blog

Notes on books and travel.

Ice Cream, Booker Winners, US Accents, Hiking Slovenia, Diary Ideas & More: Endnotes 02 February
Ice Cream, Booker Winners, US Accents, Hiking Slovenia, Diary Ideas & More: Endnotes 02 February
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got biopics about real-life writers, 17th-century ballads, Julia Child in Paris, visiting Whitby, sand crime rings (!), and more.
Tower Ravens, Acknowledgements Pages, Forest Sounds, Oxford Comma & More: Endnotes 26 January
Tower Ravens, Acknowledgements Pages, Forest Sounds, Oxford Comma & More: Endnotes 26 January
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got 18 author homes to visit, the golden age of air travel, great book club questions, tea with salt, the new Ripley, and more.
Botanical Garden, Library-Themed Bars, Curse Words, Castle Hotels & More: Endnotes 19 January
Botanical Garden, Library-Themed Bars, Curse Words, Castle Hotels & More: Endnotes 19 January
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got wintry reads from the Booker Library, new literary screen adaptations, journaling prompts, fairy-tale destinations, and more.
Broadway Tower, Nested Stories, Neil Gaiman, Breads of the World & More: Endnotes 12 January
Broadway Tower, Nested Stories, Neil Gaiman, Breads of the World & More: Endnotes 12 January
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got Japanese book bags, 11 elevated nature walks, the bear that became a corporal, a poem read by Helena Bonham Carter, and more.
Chefchaouen, George Smiley, Europe Hikes, Bookish Hotels & More: Endnotes 05 January
Chefchaouen, George Smiley, Europe Hikes, Bookish Hotels & More: Endnotes 05 January
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got 230 books to read in 2024, a new David Copperfield audiobook, 11 beautiful thatched roof villages, the Vasa Museum, and more.
Castles, Victorian Xmas, Ice Skating Trails, Holiday Romances & More: Endnotes 22 December
Castles, Victorian Xmas, Ice Skating Trails, Holiday Romances & More: Endnotes 22 December
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got fashion in Jane Austen's novels, a Swedish mitten museum, mid-century Christmas photos, traditional French cuisine, and more.
Hotel de Glace, Festive Reads, Ricky Jay, Jolabokaflod, Senegal & More: Endnotes 15 December
Hotel de Glace, Festive Reads, Ricky Jay, Jolabokaflod, Senegal & More: Endnotes 15 December
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got Tilda Swinton as libraries, 53 beautiful streets around the world, basque cheesecake, drawing like Ed Emberley, and more.
Christmas Markets, Antique Maps, Ripley Remake, Axolotls & More: Endnotes 08 December
Christmas Markets, Antique Maps, Ripley Remake, Axolotls & More: Endnotes 08 December
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got a train ride in the French Pyrenees, beautiful snowy retreats, a Wolf Hall Weekend, the best of author Iris Murdoch, and more.
Hot Chocolate, Immersive Reading, Saltburn, Vatican Secret Archive & More: Endnotes 01 December
Hot Chocolate, Immersive Reading, Saltburn, Vatican Secret Archive & More: Endnotes 01 December
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got a new Christie adaptation, a Three Pines podcast, a Wolf Hall read-along, the 26 most beautiful places in France, and more.
Sydney's RRR, Bookish Museums, Fall Cookbooks, Levar Burton & More: Endnotes 17 November
Sydney's RRR, Bookish Museums, Fall Cookbooks, Levar Burton & More: Endnotes 17 November
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got the draw of a manor house, a graphic novel about the first woman on the moon, TV filming locations, secret passages, and more.
Switzerland, Musical Austen, Futuristic Libraries, Tbilisi Murals & More: Endnotes 10 November
Switzerland, Musical Austen, Futuristic Libraries, Tbilisi Murals & More: Endnotes 10 November
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got how to fall down a rabbit hole, David Tennant's Macbeth, magical winter getaways, the story of a haunted bookshop, and more.
Netherlands, Watership Down, Lonely Trees, The Recipe Project & More: Endnotes 11 November
Netherlands, Watership Down, Lonely Trees, The Recipe Project & More: Endnotes 11 November
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got an ode to meta-narrators, book discovery site Shepherd.com, Gladstone's Library in Wales, (hot) librarian fashion, and more.
Transylvania, Reading+Empathy, Haunted House Novels, World Cuisine & More: Endnotes 27 October
Transylvania, Reading+Empathy, Haunted House Novels, World Cuisine & More: Endnotes 27 October
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got Emily Dickinson's fave things, a spooky choose-your-own-adventure story, the best of Shirley Jackson, Paddington Bear, and more.
Bayeux, Spooky Appalachia, Final Girls, Madame Tussaud & More: Endnotes 20 October
Bayeux, Spooky Appalachia, Final Girls, Madame Tussaud & More: Endnotes 20 October
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got a chat with Jason Reynolds, canals you need to know, a spooky train ride, stuff allowed by TSA, new indie press books, and more.
Spooky & Sublime: 43 Gothic Novels with a Strong Sense of Place
Spooky & Sublime: 43 Gothic Novels with a Strong Sense of Place
If you love tormented characters, crumbling mansions, mysterious happenings, and weather that almost seems to be sentient, congratulations! You are officially invited to join our 'Give Us All the Gothic Novels' club.
Fall Foliage, Villain Zodiac, Romania, Dark Academia, Literary Meals & More: Endnotes 13 October
Fall Foliage, Villain Zodiac, Romania, Dark Academia, Literary Meals & More: Endnotes 13 October
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got pretty abandoned places, an unusual reading light, book shelfies, a stunning Regency manor house, author bio pics, and more.
Zeugma Mosaics, Weird Reading, Crater Lake, 100 Best Mysteries & More: Endnotes 06 October
Zeugma Mosaics, Weird Reading, Crater Lake, 100 Best Mysteries & More: Endnotes 06 October
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got a visit to Agatha Christie's Torquay, bookish Zoom backgrounds, breakfast around the world, literary dinner parties, and more.
Tender and Eerie: 'Death Comes to Me Again, A Girl' by American Poet Dorianne Laux
Tender and Eerie: 'Death Comes to Me Again, A Girl' by American Poet Dorianne Laux
The American poet Dorianne Laux weaves a spell with her word witchery, infusing this poem with humanity, light, and sorrow. Forget jump scares and unwelcome things that go bump in the night. This is a gentle ghost.
Jerusalem Synagogue, Bookbinding, NYPL Archive, Turkistan & More: Endnotes 29 September
Jerusalem Synagogue, Bookbinding, NYPL Archive, Turkistan & More: Endnotes 29 September
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got beautiful historic train stations, the best food books for fall, a new opera about Nellie Bly, popcorn history, and more.
5 Great Books Set in the State of Maine That We Love
5 Great Books Set in the State of Maine That We Love
Close your eyes and imagine Maine. Do you see the lobster rolls and lonely lighthouses? The majestic pine trees and crashing Atlantic waves? There's also spine-tingling horror, salty sailors, and sweet blueberries.
Marseille, Sparkly Books, Manet's Olympia, Vibey Novels & More: Endnotes 22 September
Marseille, Sparkly Books, Manet's Olympia, Vibey Novels & More: Endnotes 22 September
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got new words in dictionary.com, the history of the BLT, why to visit Albania, 38 literary adaptations, fall thrillers, and more.
our mission

Strong Sense of Place is a website and podcast dedicated to literary travel and books we love. Reading good books increases empathy. Empathy is good for all of us and the amazing world we inhabit.

our patreon

Strong Sense of Place is a listener-supported podcast. If you like the work we do, you can help make it happen by joining our Patreon! That'll unlock bonus content for you, too — including Mel's secret book reviews and Dave's behind-the-scenes notes for the latest Two Truths and a Lie.

get our newsletter

Join our Substack to get our FREE newsletter with podcast updates and behind-the-scenes info — and join in fun chats about books and travel with other lovely readers.

no spoilers. ever.

We'll share enough detail to help you decide if a book is for you, but we'll never ruin plot twists or give away the ending.

super-cool reading fun
reading atlas

This 30-page Reading Atlas takes you around the world with dozens of excellent books and gorgeous travel photos. Get your free copy when you subscribe to our newsletter.

get our newsletter
Sign up for our free Substack!
follow us

Content on this site is ©2024 by Smudge Publishing, unless otherwise noted. Peace be with you, person who reads the small type.