Strong Sense of Place | Travel Through Books

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Jamaica: Let's Get Together and Feel All Right Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

The mountains of Jamaica rise up out of the turquoise-blue Caribbean. From those jaggy peaks, rolling hills — covered in lush green rainforests — taper down to soft-sand beaches along the coast.

It makes perfect sense that the first Jamaican inhabitants — the Taino from South America — gave the island a name that means ‘Land of Wood and Water.’ It’s all as if paradise is beckoning you to come, sit, relax.

Music floats on the air in both the rhythmic lilt of reggae music and Jamaican patois, a creole language that combines elements of English, Spanish, and African languages.

Yes, there are pirates in Jamaica’s past, along with Spanish conquistadors, British interlopers, and a history of slavery. But Jamaica is now a cultural superpower, sharing its feel-good music (with a message), colorful cuisine, star athletes, and multicultural gifts with the world.

In this episode, we explore the so-literal-they’re-poetic names of some Jamaican towns, sing along to our favorite Bob Marley tunes, dig into the history of jerk chicken, and spy on Ian Fleming’s Jamaican estate. Then we recommend five great books that took us to Jamaica on the page.

Here are the books we recommended in the show:

Black Cake: A Novel by Charmaine Wilkerson

https://bit.ly/3XSUjVH

If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

Black Heart of Jamaica by Julia Golding

https://amzn.to/3Yx6cRK

Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook by Melissa Thompson

https://bit.ly/3ZjfUrj

West Winds: Recipes, History and Tales from Jamaica by Riaz Phillips

https://bit.ly/3YXmkg9

The Last Warner Woman by Kei Miller - audio

https://amzn.to/3Yx6JmI

The Last Warner Woman by Kei Miller - print

https://bit.ly/41oF4GP

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2023–03–06-jamaica

Transcript: http://strongsenseofplace.com/transcriptions/47_jamaica_transcript

Do you enjoy our show and website? Do you love bonus content? Do you enjoy chatting with other book lovers? Please consider supporting our work on Patreon! You’ll get access to bonus goodies, input on which destinations we cover each season, and become part of the Strong Sense of Place community. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside. Get all the info you need right here.

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LoLT: Solving a 16th-Century Code & Two New Books Mar 03, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: ‘Weyward’ by Emilia Hart and ‘Psych: The Story of the Human Mind’ by Paul Bloom. Then Dave tells the story a recently solved code that reveals new secrets of a famous Queen.

LINKS

Weyward by Emilia Hart

https://bit.ly/3KoeYh8

Psych: The Story of the Human Mind by Paul Bloom

https://bit.ly/3Z5zJSY

Video: Emilia Hart shares three books that inspired her

https://bit.ly/3xFRA79

Paul Bloom’s TED talks

https://bit.ly/3ErSszY

National Geographic on the decoded letters

From Cryptologia: Deciphering Mary Stuart’s Lost Letters from 1578–1584

https://bit.ly/3XS76Yq

Transcript of this episode

https://bit.ly/3KgOhuO

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

As always, you can find us at:

https://on.nypl.org/3EoKqrU

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LoLT: Peek Inside Virginia Woolf's Diaries & Two New Books Feb 24, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we get excited about two books: My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor and A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawiziak. Then Mel talks about the fantastic Virginia Woolf exhibit at the New York Public Library.

LINKS

Joseph O’Connor reading from his book

https://bit.ly/3ScdKHE

Excerpt from A Mystery of Mysteries

https://bit.ly/3k5NzWF

Virginia Woolf: A Modern Mind at the NYPL

Audioguide and images from Virginia Woolf: A Modern Mind

https://on.nypl.org/3XM7zLI

5 Things We Learned From the NYPL’s Virginia Woolf Exhibition

https://bit.ly/3EnIPm9

Virginia Woolf’s essay about the Brontë Parsonage

https://bit.ly/3lKhvrH

Video of the Virginia Woolf collection at NYPL

https://bit.ly/3xEeg82

Transcript of this episode

https://bit.ly/3IMIoEF

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

As always, you can find us at:

- Patreon

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New Orleans: Pass a Good Time Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

When you’re ready to let the good times roll, there’s no place like New Orleans to cut loose, indulge in local grub, sip something intoxicating, and soak up the atmosphere while tapping your toes to some of the best music on the planet.

New Orleans was born as a port city in 1718. What set New Orleans apart then (and now) is how it created a unique culture from the diverse people who populated the city. New Orleans got its defining characteristics — a sense of hospitality, its food, its music — from enslaved and formerly enslaved people, Native Americans, and immigrants from France, Spain, the Caribbean, and Italy.

There’s a lot to see and do, but if we’re being honest, the real draws are food and music — and the annual street party that brings them together: Mardi Gras.

In this episode, we dig into a little bit of history and a whole lot of music and food, including the magic of jambalaya and the difference between cajun and creole. We also tell you how to find the best parades during Mardi Gras and get real about a haunted house.

Then we recommend great books that took us there on the page:

The Axeman’s Jazz by Ray Celestin

https://bit.ly/3Jt5uAE

The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

https://bit.ly/3wJOYVy

Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin’ in New Orleans by Mason Hereford, JJ Goode

https://bit.ly/3kYvDNs

Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum

https://amzn.to/3JpVb0b

The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata

https://bit.ly/3XS5Bu6

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at https://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2023–02–20-new_orleans

Transcript: https://strongsenseofplace.com/transcriptions/46_new_orleans_transcript

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 - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace

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