Eat
Sawyers Hawaiian Shave Ice in Bangor
Before sweater weather returns, I hope to get my last shot of Sawyer’s Hawaiian Shave Ice! This new food truck on Broadway was a great addition to the Bangor food scene this past summer. They offer many natural and artificial flavor combinations to order. I really like Tiger’s Blood, which combines the flavors of strawberry and pina colada. I also like a Snow Cap, which is a splash of sweetened condensed milk on top. You can also order toasted coconut as a topping and Li Hing Mui, which is a sweet and salty plum powder topping. To view their menu and hours, visit their Facebook page and Instagram at Sawyer’s Shave Ice or sawyershaveice.com.
—Marissa Donovan
Participate
Bangor Silent Book Club in Chimera Coffee in Bangor
There are now no excuses when it comes to making time to read. Elizabeth Simonds and Chimera Coffee have collaborated to create a monthly meeting where one can take time to read a book of their choice and connect with other book lovers. There is no mandatory discussion of the book you are reading, but you can get some great reading recommendations from other attendees! There are also no club fees. However, I highly recommend buying a hot drink and a delicious dessert. How could you pass up a Cosmic Brownie or a small portion of Tiramisu? I attended twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. For upcoming meetings and club updates, follow the Bangor Silent Book Club on Instagram at @BangorSilentBookClub.
—Marissa Donovan
Regard
“A pretty cool hotel tour” on YouTube
Most people use hotel rooms as breaks during a long car ride. For Margaret and Corey of A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour, they’re their kitschy travel destination. The couple has toured many themed hotels across the country on their YouTube channel. An episode is usually less than 10 minutes long and will most likely feature a room with a heart-shaped bathtub. In addition to honeymoon-themed rooms, some episodes have featured rooms inspired by Home Alone, Dolly Parton, Cinderella, and even a partial episode of Gilligan’s Island. Airbnb properties with a vintage feel also appear here and there throughout the online series. This channel reveals the creativity that can go into designing an experience for overnight guests. What I also love about A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour is how lively Margaret and Corey are when they travel together. They really show off their personalities by recreating movie scenes and making ridiculous jokes about the decor during their stays. After watching a few episodes, you might be planning your next vacation!
—Marissa Donovan
Hear
Normal Gossip Podcast on Spotify
I don’t listen to podcasts that much, but a friend encouraged me to listen to Normal Gossip while on a road trip—and now I’m totally obsessed. Each episode features a few juicy hot gossip stories—the kind of funny secondhand stories that get passed around and usually produce a jaw-dropping OMG moment or two. Listeners send in their “you won’t believe this” stories, and host Kelsey McKinney tells them and discusses them with guests. My favorites so far have been the stories about mushroom picking and a decades-old neighborhood tradition of dice games. It’s funny, light-hearted, usually kind of silly, and makes a road trip fly by.
—Amy Allen
To read
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
Clover Brooks is an end-of-life counselor who helps her clients leave this world when their time comes. As you can imagine, spending so much time with the dying has made her a little uncomfortable with dealing with the living. This book has a vibe like “Eleanor Oliphant is totally fine” (another of my favorite books) as Clover tries to navigate both romantic relationships and normal friendships. But with a few nudges in the right direction, she eventually gains the confidence to pursue what she wants.
fiction
Acid for Flea’s Children
It’s weird, it’s wonderful, it’s all Flea. The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist tells the story of his childhood – born in Australia (who knew?!), a huge jazz fan and a really talented trumpet player (who knew?!) and a long-time drug user (kind of obvious). I stopped to Google and delve down fascinating rabbit holes – did you remember Flea being in the Back to the Future movies? I didn’t know. Turns out he and Chili Peppers frontman (who Flea claims should really be called the Red Hots), Anthony Kiedis, grew up together, along with drummer Jack Irons and guitarist Hillel Slovak. I read the paperback, but now I’m tempted to go back and listen to the audiobook, narrated by Flea.
Memoir
Rachel Hawkins’s Villa
Two longtime friends (frenemies might be more appropriate) rent an Italian villa with a dark past, including a ’70s rock star murder. When one of the friends investigates the house’s secrets, their own relationship takes a turn. The book jumps from the present to 1974, when rock star Noel Gordon and his friend Pierce Sheldon, who is found dead, are in the house with Pierce’s girlfriend and her sister. While things get ugly for the men, the women go home with an award-winning album and a famous horror novel – which may hold clues to what happened all those years ago.
fiction
—Amy Allen
