Arctic Football, Dorian Gray, Fog, Treehouses, Historical Dramas & More: Endnotes 07 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.

In the tiny fishing village of Henningsvær — in Norway’s Lofoten islands — the only thing preventing a football from careening straight into the Norwegian Sea is a bit of luck and the border of metamorphic rocks (some of the oldest rocks in northern Europe, coming in at roughly 3 billions years old). Henningsvær Stadion is located above the Arctic Circle and is the second-most northern football pitch in the world. (The northernmost is Cathy Parker Field in Barrow, Alaska). The Henningsvær Stadion can hold about 500 spectators, although there are no bleachers; football fans stand on a paved path that borders the pitch. Who needs a seat when the view is so spectacular?! Watch this excellent (short) BBC Sports video for a bird’s-eye view of the scenery; more photos here. Beyond football, Henningsvær is a special place — and the Lofoten archipelago is a fantastic place to hike, ski, and eat worldclass seafood and lamb. Here are 10 reasons to visit Lofoten and 16 must-do activities in the islands.

• I’m equal parts skeptical of and delighted by fashion’s interest in literature. ‘From Miu Miu to Valentino to Saint Laurent, fashion houses are falling over themselves to cosy up to literature. Meanwhile, an edgy live reading scene is taking over London nightlife. Is reading fiction really cooler than ever? Or is it all just another performative fad?’

• This is an insightful explanation of why Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde continues to be relevant. ‘It should not be surprising that in an Ozempic-obsessed culture fixated on remaining youthful, readers today respond to Dorian’s wish for eternal youth.’ Come for the Gothic vibes, stay for the social commentary.

• Two great book-related Substacks collide in this interview post: Matthew from Beyond the Bookshelf talks to Simon Haisell of Footnotes and Tangents, where you can join fantastic slow-read groups for Wolf Hall, War and Peace, and more.

• Dave and I have taken online classes with artist Lucia Leyfield before; her website. it’s great because you do the class at your own pace — and her classes are fun, easy to follow, and result in very, very cute paper trinkets that are fun to keep or give to favorite people. She just announced a new class to make a ‘layered tunnel book,’ which is so pretty. Click here for more info on that and her other classes.

• We hosted our Readers’ Weekends at Trevor Hall in October, and Shayne from Shayne’s Bookish News was kind enough to write about her experience.

• This is a lovely essay about the magic of fog. ‘Fog. Sly stuff, very difficult to grasp in every way. Although replete with wonder, it has its dualities and duplicities.’

• Sort of related: A lyrical exploration of the cycle of changing seasons. ‘Every year at this time, I wish that time would stop, that this season would go on forever. But I know that it can’t be so, that the earth must keep turning, which makes these days all the sweeter. I write these days down so I can remember.’

• The Epic and Gothic Locations of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.

• Must-read of the week: This essay about a particular shade of green has dopplegangers, gardens, Charles Darwin, knighthood, Edward Hopper, and author Gillian Flynn.

• Oooh, I want to run away with a great read to any/all of the treehouses in this new book.

• The Gypsy Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. ‘For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.’ — Robert Louis Stevenson in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes.

• Do you like peeking at other people’s to-do lists and doodles? This online exhibit from the Smithsonian is for you.

• British period drama fans, assemble! 15 dreamiest, most romantic British rural love stories on screen, 7 best BBC miniseries of all time, and finally, why we love period drama. ‘[F]rom where I’m sitting on the sofa, balancing a bowl of popcorn on an increasingly rotund belly, the truth feels more sinister: we love period drama because we love scandal.’

• These miniature interiors are delightful.

• The hills of Vermont are still alive with the sound of music! The last living Von Trapp child still helps run the family resort in the mountains of New England.

Hope this November is treating you kindly.

Top image courtesy of Jan Jirásek.