Endnotes 31 December: Christmas Markets, Winter Poems, Frosty Places, Xmas Crime, Cocoa & More — plus a new ep of The Library of Lost Time
Probably eating a mini mince pie right now
Hello, friends!
This photo is from the Christmas Markets in Dresden, Germany; read more about them below.
Christmas Market season is in full swing here in Prague, too. We usually walk through the markets in Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square to admire their extra-large Christmas trees, but the market in Náměstí Míru (Peace Square) is where we meet our friends under the lights for a hot chocolate or spiced wine. Here are a bunch of pretty photos of the scene.
Dave and I went to a delightful Christmas party last night where we ate a bunch of Czech food and played pub trivia — my team came in last place (?!). Despite the sting of losing, we really got in the spirit. See?
Our Tuesday Tea chat whis week was a lively conversation about holiday traditions — click over for lots of cheer! (And fun ideas you might want to co-opt.)
This is one of the best things I found online this week. I have to admit, the ‘trees’ in the photo gallery are super weird, but I found them altogether delightful. I mean…
In other news of things that might delight you: Last February, I recommended the book Strawberry Fields by Patrick D. Joyce (listen on The Library of Lost Time). It’s a page-turning thriller set in 1968 Prague during the Soviet invasion. In just 150 tight pages, this story weaves together breathless chases, cryptic clues, acts of brave stupidity, and a little romance. It’s also an excellent tour of Prague landmarks, including the famous Café Slavia and Old Town Square — and there are references to the works of Lewis Carroll, Franz Kafka, and the Beatles.
The audiobook was recently released, and the narration by Nadia Marshall is excellent. Her voice is what I would call warm and syrupy, which I mean in the most complimentary way.
Patrick has generously gifted us five downloads to give away! To enter the drawing, leave a comment on this post with your favorite Beatles song, and we’ll randomly choose five winners.
Housekeeping notes: We have a new episode of The Library of Lost Time out today, then we’re taking a podcast break until January — and/but will publish a new edition of Endnotes next Friday, 20 December.
Endnotes: 13 December
OK! Christmas market in Dresden, Germany! There are a handful of markets throughout the city with a light-up ferris wheel, light-bedecked wooden huts where you can sip warming shots, handicraft booths, and stalls selling gingerbread, stollen, hot chocolate, and Dave’s favorite: freshly fried donut balls dusted with powdered sugar.
Dresden says their markets, dating back to the 1400s, are the oldest Christmas markets in Europe — but maybe the tradition started in Vienna in 1296 when Duke Albrecht I commissioned 14-day fairs during December.
This Smithsonian article is a lively romp through Christmas market history. Both Forbes and CNN have opinions about the best Christmas markets around the world.
Friends in the US, you don’t need to travel across the pond to enjoy festive Christmas markets! Here’s a list of the best Christmas markets in the USA — and Koziar’s Christmas Village, family-owned and operated since 1948 (!), is still going strong in Bernville, PA. A drive through the light displays followed by hot chocolate was part of my family’s Christmas celebrations when I was a kid.
These book kits are beautiful and a genius/fun solution to gift-giving dilemmas.
The Guardian dives into why Japanese fiction is booming. ‘Known in the industry as healing or heartwarming fiction, comfort books often go unreviewed in the press but represent more than half of the bestselling Japanese fiction titles this year. There are recurring motifs: coffee shops (Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold); bookstores and libraries (Michiko Aoyama’s What You Are Looking for Is in the Library); and, most of all, cats (Makoto Shinkai’s She and Her Cat).’
Would you go to see Anne Boleyn: The Musical? (I would, obvs.)
Carol Anne Duffy’s Christmas poems capture different facets of the holiday season. Enjoy this reading of ‘Frost Fair’ from inside St. Albans Cathedral:
More gorgeous poetry: Welsh actor Michael Sheen reads poems from Dylan Thomas, including the ‘lost’ poem ‘A Dream of Winter.’
Finland, Iceland, Alaska, and more — here are 8 Places Where You Can Visit Santa Claus.
History Extra drops knowledge bombs: 10 Festive Facts You Might Not Know. (requires free registration)
Here’s essential intel on the difference between biscuits and scones. Spoiler: The answer is butter.
Quiz: How well do you know the world’s frozen destinations? (I got 11/14.)
Prague Airport keeps it cute for Christmas:
Sort of related: The Weirdest Items Found at TSA Airport Security. (Live eels?!)
Ooooh, the beautiful Barcelona landmark Casa Battló — designed by Antoni Gaudí — has just gotten a spiffing up that’s made it even more stunning.
The verse you didn’t know you needed! Holiday. Movie. Haiku.
AgathaChristie.com asks, Why Do We Read Crime at Christmas? — with answers from book bloggers, podcasters, and Dame Agatha’s great-grandson. And Caroline Crampton from the podcast Shedunnit shares the best classic Christmas mysteries.
Related: There’s a new full-cast audiobook of Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles starring Peter Dinklage Hercule Poirot (!), along with British acting legend Harriet Walter and Phil Dunster (Jamie on Ted Lasso). The sample sounds so good.
Whoa! This ‘19th-century Kindle’ is so cool.
Read along with a holiday classic! Every year around the winter solstice — December 21 — people turn to Susan Cooper’s fantasy novel The Dark is Rising, reading one chapter per day for 12 days. The BBC has a full-cast recording of the book free online, in case you want to listen by the light of candles or a Christmas tree.
From Wacky to Wonderful, These 7 Hot Chocolates Are Famous for a Reason. BRB, going on a hot chocolate tour around the world.
These artsy playing cards are lovely and would make an excellent stocking stuffer.
Cannot resist this headline: Emily Brontë Is This Season’s Style Icon. I think our girl would be flummoxed by this particular arrangement of words.
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.
In this episode, we get excited about two books: Gifts from the Kitchen by Kristine Kidd and A Christmas Cornucopia: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Yuletide Traditions by Mark Forsyth. Then Dave recommends entertaining, accessible graphic novels for newbies.
listen + show notes | transcript
Got To Get You Into My Life and my fav album is Rubber Soul. Merry Christmas.
Ok, my favorite Beatles' songs are definitely tied: "Blackbird" and "Here Comes The Sun". But my kiddos went through a phase where they could not fall asleep without listening to "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"...on repeat. After years of wanting to tear my ears off whenever I heard it, I am now weirdly nostalgic.
I'm not sure how I feel about beef broth cocoa. I'm definitely gonna have to try that.
Nineteenth-century Kindle delights me, both for the books, and for miniatures!
Holiday movie haiku: Not sure if the details tempt me to watch any of them, or serve as a warning....