Endnotes 06 September: Poland, Best Graphic Novels, Istanbul Pastry, New Horror Fiction & More
Mel's favorite book- and travel-related links of the week
Hello, friends!
It’s still 87F here in Prague, but on my walk this morning, I noticed that the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn, and the green grass is sprinkled with a little bit of yellow-brownish leaf confetti. Let crispy leaf season commence!
Dave and I are reading books for the last few episodes of our podcast season — my imagination has been dancing the samba in Brazil and wandering the lanes of cemeteries to prepare for upcoming recording sessions.
And/but I’ve started compiling my Spooky Season TBR. I meant to keep the list manageable, but I’m terrible at culling, so it’s grown somewhat out of control. In my defense, there are a lot of new horror titles that are irresistible to me.
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison — a vampire story from the author of Black Sheep, which I talked about in this episode of The Library of Lost Time.
The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel — ‘a Hitchcock fanatic with an agenda invites old friends for a weekend stay at his secluded themed hotel’ (You know how I feel about books set in hotels!)
I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong — three words: haunted house seance
Catherine the Ghost by Kathe Koja — a ‘modern gothic punk remix of Emily Bronte’s classic Wuthering Heights’ told by Catherine Earnshaw’s ghost
But the backlist is calling me, too! Like this riff on Macbeth (All’s Well by Mona Awad) and Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis, another one I got excited about on The Library of Lost Time.
At the top of my list, however — the book I have queued up for the very first second after I finish required reading for the podcast — is Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson. It will be my first Jackson Brodie novel, but from what I understand, you don’t need to read the previous five books to enjoy the new one.
How can I be expected to resist this description?
Welcome to Rook Hall. The stage is set. The players are ready. By night’s end, a murderer will be revealed.
In his sleepy Yorkshire town, ex-detective Jackson Brodie is staving off boredom and malaise. His only case is the seemingly tedious matter of a stolen painting. But Jackson soon uncovers a string of unsolved art thefts that lead him down a dizzying spiral of disguise and deceit to Burton Makepeace, a formerly magnificent estate now partially converted into a hotel hosting Murder Mystery weekends. As paying guests, impecunious aristocrats, and old friends collide, we are treated to Atkinson’s most charming and fiendishly clever mystery yet.
For another book with a murder mystery game at its heart, I love (love love) The Edge by Dick Francis (with bonus scenic train ride) — and if you want to explore more manor house stories, please treat yourself to all the goodies on our Manor House Destination Page. There are so many book recommendations, plus a love letter to Edward Gorey and a curtsey to Jane Austen. (While you’re at it, maybe you want to bake this seed cake?)
What are you looking forward to reading this fall? Share in comments!
Happy Spooky Season!
Melissa
(This post contains affiliate links, so we earn a small commission if you buy books via these links. Thank you!)
Endnotes 06 September
That adorable painted house at the top of the post is just one of 30 colorful homes in the Polish village of Zalipie (about two hours from Krakow).
The tradition of the houses’ festive paint jobs was born of necessity in the 19th century: The chimney-less houses were discolored by smoke, so the women folk used white lime to brighten the soot-stained walls. Eventually, the spots of lime blossomed into multi-colored flower designs.
The most acclaimed local artist was Felicja Curyłowa (1904–1974). She painted every possible surface in her home with flowers — the walls, the hearth, a wooden trunk, the window frames, an ash bucket, the exterior walls, the ceiling, and even her dog’s house. Her three-room farmhouse has been preserved as a charming museum so you can enter her colorful world.
You can also visit the Women Painters’ House, a community hall and tourist center where you can pick up a map of all the painted houses in the area and take a flower painting workshop. You’ll also want to explore the painted chapel inside The Church of St. Joseph.
This post is filled with fantastic photos of the painted houses, and here are tips for making a day trip from Krakow to Zalipie. If you only commit to one thing from these options, make it this one about a day trip to Zalipie (with charming Polish travel vlogger Eva Zubeck):
This is a long post and may get clipped by your email provider — read it online here.
Enjoy a (metaphorical) hike in Britain’s best literary forests. We see you, Sherwood!
Oooh! Cozies for your ears! Here’s a great list of scripted cozy mystery podcasts.
BRB, I need to go to Istanbul to try the savory pastries called börekitas — ‘a small, crescent-moon shaped empanada variation stuffed with either roasted eggplant or potato.’ (Take a virtual trip to Turkey with our podcast episode It’s Turkish Delight on a Moonlit Night.
If trains are your preferred mode of travel, you’re going to want to dig into these stories: Fast Times on America’s Slowest Train (‘A surreal train ride between Chicago and New Orleans proves that Amtrak still has a lot to offer.’); Europe’s Stunning High-Tech Luxury Train (‘snowcapped Alps, wildflower-laced pastures and bell-adorned cows’ in the Swiss Alps; and Seeing America By Train (an illustrated diary about ‘what it’s really like to travel cross-country by rail’).
There are many interesting options in this collection of the best graphic novels of August 2024. Dwellings by Jay Stephens and 1949 by Dustin Weaver look especially fun to me!
The nostalgia is strong in this online archive of cassette tapes. This was my preferred brand for mix tapes, circa 1984.
This is a fun roundup of Gothic novels (from CrimeReads). And if you want (need?) more, here’s our list of 43 Gothic novels with a strong sense of place — and an episode of The Library of Lost Time that answers the question, What the heck is Gothic, anyway?
Irresistible headline: See a Mysterious Postcard That Was Delivered 121 Years Late.
Writers in Zimbabwe are using WhatsApp to serialize novels for their readers. One author charged $2 for his first finished book and ‘earned enough money to pay rent and buy food for his family.’
Schnitzel, goulash and dumplings, roast duck with red cabbage — these are the foods of which Czech dream meals are made. This piece from Travel+Leisure recommends some lovely places in Prague to eat the classics.
Are you Team Moleskine or Team Leuchtturm? (We’re a Leuchtturm household.) Here’s an examination of how a paper journal conquered the digital era. ‘Do you know there’s a section of our customer base that buys a fresh Moleskine every time they come into a store? We have no idea what they do with them.’
If you enjoyed our recent episode Mongolia: Under the Eternal Blue Sky, you need to read this first-person account of traveling through the country (shared on
’s Substack). ‘I have lived in Mongolia for the past two years and visited fourteen of its twenty-one provinces, forming connections with communities big and small throughout the country… I traveled only by public transportation in buses, shared taxis, and a few hitched rides in delivery trucks. Most of the time I was hosted by locals who I contacted through friends or friends of friends. Otherwise, I stayed in hostels and ger camps.’
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.
Delightful Walking Tours and Two New Books
In this episode, we get excited about two books: The Bookseller of Venice by Giovanni Montanaro (translator: Edward Williams) and Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner. Then Mel recommends the immersive, interactive walking tours from Secret City Trails.
One of the best falls I ever had was in Prague. Absolutely glorious!
Maybe you don’t “have” to read the other Jackson Brodie novels by Kate Atkinson, but I really recommend that you do. If not before then definitely after. He’s such an interesting character and there’s a lot of back story that affects everything he does. I can hardly wait to read this book!