Posted by
Melissa (Avid Reader)
Yes, this is one of THOSE posts. The ones where a blogger talks about struggling with priorities and trying to find balance. Sorry in advance.
I started this blog six years ago and this is the 1,458th post. In that time I've reviewed books, participated in more than a dozen readalongs and nine Dewey Readathons, and most importantly made friends with so many other amazing bloggers.
In May, the Huz and I found out we were expecting our first little one. Since then life has felt like a whirlwind of fatigue, excitement, and a million other things. In addition to preparing things like the nursery, we've been attending birthing classes, getting life insurance, creating wills, and researching all of the things you're supposed to know before caring for another human being.
The Huz has switched jobs and is now working two different ones full time. I'm working full time and my office has gone from a staff of 14 to 8 in the span of one year. Needless to say things have been a bit crazy this year. While I've still been reading a lot, I have barely been reviewing. I have been keeping up with my Classics Club duties, but even that has been a struggle.
So I've decided to give myself a bit of a break. I've never taken a break from this blog and I never really planned to. But I know that right now I have so much stuff hanging over my head and I feel like I'm constantly trying to find a way to get through it all. This is new to me. I've never felt like this before and I'm finally realizing that it's ok to put a couple things on hold for a little while instead of constantly feeling like I'm dropping the ball.
Life doesn't stop when you get pregnant or have a kiddo, but it certainly does get a bit more complicated. I hope that as I find my new balance I'll be able to be back at blogging regularly in the not too distant future. Until then, I hope you all will understand my sporadic posting. Thanks to all of you!
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Posted by
Melissa (Avid Reader)
Grand Forks
A History of American Dining in 100 Reviews
by Marilyn Hagerty
With a forward by Anthony Bourdain
★★☆
With
more than 100 different reviews of restaurants in North Dakota, this
sounds like a snooze, but it's really a beautiful representation of how
small towns have changed over the years. When she talks about blue plate
specials, and Norwegian dishes, there's a wonderful love of community
in her writing.
I originally picked this one up as a nonfiction read for
North Dakota for my Reading the States project, and I'm glad I did.
Since my goal with the project is to get a better feel for each state, I
think this book does just that. Hagerty paints a picture of this area
of the country through their stomachs.
Yes, they are reviews of
restaurants you will probably never go to. That's not really what the
book is about, it's a chronicle of how small-town America and the food
they eat has changed over the years. Once upon a time a new Arby's
opening in town was big news and sushi was a foreign concept that most
Midwesterners were wary of. You can also see how the styles of food are
reflected in the area, there’s lots of Norwegian food because were North
Dakota. I love that there's pieces of the town’s history sprinkled
throughout the reviews as well. There was a huge flood in 1997 that
caused many of Grand Fork’s restaurants to close. A new restaurant that
opened after the tragedy included a note on its menus that said, “Time
will pass, our city will heal, but the strength encourage of its
residents will never be forgotten.”
BOTTOM LINE: I wouldn’t
recommend this unless you really want a taste of small town American
restaurants. It absolutely provides that, but it’s also exactly what it
sounds like, a collection of reviews of restaurants in Grand Forks,
North Dakota.
