Cocktail hour reads.

Good evening, friends. And a happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there. I just got back from seeing my mother, up in the wilds of North Jersey. The drive back to Jersey City -- with my lady beside me and big band music on the stereo -- couldn't have been better. Now's the perfect time to pour yourself your favorite adult beverage of choosing and stimulate your gray matter. Here are some interesting things I found this week:

• A photographer traces his grandfather's journey across Europe during WWII when he discovers a box full of his undeveloped film. (Huckberry Journal).
• The pine snake is common throughout the southeast. They tend to stay south of the North Carolina border -- except for the population that lives in the sandy soil of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. (NJ.com)
• I got my first induction to Harold Bloom my junior year of high school with his How to Read and Why, which I still think is one of the greatest titles of all time. I didn't know he was still alive, let alone still writing. And, apparently, he's a fan of stuffed animals. (New York Magazine).