Lemonade, Best Summer Books, London Hotel, Wilkie Collins, Ischia Italy & More: Endnotes 27 June

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.

Much of the globe is hot and humid right now, so it’s the ideal time to explore the tart-sweet magic of an icy glass of lemonade. The combination of water, sugar, and lemons is a classic — here’s a simple recipe from The Kitchn to get you started. If you want to get creative, the book Lemonade with Zest features 40 variations with the addition of herbs (basil! mint!) and spices (cardamom! cumin!), an egg white to make it frothy, and even coffee. Where and when did the lemonade craze begin? How Stuff Works delves into the history of lemonade and the YouTube channel Tasting History with Max Miller explores The Sweet History of Lemonade. When life hands you lemons…

• I try to keep these Friday links entertaining, but sometimes I need to share important things. Carla Hayden was the first woman and the first African American to lead the US National Library as the Librarian of Congress. (Only 14 Americans have ever held this position.) On May 8, 2025, two days after she had given testimony to the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on House Administration, she was abruptly fired by President Trump. Via e-mail. In this video, she talks to PBS about the vital role the Library of Congress plays in the United States.

• I enjoy a good scare from Stephen King, but I like his emotional, non-horror stories even more. ‘The Life of Chuck’: Stephen King Tale Inspires. ‘King’s novella has an unusual three-act structure that starts with a world ending, proceeds through a life-affirming dance number, and then finishes with a coming-of-age tale with a very Kinglike supernatural element.’

• Load up your summer TBR: NPR Staffers Pick Their Favorite Fiction Reads of 2025 So Far.

• Related: 24 Books to Curl Up With This Summer. ‘What’s your favorite place to read and why? For me it is the Adirondack chair on my balcony, the front porch of anyone’s house, or even by the pool with my feet dangling in the water… This summer, we are here to help you identify the perfect read for that book nook.’

• Whelp, the new suites at the Sea Containers London hotel are pretty dreamy. Nodding to the building’s maritime past, the new suites ‘draw on transatlantic travel through the decades. Each suite takes cues from, and is named after, a different design period in cabin history: Edwardian, Art Deco, Mid-century, and – a reference to 1980s maximalism – ‘Dynasty.’ The photos!

• While we’re daydreaming about luxury: The Best First Class Plane Seats That Money Can Buy.

• 8 Books About the Quiet Power of Libraries and Museums. Very excited to see a Doctor Who novelization on this list! (Along with The Shadow of the Wind.) For more, here are our podcast episodes about books set in museums and books set in libraries.

• So, this sounds pretty good. ‘Its narrative centers around Célestine, a witty young woman who works as a domestic servant in the household of the Lanlaire family. In her diary, she records the idiosyncrasies of her bourgeois employers as well as of the people around her. She is the constant object of male desire, yet she is able to use this to her own advantage. The resulting image is that of a sexually empowered and independent woman.’ Read more about The Journal of a Chambermaid, aka the ‘greatest novel you’ve never heard of.’

• Have you ever wondered Why Are Buildings in Iceland So Colorful?

• Also colorful, but with a completely different vibe, say ‘Ciao!’ to Ischia, Italy. The Ultimate Guide to Capri’s Romantic Sister Island.

• Where to Start With: Wilkie Collins. ‘Born on 8 January 200 years ago, the Victorian writer is best known for his mystery novels The Woman in White and The Moonstone. But with more than 30 books to choose from, here are some good places to begin.’ I just downloaded Armadale!

• Full disclosure: I didn’t even know this kind of thing existed. ‘In 1853, John Benjamin Dancer achieved a feat of seemingly impossible scale: he shrunk an image to the size of a sharpened pencil tip.’ Treat yourself to Dancing Naked on the Head of a Pin, an explainer about the early days of microphotography.

• Ode to the book boyfriend. ‘He’s respectful. He listens when she talks and remembers what she says. He would probably kill for her — and he would definitely die for her. Needless to say, he would not have to be begged to take out the trash. He is what romance readers call a ‘book boyfriend.’

• I’m reading Dwyer Murphy’s new novel The House on Buzzards Bay right now, and I can tell you this: It’s an excellent read-in-front-of-the-fan book. It’s set at a beach house in Massachusetts and swirls around a group of friends with simmering conflicts, secrets, and shifting alliances. The author put together a list of five other literary mysteries set in coastal Massachusett.

Wishing you a tall glass of something icy cold.

Top image courtesy of Rod Long/Unsplash.