Glamping, Extremely Long Paragraphs, QWERTYFEST, Retro Photos & More: Endnotes 14 July

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.

This enchanting glamping dome is in the forest of the Gorbeia Natural Park (Parque Natural del Gorbea) in the Basque Country of northern Spain, near the Pyrenees mountains. Basque Country is defined by its strong cultural traditions, delicious cuisine, and a language that’s been around so long it pre-dates the Romance languages. Here are 10 fun facts about Basque culture — and 9 incredible places to go glamping in Spain. If you want to visit the beautiful green, hiking wonderland of Gorbeia Natural Park, you’ll find all the info you need here and here. And if a trip to Spain isn’t on your calendar right now, here’s the Afar list of 15 best glamping retreats and the 7 best glamping sites for budget savvy travelers.

• I’d never heard of the novel The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield, but now this essay from The Washington Post (gift link) has me convinced I need to read it this summer. ‘Diary of a Provincial Lady … makes for ideal summer reading. Delafield’s light, delicate humor acts like a balm on ruffled spirits, providing a welcome, and often much-needed, respite from our troublous times.’

• Confession: Extremely Long Paragraphs (ELP) wear me out. This piece — Technology, Attention, and the Extremely Long Paragraph — dives into the origins of ELPs and what they have to do with technology. ‘Since the ELP allows no explicit division between ideas on the page, it asks that the reader take an active role in making their own decisions about where one idea ends and another begins.’

• From Gasto Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter, a Q&A about airfield restaurants — small diners found in the middle of airport runways.

• What do tartan plaid, the world’s oldest palm tree, a cloned sheep, and a 500-year-old necklace have in common? They’re among the 101 objects that tell the story of Edinburgh, Scotland.

• If you’re a fan of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, you’ll love the new podcast Wilder that explores the author’s life and legacy.

• This list of 10 magical and memorable bookstores around the world includes a few I hadn’t seen before.

• This essay about a collection of mid-20th-century vacation photos is well worth your time. The photos are fantastic; the story tugs at the heart.

• From Modern Mrs. Darcy: 20 novels set in cold places. Just add an icy drink, and you’re on you’re way to cool.

• You need to read about Milwaukee’s celebration of typewriters called QWERTYFEST. Did you know there’s a Typewriter Orchestra?!

• New Extinct Species of ‘Ridiculously Cute’ Tiny Penguins Discovered in New Zealand.

• The novel Trust by Hernan Diaz was longlisted for the Booker and won the Pulitzer Prize. The paperback is out now, and in this interview, he talks about adapting his story for a film with Kate Winslet. (I’m reading this right now and loving it.)

• Fun! Stencils of iconic landmarks in London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Tokyo, and more.

• Tips for Being a Responsible, Respectful Traveler. ‘Being a responsible traveler is going to a place with the mindset that you are going to treat it as your home and leave it better than you found it.’

• Esquire sent napkins to ten writers they love and invited them to write short stories. V.E. Schwab! Carmen Maria Machado! Emily St. John Mandel! Here are the excellent/dark/poignant results.

Hope your summer reading is going swimmingly.

Top image courtesy of Jon Chica/Shutterstock.