Rainy Days With Amanda

 Hey Ya'll! I'm happy to be back with another list of coffee shops or you to try this month! I'm getting in all my coffee shop time right now as I will be a new mom in just about 5 more weeks, give or take, and I'm not sure how much time I will have to go out to coffee shops, at least for the following couple of months. Anyways, it's fall!! Kind of. Doesn't feel like it, but here in Texas, we like to pretend. Gravves Coffee ☕ 2106 McCullough Ave, San Antonio, Texas 78212 If you're looking for something a little more goth to grab your coffee, you've come to the right place. Gravves Coffee offers a great selection of fun coffee concotions, including their Elixir drink that is purple because it's made with ube! They also now offer affogato, which is coffee and ice cream and something I've discovered in other places, but not really here in the San Antonio area.  As far as the space, it's in a good size warehouse, which I love. The bathroom is cl

  THE BORDER BETWEEN US By Rudy Ruiz Literary Fiction Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Pages: 256 Publication Date: August 27, 2024 SYNOPSIS The Border Between Us is a poignant coming-of-age novel from one of the most exciting voices in fiction. Ramón López was born along the US–Mexico border but is determined to get out and embrace the American dream—and he’s not sure whether his complicated family is a help or a hindrance. As the son of immigrants, as Ramón grows, his admiration for his entrepreneurial father sours as he watches his dad’s dreams of success wither on the vine. Ramón’s mother is constantly preoccupied with his younger brother, who struggles with intellectual disabilities. And the outside world is rife with danger and temptations threatening to distract Ramón from his dreams of making it to New York and succeeding as an artist. As dreams clash with reality and values conflict with desires, Ramón finds the American dream within his reach—but will it demand too big a sa

 Hey Ya'll! I'm back with another e-book that I picked up for Lone Star Literary Life . Side note, you should check out all the new things Lone Star is doing and planning on doing. Keep up with them on their social media, newsletter, and website! Anyway, this is my last review with them for the year as baby will be here anytime now, but it won't be forever! So I chose to read this book because I'm sucker for reading all things set in the 90's and I love to see how writers portray different eras when it comes to fiction. It also seemed like a cute book according to the synopsis, so I had to throw my hat in the ring. Here is everything you need to know about Poetic Justice by Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays.   About the Author(s)  Kathleen McFall lives, writes, and plays in the Pacific Northwest. Together with Clark Hays, she has written eleven books. Their first book together was about a cowboy and vampire falling in love, which was originally published two decades

    THE PINK DRESS: A Memoir of a Reluctant Beauty Queen By Janet Little Botkin Memoir Publisher: She Writes Press Pages: 304 Publication Date: 9/10/24 SYNOPSIS Growing up in West Texas, Jane Little Botkin didn’t have designs on becoming a beauty queen. But not long after joining a pageant on a whim in college, she became the first protégé of El Paso’s Richard Guy and Rex Holt, known as the “Kings of Beauty”—just as the 1970’s counterculture movement began to take off. A pink, rose-covered gown—a Guyrex creation—symbolizes the fairy tale life that young women in Jane’s time imagined beauty queens had. Its near destruction exposes reality: the author’s failed relationship with her mother, and her parents’ failed relationship with one another. Weaving these narrative threads together is the Wild West notion that anything is possible, especially do-overs. The Pink Dress awakens nostalgia for the 1960s and 1970s, the era’s conflicts and growth pains. A common expectation that women wen

 Hey Ya'll! Thanks for coming back and checking out some awesome coffee shops around the San Antonio area. If you're new, welcome! I usually write book reviews, or book talks as I call them, and sometimes random thoughts, but I just started this coffee series, so we'll see how it grows and expands. Without further ado, here are three coffee shops you should visit this month and any other month in San Antonio.    Sip & Sit With Me Coffee House ☕  3244 Mission Rd, San Antonio, TX 78214   I was on the southside of town for work and afterward, I was looking for a cold drink. I looked up some spots and this cute little shop popped up, so I decided to give it a try. It was a hot day, so I'm glad that as soon as I walked in, there was cold air blowing in the little house-turned-coffee shop. From upon entry, the baristas were very welcoming, and even though I got a cold Jasmine Blossom tea, I was surprised to see so many syrups to choose from your coffee (and I guess your t

I found this book when I was looking through a table set at Barnes & Nobles with a sign that read something along the lines of "Translated Japanese Novels." Of course, I had to take a look. This one caught my attention not by the cover, but by the title. It intrigued my interests, so I put it on my list of books to read and I was happy to be able to find a copy at one of my local bookstores. Here's a little bit about All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami . About the Author Meiko Kawakami is a Japanese writer and poet from Osaka. Her work has won prestigious Japanese literary awards in several genres including the 138th Akutagawa Prize for Chichi to Ran (Breasts and Eggs), the 2103 Tanizaki Prize for Ai no yum to ka (Dreams of Love, etc.), and so much more.  Kawakami published All the Lovers in the Night in 2011. In 2022 is when it was translated into English by Sam Bett and David Boyd.  About the Book Fuyuko Irie is a freelance copy editor in her mid-thirtie