Strong Sense of Place | Travel Through Books

Latest Episodes:

LoLT: The Forty Elephants Girl Gang and Two New Books May 05, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: Dinner Party by Sarah Gilmartin and You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith. Then Dave tells the tale of remarkable women involved in London’s criminal underworld.

LINKS

Dinner Party by Sarah Gilmartin

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith’s website and Twitter

Legal Design Podcast: Fighting Crime by Design with Lorraine Gamman

Wikipedia: Shirley Pitts

Wikipedia: Alice Diamond

Gone Shopping: The Story of Shirley Pitts, Queen of Thieves by Lorraine Gamman

The Guardian: Girl Gang’s Grip on London Underworld Revealed

Criminal Secret Society: The Story of Forty Elephants

Video: Diamond Annie and the Forty Elephants — The All-Female Gang That Terrorized London

Transcript of this episode

The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com

Do you enjoy our show? Want access to fun bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace

As always, you can find us at:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

London: The Tower, Tudors, and a Nice Cuppa Tea May 01, 2023

Show notes

There's been a bridge over the Thames in London for about 2000 years. In the time since its founding during the Roman Empire, London has become one of the world's most diverse cities.

Today, it's as well known for its Indian food (try the restaurants in Brick Lane) and Middle Eastern cuisine (visit Edgeware Road) as it is for a proper afternoon tea (finger sandwiches, scones, pastries, and endless pots of tea).

It's also a book lover's paradise with museums dedicated to literary classics — Hello, Sherlock Holmes! Good day, Mr. Dickens! – along with the British Library (don't miss the tour), Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, and Shakespeare's Globe where you can watch a play in a faithful reproduction of the Bard's theater.

In this episode, we clear up any confusion about London's main bridges, make a case for why you should visit the Tower's Ravenmaster (and his six raven friends), and learn about the mad skills of London cab drivers. Then we recommend five great books that took us there on the page, including a twisty courtroom drama, a time-traveling guidebook, a murder mystery set in London's North End, a beloved urban fantasy, and a modern classic with an unlikely hero.

Here are the books about London we recommend on the show:

Something to Hide by Elizabeth George

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

London: A Travel Guide Through Time by Matthew Green

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit our show notes.

Transcript of London: The Tower, Tudors, and a Nice Cuppa Tea.

Do you enjoy our show? Do you want access to awesome bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon! Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LoLT: How to Find Your Favorite Poems and Two New Books Apr 28, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: Never Sleep by Fred Van Lente and The Wager: A Talk of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann. Then Mel shares tips for getting great poetry into your life.

LINKS

Never Sleep by Fred Van Lente

Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister

The Wager: A Talk of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

How Kate Warne, America’s First Woman Detective, Foiled a Plot to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln

Ridiculous History Podcast: Kate Warne, the Pinkerton Detective Who Saved Abe Lincoln

The Atlantic: Reading a Poem: 20 Strategies

Poets.org: How to Read a Poem

The Writing Center: How to Read a Poem

Library of Congress: How to Read a Poem Out Loud

Instagram: Poetry is Not a Luxury

Instagram: Seeing the Poem

Instagram: Poets.org

The Guardian: Poem of the Week

Poetry Foundation: Poem of the Day

Poets.org: Poem of the Day

The Slowdown: This podcast from former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith features a daily reading of a poem and a brief reflection on its meaning and significance.

Poetry Foundation: Mary Oliver

Nikita Gill on Twitter and Instagram

Transcript of this episode

The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com

As always, you can find us at:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LoLT: Charlotte Brontë’s Emma and Two New Books Apr 21, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal and A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher. Then Mel shares her excitement about an unfinished Brontë novel that got finished.

LINKS

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
J. Ryan Stradal’s website, Instagram, and Twitter
The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland
Our podcast episode Hotels: The Liminal Space with M&Ms in the Mini-Bar
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Emma Brown: A Novel From the Unfinished Manuscript by Emma Boylan & Charlotte Brontë
Wikipedia entry: Emma Brown
The New York Times’ review of Emma Brown by Emma Boylan
Librivox recording of the Emma fragment (Pro tip: skip the Preface and go directly to Chapter 1.)
Emma Brown by Clare Boylan on Internet Archive

Transcript of this episode

The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com

As always, you can find us at:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lebanon: Surrender to the Call of the Mijwiz Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

If you were born anytime after, say, 1974, you probably associate Lebanon and its capital city of Beirut with political strife, violence, and bombed-out buildings. But this beautiful, misunderstood country is far more than its troubled past.

Lebanon is a tiny nation on the eastern side of the Mediterranean. Its capital city of Beirut was once known as the Paris of the East, a holiday getaway for movie stars, moguls, and spies. Lebanon’s coast is still a dreamy beach destination with long stretches of sand — or dramatic rock formations — lined with palm trees on one side and perfect turquoise-blue water on the other.

The name Lebanon comes from the Semitic word lbn in reference to the snow-kissed Mount Lebanon range. The interior’s rugged mountains are great for winter skiing and hiking among the fragrant cedar trees during the warmer months.

You can also visit wineries, explore ancient ruins, dance the dabka, and eat delicious things like hummus, kibbeh, kofta, tabbouleh, and baklava — a.k.a. some of Mel’s favorite food in the world.

In this episode, we briefly walk through the long history of Lebanon, delve into amazing stories of sibling rivalry and bank robbery, and Mel shares the story of her Lebanese great-grandmother. Then we recommend great books that took us to Lebanon on the page.

Here are the books about Lebanon we recommend on the show:

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit our show notes.

Transcript of Lebanon: WORDS.

Do you enjoy our show? Do you want access to awesome bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon! Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LoLT: Adopt-a-Listener Month & Two New Books Apr 14, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. Then Dave talks about how to help your non-podcast-listening friends become podcast fans.

LINKS

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Hester Fox’s website and Instagram
Shannon Chakraborty’s website and Twitter
City of Brass By Shannon Chakraborty
Our podcast episode Egypt: Ancient Antiquities, Fiery Djinn, and the Lure of the Nile.
Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown
Our podcast episode The Sea: Tales of Poets and Pirates
This American Life
WTF with Marc Maron
RadioLab
Shut Up and Sit Down
Twenty Thousand Hertz
What Should I Read Next? with Anne Bogel
The Perks of Being a Book Lover
Films to be Buried With with Brett Goldstein
Podchaser
Realm.fm
The Library of Lost Time episode: Realm Podcasts & Two New Books
Tink Media: Adopt-a-Listener

Transcript of this episode

The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com

As always, you can find us at:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LoLT: Exclamation Points! & Two New Books Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: Jane & Edward by Melodie Edwards and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Then Dave invites us all to get delightfully nerdy about punctuation.

LINKS

Jane & Edward by Melodie Edwards

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

An Admirable Point: A Brief History of the Exclamation Mark! by Florence Hazrat

Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark by Cecelia Watson

Melodie Edwards website

Excerpt of the novel Jane & Edward in print and audio

Jane & Edward readers’ guide

Sometimes it’s too much! But the exclamation point has a point. (gift link)

Video of LL Cool J on The Electric Company, rapping about punctuation.

Transcript of this episode

The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com

As always, you can find us at:

- Our site

- Instagram

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Patreon

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sri Lanka: Remarkable, Relentless, Resplendent Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

Sri Lanka is known for its rich, full-bodied Ceylon tea, fishermen on stilts, and staggering beauty. If you want to visit an elephant sanctuary, trek to a mountaintop monastery, or swim (and surf) in crystal-blue waters, this teardrop-shaped island in the Bay of Bengal is the place to go.

In contrast to its warm, soothing climate is its long history of civil war. The conflict that raged from 1983 until 2009 between the mostly-Sinhalese government and the insurgent Tamil Tigers had a profound and lasting effect on the population.

But none of that has curbed Sri Lankans’ welcoming temperament nor the island’s natural charms. There’s world-class street food — all manner of crunchy, savory fried things, spicy curries, and tropical fruits like nothing you’ve ever seen before. There are sparkling waterfalls, whale watching and leopard sightings, and an iconic train ride through lush green jungles dotted with colorful flowers. All giving truth to the name Sri (Resplendent) Lanka (Island).

In this episode, we explore Sri Lankan legend, get nostalgic about Duran Duran, hear the details of a remarkable airplane adventure, and get very curious about wood fruit. Then we recommend five great books that took us to Sri Lanka on the page, including an adventure memoir by the world’s best travel writer, an unusual crime story, a colorful cookbook, and two dream-like novels set during the civil war years, one of which Mel clutched to her chest in a hug.

Here are the books about bookshops we recommend on the show:

Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

The Hamilton Case by Michelle de Kretser

Rambutan: Recipes from Sri Lanka by Cynthia Shanmugalingam

Elephant Complex: Travels In Sri Lanka by John Gimlette

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit our show notes.

Transcript of Sri Lanka: Remarkable, Relentless, Resplendent.

Do you enjoy our show? Do you want access to awesome bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon! Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LoLT: The Regency Cook & Two New Books Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: The Girl with Twenty Fingers by Kate Mueser and White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link. Then Mel introduces everyone to the man teaching modern foodies how to cook like Jane Austen.

LINKS

The Girl with Twenty Fingers by Kate Mueser
White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link
Kate Mueser’s website
Kate Mueser on YouTube talking about Mozart and Munich.
Kelly Link’s website and her bookstore Book Moon Books.
The Prague Sonata by Bradford Morrow
Magic for Beginners: Stories by Kelly Link.
Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link.
Stranger Things Happen: Stories by Kelly Link.
Regency Cook website and Instagram.
Regency Cook schedule of upcoming classes.
Video tour of The Regency Townhouse kitchen.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Regency London.
Why Are So Many Romances Set in the Regency Period?
Transcript of this episode

The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com

As always, you can find us at:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LoLT: Best of Shetland Islands & Two New Books Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: The Company by J.M. Varese and Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook by Alison Roman. Then Dave shares stories from a recent trip to the Shetland Islands.

LINKS