The Back in the Saddle Weekly Link Round-Up

Snow geese coming in for a landing.

Last week Denis and I spent a nice, relaxing time in a cottage in the Mule Mountains outside Bisbee, Arizona. We spent almost all of that time without any sort of internet connection. What did we do instead? Both of us read a lot, and we each pursued our own interests. We also spent an afternoon at Whitewater Draw in the Sulphur Springs Valley of Cochise County, Arizona. It is one of the premier birding spots in the world, and it's easy to see why.

When noon rolls around in the Sulphur Springs Valley, thousands of sandhill cranes stop feeding and return to places like Whitewater Draw to take an afternoon siesta, do a little grooming, and catch up on the latest gossip. If you've ever heard large numbers of sandhill cranes, you know that the racket they make is unforgettable (in a very good way). Each year we like to pay them a visit to say, "Welcome back, friends!"

Enough talk. Since there was no link round-up last weekend, I think they've built up a bit. Let me take a look to see what I've got for you....

Bookish News & Other Interesting Stuff

• Holy cow! The original Batmobile from the TV series sells for $4.2 million!
• A rare Robert Frost collection surfaces 50 years after his death.
• Experts find new evidence in Civil War submarine mystery.
• Jane Austen fans to celebrate 200 years of Pride and Prejudice.
• A secret painting in a Rembrandt masterpiece is coming into view.
• Have you noticed all the sites, books, and blogs celebrating images of books? Someone else has also noticed the curious rise of bibliographics.
• Libraries: good value, lousy marketing.
• Beijing is opening a 24-hour bookstore.
• How a bookstore changed Eowyn Ivey's world.
• Why Amazon can't win when it comes to book reviews.
• Want to collect books? Book Collecting 101
• A trove of Kennedy items has been found at an aide's home.
• The identity of a famous 19th-century brain has been discovered.
• When customers need comfort books.
• Book cafés are evolving into cultural spots.
• Laura Miller wants shushing librarians to be brought back.
• When newspapers were new-- or how Londoners got word of the plague.
• What your desk says about you. (No, there's no option for a desk that looks as though a wastebasket has been emptied on it, thank heavens!)
• Why finding whale vomit on the beach is a good thing.
• Love message scratched on a window pane is deciphered after 100 years.
• There are times when a cover can ruin a book.
• Books on prescription to be introduced in the UK.

Books in the Digital Lane

• When it comes to eBooks, libraries are more important than ever for discovery.
• An infographic on who reads eBooks.
• Worldreader receives a donation from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
• It's not available for the market yet, but I had to smile when I saw this concept eReader screen.

I   ♥  Lists & Quizzes

• 10 curious facts about your favorite childhood authors.
• Adorable letters from famous authors to their children.
• 7 books that would make great TV shows.
• Here's a quiz on American presidents in literature.
• 50 essential science fiction books.
• 10 literary board games for book nerds.
• 16 fancy gifts for book nerds.
• 10 novels that are scarier than most horror movies.
• 15 movies starring bookstores.
• The 10 most notorious parts of famous books.
• 10 gadgets to organize and power your tech.
• 15 colorful entries from Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words.
• Top 10 fictional female friends we'd like to have.

Book Candy

• The lumberjack bookcase.
• The best uses of the IKEA Expedit bookcase.
• The melting bookcase.
• Bookcase styling ideas.
• Book barns in the northeastern US.
• The elegant bookshelf sofa.
• Want a zipper bookcase?

Well, that's two weeks' worth of links, so you should have plenty to investigate this weekend. Don't forget to stop by next weekend when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!