Schilthorn, Tiny Books, Moomins, Writing Police Reports & More: Endnotes 03 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.

That chilly vista above is the Schilthorn, a summit in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland that sits 9744 feet (2970 m) above sea level. To get to the top, you ride a series of cable cars, including the Schilthorn Gondola. After you take in the views, you can visit the Piz Gloria restaurant. These photos of the restaurant are equal parts dreamy and cheesy. The restaurant revolves 360 degrees in 45 minutes; that’s slightly faster than the hands of a clock. If you’re a James Bond fan, you might know this spot. It was featured in the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and involved a white-knuckle ski run down the mountain. Video evidence here.

• How fab! Some people dream in foreign languages.

• If you only read one thing in Endnotes today, make it this. It’s a surprisingly moving, instructive essay about how police reports are written.

• Need some podcast recommendations? The team at Modern Mrs. Darcy and What Should I Read Next? podcast have excellent ideas.

• 10 Novels That Take Place In A Single Day. There are so many great books on this list; I’m leaning toward The Dinner by Herman Koch and Party Going by Henry Green.

• Or maybe you’d prefer a fast read? 10 of the best very short books from the Booker Prizes library.

• Félix Nadar was a 19th-century photographer, and in 1900, at the age of 80 (!), he published his memoir. Here’s an excerpt about his trip into the Paris caracombs.

• The Guardian lists 23 great travel ideas for 2023.

• Get your fix of all things Moomin! ‘The books [by Tove Jansson] are about a community of trolls living in the magical Moominvalley, whose adventures illustrate themes including kindness, respect for nature, tolerance, friendship, and courage.’

• There are so many great podcasts now, it’s impossible to keep up with all the good stuff. Happily, there are people like Devin — creator of the Podstack newsletter — who listens to lots of shows so they can tell us about the good ones. We were delighted to be included in her recent recommendations.

• Dave and I just purchased this course on how to make tiny books. The books are so cute and the course is only about ten bucks.

• Tor.com weighs in on the five coolest (and occasionally terrifying) sci-fi/fantasy jobs. ‘I’ve always imagined myself as a bookish innkeeper, welcoming bards to perform chill medieval tunes in my tavern while patrons read by candlelight and enjoy vittles and charcuterie… the typical jobs described in fantasy and sci-fi books tend to be much more harrowing than the peaceful, tavern-running life of my daydreams.’

• Have you ever wished for the ability to slow down time? This essay argues there’s a trick we an all use to do just that. (Spoiler: It’s travel.)

• Our pretend travel godfather is Rick Steves; if you like Strong Sense of Place, you can send a mental thanks to him for making us so eager to see the world. He has a new book Italy for Food Lovers — and this Q&A with him is quintessential Rick Steves.

• My favorite shoes are black stompy boots but that does not mean I’m immune to the allure of a good romcom. So I’m excited to be contributing to Meet Cute Missives, a new essay collection about romcoms, what they mean to us, and why they matter. The topics range from Elinor Lipman’s early novels (that’s mine!) to fat representation in romcoms. Other contributors include Amy Tector (author of the upcoming Speak for the Dead), Elizabeth Held (creator of What To Read If newsletter), Jessica Pryde (a writer for BookRiot), and more. It all starts in 14 March. Sign up here — it’s free!

• Treat yourself to this audioletter about trains that combines oral storytelling and an excellent playlist of songs about trains from The Clash, Doobie Brothers, Tom Waits, and more.

New Episode of The Library of Lost Time

In each mini-podcast episode, we discuss two books 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 books: Weyward by Emilia Hart and Psych: The Story of the Human Mind by Paul Bloom. Then Dave tells the story a recently solved code that reveals new secrets about a famous Queen. [transcript]

Links

• In this video, Emilia Hart shares three books that inspired her writing.

• Paul Bloom’s TED talks

• Decoded Secret Letters Reveal Royal Plot Against Queen Elizabeth I.

• From Cryptologia: Deciphering Mary Stuart’s Lost Letters from 1578-1584

WORDS.

Top image courtesy of Leila Azevedo/Unsplash.