Friday, March 28, 2014

The Spring Cleaning Weekly Link Round-Up




There's something about the sun revving slowly back to its summer glory that sets me up to do a bit of cleaning, and-- in between author events at The Poisoned Pen-- that's exactly what I've been doing. I've even spent an hour ironing newly washed curtains, tablecloths and other "soft furnishings" which has convinced those who know me that I'm not quite right in the head. (Normally I avoid irons like they've been imbued with the Black Plague.)

Denis's handiwork. It's not rusty, it's wet.
There's also been a run on apples, seed and nectar at our feeders, which is a sure sign of many hungry baby birds in the immediate vicinity. I can even hear them cheeping when I go outside to give their parents a helping hand. Denis has also been hit with the bug, going up on the roof to put new stainless steel parts on our evaporative cooler. It's ready to go when the temperatures rise, but right now, open windows and an occasional ceiling fan work wonders, so the solar panels are generating lots of electricity that's being sold back to the power company.

With all this busy-ness, I'm sometimes hit with the "Now, why did I walk into this room?" Syndrome, which is annoying. Now...what is the focus of this post? Oh yeah-- Links! Coming right up!


Bookish News & Other Interesting Tidbits
  • Some of To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee's letters are going to be auctioned.
  • The severe drought in California has triggered a mini-Gold Rush in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
  • Harvard University has discovered old library books bound in human skin.
  • A Gone With the Wind casting rumors letter from 1937 is going up for auction.
  • I knew crafts were good for you: This is your brain on knitting.
  • An excellent write-up on the recent Left Coast Crime convention held in Monterrey, California. I'm stoked because rumor has it that this event will be held here in Phoenix in 2016. (I just hope that doesn't mean Phoenix will have a coastline by then!)
  • An unpublished short story by Tennessee Williams has been unearthed after 80 years.
  • Are eReaders environmentally friendly? (Mine is!)
  • Which place is more sexist: the Middle East or Latin America? (I wouldn't particularly want to live in either one.)
  • The early spring here in the Sonoran Desert means that Gila monsters are out earlier than usual.
  • Boys will be boys, and girls will be accommodating. (More on gender specific children's books.)
  • #NoMakeupSelfies are raising millions for cancer research.
  • Bestie and wackadoodle are now words in the Oxford English Dictionary.
  • A Norwegian museum has returned a Matisse painting that was stolen by the Nazis.
  • 25 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the effects linger on.

Science, History & Archaeology

I  ♥  Lists

Book Candy
  • Author Holly Black has a secret library that you've got to see!
  • If you're like me and can't get enough of looking at other people's bookshelves, you might want to check out this feature on Savidge Reads.
  • Now this mobile home/RV is just the thing to take out to the perfect reading and writing nature spots!
  • The two major things to check out in this ceramic artist's cottage on the Scottish coast are the ship over the fireplace and her bedroom.
  • Check out this new bookstore in New Delhi, India.

Whew! This was a MegaLinks Week, wasn't it? I hope I managed to find a few that piqued your interest. Don't forget to stop by next week when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure. Have a wonderful weekend!



6 comments:

  1. While you and Denis have been cleaning, ironing, and making your home environmentally more friendly -- not to mention the wonderful task of feeding baby birds, I have doggedly read Elly Griffiths' The Outcast Dead.

    Agree it's her best so far. Really good reflections in it by all of the characters, and interesting developments with a romantic twosome. How can Griffiths top this one? I can't wait to see.

    I love all of the Book Candy. I am ready to move into the secret library, the Mobile Home/RV (but where are the books and bookshelves?), and definitely the ceramic artist's home in Scotland. I love that, am tempted to paint a door turquoise.

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    1. Sooooooo glad you enjoyed The Outcast Dead, Kathy!

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  2. Good for you for catching the cleaning bug. Now where can *I* get it? LOL

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    1. Dunno. I haven't turned loose of mine yet! ;-)

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  3. Cathy - I know what you mean when you get busy with a lot of cleaning or other projects. I forget why I walk into rooms too sometimes *sigh.* Thanks for these links! How exciting that there's a new Tennessee Williams...

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