I had the Bella Bella Benny and the Summer Benny (or whatever it was called). The Summer one consisted of a pesto quinoa patty topped with a poached egg, caprese salad, cream cheese hollandaise, and balsamic glaze. Delicious. The Bella Bella Benny was prosciutto, a poached egg, cream cheese hollandaise sauce, balsamic glaze piled on top of a ciabatta accompanied with a arugula salad. This one was my favorite. I love prosciutto. When on a sandwich, I like it a bit thicker cut. Snooze did not disappoint with their thicker slices. So, so, so good. Snooze also has a load of drinks – alcoholic and non. Since I’m not a drinker and it was 8:30 on a Tuesday morning, I decided to stick with a classic: a hazelnut latte with almond milk.

I love the decor. It’s upbeat 50’s. They play music from all over the decades. There’s not tons of waiting room inside. There is a patio to hang out on while you wait because you will wait. It is known in Houston as one of the best breakfast/brunch spots in town, and it’s true. Snooze is fun, laid back, and yummy. It is also inexpensive! I love splurging, but for the day-to-day life, I prefer keeping it affordable, so I can buy books.

The atmosphere is fun, and the noise is what you would expect of a bopping breakfast joint. I read without a problem. You will not be alone in your solitary reading. I saw a whole bunch of readers ensconced in their books!

Snooze an A.M. Eatery
3217 Montrose Blvd Suite 100
Houston, TX 77006
Daily 6:30am – 2:30pm
713.574.6655
Instagram: @snoozeameatery

Books

The Glass Castle

July 31, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 288
Quick Review A memoir about the difficulties of growing up in a dysfunctionally transient family with a fascinating and intelligent alcoholic of a father leading their way.

I read this book a few years ago, and it has stayed with me not just for the story but because of Walls’ writing. With the movie coming out in a few days, I power read it over the weekend. It is just as resonating a second time.

Jeannette Walls is a journalist in New York City with a degree from Barnard College. These are wonderful achievements, which help define her character and intelligence even more so considering what she overcame as a child. The Glass Castle is a testament to her resilience.

Walls was born in 1960 to Rex and Rose Mary. She is one of four children. Growing up she lived a nomadic life. Her father was a brilliant man. His children adored him before growing up to resent his alcoholism and inability to conform even a little. He was able to capture his children’s imagination through storytelling and science. The children were home schooled a great deal with an emphasis on living life through the absence of fear. With one parent abhorring the conformity of society, the children needed a grounded parent. They did not find it in their mother, Rose Mary. She was an artistic free spirit looking at feminine domesticity as a prison she would not tolerate. She dismissed her role as parent and mother.

Walls writes about the difficulties of growing up in secluded environment. She describes the bond between her siblings; how they would lean on each other for support, nourishment, clothing, and protection in a world where their parents were barely present.

All four Walls children went on to live in society as fully functional and present participants ending up in New York City. Rex and Rose Mary followed their children to New York. Rex died in 1994 from a heart attack after he and his wife chose to remain homeless despite offers of help from their children.

Walls is a wonderful writer. She does not shy away from brutal honesty. She meets her childhood trauma head on with the maturity in the realization it formed her into the well-respected and successful journalist and writer she is today.

Memorable Quotes
“You’ve got to get right back in the saddle. You can’t live in fear of something as basic as fire.”
“You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.”
“She had her addictions and one of them was reading.”
“Life’s too short to care about what other people think. Besides, they should accept us for who we are”

Title: The Glass Castle
Author: Jeannette Walls
Publisher: Scribner
Copyright: 2005
ISBN: 9780743247542

Books

Herland

July 24, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 147
Quick Review Written over a hundred years ago, this underappreciated utopian novel is a small powerful punch. It is still incredibly relevant in today’s society as a critique on gender and society.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman is best known for her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” She never shied away from the difficult subjects at a time when very few women even received an education.

Herland is the story of three young men, who have ventured on an exploratory expedition. Along their journey they find out about a country inhabited solely by women. They could not believe this to be true, so they took off to discover it for themselves.

The story is told in first person narrative by Vandyck Jennings observing the new country, the inhabitants, their ways and beliefs, and the reaction between the women and his counterparts. His travel companions are Terry Nicholson and Jeff Margrave. They are all very educated men embodying very different yet mainstream Western beliefs on the role women play in society and the home. Jeff believes women are purity anchoring society in goodness meant to be worshipped as delicate in body and mind. Terry believes women are objects to be possessed and controlled whose existence is solely for the pleasure and benefit of men, who are superior. Vandyck is in the middle choosing to look at Herland and the inhabitants through an educated lense but still preferring his homeland.

When the men arrive in Herland they can’t stop looking for the men believing women are incapable of surviving without men. They are taken as prisoners. The women learn all they can from the three men, who are the first men they’ve encountered in 2,000 years. Through their interaction the men learn and are shocked by the organized and intellectual abilities of the women.

Though it was written in 1915, it is still incredibly relevant in today’s society. In many ways society has not progressed much further from the three viewpoints embodied by the men. Women are still seen as delicate in need of protection, seductresses, or far too emotional to function in any capacity with a greater power and reach than mother and homemaker. Men, and even women, are still shocked and intimidated to find a successful, organized woman.

Gilman is able to tackle incredibly complex and difficult subjects in a mere hundred and twenty-two pages. She is able to tear down the traditional meaning of feminine and the meaning of motherhood. She shows women are equally capable, if not more, of organized and intellectual society. Gilman explores the meaning of society, gender, sex, and happiness.

Memorable Quotes
“They were inconveniently reasonable, those women.”
“These stalwart virgins had no men to fear and therefore no need of protection.”
“This led me very promptly to the conviction that those “feminine charms” we are so fond of are not feminine at all, but mere reflected masculinity – developed to please is because they had to please is, and in no way essential to the real fulfillment of their great process.”
“If, by any accident, you did harm any one of us, you would have to face a million mothers.”
“They aren’t human – they’re just a pack of Fe-Fe-Females!”
“There never was a woman yet that did not enjoy being MASTERED.”

Title: Herland
Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Published: 1915
ISBN: 9781534848474

Travel, Travel Eats

Eating in L.A.

July 21, 2017 RaeAnna

I love to eat. I mean, I really love to eat. When I lived in France, I tested every patisserie in Aix-en-Provence, the city I lived in. Eating is a major part of my everyday life. You can only imagine how it figures into my travel plans. While I was in California I ate at the obligatory: In and Out and Del Taco of course. I try never to eat places I can eat at when I’m at home.

Sprinkles Cupcakes is a now famous cupcakery. It was founded in Beverly Hills, California in 2005, and since then, has grown into an iconic treat for people across the country. They rose to national fame for their delectable cupcakes, but became an instant hit when they introduced the cupcake ATM. You read that right! A cupcake ATM for those days you just need a cupcake now. If you’re like me, it’s happened more often than I’d like to admit. I actually have a Sprinkles here in Houston, but I had to go to the original to truly reach happiness. I enjoyed a chocolate marshmallow cupcake, which was delightful. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest the Beverly Hills Sprinkles as a quiet reading destination because there are so many people coming and going. It’s an upbeat place, which brings smiles to a lot of people of various ages.

I think part of my trip to Los Angeles was planned around this restaurant… Badmaash. I saw it on Buzzfeed or something on Facebook. I already knew I was going to LA, but I really got excited to go when I found out about this Indian restaurant. I love Indian food, but this takes it to a whole new level! They are known for their Indian mashups. I personally had the traditional comfort food of Butter Chicken as well as the Tikka Poutine. Poutine? you’re thinking. Yes, Tikka Poutine. You are not seeing things. It is an amazing mashup of the Indian Tikka Masala with the Canadian Poutine. They have tons of other mashups, but I’m only one person with limited stomach space. I could rave on and on about this place and their food. The decor was just awesome. The walls had Gandhi wearing different colored sunglasses. I would not suggest this as a reading spot. Though the food is top notch, it’s definitely young, hip, and loud but in a good way.

One of the last places I ate at in Los Angeles was La Brea bakery. It was awesome. The coffee was delicious. The food was delicious. I ended up going home with three loaves of bread because vacation and carbs. Who doesn’t love carbs? I love carbs. As far as reading, this is the best place to read. There are comfy booths, it has a quiet atmosphere. It is more like a local cafe than a bustling restaurant. I would go back in a heartbeat!

Experiences, Travel

Los Angeles Trip

July 20, 2017September 8, 2019 RaeAnna

I had not been to Los Angeles in… twelve years. So, you know, I was completely old enough to remember everything but at the age where you’re just along for the ride. This is the first time since I was fourteen, I’ve done anything more than fly through LA.

If you can’t tell from the over-saturated book theme of this website, I’m not a big partier. I prefer to spend my nights on the couch with a blanket and book or at cafes with, again, a book or my laptop writing. There will be no tour of nightclubs here; it is a strictly daytime fun and embarrassingly touristy list of things to do.

I had been wanting to go to Urban Lights in downtown LA pretty much since it went up in 2008. A public exhibit consisting of 202 antique cast iron street lamps restored by Chris Burden dating from the 1920’s and 1930’s. The lamps are solar powered after the sun goes down. Sitting right outside LACMA – Los Angeles County Museum of Art – it is in the heart of the museum district and historically gorgeous. It’s incredibly touristy yet a wonderful place for taking pictures. Instagram is saturated with the lamp photos, including mine, of course! Urban Lights is a can’t miss. Being such a huge tourist attraction, it gets quite crowded around noon. In the morning, it makes for an ideal reading spot. It’s beautiful to just wander around and look up. The lamps vary size and shape but are uniformly painted a light grey.

Rodeo Drive is world famous for the shopping; of course, I absolutely cannot afford to shop there. Maybe someday, I’ll write a book (or a million) and be able to afford socks on Rodeo Drive. I call this my California dream. Anyways, Rodeo Drive is also a beautiful street to walk up and down peeking in windows, people watching, and grabbing a cupcake from Sprinkles because I can afford to spend $4 on a nibble of yummy cake. There are some really beautiful areas to sit down and read a book on Rodeo Drive if you can tear your eyes away from all the beautiful things and people.

I walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard. It’s not a place to read. It is, however, an interesting place to look at the stars in the floor. The amount of talent is enormous. Actors, producers, singers, writers, directors, and more line the street. I stopped to take a picture of a book, but the photo is about all the bookish things that can be done on that street. Too many people walking to and fro. Also, I had to hurry along because the sidewalk is black, and my dog had hot paws. So we did not tarry long on Hollywood Boulevard because the beach was calling our name!

The last thing we did before leaving Los Angeles and California was spend the afternoon at Venice Beach. It’s been almost twenty years since I had been to Venice beach. It’s just like I remember along the boardwalk. People everywhere in nothing but swimwear. There is so much going on; I do not suggest reading here. Nowhere comfortable to snuggle in with a book except for the sandy beach, which is not dog friendly. The boardwalk is fun because loads of people are wandering around with and without dogs. Lots of spots for pictures. Muscle beach is great for looking at men. Venice Beach is a huge touristy spot, but my favorite part was just off the beaten path walking up and down the historic canals of Venice Beach. The houses are in the style of bungalow, modern, cottage, and more running along the canals in every color of the rainbow. There are delicate, white wooden bridges criss-crossing the canals. I loved walking up and down the waterways. Beautiful and serene.

I really enjoyed LA more than I thought I would or at least more than I remembered. The traffic sucks. After living in Chicago and Houston, I am extremely used to it! So for me, it wasn’t that bad.

Books

Shame by Annie Ernaux

July 19, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 112
Quick Review A very short yet punchy memoir about a woman reminiscing on the events of her twelfth summer, and how her perception was forever altered by the trauma.

Annie Ernaux is finally able to commit to paper the life altering event which shaped her life’s perspective. Since the event, she has been marked by a feeling of never ending shame. This book is different from others she has written. She had been able to name her hometown previously, but found herself unable to after writing the first page.

Ernaux starts the book out with a stunning sentence: “My father tried to kill my mother one Sunday in June, in the early afternoon.” Normally a writer would leave something like this for further into the book; however, she starts with this and uses the rest of the book to explain her life leading up to the event.

As the daughter of store owners, a religious zealot of a mother, and a push-over of a father in a small, rural town in France, Ernaux felt oppressed, confined, controlled, and watched. Ernaux was “lucky” enough to go to private school meaning a school in a convent. Her parents had a shop in their home. Her town was small full of watching eyes. These aspects culminated in having to always maintain a facade of perfection in order to maintain a good standing at school, keep her parents happy, allow the family to look perfect, and never stray from the path.

Her father, who had been nothing but acquiescent to her mother, lost it and held a scythe to his wife’s neck in front of his daughter, Annie. By the afternoon, everything went back to normal in the house. For Ernaux, nothing was ever normal again. She viewed life as before and after. She was constantly waiting for the next time; nervous she would arrive home to a disaster.

Though it’s a short book, it is relatable. Everyone experiences shame in one way or another. Shame is felt by people for different reasons in different ways, but it is a burden we all bear silently because we feel alone in our own shame.

Memorable Quotes
“We have no true memory of ourselves.”
“Politeness was the supreme virtue, the basic principle underlying all social behavior.”
“Believing and having to believe were the same thing.”
“For me the word private will always suggest deprivation, fear and lack of openness. Including in the expression private life. Writing is something public.”
“The worst thing about shame is that we imagine we are the only ones to experience it.”
“…that the shame will never cease and that it will only be followed by more shame.”

Title: Shame
Author: Annie Ernaux
Translator: Tanya Leslie
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Copyright: 1998
ISBN: 9781888363692