M. Suzanne Terry

Reformation Sunday

October 26, 2015 by Suzanne

Most days, I really love my introversion. I appreciate that I can enjoy my solitude (a useful skill, as I am single and thus get a lot of it). I like being able to restore my own well of energy without needing others to do that for me.

But my particular brand of introversion is not without its problems, one of them being a certain measure of social anxiety. Like in our church building when 1) it’s Reformation Sunday and 2) there’s a baptism (and the extra people who came to see it). Many, many people – tiny, tiny space. Add to this that I’m in the choir, so I couldn’t just sit in a corner and hide – I had to be up and moving around and part of the service – and this leaves me counting the moments until I can escape. I’m really proud of myself that I did not run screaming from the building afterwards.

Then I drove to Fort Worth in construction that I’m pretty sure has been going on for at least the 22 years I’ve lived in the area, and that didn’t help. I went to the Friends of the Library book sale, which was also crowded. At one point, I texted my friend, “I’m going to go stand outside and breathe deeply.”

But then we went to eat Ethiopian food at Samson’s, and it was so relaxing.

I’m gonna learn to make injera. That’s one of my food goals.

Margarett and I split the vegetarian sampler, as is our habit. As soon as I folded the first piece of injera over the miser wat, all the stress of the day faded. Margarett enjoyed it, too:

“My fingers smell delicious.”

Then I had coffee. For me, Ethiopian coffee is half the reason to go.

Little shelf-ish (were you wondering when the shelf would appear?) coffee tray

I normally drink my coffee black with no sugar, but I enjoyed a little sweetness with this one.

CUTE.

We stuck around while I sipped my coffee and ate until we were beyond full, and we got to talk to the owners. We had a nice chat about children and the ethics of responsibility and capitalism and systems that perpetuate abuse. Good times.

I was so content by the time we left that the drive back to Denton didn’t stress me out at all.

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

Posted in 31 Days, Food, Shelfies | 2 Comments »

Memories and Inspiration

October 26, 2015 by Suzanne

A collection of memories and inspiration sit on top of my library shelf in my bedroom. Like all memories, it has both gained and lost some things over the years. Like all inspirations, it has meant different things at different times.

There is the picture of us from my sister’s wedding. What a beautiful day that was! Also, my hair and dress were fantastic.

There are the trinkets from my sister’s travels – the Peabody duck, the castanets, the decorative fan, and the nesting dolls. They make me want to be less of a homebody and see more of the world.

A teacup from a spiritual retreat that fed my soul holds jewelry that reveals my taste.

A book featuring outlandish shoes inspires me to love and art and reminds me of the magic that happens when they collide.

Old perfume bottles are remnants of my collection of pretty, shiny things, and they’re also remnants of my MeMaw’s collection of things that made her feel beautiful.

And last, the Ty Nant bottle and Lex action figure remind me of my first and best experience with fandom – the community, the inspiration, the laughs, and the lessons.

It’s a small shelf, but it holds so much.

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

Posted in 31 Days, Shelfies | 1 Comment »

Friday Five – Five Voices that Shaped Me

October 23, 2015 by Suzanne

This Friday has been busy, so this post will be quick. Do not mistake its brevity for a lack of interest on my part, though. Today, I am bringing you some of the voices that made me the person I am today.

Audre Lorde – My first exposure to Audre Lorde was through her poetry, but I also love her essays and speeches, such as the ones found in Sister Outsider.
Simone de Beauvoir – I recommend reading The Second Sex alongside Simone Weil’s Oppression and Liberty. It will be an interesting experience (and will explain a lot about me).
Margaret Atwood – I blame/thank Atwood for my love of dystopian literature. The Handmaid’s Tale is chilling and cautionary.
Julia Alvarez – How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Just read it.
Virginia Woolf – Everyone talks about A Room of One’s Own, but I think Mrs. Dalloway is actually my favorite of hers.

What books have helped shape you?

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

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For the Love of Libraries

October 22, 2015 by Suzanne

My library shelf is a snapshot of my mind at the moment. This picture was taken during August, and almost all of those books have gone back to the library by now. A few that I’m cooking through or really savoring remain, but the shelf looks mostly different.

This shelf is the last thing I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up, and there are very few sights I would rather see at either time.

Our public library has three branches, but I mainly go to the one nearest downtown. The north branch is where they host their book sales, and it’s on the way to my sister’s house, so if I just have things to drop off, I can slide them through the drive-through depository. The south branch is on my way to one of my book clubs and in one of my favorite Denton neighborhoods. I visit it occasionally when I want to dream of the day I live nearer to it.

What do you love about your library?

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

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Schooling

October 21, 2015 by Suzanne

Shiny.

I still have all my old textbooks from grad school. I suppose I will as long as I still refer to them from time to time. Or until I decide with absolute certainty that I’m not going back to grad school.

Some things are never certain.

As I toy with the idea of getting the PhD, I find myself thumbing through these particular books more than the other more general tomes (although who doesn’t love a Saturday night picking through quantitative methodologies?). So if I do go back, at least I’ve finally picked a field. Baby steps.

I subscribed to the journal Feminist Theory the first couple of years after I graduated. I wanted to make sure that I kept up.

Then I discovered blogging.

You know what feminists – particularly emerging feminists – are really good at? Blogging. As a medium, it lends itself well to flushing out concepts and working through identities and ideologies.

I know this month is supposed to be about shelves and books, but my reading life would not be as rich without many of the blogs I read.

Here are some of my favorite feminist blogs:

Hollaback – committed to ending street harassment

Bitch media – media analysis and critique

Feministe – some great pieces on intersectionality – they’ve had some structural changes recently – be patient

Black Girl Dangerous – Mia McKenzie, y’all

Feministing – what the next wave of feminism will be talking about

TransGriot – trans news

The Pursuit of Harpyness – come on – that name alone – poetry and progress news

There are so many more, but these are the ones that make me want to get that degree and be a professional feminist.

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

Posted in 31 Days, Feminism, Shelfies | 2 Comments »

Virtual Shelfie

October 20, 2015 by Suzanne

I love real books. I love the way they smell. I love the way they feel in my hands. I love sliding my bookmark in to hold my place when I can’t keep my eyes open any longer, and I love using the bookmark to gauge how much longer I have left.

I didn’t expect to love my e-reader.

But I do.

I love that I can travel – whether to another state or just to a coffee shop – with hundreds of books, and I don’t have to pack an extra bag just to accommodate them.

I love that I can buy a book online and start reading it immediately.

I love how much easier it is to clean chocolate off my cell phone when I use the Kindle app to view a cookbook than it is to clean it out of a bound cookbook.

I don’t see myself ever giving up my traditional book collection, but I’ve got a pretty nice e-collection going, too.

I’m writing 31 Days of Shelfies.

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Hanging out with Allende

October 19, 2015 by Suzanne

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.

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Shelfies | 2 Comments »

Homebody (Days 17 and 18)

October 19, 2015 by Suzanne

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.

Posted in 31 Days, Shelfies, Writing | 2 Comments »

Friday Five: Five Favorite Food Writers

October 16, 2015 by Suzanne

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.

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Friday Five, Shelfies | Leave a Comment »

Happy Hour

October 16, 2015 by Suzanne

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.