A Green Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Another storm system, and more rain. It's been a while since everything has been so green, and I'm enjoying it. I'm crossing my fingers that the current pattern continues here at Casa Kittling with light to moderate showers. Other parts of the valley are getting hammered, unfortunately, and while I do feel for those folks, I just don't need my pool full of mud and debris. 

While searching for a specific photo, I came across ones that Denis and I took on our trip to Lake Havasu. This is one of several lighthouses that ring the lake. I bet you never thought there were lighthouses in the desert!

I've been reading about the water levels on Lake Powell rising due to all the rain from these storm systems coming through. Every single drop is so badly needed!

Now on to something completely different. The number of authors asking me to review their books is on the rise, and a recent request made me laugh. This particular author had seen my review of The Girls Before, and since her book had some similarities, she thought I'd be interested in reading it. Now... she might have seen my review, but did she actually read it? 😄

I want to watch it rain while reading more of Walt Longmire's adventures, so I'd better head on out to the link corral. Virtual hugs to you all!

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The forgotten stories behind presidential campaign buttons. (I remember the campaign button my mother secretly wore while she worked at the polling place in town: PACK YUR BAGS, MAMIE, THE KENNEDYS ARE COMING!
• How one ghost story competition continues to haunt the humanities-- just in time for Halloween.
• Why washing machines took decades to catch on.
• The only mystery to the decline of reading is why we pretend it's a mystery.
• Quiz: How many Agatha Christie book titles can you complete from memory?
• The one book so controversial that even the King of Horror pulled it from publication.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Mourners placed an ancient sippy cup in a Roman toddler's grave. It may have been meant to sustain the child on the journey to the afterlife.
• Archaeologists in Egypt discovered a mud-brick tomb featuring a heartbreaking elegy to an ancient man's father.
• Thieves pulled off another shocking art heist in France. This time, they took a 330-pound bronze book cover designed by Salvador Dalí.
• A 3,000-year-old burial of an ancient Egyptian horse has been found-- and a nearby stone carving depicts a captured prisoner.
• Archaeologists discovered a "tomb of the very highest rank" in a 2,700-year-old Etruscan cemetery.
• The case of the mysterious medieval skeleton buried in a Roman-era sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey is finally solved.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• A six-year-old Labrador named Sgiath from the Scottish Highlands learned to sniff out a slimy marine invader called "sea vomit"-- a skill that earned her the Animal of the Year Award. 
• Wildlife biologists have started vaccinating shy albatrosses by hand, taking aim at the spread of avian flu in Tasmania.
• Watch a playful octopus chase a green laser light like a cat.
• Three African wild dogs made a record-breaking trek across Zambia, traveling more than 2,500 miles in search of mates.
• New Zealand welcomes a record 90 kakapo chicks, helping the world's chunkiest parrot species rebound from the brink of extinction.
• What we lose in the face of extinction.

►The Wanderer◄

• California redwoods are struggling in the heat-- and it's not clear how much damage is being done.
• London's oldest restaurant, frequented by monarchs and pop stars alike, is a site of "living history." Now it's protected by the National Trust for generations to come.
• These 15 photos showcase the intensely brilliant colors of coral reefs and the creatures that live among them.
• How Colorado's wildlife mitigation efforts-- including the largest animal crossing overpass in North America-- are making everyone safer.
• Where the Great Depression hit America hardest, mapped.
• How Belle Époque Paris captured the hearts of American travelers and artists.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• She painted the first known self-portrait of an artist at work-- and signed it-- nearly 500 years ago. Who was Catharina van Hemessen?
• The women breaking the rules of Balinese dance.
• Margaret Hamilton, a pioneering software engineer who made the first human moon landing possible, has died at the age of 90.
• Who's behind London's hottest new bookstore? Freud's librarian grandson!
• High school student Mia Heller invented a filter that eliminates 96% of microplastics from drinking water.
• Pioneering mountain climber and skier Christine L. Reid filmed her own exploits.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 20 books that offer pure escapism.
• 6 innovative ways humans have kept cool throughout history.
• 5 revenge and eat-the-rich thrillers about the 1%.
• The top song from every year in the 1980s.
• 14 memoirs from people who rose above impossible circumstances.
• The 10 most common jobs in the Viking Age.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!

The Girls Before by Kate Alice Marshall

 

First Line: I don't know how long I've been down here in the dark.

Audrey is a search and rescue expert who's never stopped looking for her ex-best friend, Janie, who disappeared when they were teenagers. When Audrey comes across evidence that a recent teenage runaway may actually have been kidnapped from land belonging to the town's most prominent family, she's going to have to dig through decades of secrets to find out what happened to the runaway... and all the girls before.

~

The Girls Before alternates chapters between a girl trapped in the dark and Audrey, the search and rescue expert who's looking for a missing girl that no one else believes is missing.

Audrey is one of those angsty characters I've grown bored of-- convinced that her way is the right way and willing to needlessly put her life at risk to prove her point. To make matters worse, there's also the de rigueur prominent (and prominently twisted) family in town. 

There are twists and surprises, but Audrey never thrilled me. The story dragged. If it had been tightened up, I may have cared how it all turned out; but it wasn't, and I didn't. I must make a note to myself to avoid books with angst-riddled characters. After The Girls Before, I find myself in dire need of a straightforward murder and a determined cop.

The Girls Before by Kate Alice Marshall

eISBN: 9781250343093

Flatiron Books © 2026

eBook, 307 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: D

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

A Where's My Long Johns Weekly Link Round-Up

 

This week has been a bit busier than last, mainly due to doctor's appointments. Arizona has been experiencing a series of leftovers from hurricanes and tropical storms. That probably sounds odd... the desert being affected by hurricanes... but it happens. Thankfully, all my friends on the East Coast are safe from the latest one that rampaged through.

Another effect the weather has had is the banishment of triple-digit temperatures. In fact, we've had a couple of days with temperatures in the 70°F (23 °C) range. It's made me think about getting out a sweater, but so far, I've resisted. 

The dragonflies are still busy darting back and forth over the pool, and I've switched from needlepoint to knitting. What I really need to do is put up my ofrenda for Día de los Muertos, but so far, my enthusiasm for decorating is lacking.

I love the colors and the embroidery on this "Plum Blossom" robe in the Musical Instrument Museum!

Since I've memorized most of the dialogue on all things Timothy Dalton, I've turned my attention to Alain Delon, an actor who caught my eye as a teenager. The added bonus of watching Delon's films is that it's knocking some rust off my French. (A long time ago, I used to dream in French.)

Virtual hugs to you all! Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• How newspapers helped democratize knowledge and civic participation.
• The real pet cemetery that inspired Stephen King's most personal horror novel.
• Sorry, but Jane Eyre isn't the romance you want it to be.
• Quiz: Can you complete these John Steinbeck book titles?
• How TikTok is transforming the English language.
• The premiere date of Pride and Prejudice is set at Netflix, and full cast photos have been unveiled.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• An urn with jaguars and skulls: A 1,400-year-old burial container depicting a deceased ruler's arrival to the Maya underworld.
• AI has decoded a 217-year-old secret letter ordered by Napoleon.
• A new trick could reveal text on 2,000-year-old scrolls charred by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
• A 1,000-year-old "snake amulet" featuring a Christian saint and "Medusa" has been discovered in Russia.
• A nearly 2,400-year-old school where Aristotle taught Alexander the Great has been discovered in Greece.
• A missing Celtic fort annihilated by Julius Caesar has finally been found under a Paris hospital.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• A family of barn owls has moved into New York City's Upper West Side, perhaps the first to nest in Manhattan in modern history.
• Watch five newborn cheetah cubs grow on a Livestream from the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute.
• One of the world's largest chinstrap penguin colonies is shrinking fast.
• South American bare-throated bellbirds and red-legged seriemas can match a jackhammer's ear-splitting volume, making them some of the world's loudest known avians.
• The Tasmanian tiger was branded a livestock killer. New research challenges that myth.
• An otter just returned to New York City's Bronx River for the first time in a century.

►The Wanderer◄

• A sunlight trick transformed the lost "heart" of the Colorado River into a giant silver serpent.
• 7 extraordinary Indigenous sites in the US, from Chaco Canyon to Chimney Rock.
• The happiest-- and least happy-- states in 2026, ranked.
• How kudzu was supposed to save the South.
• Meet the retirees turning their Virginia farms into wildlife corridors.
• New research shows that dams around the world hold so much water they've shifted the Earth's poles.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Bonnie Garmus on writing a coming-of-age novel of poets and poetry.
• Meet Biddy Mason, the Black matriarch who helped build Los Angeles.
• Frances Benjamin Johnston, the photographer who preserved everyday architecture.
• Raised in apartheid South Africa, 2026 Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay is one of the world's leading human rights jurists.
• Freddy Mercury's boundary-pushing costumes take center stage at the Victoria and Albert Museum to mark the 80th anniversary of his birth.
• College student Manasi Desai has developed a clear polish that turns your fingernail into a touch-screen stylus.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 20 books to read before they hit the screen.
• 10 Halloween traditions that don't exist anymore.
• The best biographies and memoirs of Fall 2026.
• This year's must-read books by Indigenous authors.
• The ultimate Fall 2026 reading list.
• 5 experiences kids don't have anymore because of streaming.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!

The Flight Nurses' War by Leah Garrett

 

First Line: It was March 13, 1945, and Ensign Jeanne Doll from Omro, Wisconsin, knew that something bad was going to happen.

My grandfather served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. He was an anti-aircraft gunner who also landed men and supplies on the beachheads during the Battle of Okinawa. For this reason, I've always been interested in this area of World War II history.

I'm also interested in women's history, and I've been thrilled to see so many unwritten stories brought to life as they are in Leah Garrett's fascinating history, The Flight Nurses' War. 

Garrett follows the first group of Navy nurses ever assigned to an active combat zone. Readers learn about where the women came from, their personalities, and their experiences during the war. Some of them had never told their stories to anyone.

Their training was strenuous. Examples? Treading water for ten minutes with their hands tied behind their backs. Swimming a full mile. Hauling dead-weight bodies back and forth across the pool. Swimming 440 yards in ten minutes wearing their Navy overalls and boots. They weren't given weapons training, and they weren't given any training for what we now call PTSD, but they found themselves doing whatever was needed, and they felt honored if the wounded soldiers called them "Mom." 

The Flight Nurses' War uncovers an important part of history by telling the stories of these remarkable women. I am so glad Garrett made it possible for me to meet them.

The Flight Nurses' War: The American Women Who Saved Thousands of Lives at Iwo Jima and Okinawa 

by Leah Garrett

eISBN: 9781541605176

Seal Press © 2026

eBook, 294 pages

Non-Fiction

Rating: A

Source: NetGalley

A Reading and Watching Beauty Fly By Weekly Link Round-Up

 

With my niece back in the UK, life has settled back into Quiet Mode. I've spent most of this week "puttering." To me, puttering means doing a lot of little chores I've been putting off. I can go past things for days, even weeks, and tell myself, "I have to get to that sometime." Finally, sometime arrives, and I get myself in gear. One little chore leads to another and another and another until I feel proud of myself for how much I've accomplished. Silly me!

The only other thing I've done is dive into my ARC of Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch novel, The Hollow. I love how his writing quietly draws me right in, and I don't want to stop turning the pages. If I'm reading in my recliner, I pause to reach for my cold drink (usually water or juice) and look out the window. The hummingbirds still love the hanging solar fountain I got for them, but what I've been enjoying even more is watching all the dragonflies zigzag over the pool's surface. I'm convinced that someone looking at a dragonfly's wings came up with the idea of making stained-glass windows. Here's a photo (taken a long time ago!) of me with a very friendly Mexican Amberwing dragonfly who spent most of an afternoon with me at the pool. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Virtual hugs to you all. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why do we say "turn over a new leaf"?
• Why King Arthur still shapes pop culture.
• A PEN report shows that book bans hit an unprecedented high in the 2025-26 school year.
• Singapore pays people to pick up a book in a battle against doomscrolling.
• Penguin Random House's Jon Donovan on the new rules of book discovery: "It finds you."
• The guests for Barack Obama's book podcast have been announced.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• These soldiers were buried in an unmarked grave during the Revolutionary War. Now historians finally know their names.
• New research shows that these ancient Egyptian servants may have been brutally sacrificed and buried alongside their pharaohs. (Good heavens! The pharaohs do their own fetching and carrying in the afterlife?!?)
• What are medieval English coins doing in Rome? They could be rare evidence of a "Little England" enclave that received special papal privileges.
• A ship carrying stacks of ancient dishware sank off the coast of Turkey 2,100 years ago. Its ceramic cargo is still remarkably intact.
• The first female pharaoh? Researchers say an old photo of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics highlights the status of one of Egypt's earliest queens.
• When Jane Austen took a turn about the ballroom in Bath, ancient Roman artifacts were hiding beneath her feet. Now, archaeologists have finally found them.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• See the winning images from the 2026 Dog Photography Awards.
• See animal shenanigans captured in photos and videos shortlisted for the 2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards.
• See 20 photos of marine life, from seahorses to manta rays to orcas to turtles.
• Australia's second-smallest rock-wallaby reappears in a region where it had not been seen for 50 years.
• For decades, scientists thought an "American cheetah" once roamed North America. Turns out the extinct cat wasn't a cheetah.
• The bad dogs of crime fiction and film.

►The Wanderer◄

• The most affordable places to live the Mediterranean dream, ranked.
• Can you name the 5 coldest countries on Earth?
• The haunting history of the Apache Death Cave near Winslow, Arizona.
• Montana built a $107 million museum. Its smallest room says a lot about the thought that went into designing the space.
• On the secrets old buildings can keep.
• Building a library in wartime Paris.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• How Army librarian Ray Trautman brought the joy of reading to the front lines.
• How feminist activist Robin Morgan helped preserve the legacy of Sylvia Plath.
• The women written out of mining history.
• How the artist Veronese's dogs landed him in hot water with the Inquisition.
• Henry VIII relied on courtier John Gage to enforce his orders during the English Reformation. Behind the scenes, the Tudor politician defied his king by secretly saving a Catholic text.
• Rachel Carson's critics called her a witch.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Sherry Thomas' favorite mysteries set on the southwest coast of England.
• Mystery fiction's greatest lawyers.
• 8 cozy mysteries with real estate twists.
• The must-read historical mysteries of fall.
• 15 lesser-known books by famous authors.
• The most anticipated mysteries, thrillers, and crime novels of Fall 2026.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!

Flying through the Musical Instrument Museum

It's taken me much longer to go through all the photos I took when my niece Karen and I visited MIM (the Musical Instrument Museum), so I'm just going to dive in and start sharing. MIM is one place I highly recommend you visit if you ever find yourself in Phoenix.

Karen standing between the slot drums at the museum entrance.

Karen and I got to see The Magic Flute exhibit shortly before it closed.

Made by the Chokwe people of Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Left: Whistle made by the Comanche people, Oklahoma, 1983. Turkey bone and beads. Right: Whistle made by the Cheyenne people, Montana or South Dakota, c. 1900. Reed, animal skin, fiber, beads.

Samurai armor, Japan, early to mid-19th century. Metal, leather, lacquer, silk, wood.

Hitoyogiri, Japan, early 14th century. Bamboo, lacquer, pigment.

The clear glass flute was owned by Napoleon. The blue glass flute was owned by his brother, Louis, who was King of Holland.

Costumes from The Magic Flute at the Seattle Opera.

You can see here that Karen is making use of the headphones to learn more about the exhibits.

Tengai (basket hat), Japan, late 19th century. Reed, thread. Worn by Buddhist monks of the Fuke sect.

Yinggu (double-headed drum), 19th century. Wood, animal skin, paint, lacquer. A drum on a tall stand used in the court orchestra. Painted with a motif of dragons among clouds.

Detail

Another lute that I somehow neglected to get the details of. Behind it, you can see a foot, which reminds me of something that gobsmacked me. I am used to school groups in these places, and they run roughshod everywhere and scream and shout at the tops of their lungs. NOT HERE! Karen and I were very impressed at how carefully the children were monitored.

Detail. I find myself taking lots of close-ups because I'm in awe of the artistry and craftsmanship.

Pū (shell trumpet), French Polynesia, 19th century.

Another shell trumpet

Slit drums, Malakula Island, 1930-1950. Ironwood. Played fpr rituals on sacred beaches. The one on the left is a Boo-boo, and the one on the right, from Ambrym Island 1950-1969, is an atingting. I love their names and I love these drums!

Mariachis are represented here, of course. I love mariachi music.

One exhibit is hands-on, and I always have to go in there and bang the gong. Karen tried her hand at an instrument or two. (You can see "my" gong behind her.)

Durgā mask, Ghasi people, West Bengal, 2009. Papier-mâché, plastic, textile.

Rather unsettling, isn't she?

Lunch out on the patio before Dial-a-Ride came to pick us up. I'm not much of a drinker. It's been years since I had a margarita, but we discovered High Noon's flavored vodka seltzer. Yum!

I hope you enjoyed this whirlwind tour of MIM. There's always something new to see, and-- unlike many other places-- I can never leave without buying something at the gift shop!

An I Had So Much Fun Weekly Link Round-Up

 

After three weeks of not even looking at the computer, I'm finding it difficult to get back into my routine. I'll get there. I'm too stubborn not to!

Those three weeks with my niece, Karen, flew by. They were fantastic. We went places, we accomplished things around the house, we made memories. One night in particular stands out. We watched movies all evening, making ribald comments about pieces of dialogue and action. We laughed so much, it's a wonder the neighbors didn't come over to join in the fun. It's been years since I've experienced an evening like that... what a wonderful memory to keep! (And no, I'm not sharing which movies we were watching or what comments we made!)

Photos will be forthcoming, but not right now. You'll have to settle for a look at my autumn tree that's in the family room. I bought the decorations on our trip to Michael's. Didn't Karen do a wonderful job?

Virtual hugs to you all, and enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Libraries in Kentucky are seeing more book checkouts after school districts ban cell phones.
• The secret lives of men who read romance novels.
• Audible's new features let you explore book worlds-- and use AI to talk to characters.
• From "Sunday Scaries" and "Whack-a-Mole" to "Looksmaxxing" and "Cuffing Season," these are the newest words in the dictionary.
• A signature Hawaiian textile with a rich history is making a splash in the fashion world.
• 40 years later: A look at the legacy of Michael Mann's Manhunter.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A 1,700-year-old tomb discovered in Egypt contains a poem in ancient Greek and spells to protect the dead.
• A lavish private bath used by Roman emperors and "high-status residents" was discovered at an imperial palace in Serbia.
• The Crown of Kerch: A 1,600-year-old gold, gem-studded diadem found in the grave of a Hun noblewoman.
• A 3,200-year-old inscription may point to a long-lost ancient Egyptian city from the time of Ramesses II.
• A stunning Roman-era mosaic discovered in Turkey features "Emerald" the cat and "Ocean" the dog.
• Guldhøj folding chair: The only completely preserved chair from Bronze Age Europe.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• "It is extremely rare to witness": Scientists record a humpback whale mother grieving her stillborn calf in first-of-its-kind footage.
• Scientists name a new cat species for the first time in over a century.
• Two heads are better than one: A rare, double-headed turtle hatchling was discovered on Cape Cod.
• FiasKo the police dog gets a sniff of a missing 6-year-old boy's shoe and leads searchers right to him.
• Scientists recreated the long-lost chirps of Jurassic insects. Listen to the simulated soundscape of 164 million years ago.
• These adorable, critically endangered pygmy raccoons in Cozumel are teaching one another to turn trash into toy balls.

►The Wanderer◄

• We now have an incredibly detailed map to help predict which areas of Los Angeles are the most at risk from "The Big One."
• The most (and least) expensive states for groceries, mapped.
• England's beloved Sycamore Gap tree is showing signs of life, three years after vandals chopped it down.
• The best state fairs in America, ranked.
• A lake in Canada got a mysterious new island. Then it disappeared-- and now it's back.
• Crime and the City: the Azores.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Who wrote Elizabeth I's most scathing letters? New research suggests the Tudor queen's male secretaries revised her correspondence to emphasize her temper.
• 15 trailblazing facts about Gloria Steinem.
• The life of Agatha Christie, the world's best-selling novelist, goes under the microscope at the British Library.
• After 131 years of being buried in an Indian School cemetery, Comanche child Frances Bones' remains are returned to her homelands.
• The Hispanic inventors behind things you use every day.
• The women who sold books door to door.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Kirkus' 20 best books to read in October.
• Kirkus' 20 must-reads for obsessive book lovers.
• Kirkus' 20 fiction books getting major awards buzz.
• 7 social rules the family landline forced everyone to learn.
• 20 defunct chain restaurants you used to see everywhere.
• The best historical fiction of fall.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!