A Reading and Watching Beauty Fly By Weekly Link Round-Up

 

With my niece back in the UK, life has settled back into Quiet Mode. I've spent most of this week "puttering." To me, puttering means doing a lot of little chores I've been putting off. I can go past things for days, even weeks, and tell myself, "I have to get to that sometime." Finally, sometime arrives, and I get myself in gear. One little chore leads to another and another and another until I feel proud of myself for how much I've accomplished. Silly me!

The only other thing I've done is dive into my ARC of Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch novel, The Hollow. I love how his writing quietly draws me right in, and I don't want to stop turning the pages. If I'm reading in my recliner, I pause to reach for my cold drink (usually water or juice) and look out the window. The hummingbirds still love the hanging solar fountain I got for them, but what I've been enjoying even more is watching all the dragonflies zigzag over the pool's surface. I'm convinced that someone looking at a dragonfly's wings came up with the idea of making stained-glass windows. Here's a photo (taken a long time ago!) of me with a very friendly Mexican Amberwing dragonfly who spent most of an afternoon with me at the pool. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Virtual hugs to you all. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why do we say "turn over a new leaf"?
• Why King Arthur still shapes pop culture.
• A PEN report shows that book bans hit an unprecedented high in the 2025-26 school year.
• Singapore pays people to pick up a book in a battle against doomscrolling.
• Penguin Random House's Jon Donovan on the new rules of book discovery: "It finds you."
• The guests for Barack Obama's book podcast have been announced.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• These soldiers were buried in an unmarked grave during the Revolutionary War. Now historians finally know their names.
• New research shows that these ancient Egyptian servants may have been brutally sacrificed and buried alongside their pharaohs. (Good heavens! The pharaohs do their own fetching and carrying in the afterlife?!?)
• What are medieval English coins doing in Rome? They could be rare evidence of a "Little England" enclave that received special papal privileges.
• A ship carrying stacks of ancient dishware sank off the coast of Turkey 2,100 years ago. Its ceramic cargo is still remarkably intact.
• The first female pharaoh? Researchers say an old photo of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics highlights the status of one of Egypt's earliest queens.
• When Jane Austen took a turn about the ballroom in Bath, ancient Roman artifacts were hiding beneath her feet. Now, archaeologists have finally found them.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• See the winning images from the 2026 Dog Photography Awards.
• See animal shenanigans captured in photos and videos shortlisted for the 2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards.
• See 20 photos of marine life, from seahorses to manta rays to orcas to turtles.
• Australia's second-smallest rock-wallaby reappears in a region where it had not been seen for 50 years.
• For decades, scientists thought an "American cheetah" once roamed North America. Turns out the extinct cat wasn't a cheetah.
• The bad dogs of crime fiction and film.

►The Wanderer◄

• The most affordable places to live the Mediterranean dream, ranked.
• Can you name the 5 coldest countries on Earth?
• The haunting history of the Apache Death Cave near Winslow, Arizona.
• Montana built a $107 million museum. Its smallest room says a lot about the thought that went into designing the space.
• On the secrets old buildings can keep.
• Building a library in wartime Paris.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• How Army librarian Ray Trautman brought the joy of reading to the front lines.
• How feminist activist Robin Morgan helped preserve the legacy of Sylvia Plath.
• The women written out of mining history.
• How the artist Veronese's dogs landed him in hot water with the Inquisition.
• Henry VIII relied on courtier John Gage to enforce his orders during the English Reformation. Behind the scenes, the Tudor politician defied his king by secretly saving a Catholic text.
• Rachel Carson's critics called her a witch.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Sherry Thomas' favorite mysteries set on the southwest coast of England.
• Mystery fiction's greatest lawyers.
• 8 cozy mysteries with real estate twists.
• The must-read historical mysteries of fall.
• 15 lesser-known books by famous authors.
• The most anticipated mysteries, thrillers, and crime novels of Fall 2026.

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!

Flying through the Musical Instrument Museum

It's taken me much longer to go through all the photos I took when my niece Karen and I visited MIM (the Musical Instrument Museum), so I'm just going to dive in and start sharing. MIM is one place I highly recommend you visit if you ever find yourself in Phoenix.

Karen standing between the slot drums at the museum entrance.

Karen and I got to see The Magic Flute exhibit shortly before it closed.

Made by the Chokwe people of Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Left: Whistle made by the Comanche people, Oklahoma, 1983. Turkey bone and beads. Right: Whistle made by the Cheyenne people, Montana or South Dakota, c. 1900. Reed, animal skin, fiber, beads.

Samurai armor, Japan, early to mid-19th century. Metal, leather, lacquer, silk, wood.

Hitoyogiri, Japan, early 14th century. Bamboo, lacquer, pigment.

The clear glass flute was owned by Napoleon. The blue glass flute was owned by his brother, Louis, who was King of Holland.

Costumes from The Magic Flute at the Seattle Opera.

You can see here that Karen is making use of the headphones to learn more about the exhibits.

Tengai (basket hat), Japan, late 19th century. Reed, thread. Worn by Buddhist monks of the Fuke sect.

Yinggu (double-headed drum), 19th century. Wood, animal skin, paint, lacquer. A drum on a tall stand used in the court orchestra. Painted with a motif of dragons among clouds.

Detail

Another lute that I somehow neglected to get the details of. Behind it, you can see a foot, which reminds me of something that gobsmacked me. I am used to school groups in these places, and they run roughshod everywhere and scream and shout at the tops of their lungs. NOT HERE! Karen and I were very impressed at how carefully the children were monitored.

Detail. I find myself taking lots of close-ups because I'm in awe of the artistry and craftsmanship.

Pū (shell trumpet), French Polynesia, 19th century.

Another shell trumpet

Slit drums, Malakula Island, 1930-1950. Ironwood. Played fpr rituals on sacred beaches. The one on the left is a Boo-boo, and the one on the right, from Ambrym Island 1950-1969, is an atingting. I love their names and I love these drums!

Mariachis are represented here, of course. I love mariachi music.

One exhibit is hands-on, and I always have to go in there and bang the gong. Karen tried her hand at an instrument or two. (You can see "my" gong behind her.)

Durgā mask, Ghasi people, West Bengal, 2009. Papier-mâché, plastic, textile.

Rather unsettling, isn't she?

Lunch out on the patio before Dial-a-Ride came to pick us up. I'm not much of a drinker. It's been years since I had a margarita, but we discovered High Noon's flavored vodka seltzer. Yum!

I hope you enjoyed this whirlwind tour of MIM. There's always something new to see, and-- unlike many other places-- I can never leave without buying something at the gift shop!

An I Had So Much Fun Weekly Link Round-Up

 

After three weeks of not even looking at the computer, I'm finding it difficult to get back into my routine. I'll get there. I'm too stubborn not to!

Those three weeks with my niece, Karen, flew by. They were fantastic. We went places, we accomplished things around the house, we made memories. One night in particular stands out. We watched movies all evening, making ribald comments about pieces of dialogue and action. We laughed so much, it's a wonder the neighbors didn't come over to join in the fun. It's been years since I've experienced an evening like that... what a wonderful memory to keep! (And no, I'm not sharing which movies we were watching or what comments we made!)

Photos will be forthcoming, but not right now. You'll have to settle for a look at my autumn tree that's in the family room. I bought the decorations on our trip to Michael's. Didn't Karen do a wonderful job?

Virtual hugs to you all, and enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Libraries in Kentucky are seeing more book checkouts after school districts ban cell phones.
• The secret lives of men who read romance novels.
• Audible's new features let you explore book worlds-- and use AI to talk to characters.
• From "Sunday Scaries" and "Whack-a-Mole" to "Looksmaxxing" and "Cuffing Season," these are the newest words in the dictionary.
• A signature Hawaiian textile with a rich history is making a splash in the fashion world.
• 40 years later: A look at the legacy of Michael Mann's Manhunter.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A 1,700-year-old tomb discovered in Egypt contains a poem in ancient Greek and spells to protect the dead.
• A lavish private bath used by Roman emperors and "high-status residents" was discovered at an imperial palace in Serbia.
• The Crown of Kerch: A 1,600-year-old gold, gem-studded diadem found in the grave of a Hun noblewoman.
• A 3,200-year-old inscription may point to a long-lost ancient Egyptian city from the time of Ramesses II.
• A stunning Roman-era mosaic discovered in Turkey features "Emerald" the cat and "Ocean" the dog.
• Guldhøj folding chair: The only completely preserved chair from Bronze Age Europe.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• "It is extremely rare to witness": Scientists record a humpback whale mother grieving her stillborn calf in first-of-its-kind footage.
• Scientists name a new cat species for the first time in over a century.
• Two heads are better than one: A rare, double-headed turtle hatchling was discovered on Cape Cod.
• FiasKo the police dog gets a sniff of a missing 6-year-old boy's shoe and leads searchers right to him.
• Scientists recreated the long-lost chirps of Jurassic insects. Listen to the simulated soundscape of 164 million years ago.
• These adorable, critically endangered pygmy raccoons in Cozumel are teaching one another to turn trash into toy balls.

►The Wanderer◄

• We now have an incredibly detailed map to help predict which areas of Los Angeles are the most at risk from "The Big One."
• The most (and least) expensive states for groceries, mapped.
• England's beloved Sycamore Gap tree is showing signs of life, three years after vandals chopped it down.
• The best state fairs in America, ranked.
• A lake in Canada got a mysterious new island. Then it disappeared-- and now it's back.
• Crime and the City: the Azores.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Who wrote Elizabeth I's most scathing letters? New research suggests the Tudor queen's male secretaries revised her correspondence to emphasize her temper.
• 15 trailblazing facts about Gloria Steinem.
• The life of Agatha Christie, the world's best-selling novelist, goes under the microscope at the British Library.
• After 131 years of being buried in an Indian School cemetery, Comanche child Frances Bones' remains are returned to her homelands.
• The Hispanic inventors behind things you use every day.
• The women who sold books door to door.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Kirkus' 20 best books to read in October.
• Kirkus' 20 must-reads for obsessive book lovers.
• Kirkus' 20 fiction books getting major awards buzz.
• 7 social rules the family landline forced everyone to learn.
• 20 defunct chain restaurants you used to see everywhere.
• The best historical fiction of fall.

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!

The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves

 

First Line: The two girls climbed out of the car and there it was, in all its glory.

Devon's summer begins with a heatwave. Lottie and Hannah decide to celebrate the end of their school exams by going to Hannah's family's beach house a few days early. 

Lottie's body is found in the swimming pool; Hannah is missing. Matthew Venn is called in to investigate and finds a community filled with secrets, politics, and social media controversy. As he and his team dig deeper, Venn knows that the real answers they seek do not lie in what people say, but in the silences they keep.

~

Readers are seldom able to devour a book in one sitting. It's a fact of life. But some books, when they must be set aside, refuse to remain quiet. Ann Cleeves' The Dying Light is one of those books. As I performed the tasks I had to do, my mind kept going back to the book, piecing clues together, and wanting to find out what happened to Lottie and her friend, Hannah.

Unlike other characters created by the gifted Cleeves, Matthew Venn is more difficult to warm up to. His upbringing in a very strict religious group as well as his sexual orientation have made him feel like an outsider looking in. He stands back, watches, and he's a master at listening. His team has picked up on that, which means their working together is smoother, more intuitive.

There is some excellent misdirection in The Dying Light, so much so that I hadn't deduced the villain and was annoyed when I discovered the person was right in front of my nose the entire time. 

Isn't it great when a writer can do that to a seasoned crime fiction reader?

The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves

eISBN: 9781250836816

Minotaur Books © 2026

eBook, 384 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Matthew Venn

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

A Time to Enjoy Family Weekly Link Round-Up

 

This is going to be a short intro because my niece, Karen, will be here this evening for the next three weeks, and I still have things to do to get ready.

Needless to say, I won't be posting while she's here, but I did want to leave you with a fresh batch of links before I disappear. Have fun and read some good books. (I'm reading one right now-- The Flight Nurses' War.)

Virtual hugs to you all, and enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Digital forensics expert Hany Farid provides helpful tips for spotting AI-generated images.
• Not all boredom is the same.
• New York City bans AI use for students until they reach high school.
• Why do we say "Don't have a cow"?
• Why criminal profiling is a pop culture myth.
• A brief history of women's underwear.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists discover a 4,000-year-old tomb with a false door at Egypt's ancient Saqqara necropolis.
• Stones from one of Henry VIII's fortresses spent more than a century hidden in plain sight.
• A man rummaging in a Polish junkyard finds a 1,800-year-old shield holding the cremated remains of a Vandal warrior. (Now that's a junkyard...)
• A 1,300-year-old carving of a powerful Maya "Lady Supreme Warlord" weighs over a ton.
• The prehistoric paintings on the walls of caves have always been moving. But with the right kind of light, some actually seem to move.
• Why was this 17th-century Polish woman buried with a padlock on her tow and an iron sickle across her neck?

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• A sunken World War II hospital ship has been colonized by devil firefish and rare monk seals.
• Blue crabs have taken over the Adriatic Sea. To fight them off, Italian researchers just released thousands of baby octopuses.
• These 20 bird images from the Audubon Photography Awards capture the wonder of the winged world.
• What Ann Patchett's Whistler gets right and wrong about horses.
• Scientists discover Australian lizards have mutations to resist snake venom, and one day, that could help humans.
• The return of wolves to Yellowstone has led to a surge in aspen trees unseen for 80 years.

►The Wanderer◄

• How Japan turned department stores into dreamworlds.
• Before Vegas became Vegas, Hot Springs was America's Sin City. Now the Arkansas spa town embraces its colorful and seedy history.
• On the power and personality of trees.
• Le Louxor Palais du Cinema, Paris's Egyptian Revival movie palace, was abandoned for decades and was restored in 2013.
• 9 travel experiences people don't have anymore because of cell phones.
• These 15 photos of India are like witnessing the country through a kaleidoscope.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• 91-year-old Dale Sanders fell 71 times while hiking the Appalachian Trail. He just became the oldest person to complete the 2,190-mile trek.
• American commando Francis Lowell Coolidge parachuted behind enemy lines in both the European and Pacific theaters of World War II.
• An ode to the gleeful terror of Tim Curry's Pennywise.
• In lieu of flowers, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is accepting donations. (It has mine.)
• To dismantle the concept of separate but equal, Thurgood Marshall methodically devised a winning strategy: divide and conquer.
• Meet Jewels Gilbert, the Native artist behind beautiful Arctic beadwork.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 20 best books to read in September. 
• The most popular soup in every state, mapped.
• 12 French words English speakers use every day.
• Bookworms will love these 18 novels about writers.
• The Chickasaw Nation mystery series by Kris Lackey.
• 12 of the best travelogues that will whisk you around the world.

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!

Sanctuary by Garry Disher

 

First Line: It's a Tuesday evening and you're watching Caught Out on YouTube.

Grace has been a thief since she was a child. She's a good thief, taught by experts. But it's not the life she wants. It's a solitary life, always watchful, always on the move. She wants to change.

When a run-in with an old associate has her lying low in a small rural town, Grace finds an antiques shop with a timid but friendly owner who has a room for rent. This may be the perfect opportunity for Grace to have that new life. 

But dangerous men are looking for her, and she should never let her guard slip because no matter how far she runs, her past comes right along with her.

~

Australian author Garry Disher never disappoints, and Sanctuary is proof of that.  

For some reason, I've always had a penchant for reading about career thieves, and the character of Grace had me hooked from the moment I met her. Her voice drew me right in. Grace has been a thief since childhood, specializing in small, high-value items. She was taught by experts, and the identity of one or two of those experts may surprise you. She's not proud of being a thief, but it's the only way she knows how to live. Needing to feel better about herself, she loses herself in books and music whenever she can. When she finds the small town antiques shop owner, Erin, she sees her chance for a normal life, and I was certainly cheering her on. It's amazing how sympathetic this woman is, and if she taught me anything, it's that a life of thievery is exhausting. I'd never want to try it. Reading about it is enough for me.

To keep the pace fast and the blood pumping, there are characters devoted to finding Grace with varying degrees of menace, including one mediocre police officer who's always been overlooked. The twists and turns are plentiful and kept me guessing.

If you're in the mood for a fast-paced character study, I recommend Sanctuary. I bet you'll be cheering for Grace, too.

Sanctuary by Garry Disher

eISBN: 9781613168097

The Mysterious Press © 2026

eBook, 312 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A

Source: NetGalley

A ParaDrama Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I'm beginning to think that, whenever I decide to go to The Poisoned Pen, I'm going to experience some sort of drama. Twice before, the drama came when it was time for Paratransit to take me home from the bookstore. This time, it was an adventure just trying to get there.

I scheduled my ride and got confirmation from Paratransit. Pick me up at my house at 5:30 PM because I needed to be at the bookstore by 6:30 PM. (The event started at 7-- gotta allow a bit of browsing time.) The next day, Paratransit informed me that I would be picked up by another company. This didn't bother me because I'd already experienced it. When demand exceeds supply, Paratransit farms out pickups to outside companies. I also got confirmation from the company. A black Dodge Caravan will be there at 5:30 to take you to The Poisoned Pen.

At 5:45, I called the company. So many drivers take an eternity to strap down my scooter, that I didn't want to wait any longer to find out what was going on. The woman who answered the phone put me on hold, telling me that she was going to contact the driver. Ten minutes later, she told me that the driver would arrive in thirty minutes-- basically the time I wanted to be at the bookstore. Lovely.

At 6:30, a white van pulled in the driveway. I don't know if the first driver blew me off or if his black Dodge Caravan blew a fuse and was sitting on the side of the road. Whatever the reason, this driver got me to my destination right on the stroke of 7 PM. I'd been looking forward to seeing Tim Sullivan for months, and I can't begin to tell you how unhappy I would have been if I'd missed him!

L to R: Unknown fan, Tim Sullivan, and Fred, the man responsible for getting Tim's publisher to add The Poisoned Pen to his US tour. Thank you, Fred!

    

If you'd like to watch the event, you can see it on YouTube.

Virtual hugs to you all, and enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The AI book devourer is feasting on New York's bookstores.
• Inside the warehouse where Amazon scans and destroys books for AI training.
• A sparkling book club craft idea: book bedazzling.
• How a group of Michigan parents defeated anti-trans MAGA activists.
• Two friends went fishing on the Mississippi River. Police say they may have just solved a 1967 cold case.
• The making and un-making of a personal library.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A brittle coating on a 2,200-year-old Roman shipwreck reveals how ancient sailors kept their ships afloat.
• Archaeologists unearthed a unique, 11,000-year-old statue of a person riding a leopard from one of the world's earliest settlements.
• A cave sanctuary in Spain has the highest number of Latin inscriptions anywhere in the Roman Empire-- and many of them mention a mysterious "lady."
• Archaeologists unearthed a medieval nobleman buried with his horse and dog in a rare wooden tomb in Russia.
• Archaeologists unearthed traces of a mysterious medieval city that was abandoned under puzzling circumstances hundreds of years ago.
• Ancient "alien-like" skulls have been found on every continent but Antarctica. Anthropologists are starting to figure out why.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Africa's wild dogs are the most hated carnivores on the continent. Here's why some conservationists are saving them anyway. (All creatures on the planet have a purpose, even if humans don't know what that purpose is.)
• See 16 stunning animal images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards.
• An "extremely rare" half-male, half-female bobolink temporarily took up residence outside Chicago.
• Scientists gave dogs MRIs and learned that they're surprisingly good at distinguishing between human emotions, even some negative ones. (Most dog lovers could've told them that without the MRIs.)
• Scientists have identified a new manta ray species, just the third known in the world.
• Eight minutes of cute baby animal videos.

►The Wanderer◄

• In France, brutal summer heat waves are taking a toll on the flowers that inspired Claude Monet's most beloved paintings.
• Closed to the public since World War II, a "hidden" gallery at London's Natural History Museum opens its doors once again.
• The countries with the most-- and least-- paid time off, mapped.
• Get a dose of sun, sand, and sea with these 20 scenes from the beach.
• Mount Thor: the mountain with Earth's longest vertical drop.
• A giant meteor impact may have triggered a massive Grand Canyon landslide 56,000 years ago.

►Dolly Parton, You Will Be Missed◄

• Long live Dolly Parton, giver of books.
• Dolly Parton's contributions to literacy will outlive the star, just like she planned.
• 10 iconic photos of Dolly Parton through the decades, from the Smokies to superstardom.
• The Buckingham Palace guards play 9 to 5 in honour of Dolly Parton as the Royal Family pay tribute.
• How Dolly Parton told her life story through six iconic songs.
• Dolly Parton, country music icon, dies at 80.
• Dolly Parton was one of the biggest stars in the history of country music. She wanted to be remembered as a songwriter.
• Dolly Parton and Kermit the Frog perform a lovely duet of Everyday People.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 7 nautical words and phrases you use even if you've never been on a ship.
• 7 Old English words hiding in your everyday vocabulary.
• 21 fast-paced mysteries for when you don't have time to read.
• 27 historical novels that will transport you to summers past. 
• These are the perfect books to read at the pool.
• 12 medical mystery and thriller books that'll get under your skin.

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!