Hello, friends!
In your podcast player today, you’ll find a mini-pod that outlines our itinerary of exciting destinations around the globe! We hope you’re as excited about this season as we are. We’re hitting Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, two US states, and a few fun themes — including one that’s a little sillier than usual.
Dave included snippets of really fun music in the mini-pod, and The Rainbow Girls are one of our favorite recent discoveries. They sing the version of ‘Dancing in the Streets’ in our new episode. So cute!
Happy (almost) birthday to Stieg Larsson, born 15 August 1954.
His Millennium series, featuring the indomitable Lisbeth Salander (punk, hacker, photographic memory) and crusading Mikael Blomkvist (perilously curious investigative journalist), has sold more than 100 million copies in 40 countries worldwide. We have Larsson — in the guise of Lisbeth — to thank for the proliferation of Nordic Noir. The first book in the series is 2005’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and it remains one of the best of the genre. Larsson was born in Skelleftehamn, in northern Sweden; he moved to Stockholm (pictured above) in the late 1970s and stayed. If you want to walk in his characters’ footsteps, you can take the 2-hour Millennium tour of Stockholm: visit the tattoo shop where Lisbeth got her ink and sip a coffee at Mellqvist, Mikael’s favorite café. What could be better than fika in the name of truth, justice, and underhanded hijinks?! For more, listen to our podcast episode Sweden: So Happy, So Murdery that includes five books set in Sweden, the holiday of Midsommar, and the magic of a cardamom bun.
I would happily read biographies of all my favorite characters, including the villains. The Los Angeles Review of Books explores the burgeoning field of fiction character biographies. ‘In recent years, authors have claimed to uncover the true stories behind, for instance, Atticus Finch, Dracula, Lolita, Uncle Tom, and Wonder Woman.’
A peek inside the world of used-book vendors! I Spent a Decade Pricing Used Books. Here’s How to Value the Ones on Your Shelf.
When Jane Eyre: The Musical was on Broadway in 2000, my mom and I watched the show from the front row — and I cried through almost the entire performance. (Don’t be alarmed; live theater always moves me to tears.) It was the best theater experience of my life. The original composers — John Caird and Paul Gordon — have revised the musical for smaller casts and theaters, and it’s playing in London this fall. In this interview, Caird talks about adapting the novel for the stage.
Related: The new play Jane Eyre Convention is playing at Edinburgh Fringe this month, and it sounds like a hoot.
Strong agree: Setting Is Just as Important as Plot and Characterization.
This graphical recipe format is awesome!
Shakespeare! Kafka! Hemingway! Austen! The Brontës! And more… 10 Museums Dedicated to History’s Greatest Authors. The Victor Hugo Museum in Paris is free (!!!), is a delight, and is located in a corner of Place des Vosges. (Dave’s second favorite park on the planet).
Kinda related: Checking Into L’Hôtel, Oscar Wilde’s Favorite Parisian Hideaway. The photos, my friends. So luxe! When Oscar Wilde died in 1900, he owed the hotel (then the Hôtel d’Alsace) thousands of gold francs. Today, his final, unpaid bill is framed and hangs on the wall. Along with room charges, it includes the costs for other incidentals, including candles, milk, and lemonade.
News you can use: 3 Ways to Take Travel Notes.
If/when you visit London, you might want to reserve a spot at Middle Temple Hall for lunch. Story here — lunch reservation link here. Look at it!
Kinda related: I don’t generally care about ‘exclusive’ or posh places, but the first photo in this article about the world’s smartest supper clubs is my dream dinner location.
Have fun with the drop-a-letter quiz. I got 12 out of 12 and/but the timer stressed me out!
A reflection on mid-August by beat poet Gary Snyder — Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout. I love the phrase ‘Drinking cold snow-water from a tin cup.’ You can almost taste it, right?!
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