Toronto, Ukrainian Art, Index Magic, Destination Restaurants & More: Endnotes 25 March

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.

These cheery storefronts on Queen Street in Toronto are just the kinds of places we’re delighted to find while rambling around a new-to-us city. It’s an opportunity to pretend to be a local for just a little while — and books (and food) are our favorite way to do that. Acadia Books, established in 1931 (!), buys and sells antiquarian, out-of-print, and used books. The shop is packed to the rafters with more than 10,000 books, maps, and prints. And, perhaps more importantly, bookshop cats Frodo and Pippen are in residence. Two doors down, the Seaton Butchers is a one-stop shop for all your protein needs, and the windows are a showcase of charming, hand-painted signs. This kind of signage is a disappearing art; here’s a documentary and Insta all about it. (Between Acadia and Seaton is this gem of a space that would make a lovely SSoP HQ.)

Here at SSoP HQ, we’re trying to stay informed about what’s happening in Ukraine while not falling into a pit of despair. So we’re reading a mix of news and Ukrainian art, then contributing to organizations that are helping Ukrainians. If that’s your approach, too, here are some links for you:

• LitHub has been sharing literary works from Ukraine since Russia invaded; find it all here. This collection of new poetry is very poignant.

• I mentioned this war diary by Yevgenia Belorusets last week, and/but I’m urging you again to subscribe. She’s been documenting Russia’s war against Ukraine since 2014; her writing is honest, urgent, and heartbreaking.

• These colorful illustrations from Ukrainian artist Tania Yakunova are so impactful. She’s also started a series of ceramics focused on mental health combining whimsy with melancholy.

• If you want to help Ukrainians: World Central Kitchen is feeding refugees at the borders and has partnered with restaurants inside Ukraine to get hot meals to anyone in need. You can donate to support the effort here. Poland’s Universal Reading Foundation is raising funds to put Ukrainian-language books into the hands of Ukrainian children uprooted by the Russian invasion; click here to donate.

• Electric Lit presents: 7 Novels About Maps with Hidden Secrets

• These are good tips for how to learn pronunciation in any language. ‘Your ear and your mouth can be trained, just like anything else. It doesn’t matter if you have an affinity for language learning or not, if you are “old” or “young,” or however long you have already been studying that language. Pronunciation is a physical exercise. You just need to build muscle memory and invest time and effort.’

• If you love to travel, you might think one day is enough: When Is a Vacation Long Enough to Be Worth All the Hassle?

• When you want to eat delicious food and really get away from it all… KOKS is the first Michelin-starred restaurant in the Faroe Islands, and now, it’s relocating to Greenland (!) — and The Rock restaurant in Zanzibar is perched on stilts at low tide, but becomes an island when the tide rolls in.

• My SSoP dreams come true: We got a shout-out from Occultbot.

• Yes, I too love to geek out over a good index. (Fun fact: I wrote the indexes for all of our cookbooks. Fun Fact II: The Reckoning: indexes vs. indices.)

• Wanderlust asks, How well do you really know the Middle East? I got 10/16.

• Yes, Paris is always a good idea. Here’s Rick Steves on the ‘uncomplicated romance’ of Paris.

• Related: I want (need) a novel about this Parisian detective agency. It’s been in business around the corner from the Louvre since 1913. ‘24/7 service. Total discretion.’

• Looking for new podcasts to put in your ears? The bi-weekly newsletter Podcast Gumbo recommends three shows/episodes in each edition, so you get good ideas without being overwhelmed. Its author Paul Kondo has good taste, and I look forward to its arrival every time.

• This is incredibly awesome: RadioLab has translated an episode of its podcast into American Sign Language, and the transcript can be downloaded in braille. (Did ](https://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts).)

• 100% yes to these five children’s books every adult should read.

• This is so much fun — click through to see all the pics.

• Beatrix Potter’s bunnies are very, very cute, and her other nature drawings are also quite beautiful.

• I was introduced to Hildegard of Bingen in a college class about women in music. She was sort of the JLo multi-hyphenate of the 13th century, a nun, mystic, prophet, and healer. One of her healing recipes? Cookies!

• These bamboo, beehive-shaped houses built by the Dorze people of southern Ethiopia are lovely — and they last a lifetime.

• The short story 12 Essential Makeup Tips for the Aging Ghost is a ride.

• Surprise!

May your week be all soothing images and gilded edges.

Top image courtesy of Ayman Hallak/Unsplash.