Australian Library, Street Cats, Literary Translators & More: Endnotes 13 November

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.

The book lovers’ room above is the Mortlock Wing of the State Library of South Australia in Adelaide. It opened in 1884 with a collection of 23,000 books and a staff of three. Now it houses extensive rare books and children’s literature research collections, materials related to the culture of South Australia, and resources for genealogical research. The library is open to the public and hosts exhibits throughout the year. There’s also a free walking tour app that connects items in the collection to the surrounding city of Adelaide. The Mortlock building is a beautiful example of French Renaissance architecture with a mansard roof. Inside, there are two galleries, balconies, a glass-domed roof to let in natural light, and so many gilt finishings. It’s no surprise Travel + Leisure named it one of the 20 most beautiful libraries in the world. {more}

• Books in translation are our love language. Here are 7 literary translators you need to know. ‘[T]hat’s how translations should always be sold, I think: as fantastic reads, just like any other book.’

• Have you heard of the Staunch Book Prize? It was founded in 2018 by British screenwriter Bridget Lawless to recognize the best thriller ‘in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered.’ The BBC talks to writers about why female characters are so often the victims of violence - and whether that needs to change.

• 25 surprising travel facts. Example: Banana is a popular pizza topping in Sweden.

• Such a treat! This Los Angeles Times Festival of Books panel features Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan — authors of The Royal We (which we loved) — and Kevin Kwan (Crazy Rich Asians) in conversation with novelist and essayist Jade Chang. Romance! Scandals! Laughter! This panel has everything.

• I’m not sure I agree with every pick on this A-Z list of classics, but I’m happy to see all those Brontë and Austen titles.

• No introduction needed: Top 10 books about books, via The Guardian.

• I enjoyed this article about how to sharpen your ‘noticing’ skills while traveling so much, I bought the book The Art of Noticing.

• Who can resist photos of street cats around the world?

• Awesome event alert: The Museum of Food and Drink is hosting Harvesting Flavor: How Your Favorite Spices Travel from Farm to Table. The founders of the spice company Burlap & Barrel will discuss the mysteries of growing and harvesting spices and give a tour of their pepper farm in Vietnam.

• If you’re a fan of Victorian literature, you might want to get in on this Kickstarter to publish a ‘lost’ Victorian novel called Rachel Gray. Written by Julia Kavanagh in 1856, it’s a sort of coming-of-age story; it addresses family, love, and social inequalities that drove working-class families apart.

• Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca is way better than the latest film adaptation, but I have to admit, these nine film locations are pretty stunning.

• Take a brief music break in this cotton candy world:

• Bookish podcast of the week: Smart Podcast, Trashy Books is all about romance novels. In this episode, the hosts talk to Dr. Hilary Freeman, author of Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America, about pageants, notions of beauty, pop culture, and where the worlds of pageantry and romance overlap.

• Travel podcast of the week: It’s always so soothing and inspiring to check in with Rick Steves. In this episode, he takes us on a virtual trip to Hungary, Latin America, and Galicia, Spain.

Wishing you peace and adventures in equal measure.

Top image courtesy of Fidel Fernando/Unsplash.