Nat'l French Fry Day, Dua Lipa's Library, Ferries, Dangerous Books & More: Endnotes 10 July

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.

Call ‘em french fries, pommes frites, or chips, I think we can all agree: Strips of potato cooked to crispy perfection, tossed with salt, and dunked in something creamy/sweet/spicy are one of humans’ highest achievements. National Geographic tries to answer the question: Are french fries truly French? As with all iconic recipes, there is a rousing debate about where French fries originated. Was it in Belgium (where villagers fried potatoes when they ran out of fish), or in France (where 18th-century street vendors sold fried potatoes on Paris’ Pont Neuf), or even in Spain (the first Europeans to encounter the South American potato… hola, patatas bravas!) The History of Things serves up a two-part exploration of the history of the french fry: part 1, part 2. Did you know there are some places you get fresh hot fries from a vending machine? To eat them closer to home, here’s chef Frank Proto from Epicurious with his method for homemade. Or let someone else make them for you! Chefs ranked frozen fries and fast food options. Atlas Obscura did us all a favor by categorizing dipping sauces (creamy, ketchup, powder, vinegar, and more), and Food Republic shared recipes for 5 insane dipping sauces for fries. (Hello, sriracha-peanut!) Finally, I recommend my (healthy, but still crazy-delicious) recipe for Nigerian Beef Street Fries.

• Read about the time Agatha Christie tried to solve the real-life murder of Charles Bravo. ‘In 1968, in a rare letter published in The Sunday Times Magazine, Agatha Christie presented her own conclusion on the case. She wrote: I think it was Doctor Gully who killed Charles Bravo. I’ve always felt he was the only person who had an overwhelming motive and who was the right type: exceedingly competent, successful, and always considered above suspicion.’

• Dua Lipa’s ‘Dance the Night’ is my go-to song for a dance break when I’m working (video) — I respect that she’s a book lover, too. In his recent post about her new library, Ron Charles wrote, ‘The experience, so carefully designed and controlled, is strangely beautiful, a reminder of how fortunate we are and how much we have to lose if these books are someday available only in a guarded basement for paying customers.’

• Based on its title, I was ready to be enraged as I read this essay, but I agree with the recommendations! How — and Why — to Cull Your Book Collection.

• Your bookshelf probably needs one of these miniature, battery-operated lamps asap. (There’s a little ghost, too.)

• Dave and I love a good ferry ride. Maybe you do, too? From Roadbook: Our Favourite European Ferry Routes. ‘Porthole windows, bow and stern, tumbling waves and foamy trails, viewed from a breezy open deck with salty air; tightly packed cars in the rumbling belly of the ship. Ferries evoke a bygone era of slow sea travel, where romanticism, simplicity, and practical transportation intersect.’

• Another fun way to think about slow(er) travel: 13 Stopover Flights to Help You Get the Most Out of International Airfare. ‘Usually booked as an extended layover, stopover flights can range anywhere from 24 hours all the way up to 10 days. Did we mention they’re free to add on to your itinerary?’ We took advantage of a stopover on Iceland Air one time, and it was a blast.

• There’s a magical garden in France called Moulin Jaune that’s taken over by artists every year and turned into a wonderland. It’s only open at limited times, and it sorta defies description. From the website, ‘The house, the garden and every single day at this ancient watermill are filled with theatrical happenings and celebration of spectacle and imagination. In the colorful gardens around the Mill, one will find enchanting fairy tales, outsider art, and Felliniesque circus.’ Enjoy the photos — and here’s a video in English.

• Yes, I think I do want to try traveling as a 19th-century Arctic explorer:

• Another link I clicked on so quickly: These Indiana Jones-Inspired Adventures Whisk You Across the Americas in a Modified 1940s Turboprop. (Because this is my fantasy of ideal travel.)

• This is lovely! A review of Andrew Sean Greer’s new book Villa Coco and a recipe to go along. (If you like pairing books and food, explore our archive of Food and Fiction posts.)

• Two goodies for our Jane Austen fans: The Comics Journal looks at Two Recent Jane Austen Graphic Biographies and LitHub explores How Jane Austen Blew a Hole Through the Romance Genre She Created.

• Well, this is irresistible! ‘A brief tour through the manuscripts that were locked up, burned, buried, and occasionally used as evidence at a trial.’

• Was Beatrix Potter the original queen of cottagecore?

• And why does this hill have eyes?! (Don’t worry, it’s cute! Not this.)

• News you can use! There’s a lovely Mary Cassatt exhibit at the National Gallery in Washington, DC, until 30 August. ‘Some 40 paintings, drawings, and prints—largely drawn from our rich holdings of her work—show an artist shaped by tradition yet radically modern.’

• I keep stumbling across mentions of the new novel Man Overboard by Kathleen Rooney, which she describes as ‘a dark comedy — kind of a beach read about a guy who has no beach…the story of a 33-year-old dude from Nebraska, a former college swimmer named Kick Kilpatrick, who falls (or jumps?) into the Gulf of Mexico while on a Thanksgiving cruise with his extended family and then has to spend the next 20 or so hours treading water and hoping to be rescued.’ I’m excited to read it! Here’s the author’s list of recommended books about being stranded at sea, and a music playlist for her book.

Happy Fry-Yay!

Top image courtesy of Magnus Jonasson/Unsplash+.