Friday, June 07, 2013

Books, Pool, Birthdays... and a Weekly Link Round-Up


It's forecast to be 112° (44°C) here today in Phoenix. I've got to get the slow cooker set up and Denis off to work, and then-- against the weather prognosticators' advice-- I'll be spending the afternoon outside (in the shady end of the pool reading the most excellent Beneath the Abbey Wall by A.D. Scott.) The only part of their advice that I will be following is to keep hydrated because I always have a nice cold drink at hand. I think my other half is acclimated: we're still running the evap cooler. No central air conditioning for us yet!

Author Taylor Stevens
Last night Denis and I celebrated his birthday by going to The Poisoned Pen to attend author Taylor Stevens' author signing, and then it was off for a celebratory meal (Italian if anyone's wondering). I had a little birthday surprise for Denis on his Facebook page-- he got to listen to his favorite group sing their song, "When I'm 64." I won't say why I chose that particular song because I know y'all are an intelligent group! It may have been his birthday yesterday, but I consider that man to be the best gift I ever gave myself. Damn, I'm lucky!

Next week, we'll be heading back to our favorite bookstore to see Craig Johnson, Jon Steele, and Ridley Pearson. One of these days they'll probably just set up cots for us back in a storeroom!  Now... let's get to these links I've been collecting....


Bookish News & Other Interesting Stuff
  • Listen to a selection from Winnie the Pooh read by its author A.A. Milne in 1929.
  • Too bad this can't happen more often: Mr. B's Bookery in Kingston, Washington has been saved by a customer.
  • Done any showrooming lately? (Checking out items in a store only to go home and buy the item online.) I've done this myself, but I try not to do it too often. The end results of showrooming could be dire.
  • A Colorado couple buys a $5 garage sale chair to discover that it's worth thousands.
  • The Guardian believes that gendered covers are failing young adult readers, and I tend to agree.
  • What books do you read during a personal crisis?
  • H.P. Lovecraft, the writer out of time.
  • Is crime fiction the new punk?
  • A tempest in a cracked teapot: Prince Charles is cleared of not paying for books at the Hay Festival of Books.
  • Here's my chance, and I'm broke: Government to auction aging lighthouses to preservationists.
  • The green light has been given to turn Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series of books into a television series.
  • Alexander McCall Smith buys some deserted Scottish islands. (I wonder if I can rent one?)
  • The cover art for new editions of the Harry Potter books has been revealed.

Digital Reading
  • I wonder how well this is going to work: Amazon is now hiring Kindle sales reps and recruiting Indie bookstores.
  • Correcting the cost of eBooks.

I   ♥  Lists

Book Candy

That's it for this week. Don't forget to stop by next weekend when I'll have a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!


12 comments:

  1. Your pool sounds glorious right about now! Happy birthday to Denis! It always makes me smile when you talk about how much you love him! I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

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    1. My pool *is* glorious right now, and as for Denis... a long, long time in the future, I don't want him going to his grave wondering if I loved him. :-)

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  2. Happy Birthday to Denis. :-)

    I'm constantly amazed at the famous authors you get to see at The Poisoned Pen. Peter Lovesey recently, Craig Johnson next week. Wow. Oddly enough, I just started Walt Longmire book 2...

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    1. If you were ever to visit Arizona, I'll have to make sure I take you there, Cath. And I almost envy you only being on book two of Craig Johnson's series. When I think of all the pleasure you have in store.... :-)

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  3. Cathy - Happy Birthday to Denis!!! And I know what you mean about lucky; I feel that way about Mr. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist.... What a great idea for birthday gift, too, and lucky, lucky you to be getting to hear Craig Johnson speak. I'm not jealous. Nope. Not me! ;-)

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    1. Denis received other goodies as well-- especially audiobooks.

      Yes, I'm oh so lucky about Denis-- and The Poisoned Pen, too!

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  4. Happy birthday to Denis from me - lurking here these days - and I must say I wouldn't mind Phoenix's 44°C now ... hot I know but as we descend into winter with 12°C max later in the week I'll be pining for the warmth.

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    1. You sound just like me, Sue. Glad you decloaked long enough to say hello!

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  5. Your pool sounds just perfect right now as New York is heating up for a horrific summer. And those cold drinks, too.

    Happy birthday to Denis and congratulations for such a wonderful relationship.

    I'm now reading Norwegian by Night, due in part to your rave review. I love it. I laughed hard all night, loving Jewish humor as I do due to Jewish grandparents and their relatives, and now I'm tearing up at WWII memories. What a brilliant tragicomedy!

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    1. It's a typical June here in Phoenix-- 110° and above-- and my pool *is* perfect.

      I agree with you-- Norwegian by Night *is* a brilliant book, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!

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  6. I'm still reading Norwegian by Night, and having laughed so hard, now I've been tearing up at many memories and observations. All of it shows how talented and smart is this author -- and how much he understands the human condition.

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    1. You're singing to the choir here, Kathy, and I'm loving it!

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