The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
Thursday, November 17, 2016 — 3B

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Motte & Bailey Bookshop has been a Kerrytown staple since 2000.

“Brothels and pharmacies 

make more money, that’s for 
sure,” 
said 
Gene 
Alloway, 

owner 
of 
Motte 
& 
Bailey 

Booksellers, a rare and used 
bookstore on North Fourth 
Avenue. “There’s a saying that 
if you want to make a million 
dollars in books, start with two 
million.”

The brothels and pharmacies 

of 
questionable 
practices 

Alloway 
referred 
to 
are 

more 
than 
just 
lucrative 

businesses: 
they 
apparently 

once operated (although not, 
rather unfortunately, at the 
same time) within the same 
walls as Alloway’s bookstore. 
But if a bookstore seems like 
a mundane follow-up to those 
more salacious ventures, a 

step inside Motte & Bailey 
bookstore puts those concerns 
to rest.

Among 
old 
New 
Yorker 

magazine 
covers, 
children’s 

books and coffee-table-ready 
novels on Rembrandt, Motte 
& Bailey bookstore carries a 
comfortable quaintness that 
feels particularly Ann Arbor 
in nature. The store name is 
playfully 
displayed 
on 
the 

window with words that curl 
back and forth, recalling a 
storefront in a Harry Potter 
film. The actual history of the 
books inside, though, can be a 
bit more vicious than a nose-
less Ralph Fiennes.

According to Alloway, one 

such piece of history that 
passed 
through 
the 
walls 

stands out in particular — an 
original declaration written by 
the University of Michigan’s 
president in the late 19th 
century. In it, the president 
bans University students from 
visiting the local Ann Arbor 
bars because, he says, students 
would tend to have too much 
to drink and find themselves, 
perhaps, too belligerent for the 
collective good. As Alloway 
puts it, “There’d be huge brawls 
right in the middle of the 
street, weekend after weekend, 
between 
the 
University 

students 
and 
the 
German 

workers.”

Alloway’s 
reverence 
for 

history is important in holding 
the store to its niche. For 
a college town filled with 
eclectic bookstores, there’s still 
a carefully curated atmosphere 
to the store, and it’s that 
individualism, Alloway says, 
that makes room for what he 
estimates to be more than 20 
different booksellers in the 
area.

“We all have our slightly 

different focus,” he said. At the 
bottom level, yes, all of us want 
that nice copy of ‘Catcher in the 
Rye’ — all of us would buy the 

first edition and sell it for lots 
of money. But on the day-to-day 
level, we all have our different 
foci.”

This keeps the high supply of 

local bookstores from devolving 
into the kind of intra-trade 
warring that, say, the New York 
Ice Cream Truck Mafia found 
itself in. The local booksellers 
are not, Alloway says, walking 
up to each other’s collections 
with bats or a Zippo lighter.

Rather, Alloway will happily 

direct customers to the local 
bookstore that most fits their 
particular needs. (While I sat 
there, he recommended that 
a young woman searching for 
Jane Austen peruse the West 
Side Book Shop.)

So while Motte & Bailey does 

have an array of material, its 
strength, Alloway says, is still 
based in what he first took to 
the web back in 1996 when he 
opened a website as a book 
seller, focusing mainly on rare 
books in the subjects of classical 
history and the military.

What started solely as an 

online 
enterprise, 
however, 

eventually became a physical 
store in 2000, as Alloway 
and 
two 
friends 
— 
John 

Murphy II and Paul Hare 
— 
found 
themselves 
both 

with an increased interest in 
bookselling and in the midst of 
a philosophical disagreement 
with the University of Michigan 
library, 
where 
Alloway 

worked for a number of years 
as a librarian after receiving 
degrees in classical history and 
librarianship. Alloway uses the 
transition of mediums through 
music as an analogy:

“Whenever there’s a change 

in technology, things get lost,” 
he said. When you went from 
Edison recordings to the first 
vinyl, there were things that 
didn’t come over. And when 
you went from those early 78s, 
the 33s, and 45 RPM vinyls, 
again, not everything came 
over. And then the same way 
cassettes and 8-track tapes and 
CDs and now digital. At every 
step, there are things that are 
unique to whatever mediums 
are available. The University, 
to me, was ignoring that.”

John Murphy eventually left 

the store for law school while 
Paul moved to Kansas, leaving 
Alloway as the sole consistent 
appraiser. But Alloway still 
makes sure to keep the values 
the store was founded on fresh. 
He only scans original copies 
when uploading books online, 
places his focus on the most 
relevant content in a genre 
regardless of publishing date 
or what’s popular at the given 
moment and above all, he tries 
to make bookselling a more 
personal venture, rather than a 
faceless transaction.

That love for the books 

themselves, the leather and not 
just the ink, finds itself in the 
store’s unofficial motto: “Each 
book has its own destiny,” a 
quote that hangs in the back 
of the store. For Alloway, it 
represents the idea that he, as 
a seller, is just a stop on a long 
journey these books will make. 
And those journeys, too, tell 
their own stories.

One recent one in particular 

stands out to Alloway, he says. 
He recently acquired a large 

19th-century volume of the 
female aristocracy in the early 
reign of Victoria, beautifully 
bound and containing steel 
engravings of each woman. 
But two listed in the table of 
contents are absent. Thinking 
the 
error 
might 
just 
be 

individual, he reached out to 
the libraries where the rest of 
the approximately 12 copies 
are held. Of the seven who 
responded, all said the same 
two 
women 
were 
missing. 

It’s those kinds of “So what 
happened?” 
questions 
that 

are so enticing about original 
bookselling 
and 
collecting, 

Alloway said: “The things that 
you could never find out unless 
you literally look through it 
page by page.”

It seems Alloway is not the 

only one who finds in-person 
browsing 
and 
hands-on 

bookkeeping exciting. While 
the 
store 
started 
online, 

in-store sales now far surpass 
online sales. Alloway cites 
the enormous imbalance of 
supply 
over 
demand 
with 

online 
competition 
as 
one 

factor. Another more powerful 
element at play, though, is that 

book buying and browsing is 
an experience, and an often-
personal one that people like 
to have a guide for. Most of us 
can’t traverse an entire map on 
our own.

“It’s about leading people 

into directions,” Alloway says. 
“Someone reads a general book 
on World War II, and then 
they want to read a book on 
a particular battle, and then 
they want to read a book on a 
particular unit and then they 
want to read a biography of 
a general of that unit. That’s 
what’s really nice.”

To 
help 
sort 
through 

the broadness of any given 
category, Alloway says, it’s 
important for the bookseller 
to be able to tell readers, 
“Read this, not that.” As he so 
accurately lays bare, nobody 
has all the time, money or space 
to collect and read every book 
they might want.

If the business of bookselling 

and collecting seems serious, 
it’s because it is. Alloway 
relayed a story to me of a 
German 
family 
he 
worked 

closely with to return a stolen 
manuscript. 
In 
turn, 
they 

told him of their relative, a 
librarian, who hung himself 
because their family estate 
was looted so heavily by the 
Russians during World War II.

“He just couldn’t protect all 

of the books.”

The Motte & Bailey Bookshop 

may not yet be that zealous, but 
it’s an important staple in the 
ever-growing field. As Alloway 
puts it, “There are always small 
gaps that can be filled with 
books.”

A reverence for history at 
Motte & Bailey Bookshop

MATT GALLATIN

Daily Arts Writer

Kerrytown’s used book shop is a fixture for bibliophiles

“Brothels and 

pharmacies make 
more money, for 

sure.”

Nobody has the 
time, money and 

space to read 
everything.

INA GARTEN

Check out this store-bought heteronormativity. 

‘Cooking for Jeffrey:’ An iconic love 
story between the Gartens and food

From Dartmouth to the Hamptons, romance knows no bounds

Ina Garten is a powerhouse.
When the Food Network train 

hit new heights of popularity 
in 
the 
mid-aughts, 
Garten 

reached a new level of celebrity 
status attained by only a few 
other chefs on the network. 
Her long-running 
series, 
“Barefoot 

Contessa,” 
has 

been on air since 
2002, making it 
one of the longest 
running series on 
the network.

In 
each 

episode, 
Garten 

is 
effortlessly 

charming as she 
cooks a meal for 
a special guest — 
be it friends, a celebrity or her 
longtime husband, Jeffrey. Ina 
and Jeffrey’s relationship has 
reached an almost cult status, 
as the pair (who have been 
married since 1968) have a 
chemistry that would make any 
cynic a believer in true love. 
When so many marriages end in 
divorce these days, how can we 
not rally around a couple who 
has made it work for almost 50 
years?

It was no surprise, then, 

that Garten’s 10th cookbook, 
released last month, is titled 
“Cooking 
for 
Jeffrey.” 
The 

glossy 
hardcover 
is 
two 

parts 
cookbook, 
one 
part 

love story. The introduction 
traces the history of Garten’s 
relationship with cooking and 
her relationship with Jeffrey. 
The two things are inextricably 
interconnected, Garten says. 
According to her, Jeffrey was 
the one who encouraged her to 
work in the food industry and 
pursue her dreams in the public 
sphere.

Jeffrey is no stranger to 

attaining lofty goals himself; 
he’s Dean Emeritus at the Yale 
School of Management, and has 
worked in several presidential 
administrations. 
Not 
to 
be 

outdone 
by 
her 
husband, 

Garten 
has 
an 
extremely 

impressive resume from before 
her venture into the food world. 
She worked in the White House 
during the Ford and Carter 
administrations writing policy 
papers on nuclear energy. In 

the words of Garten herself, 
“how great is that?”

On first glance, I joked to 

my friends that the title of 
the cookbook seemed bad for 
feminism. I never thought badly 
about Ina for it — Garten is old 
enough to be my grandmother, 
and I am well aware of how 
gender roles have shifted since 
she was in college. However, I 

was surprised to 
see her actually 
tackle the topic 
of feminism in 
her introduction: 
“I 
often 
say 

[Jeffrey] was the 
first 
feminist 

I 
ever 
knew; 

he 
believed 

that 
I 
could 

do 
anything 
I 

wanted to do.”

The 
couple’s 

mutually beneficial relationship 
is highlighted several times in 
“Cooking for Jeffrey.” It’s one 
thing to see their relationship 
on television, where Ina is 
queen 
of 
the 
kitchen 
and 

Jeffrey seems happy just to 
be on the receiving end of her 
production. It’s a completely 
different thing to read Garten’s 
heartfelt gratitude for finding 
a relationship that allows both 
people to follow their goals 
while loving each other deeply.

While 
flipping 
through 

“Cooking with Jeffrey,” I was 
fascinated that not only did 
every recipe sound delicious, 
but 
they 
all 
looked 
like 

something I, an amateur home 
cook, could whip up without 
too much trouble. One of the 
reasons Ina Garten has become 
a Food Network icon is her 
penchant 
for 
simple 
meals 

that require ingredients you 
probably have in your fridge. 
While there are recipes that 
require a thoughtfully planned 
grocery run (“Fried Oysters 
with Lemon Saffron Aioli,” for 
instance), most of the recipes 
are 
something 
you 
could 

easily make with a few hours 
notice. In Ina’s recount of her 
culinary history, she explains 
that she finds the best meals 
are often the simplest, coming 
from perfected classic recipes. 
This explains the prevalence 
of meals with humble names 
like 
“Roast 
Chicken 
with 

Radishes,” “Parmeasan Roasted 
Zucchini,” and “Roasted Italian 

Meatballs.”

For a television personality, 

Garten has done a wonderful 
job making her audience feel 
like they share an intimate 
connection with her. Skimming 
through the blurbs written at 
the top of each recipe, I found 
myself reading some of her 
iconic phrases in her voice, 
like I was watching the recipe 
unfold on her show (“How 
smart is that?”). It’s hard to 
tell if you want her to be your 
grandmother, or your mother, 
or your Hampton neighbor. 
But the overwhelming reaction 
is that her fans do want her 
in their life in some capacity 
because she seems like such a 
fun and friendly person. Her 
voice translates nicely from 
“Barefoot Contessa” to her 
cookbooks, a hard-to-achieve 
skill that has certainly been 
perfected from years in the 
business.

Sitting down with “Cooking 

for Jeffrey” is the reading 
equivalent of curling up in 
a blanket next to a fire — 
the warmth Ina has for her 
husband and her love for 
cooking 
radiates 
off 
every 

page. Even for the biggest 
skeptic, there is something 
beautiful about hearing how 
two people fell (and stayed) 
in love. “Cooking for Jeffrey” 
not only offers a glimpse into 
the first few years of Ina and 
Jeffrey’s relationship, but you 
can rest easy knowing the story 
has a happy ending almost five 
decades later.

As Garten reminds us in her 

“Planning a Party” chapter, food 
is no fun unless you’re sharing 
it with the people you love, be 
it friends, family or Jeffrey. 
Cooking for others is a selfless 
act that can be deeply personal, 
and the ritual of sharing a meal 
is only productive if we’re 
building on our relationship 
with 
that 
person 
through 

conversation 
and 
laughter. 

Though especially important 
in this political climate, this 
lesson is something that each 
and every one of us should hold 
deeply. Besides, if we learn 
anything about sustaining a 
marriage from Ina and Jeffrey’s 
relationship, 
it’s 
undeniable 

that sharing lots of delicious 
meals has only helped.

KATHLEEN DAVIS
Managing Arts Editor

“Cooking for 

Jeffrey: A 

Barefoot Contessa 

Cookbook”

Ina Garten

Oct. 25, 2016

Potter

 In the wake of the 2016 
election, millions of Americans 
are hurting. They’re scared 
for themselves, their friends, 
their families, even complete 
strangers. Also in the wake of 
Trump’s win, we’ve seen an 
uptick in blatant hate; this week 
alone three women have been 
attacked or “intimidated” in 
Ann Arbor — a liberal Mecca 
of sorts in comparison to much 
of the country. Nonetheless, 
when the darkness seems to be 
the darkest it has been in recent 
years, the brightness shines 
even brighter.
 Alicia Keys and A$AP 
Rocky vibing in a backyard to 
“Blended Family (What You 
Do For Love),” the lead single 
off Keys’s new album Here, 
exudes that brightness. The 
video’s three and a half minutes 

are a collage of 
Keys’s family, 
including 
husband Swizz 
Beats, their 
children, as 
well as Swizz’s 
ex-wife and 
their children (Keys’s step-
children), intermingled with 
other blended families from all 
walks of life. The energy bubbles 
with love and affection, further 
enhanced by the song’s simple 
yet uplifting guitar chords and 
honest commentary and relaxed 
delivery from the songstress.
The video’s energy, powered by 
adoring looks and slow-motion 
hugs, overflows with Rocky’s 
verse. He begins pacing, rapping 
into a notebook while jotting 
down lyrics and the smiles 
only grow wider and more 

infectious from 
there. He kisses 
his step mom on 
her cheek and 
a room erupts 
into laughter 
as he delivers, 
“And shoutout 

to the step sisters and the step 
brothers / And god-sisters, who 
eventually slept with us.”
 Still, the video’s peak, without 
a doubt, is Keys and Rocky 
stunting together, feeding into 
each other’s energy, each other’s 
smiles. She mouths his verse as 
he flows next to her, their bodies 
lost in the music rather than 
choreographed around it. The 
track and video serve as a much 
needed reminder: “I know how 
hard it gets / But I swear it’s 
worth it, worth it.”

- CHRISTIAN KENNEDY

MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW

A-

“Blended Family (What You 

Do For Love)”

Alicia Keys feat. A$AP Rocky

