Memphis, Home Libraries, Ice Skating, City Nicknames, Ron Charles & More: Endnotes 21 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.

That flying roller skate above soars over Skateland on Summer Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee — although the skating rink was closed by a fire in 2006 after 51 years of rockin’ tunes, flashing lights, and spinning wheels. Its motto? ‘Roller Skate for Health.’ At one point, those words were spelled out in enormous neon letters along the roofline. The photo above was taken by Mike Matin, perhaps inspired by American photographer Christian Patterson. In 2005, Patterson completed Sound Affects, a collection of photos that explored Memphis as a musical and visual place. Here’s a video flip-through of the book — and images from a gallery exhibition; more photos here. You can no longer skate at Skateland, but there are plenty of fun reasons to put Memphis on your must-visit list. The New York Times has ideas for 36 hours in Memphis, and The Times called it America’s most fun city. Here are 12 things the locals want to you know before you visit — and these are the activities a frequent visitor to the city recommends.

• Ron Charles, book critic for the Washington Post, is one of my most trusted sources for great reads. He’s kind, empathetic, articulate, and very funny. He was recently a guest on the _Morse Code+ podcast, where he talked about St. Louis, life in Washington, DC, the state of publishing, and books, books, books. Available on audio and video. (Also, if you don’t subscribe to his wonderful Friday newsletter, get on that!)

• Have you ever read A Month in the Country by JL Carr? I haven’t (yet), but it keeps popping up on my radar. This essay makes he case for reading it. ‘As a short novel by an otherwise obscure author, with few characters and few events, A Month in the Country practically exudes minorness. For me, though, much of the novel’s appeal lies in the way it combines this seeming modesty with an interest in big questions, even Big Questions: What—if anything—gives a life meaning? What makes it worth living? How have the answers to these questions changed over time?’

• The furor over Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights is endlessly amusing — as is this: 18 Thoughts I Had While Watching the Beautiful and Strange Wuthering Heights Trailer. My favorite bit might be this (disqualifying) admission: ‘I’ve not read it, but as far as I know, it is not considered a staple of pirate literature.’ and, later, ‘Again, I’ve never read the source material…’ It all made me laugh and groan at the same time.

• Yes, please, I would love to go skating on 6 of the most beautiful natural ice rinks around the world.

• ‘In Spain, when someone makes something very good they say they have the hands of a nun.’ A sweet account of the cookies made by nuns in Spain.

• Where are my Shetland fans? 20 Years of Jimmy Perez.

• House & Garden has ideas about home libraries — and/but you can just enjoy the pretty pictures.

• Treat yourself to this sharp essay about Costco, family ties, nostalgia, and belonging. ‘While my parents and their friends peruse the enormous [Costco] shelves, I prowl the sample stands. This is one of the only times I get to eat American food. My parents don’t patronize American restaurants out of a combination of fear and disdain… I make a beeline for the old ladies in hairnets doling out cut-up Hot Pockets or lone nachos with salsa. More than anything, I lust after the microwavable cheese-filled pierogies. Trash food, my mother calls them. I tell her that I aspire to be a trash can.’

• A cute videogame about soup!

• From Wuthering Heights to Frankenstein, 7 Gripping, Must-Read Gothic Fiction Books. This is a very good Gothic starter pack!

• Whoa! Kind of nightmare fuel, and I love it (?!). Black-and-white photos of costumes from the 1862 Fairytale Ball of the Jung-München Artist’s Association. Many more photos here.

• This is a really nice essay about a really nice idea. It features the magical phrase, ‘Popsicle Hotline.’

• Quiz: How well do you know city nicknames around the world? I got 9/14.

• Ooooh, the Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, looks so nice! 5 Destination Restaurants in Historic U.S. Buildings.

• Definitely going to this: Wes Anderson: The Archives. ‘Pays tribute to the American film director’s career – expect props and puppets aplenty in this comprehensive London retrospective.’

Wishing you a bit of whimsy.

Top image courtesy of Mika Matin.