A Tempus Fugit Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I've got lots going on today, and if all goes well, I'll be boarding Dial-a-Ride for a trip to the Desert Botanical Garden tomorrow morning. Since my attention is being pulled in multiple directions, I wanted to make sure I got this link round-up posted because I know I won't have time in the next two days.

So...very little chatter before the links. I'll just share a sneak peek at something I'll be sharing next week...

...and add that, as I was reading in bed last night, a fight scene in Lee Goldberg's Killer Thriller made me laugh so loud that I woke up the neighbors' grumpy dog! I hope you are well and happy and have plenty of good books to read. Virtual hugs to you all!

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why you should think twice before using shorthand like "thx" and "k" in your texts.
• Barf, funk, tug, and other etymological mysteries.
• On creating the quintessential murder village in cozy mysteries.
• Wyoming lawmakers advance a bill banning "sexually explicit" books in school and public libraries.
• Bibliomania, the dark desire for books that infected Europe in the 1800s.
• Why an elderly woman character is the perfect serial killer.
• Over 50% of new online articles are being cranked out by AI.
• We're in a book affordability crisis.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A 3,500-year-old Egyptian military fortress with ancient ovens and fossilized dough has been discovered in the Sinai Desert.
• Easter Island statues may have "walked" thanks to "pendulum dynamics" and with as few as fifteen people. 
• 5,000-year-old skeleton masks and skull cups made from human bones have been discovered in China.
• Miniature skeleton: a ghostly 2,000-year-old party favor from a Roman banquet.
• Archaeologists have discovered mysterious earthwork circles built 6,500 years ago-- nearly 2,000 years before Stonehenge.
• This rare Fabergé egg might set a world record at auction for the third time in its history.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Sea otters may be small marine mammals, but their effect on an ecosystem can be huge.
• Does your dog love chasing a ball? A study suggests that dog toy "addiction" is real.
• The Asian Golden Cat: the "Feline of many costumes" that plucks birds before eating them.
• Indian Relay may just be America's most extreme sport.
• Birds make an alarm call that spans species and continents-- and may offer insight into the evolution of human language.
• U.S. whale entanglements are on the rise.

►The Wanderer◄

• You can see the Parthenon without scaffolding for the first time in decades.
• After the L.A. fires, locals turn to native plants to help shield homes from flames and clean contaminated soil. (Personal Pet Peeve: People who move here to the desert and proceed to turn their property into a clone of where they moved from. This is the desert, not the bleedin' Midwest!)
• Seven ways to see the world come alive at sunrise.
• Step away from Peru's Inca Trail to these five lesser-known wonders.
• Chainsaw-wielding robbers flee the Louvre with priceless jewelry.
• Get an eyeful of Iceland in these twenty photos that capture its natural beauty.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Zelia Nuttall, the globe-trotting scholar who unlocked the secrets of the Aztecs.
• Artist Iris Scott uses finger painting to evoke a rush of emotion with her fantasy-inspired compositions. (Definitely not your run-of-the-mill finger painting!)
• William Dampier, the pirate who penned the first English-language guacamole recipe.
• "You think me a bold cheat" -- Mary Carleton, counterfeit princess.
• Dan Pelzer kept a meticulous list of all 3,599 books he'd read since 1962. When he died, his family published it online.
• Martin Couney, the man who ran a carnival attraction that saved thousands of premature babies, wasn't a doctor at all.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Kirkus' 20 Best Books to Read in November.
• Five essential books for understanding Haitian history.
• Seven historical horror novels inspired by true events.
• Fourteen novels set in the scenic Carolinas.
• Six firefighter mystery and thriller books to spark your interest.
• The best historical fiction of the second half of 2025.

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!