Montenegro, Wedding Thrillers, New Orient Express, Cussing History & More: Endnotes 12 August

Montenegro, Wedding Thrillers, New Orient Express, Cussing History & More: Endnotes 12 August

Friday, 12 August, 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.

rule

That soothing shot above was taken in Montenegro, a small country in the Balkans on the Adriatic Sea. It’s got just about everything you could want in an Eastern European getaway: majestic mountains, cozy villages with orange-tiled roofs, and stunning beaches — plus all the activities that go along with the terrain, like hiking and mountain climbing, swimming, snorkeling, boating, and relaxing. I’m currently daydreaming about going to this eco-village for reading, hiking, and local cuisine — and here’s a list of the 20 best things to see and do in Montenegro. You’ll definitely want to put your eyes on this video.

  • Is the ‘thriller set at a wedding’ genre the best genre for summer reading? This book list can help you decide.

  • For 20 years, a book club in Buenos Aires has been reading and discussing just one book: Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. ‘They have gone beyond being mere fans or memorizers into forming an intimate link with the novel, and by extension with each other… They speak of the characters as if they are old friends — and since they’ve spent decades rereading, they could easily have a closer and more in-depth understanding of these fictional beings than many people might have of real humans.’

  • This is timely: The history of amusements parks in images.

  • You’re probably familiar with the novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, but did you know that author Patricia Highsmith also wrote comics?

  • Famous Authors Share Their Favorite US Bookstores.

  • Meanwhile, at Prague Castle:

 
 
  • Two Prague-related stories: It’s been twenty years since a devastating flood damaged the city; the photos in this blog post are really something. And this is an excellent article about The Lobkowicz Museum near Prague Castle. (It’s one of our favorites because the audio tour is fantastic, the café has a patio with breathtaking views, and a handwritten manuscript by Beethoven is right there in the collection.)

  • How do you feel about these travel posters designed by AI?! The travel company Stasher fed an AI tool ‘the country and the tourism slogan. The rest was up to them.’

  • The Brontë Parsonage Museum — home of the writing sisters — in Haworth, England, opened in August 1928. These two newspaper reports from the time are a retro delight. ‘The first time, we are told, never comes back, and the present writer will not soon forget his sensations on seeing for the first time, and so suddenly, the home of the Brontës.’

  • Music is one of our favorite ways to create a sense of place in our own podcast, so we were pretty excited to learn about the new podcast Sound of our Town. Each episode explores a different city through its music, from ‘the best venues and tales of local heroes, to the neighborhoods and communities where new styles thrive.’

 

It’s time for a dance break.

Top image courtesy of Pink_colibri/Unsplash.

Want to keep up with our book-related adventures? Sign up for our newsletter!

keep reading

Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got the history of rainbows, authentic Mongolian food, inspiring stuff left in library books, new novels in translation, and more.
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got playful European travel maps, the Egg Mayo Protection Association, an emergency champagne phone, awesome book lists, and more.
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got an over-the-top reading journal, underrated European cities, the romance of Elinor Glyn, uncanny Daphne du Maurier, and more.

sharing is caring!

Can you help us? If you like this article, share it your friends!

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.