For those not in the know, "haboob" is another word for dust storm, and we had a doozy here in Phoenix Tuesday night. I'm still picking the grit out of my teeth. Our rains here in the Sonoran Desert are seasonal. To us, this is monsoon season-- which sounds funny to anyone who pictures the heavy downpours in tropical countries, but that's all "monsoon" means... "seasonal". We rely on a good monsoon season to top up the water tanks, so to speak. If we're lucky, we get some rain along with the dust storms. If we're even luckier, two inches of rain won't try to fall in ten seconds or less. Nothing floods quicker than the sun-baked earth here in the desert.
But enough of the weather. Let's get to the links!
Bookish Lists & Quizzes
- 15 of the worst books to read on a plane.
- 10 Sci-Fi authors you should know.
- Literary greats in their bathing suits.
- The debut of The Hungry Novelist questionnaire.
- Andrew Miller's Top 10 historical novels.
- Summer reading suggestions for kids of all ages.
- 8 fascinating facts you probably don't know about famous authors.
- 10 manly books to honor Ernest Hemingway's death.
- Summer reading: 9 books for entertainment junkies.
- The 10 best literary picnics.
Bookish Furniture & Travel
- A wonderful tour of literary homes.
- A wheel of books.
- A 17th Century Chinese traveling bookcase.
- A Bauhaus bookcase.
- How to put a bedside lamp in a hollow book.
eBooks
- eBooks flying off the eShelves at Minneapolis libraries.
- eReader ownership doubles in six months.
- Amazon Android tablet set to rival the iPad.
- Women prefer eReaders, men prefer tablets.
Social Media & Blogging Tips
- Keep your blog from being hacked.
- 5 reasons to start a Facebook page.
- Is it time to hit the reset button on your blog?
Other Interesting Tidbits
- The Book Cover Archive
- Some of our favorite literary detectives are getting a bit... old.
- The Chinese government is finding it's not as easy to ban books as it used to be.
- Rupert Grint on the end of Ron Weasley.
New to My Google Reader
Hopefully you found a thing or two that piqued your interest. Don't forget to stop by next weekend when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!
Cathy - I've been thinking about you this week and hoping that you were OK. I'd heard that was one kind of storm! It's good to hear you got through it OK, and thanks for the links.
ReplyDeleteGreat links, quite a few I had missed. Good luck with the rain!
ReplyDeleteYour weather is so absolutely foreign to me, here on Canada's East coast - where we do lack for rain and lots of it. Thanks for the peek into your world.
ReplyDeleteAnd THANK YOU so much for the weekly link round-up. I look forward to it with great anticipation!
A stupid question perhaps, but can you take (good) pictures of such a haboob?
ReplyDeleteAnd your ebook links are really good news for an ebook writer.
And again I wonder; will I notice if a library lends someone one of my books? Well, you may not know, but I´ll never grow wiser if I don´t ask, will I? ;)
As always I enjoyed the links!
ReplyDeleteMargot-- We're fine here. We got a light coating of dust and dirt compared to many other places here in the Valley.
ReplyDeleteAmy-- I'm keeping my fingers crossed. So far nothing but dust and humidity!
Debbie-- You're welcome!
Dorte-- There are several good photos. I have a link to some on my Facebook page. One of these days, I may be able to tell whenever someone checks out the really good books...like yours!
Alyce-- Thanks!
I've heard those sand storms kick up a mess, even getting in the tiniest cracks in door and window seams.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to add "haboob" to my cache of killer scrabble words :)
Dawn-- Yes, "haboob" is one of those words that comes in handy. :o) Our part of the Valley didn't get hit by the high wind part, we got the sneaky, very very fine dust that crept in EVERYWHERE.
ReplyDeleteHeard about the dust storm in Phoenix on Italian TV so good to know you are OK Cathy. Some interesting links here, off to browse some of them now, thankyou.
ReplyDeleteLindyLou-- Heavens-- It must've been a slow news day for some Arizona dirt to wind up on Italian TV! LOL
ReplyDelete