I've never been much of a person for cooking. In fact I've been known to say that my dream house wouldn't have a kitchen-- and I'm not really joking. I don't know how on earth my grandmother and mother could be such marvelous cooks, and me? I didn't get that gene at all except, perhaps, for a tiny crumb since I very seldom ever have any culinary disasters.
And this is the time of year that I would love to have all the meals catered. Let someone else prowl the grocery store aisles. Let someone else slave in a kitchen that gets hot no matter what you do. Let someone else slice and dice and chop and stir. Just let me read and read and read... go to an occasional movie... stop by The Poisoned Pen for refills and events... and read and read and read!
Thanks to everyone who liked my Facebook page this past week. Besides all the other things I post there, you got to read three "Snack Bites" reviews of authors like Susan Hill, Kwei Quartey, and Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Besides these abbreviated reviews, graphics, and links, I'll also be sharing quotes from my reading and some book-related reflections that normally occur to me when I'm sitting in the shady end of the pool. In the mean time, let me get these links lined up for you before it's time to celebrate the Fourth of July!
Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits
On the Road Again
I ♥ Lists
Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones
Book Candy
- The five laws of library science infographic.
- World Book Night suspends operations.
- Neil Gaiman's American Gods is going to be adapted for television.
- The Who's Stealing eBooks infographic.
- We have to wait until next year (*sigh*), but the BBC has announced there will be more Sherlock!
- Found in Jacqueline Winspear's newsletter: her response to all the times people have asked her, "Why do you write about war?"
- Take a look at this pen-shaped scanner that will scan any printed text and automatically insert it into any application on your computer.
- Digital audiobooks are the latest emerging trend in libraries. (Denis has been making use of this for quite a while now.)
- I really enjoyed this post by Ingrid Thoft on John Singer Sargent and the fine art of suspense.
- The power of giving books.
- How a book becomes the book of the summer.
- Are authors running out of book titles?
- It's always nice (and somewhat shocking) when a Hollywood actor gets in the news for doing a good deed. Find out what Amy Adams did.
- There's a new wave of African writers with an internationalist bent.
On the Road Again
- 10 must-see castles in Scotland.
- Denis would probably enjoy driving some of these crazy roads-- and so would I as long as I was in the passenger seat!
I ♥ Lists
- 50 signs you're addicted to reading.
- 7 surprises about libraries in a recent survey.
- 4 bad side effects of reading fiction (according to the 19th century).
- 17 awesome indie bookstores.
- The world's 56 largest book publishers in 2014.
- 31 places bookworms would rather be right now.
- 6 beach reads from 100 years ago.
- The 10 best boarding school books.
- The 5 books that inspire the most tattoos.
Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones
- Has the mystery of the lost Persian army finally been solved?
- A newfound species of wasp literally has skeletons in its closet.
- The map of Native American tribes you've never seen before.
- Scientists have discovered one of the most Earthlike planets yet.
- An underwater cave in Mexico full of ancient bones is going to be mapped in 3D.
Book Candy
- The Art of Dr. Seuss Gallery is now open in Chicago.
- "Library" a piece of art by Alilar.
- A village in Portugal has begun a project called "The Art of Open Doors" in which artists are encouraged to paint the doorways of all the buildings on the main street. You can take a virtual tour-- and one of the doorways has been artistically filled with books.
- This 1750 reading chair is pretty cool!
- The streets of London are being filled with book benches.
- Take a look at the Hanno City Library in Japan.
- Find out how to turn an old cable spool into a library table.
- Here is the personal library space designed by an architect. I have only one question about the space, and I wonder if you do, too?
- I love this old bookmobile toy that was found at an auction.
That's all for now. I hope I managed to find at least one thing that tickled your fancy. Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.
Have a great weekend!
Cathy - It really would be nice sometimes to have everything catered and cleaned up afterwards... Anyway, on to the links...I must see about that scan-pen; what a handy little tool! And that mystery of the Persian army sounds absolutely fascinating. Trust you to come up with those very different but really interesting links!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad yo enjoy them!
DeleteI'm with you on the cooking stuff. Everyone in my family, except for me, LOVES going grocery shopping. I didn't get that gene.
ReplyDeleteWell... my mother and grandmother didn't like grocery shopping, but they did love to cook. I don't like either one!
DeleteYou are absolutely right in saying reading is more important than shopping or cooking! If we lived in a society where these tasks were shared by a big community it would be great.
ReplyDeleteI rarely cook unless one counts putting a pre-made frozen tofu lasagna in the oven, heating up pre-made lentil soup or throwing a sandwich together or making a cup of tea. I live in a big city so I can get meals or sandwiches delivered -- and I do that. It actually is equivalent to costs of shopping.
Anyway, these links are great. I must set up time to read all of them.
I wish Phoenix were more on par with NYC as far as meal variety and delivery go!
DeleteWell, having stopped and pondered several links, I must say that I liked Jacqueline Winspear's comments a great deal; wish I could email her to say that and mention that over here the last several wars have scarred many soldiers and families. But no email, alas.
ReplyDeleteLove the story about giving children books. Wish all food banks did that, so important. The Idaho book banning story is so good, book banners challenged and lost.
And the African writers: terrific, will keep the list.
Love Scotland's castles, but want to read about how they were built. How were they designed? Who did it? How were the materials brought and constructed? This would be interesting.
The roads are terrifying, but exciting. I wouldn't like to drive on them.
I know the answers to about four of the castles because I've been to them. I'm with you-- information like that fascinates me.
DeleteYes, because people, probably hundreds built these castles. How did they get materials and how did they transport them? How did they begin? How did they get materials high up? How are pieces held together? And on and on.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll try to read about this.
Years ago I remember reading non-fiction children's books by David Macaulay that were illuminating reading for an adult like me. He wrote about how cathedrals were built, and I'd swear he wrote something about building castles as well. He illustrated them as well. I learned a lot from reading them.
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