Tenerife, Goblin Words, Paris Landmarks, Book Hoarding, Yetis & More: Endnotes 11 August

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 idyllic natural swimming pool above is found on Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa. The island is watched over by Mt. Teide, a dormant volcano, and is ringed with beaches — with sand that ranges from golden to black — and dreamy swimming spots that merge rocks and ocean in fantastical ways. Culture Trip had ideas about why you should visit Tenerife. And here are the 15 most beautiful natural pools in Tenerife along with a map and tips for how to swim safely in natural pools.

• Vocab fun! 5 Common Words With Literal Goblins Hiding Inside. ‘You’ll never look at pumpernickel the same way again.’

• Tor presents Five Tales of Aquatic Horror. ‘The sea, lakes, and rivers are common leisure spots during the warmer months of the year, but who knows what lies in wait beneath the surface? [These] five horror novels explore that very question, conjuring up scares that will turn thalassophiles into staunch thalassophobes.’ (thalassophile = someone who loves the sea)

• NPR staffers shared their recommendations for favorite summer books. I’m very tempted by The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford.

• Paris for Pros: 9 Landmarks to Visit Besides the Eiffel Tower.

• So many pretty visualizations!

• When Dave and I return from a trip, we declare at least one ‘Home Hospital’ day during which we pretend we just left the hospital and must rest, eat bland food, be quiet, and treat ourselves gently. Here are tips from Condé Nast Traveler to make your return from travel less stressful.

• A love letter to the pleasures of book hoarding.

• On a recent episode of The Library of Lost Time, Dave recommended the book The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen. The Hub recommends more weird, funny, dark children’s books that adults will enjoy.

• Meet the photography team that captures stunning images of the Smithsonian’s epic collections. (For more museum fun, listen to our podcast episode Museums: A Gathering of Muses, A Clutch of Curators.)

• In the podcast Yeti from BBC Sounds, two enthusiasts set off to discover whether the Yeti is real.

• From Merriam-Webster, a quiz about challenging words you should know. (When you click through, note that the URL says ‘fiendish vocab.’ I got 16/20.)

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: The Bookbinder by Pip Williams and Tabula Rasa, Vol 1 by John McPhee. Then Dave tells us about the fascinating work of the Long Now Foundation. [transcript]

Links

• The Bookbinder by Pip Williams

• Tabula Rasa, Vol 1 by John McPhee

• Pip Williams on the Invisible History of Female Bookbinders.

• A New Novel That Captures the ‘Poetic Materiality’ of Books.

• Our review of The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee.

• Hear Dave talk about The Crofter and the Laird in our podcast episode Scotland: Wraiths, Rebels, and Royalty.

• The Long Now Foundation website.

• The Long Now Foundation YouTube channel.

• Radical Sharing event — 23 August

• Our podcast episode Amusement Parks: Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!.

A book should be an axe to chop open the frozen sea inside us. ― J.M. Coetzee

Top image courtesy of MPPhotograph/Shutterstock.