Friday, March 14, 2014

The Gadabout Weekly Link Round-Up



Some weeks are quiet; some weeks not so much. This week I stopped pulling weeds, repotting plants and feeding hungry birds to go to the dentist and The Poisoned Pen (twice-- Denise Mina and C.J. Box), and I might even head back to my favorite bookstore on Saturday. Then more weeding and pruning, followed by appointments at the bank, lunch with the girls, another trip to the dentist (good thing he's cute), and helping Denis put new parts on the evaporative cooler. And I'm in the midst of reading some excellent books. I guess it pays to gad about once in a while, eh?

Now... where did I put those links????


Bookish News & Other Interesting Tidbits
  • As much as I sometimes think everything on this planet is for sale, there are some very clever advertisements out there.
  • People of a certain age will remember the phrase "I didn't want to get involved." I enjoyed reading this article about the book Kevin Cook has written about Kitty Genovese's murder-- and I'll be looking for the book to read as well.
  • How about a Classic Literature Travel Guide?
  • I loved this British commercial Kevin Bacon did.
  • A thought-provoking article about our ideas of beauty.
  • Some publishers still insist that gender-specific children's books are easier to sell. (Perhaps we should teach our children not to buy into everything they're fed?)
  • Someone else is saying that the future of books looks a lot like Netflix.
  • Now when I watch a movie and see the World Trade Center, it brings me up short. There's a website that catalogs all the movies that those twin towers appear in. (Thanks for the link, Ken!)

Archaeology, History, Mother Nature...
  • What scientists discovered when they scanned the brain of a woman while she was having an out-of-body experience. (Okay... no wisecracks, please!)
  • Newborn turtles' mysterious "lost years" have finally been revealed.
  • Mexico's Pyramid of the Sun is slowly turning into a pile of dust. (You might have to click once to get past an ad and to the article itself.)
  • Speaking of the Pyramid of the Sun, a well-preserved jade mask was discovered in it.
  • A 30,000-year-old giant virus was recently awakened... and it's still infectious. (Once in a blue moon I wish humans weren't quite so curious.)
  • Historians have unraveled the mystery of a cryptic note written by Abraham Lincoln.
  • They're taking a good long look at a centuries-old mass grave of Irish laborers in Pennsylvania.
  • 9,000-year-old masks have gone on display in Jerusalem.

I  ♥  Lists
  • Rejection letters to famous people that prove you should never give up your dreams.
  • 5 crime novels where women are the true detectives. (Two of my favorites are listed.)
  • 10 fictional characters who just might be psychopaths... which can lead to quite serious debates on the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath.)

Book Candy, Eye Candy... My Pretties
  •  Century-old color photographs of Russia. Some fabulous shots!
  • 13 bookshelves that make us want to drop everything and read.
  • The coolest places on earth to read a book.
  • 20 of the world's most stunning libraries.
  • Life can (very cleverly) imitate art... at least with these book covers.

That's it for this week. Don't forget to stop by next weekend when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!


5 comments:

  1. Cathy - Oh, you have been/will be 'making the scene.' Thanks for leaving us these lovely links. I'm really interested in the one about our ideas of beauty. Socially-imposed ideas about what 'counts' as beautiful can be so insidious.

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    1. Yes, they can. Many of us need to learn discernment because we seem to be swallowing advertising hook, line, and sinker.

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  2. Thanks. I can't wait for the Denise Mina post. I love her books; she's one of my top favorite authors, and I'm impatiently waiting for The Red Road, her latest Alex Morrow mystery.

    And you may inspire me to go to the dentist. I am in denial about this, which is absurd as my teeth are in dire need of work.

    All of the posts about bookshelves, libraries, etc. just make me want to stay home and read more -- and rearrange the main bookshelves in my living room.

    Gender specific books: I don't think my nephew would have read books about girls when he was little. Now he's over that, and even reads books by Toni Morrison and Alice Walker.

    But when kids are young, and I think especially boys, they're attached to their gender in characters. But I think this could change if efforts were made to do this.

    This is still an issue with adult men; many still read only male authors, true even of reviewers. VIDA has done charts on this for years, interesting still. It's not fair to women writers, characters and readers.

    Lots to change in this world; that's one thing.

    So glad Sisters in Crime exists here and in other countries.

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    1. The Denise Mina event was fascinating, and I have to return to the dentist because one of my fillings needs to be repaired. I really don't mind going all that much because (1) my teeth are in good shape, and (2) one of his assistants loves to talk books with me.

      Gender specific books never bothered me as a child. I was a tomboy and preferred reading books aimed at boys. I had no problem putting myself into what were thought to be traditional boys' roles. For that matter, I didn't come from a "gender specific" family. Women in my family were known to be every bit as strong and capable as the men-- and the men knew they were usually smarter. *wink* But I do realize that I am an exception, and work needs to be done in this area.

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  3. I read the Hardy Boys, as well as the Bobbsey Twins, right before reading Beverly Cleary's Beezus and Ramona books, and then Nancy Drew. I read everything, but then I started liking books about girl heroes.

    And then as a young teenager, I just started reading adult novels and then mysteries, starting with The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes.

    And I see the 7-year-old girl next door read different books, but I think she likes books featuring competent girls.

    I think boys are more geared to reading about boys, from those I've paid attention to. I would hope that teachers are varying reading assignments for all children.

    Now I'll read all sorts of books, but I still love V.I. Warshawski, and think, as does a woman friend, that she's my alter ego, the woman I'd like to be in my own mind, having courage, bravado, boldness, feistiness, doing everything that comes at her without
    hesitation or fear, and being smart and witty, too. (And being a dog lover doesn't hurt.)

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