A Literary Quiz, Drama in Pilsen, Keukenhof Garden, Library Love & More: Endnotes 17 April

A Literary Quiz, Drama in Pilsen, Keukenhof Garden, Library Love & More: Endnotes 17 April

Friday, 17 April, 2020

Every Friday, we celebrate the weekend — and all the reading and relaxing and daydreaming time ahead — with Melissa's favorite book- and travel-related links of the week. Why work when you can read fun stuff?!

This post is part of our Endnotes series.

rule

The awesome graffiti above can be found in Shoreditch, an arty neighborhood in London’s East End. Some day, when we can all roam the world again, you could walk around Shoreditch to browse vintage shops, grab a cocktail at a rooftop bar, play a round of quirky mini-golf, eyeball contemporary art, and eat, eat eat. But for now, let’s all internalize the message of this graffiti. From my (im)patient heart to yours.

a room on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
A room on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Cozy murder not guaranteed.
  • Author and bookshop owner Ann Patchett talks about what she’s doing to help her employees weather the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Art historian and writer Anne Louise Avery posts mini-stories on her Twitter account that are so sweet and poignant, like this one:

  • Bookish podcast of the week: We loved the book The Warehouse by Rob Hart; it would make an excellent quarantine read, BTW. In this episode of the Writer’s Bone podcast, Rob Hart talks about writing his uncomfortably prescient novel.

  • Travel podcast of the week: This episode of the Guardian Books Podcast combines travel and books. The hosts talk to Toby Ferris about his search for the 42 surviving paintings by Dutch master painter Pieter Bruegel. It’s a virtual trip to London, Vienna, Detroit, and more.

More Sweden Goodies

The podcast episode we released this week is called Sweden: So Happy, So Murdery. We recommended so many great books and talked about the cool stuff that makes Sweden special. As always, the show notes page is a treasure trove of entertainment. Here are a few more diverting links about Sweden:

  • And finally, according to this Twitter user, you can get your IKEA name by spelling your name backward and putting an umlaut over the first vowel. That makes me Näwluoj, and David becomes Syërhpmuh. Share yours in comments!

May your imagination roam the world while the rest of you stays safely at home.

Top image courtesy of Toa Heftiba.

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Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week: a day in the life of a bookseller, virtual garden tours, literary paper dolls, Britain's naughtiest dogs, Scottish Highlands, and more.
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got the best hangouts in Chicago, streaming shows from UK National Theater, a short story from Andrew Sean Greer, and more.
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got Weeki Wachee mermaids, cozy British villages, the Save Our Bookstores app, Irish Gothic novels, the cats of Istanbul & more.

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