Shelfies | M. Suzanne Terry

Archive for the ‘Shelfies’ Category

Hanging out with Allende

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Shelfies on October 19, 2015| 2 Comments »

What? Just hanging out with my Allende collection. As you do.

If pressed to name my favorite genre, I might have to go with magical realism. So when I read my first Isabel Allende book, The House of the Spirits, I fell in love. She told the story of a family’s life – both the everyday and the fantastical – during political and cultural unrest in Chile. It was my favorite book for a long time.

I have since read several more of her books, and although they’re not all magical realism, they are all magic. Allende is one of the best storytellers alive. Her imagery is vivid, and her characters will stay with you a long time.

I’m currently engulfed in Ines of my Soul. It might be my favorite. Of course, every time I read one of her books, it’s always my new favorite.

Who are your favorite authors?

I am writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

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Homebody (Days 17 and 18)

Posted in 31 Days, Shelfies, Writing on October 19, 2015| 2 Comments »

Cleverly cropped so that you miss most of the garage sale bags.

This is my favorite corner of my apartment. I moved here a few years ago from a two-bedroom apartment where my books/office/TV had their own room. Now they have a pocket in the living room.

And what an adorable pocket it is.

The writing nook is where I do most of my at-home writing. There’s something about being surrounded by the words of others that inspires me to write my own.

It also blocks my view of other places in the apartment that might need cleaning or work, which is my main distraction when I write.

This is where I spent most of my Saturday, between loads of laundry and plates of leftovers. A good week is one where I have at least one full day when I don’t leave the apartment at all and I can get some things done around the house. It’s good to have a day to remember that I actually live there rather than coming in, dumping things in the floor, and falling into bed.

I don’t get that day every week, so when I do, I savor it.

I’m writing 31(ish) days of shelfies.

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Friday Five: Five Favorite Food Writers

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Friday Five, Shelfies on October 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Culinary Giants

As you might have gathered from this week (if not from before), I read a lot of books about food. Today, I want to share with you five of my favorite people.

Barbara Smith – B. Smith writes hospitality well. Her Entertaining and Cooking for Friends is my go-to book on the subject. Fun fact: she was the first African American model to be on the cover of Mademoiselle.
Alice Waters – I am sitting here getting teary over how much I love her. One of the main reasons I want to visit California someday (aside from my friends there, of course) is to visit Chez Panisse. She is one of the stars of the Slow Food movement, and I can sit and read The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution like a novel.
Ruth Reichl – Tender at the Bone is the book that started my obsession with food writers. I can’t remember if it was this book or Comfort Me With Apples that told the story of Danny Kaye’s lemon cream sauce, but you should just read both of them and then make it immediately.
Nigella Lawson – Nigella Bites, like all her books, is a gorgeous book full of beautiful recipes. I knew I would love her when, while writing about dessert that included a substantial amount of booze, she said something to the effect that you could leave it out – if you really must – if there are children but that otherwise more is more.
Mark Bittman – If you want an excellent break down of the food system and the politics that accompany it, Food Matters is the way to go. And for those of you who have had my waffles, his recipe in How to Cook Everything is my go-to. You’re welcome.

Who are some of your favorite food writers?

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

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Happy Hour

Posted in 31 Days, Shelfies on October 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

This post was originally intended for Thursday, which is the college students’ night out before they all scatter for the weekend. But I’m running a teensy bit behind, so you get the drinks post on Friday morning. Happy Friday!

There aren’t that many books on the drinks shelf, but there are so many cocktail recipes. For someone whose go-to drink is wine, that’s more than enough. Of course there is a book on the history of coffee as well. Ignore the tarnish stains on the espresso maker. It has been well loved.

Cocktails A-Go-Go is a great book for planning theme parties. It gives you cocktail recipes, fun facts, and party ideas from eras gone by. For my bachelorette party (or my 50th birthday, whichever comes first), I’m setting up a speak-easy, and this book gave me the idea.

The Complete Bartender is my main source of cocktail ideas (aside from friends on Pinterest, of course). If I’ve ever heard of a drink, it’s in here. It’s also a good source on how to stock a bar for most crowds.

Toasts is a charming collection of, well, toasts. Dickson lists speeches and quotes for all occasions where one might be called upon to engage in such a thing. It’s a fun read.

For those of you who imbibe, where do you get your ideas?

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

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Have Food, Will Travel

Posted in 31 Days, Shelfies on October 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

That’s just one of many shelves of foodie books, and four of them are about France. I have a minor obsession with French and Italian food, drink, and tradition.

Actually, I love most travel books told from a food perspective. I love reading about what grows there, how food is prepared, what spices they use, and the history of it all. As is also true of individuals, a country’s wealth and a country’s trouble is usually tied to a country’s food (or lack thereof).

I’m currently reading through Mireille Guiliano‘s books on the benefits of French customs. I love the anticipation that infuses Marcella Hazan’s books. And Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence is one of the books I wish I’d written (and one of the trips I’d still love to take, although I’m not sure I’m prepared to actually buy property).

What are some of your favorite foodie travel books (seriously – I’d love recommendations)?

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

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Manners!

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Feast, Shelfies on October 15, 2015| 5 Comments »

Note to self: Find other time besides dusk to take photos. Need better lighting.

Also pictured: one of the cutest cups in the world.

I have a healthy throng of how-to books, particularly when it comes to cooking and entertaining. But scattered among them are a few guidebooks simply on how to be nice. I think I picked up one of the Miss Manners books from a library sale, but the others were gifts. I’m not sure what the gift of “Here, have a book on how not to be an ass,” says (you know…other than that), but I do enjoy thumbing through them.

Reading through Emily Post’s Etiquette: Manners for a New World is like listening to propriety lessons from my parents, particularly regarding my inclination to report various events to “The Internets.” I love the wit in Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. It reminds me of punctuation nerd conversations about the Oxford comma. And Don’t: A Manual of Mistakes and Improprieties More or Less Prevalent in Conduct and Speech is fun to read aloud to captive guests.

And that’s all I want for these manuals to be in my house- fun. Yes, it’s important to have good manners, or as Peggy Post puts it, “a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.” It’s nice to be polite. But “good” and “polite” according to whom? In writing Feast, I have wrestled with this conundrum. What seems like good manners to some people is stiff, dull, and unnecessary to others. And to hold others to a standard of behavior that really speaks more to certain personality quirks, certain cultural norms (i.e., whiteness), and certain tactical preferences than to real other-awareness seems to accomplish exactly the opposite of what it claims to intend. Rude.

I would like to hear more diverse voices in the area of etiquette.

I am writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

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Cooking for One

Posted in 31 Days, Food, Shelfies on October 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

When I first lived alone, I relished coming home and having popcorn or a bowl of strawberries for dinner. One of the perks of living alone is that there is no one else to cook for unless I specifically invite them over, so I can always do what I want.

But it didn’t take long to start to miss cooking (and eating) proper meals. And while I’m not opposed to leftovers, I also don’t find it appetizing to eat the same thing four times a week. However, my cooking experience was in cooking meals for groups.

I needed guidance.

So I started acquiring a nice collection of cookbooks about cooking for one. The one pictured above is my favorite (and not just because her shoes are amazing – click on the following link to check out those shoes). Even the title is the best: The Pleasure is All Mine: Selfish Food for Modern Life by Suzanne Pirret.

This book is two parts cookbook, one part memoir. She has great stories and great recipes. Added bonus – the cocktail pairings. She has a fantastic name, too. I feel that she and I could be friends.

There are other books that I love in this specific genre. Judith Jones’s The Pleasures of Cooking for One is wonderful. Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant is one that I bought just for the title, but it’s right up my alley – a collection of essays on the subject of cooking and dining alone.

What sub-genres do you love?

I am writing 31 days of shelfies.

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In Defense of TV

Posted in 31 Days, Shelfies, TV on October 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

As mentioned in my previous post, my dear friend Michelle visited this weekend. We watched a lot of TV, as per our custom.

One of the many shelves of my TV collection

We watched one episode of The Newsroom and many episodes of Firefly. After she left, I watched more Firefly and Gilmore Girls while knitting.

I love TV. I love it much more than I like movies, because it allows me to get to know the characters. It’s difficult in a two-hour movie for me to attach to a character enough to care what happens to them. I mean, it’s sad when they die in the general sense that I recognize death as a sad experience for the survivors and thus experience some generic human empathy, but the character deaths that really affect me are the ones in TV shows. It’s been over a decade, and I’m still not over Serenity.

Many writers might not share this experience, but I think that watching TV and participating in fandom have made me a better writer.

I often say that Elmore Leonard taught me to write dialogue, and that’s true, but I also learned a lot from Joss Whedon and Aaron Sorkin and Amy Sherman-Palladino (and Shonda Rhimes and David E. Kelley). Television rewired my brain so that dialogue doesn’t stay flat on the page; when I’m writing it, I’m imagining it in action. This also helps me visualize my characters better and write character-driven plots.

Being an active member of fandom (and by that, I do mean “one who reads and writes fanfiction,” although that is not the only way to be active) also helped my writing. Writing and sharing fanfiction taught me to receive and give constructive feedback. It also taught me to recognize feedback that wasn’t helpful and learn to disregard it without wasting emotion on it. Most of all, though, writing stories with someone else’s characters taught me how to stay true to a character (because diehard fans will definitely let you know if you get it wrong or if it seems a little off). This skill has been invaluable when writing with the characters I’ve created.

So while I don’t recommend a regular four-hour-a-day habit, letting yourself get involved in the world and the characters of your favorite TV shows can improve your skills, too.

What TV shows/characters do you love? What fuels your creativity?

I’m showing and telling 31 days of shelfies this month.

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Fandom Friends

Posted in 31 Days, Shelfies, TV on October 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

This was the sort of pic where a tripod or a selfie stick would have come in handy. Alas, I had neither. But I think it’s cute anyway. Also, I made Michelle put on her Superman hoodie for the shot, and you can’t even see our clothes. I was just so excited to get a picture I could use with both of us and the shelves in the background that wasn’t fuzzy from our laughing or my inability to take this picture.

Michelle came to visit this weekend! We ate glorious, terrible food and drink, and we watched glorious and terrible things.

But first, before the liberal libations started flowing, we had to take a picture that I think captures the essence of our friendship.

I met Michelle on the Michael Rosenbaum Message Board (the MRMB, for those in the know). It was the youth of our Smallville fandom – the early seasons when Clark and Lex ~~fell in love~~ were also beginning their legendary friendship. And we bonded over our fascination with how this series characterized Lex (and also by our fascination with the fellow who played him). We traveled to fan gatherings together, we spent hours on the message board, dissecting every nuanced glance, and we got to know each other outside our TV interests as well.

But TV was what brought us together.

Our plan for Friday evening was to drink until we were tipsy enough not to notice how terrible Magic Mike is when we watched it (we had been warned).

Friends, there is not enough alcohol in the world.

And when I had no words to express how truly awful an experience that movie was, it was our fandom background that helped me express it.

“You know, I once spent the weekend with MRMB fans in New York, and we watched 1999. Then we were so angry at Michael Rosenbaum for making that terrible movie. It was the worst movie I had ever seen. UNTIL NOW.”

And she understood. And she understands why, despite this experience, we must someday watch the second one because Matt Bomer sings in it.

Fandom is not rational, but it is wonderful and is made more so by friends who share it.

I am a little behind on my 31 Days of Shelfies. I really need to get a home computer.

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Friday Five – Five Books on Moving

Posted in 31 Days, Shelfies on October 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

No one is ever going to mistake me for some sort of exercise guru.

But I am passionate enough about a few ways of moving that I study and read about them. Sometimes in lieu of actually doing them. But I’m getting better at that.

I am weird in that I love core work. Love it. I don’t even have to psych myself up to do it. And I suppose this is good, because regular practice of something like Pilates or the floor warm-ups for ballet/modern dance helps every other activity that I ever do. Having a strong core helps me avoid back problems and injuries that happen when you are using other muscles to do what the stomach muscles are supposed to do. The Pilates Body is my core work Bible.

The Complete Tap Dictionary and The Dancer Prepares: Modern Dance for Beginners are two of my old textbooks from when I took a college level tap class (OMG) and my first modern class ever (up until then, it had been only ballet and tap). I still refer to them occasionally for technique, and I am sure that I’ll especially be using the tap book a lot when Tammy’s knee heals and we celebrate by taking some classes.

Running is the activity that I read about the most. Running books are super inspirational, even though most of them often have me snorting and saying, “I will never do that.” Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is more my speed. It’s still inspiring, but it doesn’t have any of this run-in-Antarctica or run-naked-in-death-valley nonsense.

And finally, The BalleCore(r) Workout. I am talking myself (with a little nudge from my boss, who loves it) into starting Pure Barre classes soon. So I checked this book out from the library again and have been practicing so that I don’t injure myself during my public debut when I get all competitive about it.

What exercise do you love/not-hate? Do you read about it, too?

I am taking shelfies and talking books this month.