Constanta Casino, Future Library, Leaf Sheep, Reading Gargoyles & More: Endnotes 08 July

Constanta Casino, Future Library, Leaf Sheep, Reading Gargoyles & More: Endnotes 08 July

Friday, 8 July, 2022

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.

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That shabby chic building above is the Constanța Casino in Constanța, Romania. It looms above the Black Sea, flaunting its Art Nouveau style and inspiring daydreams of glam evenings of the past. Opened in 1910, the casino was a gambling mecca until it was bombed during WWI by Bulgarian and German forces and, during WWII, was transformed into a wartime hospital. Since then, it’s been a community center, a restaurant, and abandoned. In 2008, it played a starring role in the caper film The Brothers Bloom. (Armchair travelers should note the movie also features gorgeous scenery in Belgrade, Serbia; Greece, Montenegro, Prague, and a glorious steamship.) As charming as the crumbling casino looks now — here are photos of the interior — you’ll be happy to know it’s currently under renovation. We can only hope we’ll be attending a masquerade ball there someday soon.

vintage photo of cbgb in new york city

 
 
 

crafty handmade books

 

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New Episode of The Library of Lost Time

In each 5-minute show, we talk about two new book releases at the top of our TBR, then share a fun book- or travel-related distraction. Get all the episodes and books galore here.

In this episode, we get excited about two new book releases: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher and The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey. Then we explore the delightfully retro world of Thomas Allen’s pulp fiction art.

Books
Distraction of the Week
 

Wishing you a book so good you want to jump into it.

Top image courtesy of Luca Arsinel/Shutterstock.

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Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got the meaning of food in Cyrano de Bergerac, Lay's around the world, a very unusual book, a Library of Congress visit, and more.
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got famous authors annotating their novels, climate change info via comics, Hilary Mantel's fave books, a summery essay, and more.
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got a sonnet about Anne Frank, the train from Marseille to Berlin, travelogue cookbooks, a love letter to bookshelves, and more.

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