Big Cedar Lake, Vintage Cookbooks, Beautiful Oases, Goreyesque Names & More: Endnotes 02 September

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 dreamy shot above is of Big Cedar Lake in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada. During the summer, two pairs of ospreys and a few Canada Geese make their home on the shore. During the winter, the lake freezes over and turns into a hockey rink overseen by a herd of deer roaming the local forest. And year-round, it’s a great place to go fishing for pan and sport fish like bass (both the small- and bigmouth variety), walleye, and yellow perch. Or you can just take a seat on the dock, enjoy the stars, and contemplate the wonder of the universe. Explore Kawartha Lakes.

• Beloved author Angela Carter is best known for her feminist fairy tales, including Nights at the Circus and The Bloody Chamber. But in October 1966, she wrote this remarkable review of a concert by The Who for The London Magazine.

• The Case for Loving Vintage Cookbooks. ‘These cookbooks weren’t about culinary one-upmanship; they were about practicality. They showed home cooks how to be thrifty and courageous, which is one of the most important lessons most of us never learn.’

• International Council of Museums (ICOM) met in Prague recently. One of its tasks was to write a new definition of the word museum. Happily, it now includes terms like ‘accessibility,’ ‘inclusivity,’ ‘diversity,’ and ‘community’ — and the headline on the article uses the word eschew. What’s better than that?! Carefully Worded Definition of ‘Museum’ Eschews Neutrality.

• No biggie. It’s just a 450-year-old pop-up book.

• Yes, you do want to look at 9 of the world’s most beautiful oases. BRB, going to Wadi Bani Khalid in Oman.

• Last week, we were all about Istanbul cats. This week, we’re in love with the dogs of Kars, Turkey.

• Some practical travel tips: how not to be an ‘ugly’ tourist and — I hope you never need this one, but just in case — what to do if an airline loses your luggage.

• This is magical:

• The Alma Nomad Bakery in Madrid is just one of the reasons we’re going to Spain soon. In this profile, they talk about what inspired the move from Budapest to Madrid and their baking philosophy. The photos of the shop and pastries might make you swoon.

• Teas to Pair with Your Favorite British Classics. So many new-to-me teas!

• We at SSoP HQ are very excited about Stephen King’s new novel Fairy Tale, and I talked about my love for Joyland on this episode of the What Should I Read Next? podcast. If you’re shy about King’s work, here’s some advice on where to start, including his non-horror works.

• Have you signed up for the new newsletter Notes from Three Pines yet?! It’s a fanzine on substack inspired by Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache novels. The essays will celebrate all the things we readers love about Inspector Gamache and Three Pines. I’m writing an installment about the strong sense of place that Penny weaves into her stories. You can sign up for the free newsletter right here.

• This is beautiful writing about what the food of home means to us. Just read it; trust me.

• Hello! Nice to meet you. My name is The Illegitimate Ambuscade.

New Episode of The Library of Lost Time

In each mini-podcast episode, we discuss two 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.

This time, we get excited about two new book releases: these are the words by Nikita Gill and Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney. Then Dave explains the delightful tradition of newcomers to Newfoundland being ScreechedIn. [transcript]

Links

• Nikita Gill on Twitter and Instagram.

• Newfoundland Screech on Wikipedia and on Atlas Obscura.

• The photo above is from this excellent article in the Global News.

• Our podcast episode about Atlantic Canada: For There Blow Some Cold Nor’westers on the Banks of Newfoundland

• Enjoy these two videos — one at Christian’s Pub and the other from an RV tour.

• Finally, video of Conan O’Brian getting ScreechedIn by Natasha Henstridge.

Why not just call yourself by a funny name for a day?!

Top image courtesy of Ethan Richardson/Unsplash.