A Back to Square One Weekly Link Round-Up

 

It's a glorious spring day here in Phoenix. My fairyduster, yellow bells, and bougainvillea are going ballistic, and I'm loving their bright splashes of color. Mama great-tailed grackle is showing her young'uns how to soften up pecans in the birdbath to make the shells easier to open. Denis and I are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. In fact, I'm as fine as freshly-minted $2 bills. (Yes, I'm speaking in code.)

I hope this week's link edition finds you well, too.

I may be addicted to knitting, but I make myself finish one project before I begin another. While Karen was here, I bought some yarn that I was itching to start work on, but... that yellow scarf had to be done first. Once it was, I started stitching up a storm with the new yarn. Here's a photo.

It's a lovely shade of coral with some sparkle. However, the more I knitted, the less satisfied I was. The border wouldn't lay flat, and its "ruffled" look didn't suit the body of the shawl. Last night, after knitting almost a foot of the shawl, I made the decision to tear it all down and start over using a smaller size needles for the border. That should make the border flat. In some ways, I wish I'd made up my mind sooner, but at least I'll be happy with the finished product.

I need to get to work on the links because I want to get back to the book I'm reading-- Michael Connelly's Nightshade set on Catalina Island. It's typical high-quality Connelly, so be on the lookout for it at the end of May.

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• What would these iconic movies look like as book covers?
• Why the world of influencers is perfect for a mystery.
• Detective novels and the "middlebrow."
• Federal cuts threaten a program that allows suburban libraries to share books.
• Texas moves to punish bookstores that sell "obscene" books.
• The UK government has proposed a collective license to ensure UK authors get paid for their works that are used to train AI.
• The Digital Packrat Manifesto.
• A PEN America report finds the jailing of writers hit a new high in 2024.
• R.I.P. mass market paperbacks.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Bite marks on an ancient skeleton reveal the first physical evidence of Roman gladiators fighting lions.
• Archaeologists in Peru have discovered the graves of men, women, and children who were killed in battle, then buried with honor.
• Why was a 1940s car discovered in the wreck of an American naval ship that sank during World War II?
• Archaeologists unearthed an intricately decorated altar that may have been used for ancient sacrifices in Guatemala.
• Some "hairy" medieval books were covered in sealskin, and researchers don't know exactly why.
• Two centuries ago, batteaumen on Virginia's James River ended long work days with a taste of freedom.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Scientists have discovered two new species of crocodile hiding in plain sight.
• Valerie the miniature dachshund has been rescued after surviving for 529 days on a rugged Australian island.
• The plains viscacha: a rodent that builds vast underground cities and ovulates more than any other mammal.
• Humpback whale song shares a key pattern with human language that might make it easier for the animals to learn.
• Authorities in helicopters snipe hundreds of koalas in a controversial "aerial cull" in Australia.
• Pet personalities revealed through side-by-side photos of dogs and their favorite things.

►The Wanderer◄

• Chattanooga just became North America's first National Park City. Here's what that means.
• Scientists have found a "breathing" magma cap inside the Yellowstone supervolcano.
• Actors Miriam Margolyes and Brian Cox join calls to save Wordsworth's home.
• The Corryvreckan whirlpool: Scotland's "raging cauldron" that is named after a Norse king and said to house a witch.
• See 15 serene scenes of the English countryside.
• The worst bleaching event on record is hitting most of the world's coral reefs.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• The many myths of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the 19th-century royal whose beauty and tragic death transformed her into a legend.
• The female gladiators of ancient Rome.
• The trailblazing Merze Tate.
• A Gold Rush of witnesses.
• Mary MacLane, the wild woman from Butte.
• 46-year-old Matt Trevelyan walked 53 miles across the English countryside wearing a giant, handmade bird costume. Here's why he did it.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Eleven legal thrillers for fans of John Grisham.
• The best crime fiction of 2025 so far.
• Twelve mystery and thriller series that you might not know about.
• Royal Danish Library treasures.
• Fifteen books set at finishing schools.
• Eighteen twisty new thrillers.
• Top-notch t-shirts to celebrate libraries.

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!