Switzerland, Musical Austen, Futuristic Libraries, Tbilisi Murals & More: Endnotes 10 November

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.

It may look like a still from a Wes Anderson film, but that’s the entrance to the newly-renovated Drei Berge Hotel in the Swiss Alps. Wallpaper has the story (and more beautiful photos) of the revamped rooms and restaurant: ‘The historic mountaintop Hotel Drei Berge has been reinvigorated under the creative eye of Ramdane Touhami as a dream-like retreat that blurs past and present.’ The rooms are comfy with ‘great beds,’ and the food in the cozy bistro is the perfect refuel after a mountain hike (fried trout and chips! caccio e pepe with four Swiss cheeses!). The hotel is in the village of Mürren, with gorgeous hiking trails right out the front door and stunning views of three peaks: Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. Draped in snow in winter and wreathed in flowers in the summer, there’s plenty to keep you occupied in Mürren — including a ride on the Schilthorn Gondola.

• Fancy a murder mystery evening? This online course from Atlas Obscura will teach you how to write your own murder mystery party, or take a ride on one of these seven murder mystery trains. (Try it all in your imagination with Dick Francis’ novel The Edge.

• Somewhat related: The Five Best Dick Francis Books.

• Books are pretty spectacular on their own, but if you want to pretty up your bookshelves, here are some pro design tips. ‘It’s always nice to have a cohesive color palette with your shelf styling pieces, but I would advise resisting the impulse to be overly matchy. Ultimately, the best way to make your shelves pop is to fill them with items that are meaningful and tell a story, so don’t shy away from quirky picks that represent your personality.’

• 5 Big Travel Lessons and One ‘Mistake’ From 50 Years of Lonely Planet. (WaPo gift link)

• This is charming and funny: How To Take an Author Photo. ‘Maybe you committed a murder like the one in your novel. Maybe you didn’t.’

• Daydreaming about a winter getaway? Here are European cities perfect for a winter weekend break and 35 winter wonderlands around the world.

• Take a peek inside the world’s 15 most futuristic libraries. ‘In these modern versions, you’ll find dynamic tools and spaces, from podcast recording studios to game development labs. Robotic book-retrieval systems have made way for communal spaces punctuated with art, turning the library into a social sphere.’

• Irresistible headline: How to Fall Down a Rabbit Hole. ‘This syllabus outlines and offers a toolkit for the proverbial fall, including prompts for wandering, observing, following, considering, meeting the edge, falling, and finding.’

• Watch actor David Tennant recite a bit of Macbeth to honor the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio.

• Treat yourself to this review of the new book The Darcy Myth: Jane Austen, Literary Heartthrobs, and the Monsters They Taught Us to Love from our pal Elizabeth Held (author of the excellent What to Read If newsletter).

• Related! Did you know there are musical adaptations of Jane Austen’s works you can stream for free? Here’s Emma and Pride and Prejudice. Sense and Sensibility is coming soon.

• Irresistible headline, take 2: I Bought a Haunted Bookshop.

• This street art in Georgia’s Tbilisi Mural Fest is pretty awesome.

• Care to join us for a cocktail at the beautiful Restaurant Mistinguett in Paris? It’s serving ‘drama, intrigue, and glamour.’

• Here’s a bittersweet story: Sealed French Love Letters Read for the First Time in 265 Years. ‘Getting access to the writings of women, especially sailors’ wives, is exceptional. This allows us to glimpse at their emotions, fear, anxiety, anger, jealousy, as well as their faith or the key role they played in the running of the household while their husband, son, or brother was absent.’

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 Future by Naomi Alderman and Watership Down: The Graphic Novel by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin. Then Amy from The Perks of Being a Book Lover podcast recommends Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl adaptations on Netflix. [transcript]

Links

• The Future by Naomi Alderman

• Visit NaomiAlderman.com and Naomi on Instagram

• Naomi Alderman: ‘A writer’s job is courage. You’ve got to be as honest as you can.’

• REAMDE and Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

• Watership Down: The Graphic Novel by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin

• A New Graphic Novel Version of ‘Watership Down’ Aims to Temper Darkness With Hope

We’re delighted to have Amy, co-host of The Perks of Being a Book Lover podcast, as our guest to share her ‘Distraction of the Week.

• Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl shorts on Netflix

• Meet the ‘Little Company’ Cast of Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl Short Films

• Listen to The Perks of Being a Book Lover podcast

• The Perks of Being a Book Lover on Instagram

• Our appearance on The Perks of Being a Book Lover

May your tea be just the right temperature and your book unputdownable.

Top image courtesy of Drei Berge Hotel.