Strong Sense of Place | Travel Through Books

The Central American country of Panama is like a stretched-out letter S, lying on its side to soak up the sun — with the Pacific and the Caribbean snuggling up to its curves.The capital, Panama City, in the bottom arch of the S, invites you to stroll down red-brick streets lined with lush palm trees and white colonial buildings that look like layer cakes. You can stroll along the seafront and gaze out across the Pacific — and daydream about the 17th-century pirates that sailed nearby.When you’re ready for adventure, you might hike to the top of Panama’s highest mountain — Volcán Barú — to watch the sun rise over both the Atlantic and Pacific, volunteer in Cerra Hoya National Park to study jaguars, spend the night a traditional village in the jungle with the Emberá people, or kick back at an artistic island resort.Maybe it’s more your speed to spend endless days in your bathing suit, eating fresh fish just pulled from the sea, or sipping some of the world’s best coffee. Panama has all of that and more.In this episode, we get curious about the Panama Canal, discuss the relative sobriety of dwarf sloths, and get real about what it’s like to spend time in the jungle. Then we recommend five great books that took us to Panama on the page: Seducing the Spirits by Louise Young Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune by Keith Thomson Silver People: Voices From the Panama Canal by Margarita Engle Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time—the Building of the Panama Canal by Matthew Parker The World in Half by Cristina Henríquez For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes.Sign up for our free Substack to connect with us and other lovely readers who are curious about the world.Transcript of Panama: Jump Back, What’s That Sound?Do you enjoy our show? Do you want be friends with other (lovely) people who love books and travel? Please support our work on Patreon! Strong Sense of Place is an audience-funded endeavor, and we need your support to continue making this show. Get all the info you need right here. Thank you!Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio. Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we get excited about two books: The Divide: A Novel by Morgan Richter and Mina’s Matchbox by Yōko Ogawa, Stephen B. Snyder (translator). Then author Morgan Richter explains why now is a great time to read Batman comics. Links The Divide: A Novel by Morgan Richter Mina’s Matchbox by Yōko Ogawa, Stephen B. Snyder (translator) The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa, Stephen B. Snyder (translator) Morgan Richter’s website, YouTube channel, and Twitter Nightwing Vol. 1: Leaping Into the Light by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo (illustrator) Catwoman 1: Trail of the Catwoman by Darwyn Cooke & Ed Brubaker (illustrated by Cameron Stewart, Mike Allred, Brad Rader) Transcript of this episode.The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.comJoin our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel.Do you enjoy our show? Do you want to make friends with other (lovely) listeners? 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/strongsenseofplaceAs always, you can find us at: Our site Instagram Substack Patreon Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, Norway has cities that are well worth a visit — Hallo, Oslo! Hei, Bergen! God morgen, Tromsø! — but nature is right there at every moment.Where the coast of Norway meets the Norwegian Sea, there are more than 1700 fjords, stunning waterways lined with sheer rock cliffs and dotted with dramatic waterfalls, storybook villages, and friendly goats and sheep. The best way to experience the fjords? By boat, of course: a dinner cruise, catamaran, sailboat, kayak, ferry, whale watching boat, or a breathtaking ride on a fjord safari.Inland, you can meet the locals of past and present. Stop by the fascinating Viking Village to time travel to 1000 (and learn to throw an axe!) — or spend an afternoon among the bears, reindeer, wolves, lynx, and leopards at the Bjørn Parken (Bear Park). You can feed a fox!When you’re ready for a meal, too, sink your teeth into Norway’s national snack: the hot dog — with lingonberry jam and french-fried onions — or try the ubiquitous and one-of-a-kind brunost (brown cheese). Caramelized, savory, and surprising, it’s just what you want on a cracker or waffle. And don’t sleep on the smoked salmon, pickled herring, or shrimp plucked from the nearby icy waters.In this episode, we get excited about all the exhilarating, unexpected, delightful adventures Norway offers — and talk about why the Norwegian government employs financial planners and moral philosophers. Then we recommend five great books we love that took us to Norway on the page: The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting, Deborah Dawkin (translator) We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance by David Howarth The Hike by Lucy Clarke Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes.Sign up for our free Substack to connect with us and other lovely readers who are curious about the world.Transcript of Norway: Vikings, Bears, Boats, and BergenDo you enjoy our show? Do you want be friends with other (lovely) people who love books and travel? Please support our work on Patreon! Strong Sense of Place is an audience-funded endeavor, and we need your support to continue making this show. Get all the info you need right here. Thank you!Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio. Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re on our summer holiday so we’re replaying this popular episode of The Library of Lost Time. We’re back next week with a new episode of Strong Sense of Place about Norway!LoLT: Postcard Pen Pals and Two New Books — 30 June 2023In this episode, we get excited about two new books — ‘100 Places to See After You Die’ by Ken Jennings and ‘What the Dead Know’ by Barbara Butcher — then Mel gets excited about postcards from around the world.LINKS- 100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife by Ken Jennings. Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings. Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings What the Dead Know: Learning about Life as a New York City Death Investigator by Barbara Butcher. Visit the Postcrossing.com website, Twitter, and Instagram. Transcript of this episode. The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.comDo 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/strongsenseofplaceAs always, you can find us at: Our site Instagram Facebook Twitter Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re on summer holiday! In honor of the Olympics taking place in Paris right now, please enjoy this replay of our Paris episode.Paris: It’s Always a Good Idea - 24 August 2020When you daydream about Paris, whatever sparkling, romantic images you conjure are probably not too far off the mark. It is, after all, know as the City of Lights and the City of Love.The Eiffel Tower can be seen from almost everywhere and is a constant reminder that you are IN PARIS. The streets are lined with cafés, the tables and chairs arranged so you can sit next to your companions and look out on the people passing by. The smell of baguettes wafts in the streets in the early morning. And when the sun gets lower in the sky, burnishing the buildings with its glow, people fill the cafés, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes, and talking, while their hands gesture in the air to make a point. It is, in many ways, just like the movies.In this episode, we talk about some of our favorite experiences visiting Paris and how it really does live up to its dreamy reputation. Then we discuss the books that transported us there: an insightful memoir about one lively (and typically Parisian) street, an illustrated novel about the magic of everyday life, a fictional biography of Madame Tussaud, a modern crime novel with a snappy heroine, and a confection of a story that centers around an exceptional bottle of wine.For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes.Sign up for our free Substack to connect with us and other friendly readers who are curious about the world.Transcript of Paris: It’s Always a Good IdeaDo you enjoy our show? Do you want be friends with other (lovely) people who love books and travel? Please support our work on Patreon! Strong Sense of Place is an audience-funded endeavor, and we need your support to continue making this show. Get all the info you need right here. Thank you!As always, you can find us at: Our site Instagram Facebook Twitter Patreon Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we get excited about two books: Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran and Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi. Then Dave delves into the mystery of Mongol warrior Genghis Khan’s lost tomb.LinksMaria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle MoranMichelle Moran’s websiteMaria by Maria von Trapp on Internet ArchivePodcast: Theater: Act One, Scene I, Lights UpNavola by Paolo BacigalupiPaolo Bacigalupi’s websiteBurial place of Genghis KhanWhy Genghis Khan’s Tomb Can’t Be FoundPodcast — Mongolia: Under the Eternal Blue SkyThe Mongol’s Coffin by E. Chris AmbroseTranscript of this episode.The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.comJoin our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel.Do you enjoy our show? Do you want to make friends with other (lovely) listeners? 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/strongsenseofplaceAs always, you can find us at: Our site Instagram Substack Patreon Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If we say ‘Mongolia,’ and you imagine an eagle hunter on horseback silhouetted against an endless blue sky and vast open plains, you are not wrong. Ditto for thinking of Chingiss Khan, frigid winters, and resilient nomads in gers (yurts).While those perceptions are valid, Mongolia may have some surprises for you. The sun shines 250 days a year, and summer days are luxuriously long and warm. Yes, Khan is a national hero (see: the 3-story glimmering steel statue of the Mongol leader on horseback), but Mongolians are most welcoming. The flap door of a ger is open to all, friends and strangers alike — and a hot bowl of milk tea will appear as soon as you cross the threshold.In the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, you can eat in restaurants, visit a temple, and wander through museums. When you’ve had enough of the bustle, ride into the steppes — on a horse, a camel, or an all-terrain jeep — and back in time. Under that vast sky, you can head north to spruce forests that stretch toward Russia, or west to the jaggy Altai mountains, or south to the wind-swept dunes of the Gobi Deserts (and, eventually, China).In this episode, we meet a formidable Mongolian warrior princess, listen to the otherworldly sound of Tuvan throat singing, and travel back in history with the annual Naadam Festival (a.k.a. the Mongolian Olympics).Then we recommend five great books that took us to Mongolia on the page: Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer Stand on the Sky by Erin Bow Border Crossings: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway by Emma Fick When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes.Sign up for our free Substack to connect with us and other friendly readers who are curious about the world.Transcript of Mongolia: Under the Eternal Blue SkyDo you enjoy our show? Do you want be friends with other (lovely) people who love books and travel? Please support our work on Patreon! Strong Sense of Place is an audience-funded endeavor, and we need your support to continue making this show. Get all the info you need right here. Thank you!Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we get excited about two books: A Season for That by Steve Hoffman and The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. Then Mel explains why she’s so excited to get the new episode of the ‘Pack One Bag’ podcast every week. LinksA Season for That by Steve HoffmanSteve Hoffman’s website and an interview with the Star TribuneStill blog by Mary Jo Hoffman and an interview with Yoga JournalStill: The Art of Noticing by Mary Jo HoffmanThe God of the Woods by Liz MooreLong Bright River by Liz MoorePodcast: Pennsylvania: Political Player, Potato Chip MakerThe ‘Pack One Bag’ websiteDeadline Magazine on the podcast and the upcoming TV remakeStanley Tucci Compares WW2 Fascism Story to Now — ‘It’s Happening Today’Transcript of this episode.The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.comJoin our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel.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/strongsenseofplaceAs always, you can find us at: Our site Instagram Substack Patreon Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As you read these words and listen to our podcast, we’re all riding on a ball about 8000 miles (13,000 km) across. Our rotating disco ball in space is dancing around the sun at about 67,000 mph (107,000 km/h).Our sun is about 93 million miles (150 million km away), shooting us with subatomic particles. Probably not maliciously, but who knows? The sun might be a trickster. It’s also filling our solar system with light so we can see all the other planets, comets, asteroids, dwarf planets, and moons in orbit.As humans, it’s nearly impossible to not put ourselves at the center of the world — we all have main-character energy. For millions of years, we puny humans have looked up at the sky and tried to understand just what the devil is going on and where we belong in the whole situation.In this episode, we try to unpack many of the mind-blowing facts we know about space and our expanding universe — and we get real about the emotional impact of embracing our stardust origins. We talk about the condition called the Overview Effect and whether or not space smells funny. Then we recommend great books that took us there on the page: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowell The Mars House by Natasha Pulley The Milky Way by Moiya McTier Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertolino For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes.Sign up for our free Substack to connect with us and other lovely readers who are curious about the world.Transcript of Outer Space: We Are All Made of StarsDo you enjoy our show? Do you want be friends with other (lovely) people who love books and travel? Please support our work on Patreon! Strong Sense of Place is an audience-funded endeavor, and we need your support to continue making this show. Get all the info you need right here. Thank you!Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we get excited about two books: A Super Upsetting Cookbook about Sandwiches by Tyler Kord and Good Material by Dolly Alderton. Then Dave shares three great stories about India from his podcast research.Links A Super Upsetting Cookbook about Sandwiches by Tyler Kord Turkey and the Wolf: Flavor Trippin in New Orleans by Mason Hereford Deadly Sin crime series by Lawrence Sanders Good Material by Dolly Alderton Meet The Indian Giant Squirrel That Looks Like A Dr. Seuss Concoction India’s election 2024: A logistical triumph across a vast polling network In Pictures: Kitchen that feeds 100,000 daily Golden Temple (Wikipedia) Video: How The World’s Largest Community Kitchen Feeds 100,000 Daily At Golden Temple Transcript of this episode. The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.comJoin our FREE Substack to get our (awesome) newsletter and join in chats with other people who love books and travel.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/strongsenseofplaceAs always, you can find us at: Our site Instagram Substack Patreon Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio! Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices