It's been so quiet and peaceful here the past week that I really have no news to share-- other than the fact that I've started looking at knitting patterns!
Denis and I both hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!
Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits
- A self-published Kindle book was removed for hyphen misuse.
- Wal-Mart is looking to step up competition with Amazon. How? It's thinking about buying Nook.
- Good for Target by featuring an adorable two-year-old in a recent ad. Why so good? Izzy Bradley happens to have Down syndrome.
- I've been fascinated by gingerbread houses for years. Have you seen Martha Stewart's gingerbread version of Downton Abbey?
- I enjoyed reading this interview with one of my favorite authors, Laura Hillenbrand. (Seabiscuit, Unbroken)
- What is the most recommended novel of all time?
- Oh oh. Are men idiots who do stupid things? This study says yes. (I tend to think that women are just better at staying away from the Darwin Awards.)
- NASA's global mapping of carbon dioxide concentrations makes for some interesting looking and reading.
- Take a look at what some bored coworkers with an appreciation for art got themselves up to one day at the office.
- Here's some heartening news: the children's book market has grown 44% in the last decade.
- Ridley Scott sends a page of his script for Andy Weir's The Martian into space.
- How Dickens and Scrooge saved Christmas.
- How eBooks may disrupt your sleep.
Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones
- An ancient farmhouse discovered in Israel is yielding agricultural secrets.
- The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Michigan revealed a well-kept secret: it had sold a Cezanne painting for $100 million.
- Archaeologists have discovered the royal entryway to King Herod's hilltop palace.
- A million mummy cemetery has been unearthed in Egypt, and it's now the center of a dispute.
- 8,000-year-old olive oil has been found in ancient clay pots... but would you want to cook with it?
- The storms that hit northern California last week have brought forth prehistoric treasures.
- Let's revisit the Viking outpost that was found in Arctic Canada.
- Officially classified as treasure: an ornate 17th century mourning ring.
- Has the "Holy Grail" of shipwrecks been found?
I ♥ Lists
- 12 Christmas cards every Game of Thrones fan will appreciate.
- It may be too late this year, but next year remind those gift givers of the top fifteen reasons why books make the best gifts.
- 11 Christmas presents perfect for the fictional characters on your holiday gift list. (The first one made me laugh. Shame on me!)
- This one reminds me of Linwood Barclay's Trust Your Eyes: 10 crimes caught on Google Earth.
- 10 surprising literary facts for Christmas.
- The 10 best Christmases in literature.
The Happy Wanderer
- I've been across the Forth Bridge twice. If it weren't for having to get up there, I wouldn't mind paying £125 to see the view from the top.
Book Candy
- Get a lot of gift cards for Christmas? Do I have some bookshelves for you!
That's all for now. Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hope your Christmas was wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI hope yours was, too!
DeleteI'm glad you're having a peaceful time of it, Cathy. I hope you had a lovely Christmas. Thanks as ever for those links. I love the idea that someone found olive oil that's that old - amazing!
ReplyDeleteYes, I love that ancient olive oil, too!
DeleteI am uncertain about Walmart buying Nook. Really. I guess it makes sense. I'm just not sure about what it will do to authors. And can you imagine how many more self-published books there will be if Walmart opens its own publishing business to compete with Amazon. Just don't know. And I really wanted to be part of this business, once upon a time...
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have misgivings about Walmart buying Nook. It makes sense from their point of view, I know, but....
DeleteYou always find the funnest stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Becca! I think it's easy to see that I use social media more for reading than talking. Perhaps I should change the percentages on the two a bit! :-)
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