A Melodious Weekly Link Round-Up

A peaceful and balmy week has passed here at Casa Kittling. Denis bought me a new bread machine to replace the one that insisted on retiring, so I had to break it in. I think the best smell to walk into when you come home is the smell of fresh baked bread, don't you?

Sandhill Cranes at Whitewater Draw

I thought I'd share one of the photos I took while we were down in Bisbee. In January we always make a point of going to Whitewater Draw in the Sulphur Springs Valley. (Click on it to see it full size in a new window.) Some of the area's history would whisper names like Cochise and Geronimo, but in the winter it's one of the premier birding spots in the world. Over 20,000 sandhill cranes escape the cold weather here, and it's always a thrill to see (and hear) them.

Speaking of hearing birds, I've been serenaded every night between 2 and 3 AM by a mockingbird who's trying to win the affections of his lady fair. I don't know how well he's doing with her, but he's won me over. I only hear them singing this way late late at night, and I love it.


I'd best get these links posted so I'll be ready for the next serenade.... Head 'em up! Move 'em out!

Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits

• An interesting article on why Americans don't read foreign fiction.
• Knowledge can be absolutely terrifying: ISIS has been gutting Iraqi libraries.
• HarperCollins is publishing some wonderful UK authors under their Witness Impulse imprint for amazing prices. Stephen Booth, Rebecca Tope, Agatha Christie, and many others-- including some topnotch American writers. Here's the list for what's available on Kindle.
• The book that judges you by your cover.
• A rare book has sold online for a whopping $191,000.
• Evidently some people with a little too much time on their hands have decided that Little Free Libraries are on the wrong side of the law.
• HBO has announced the debut date for J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy. Sources also say that the ending has been changed.
  
• Here's a map of the most common job in every state. What's really interesting is to see how those jobs change over the years (1978-2014).
• One woman's year-long quest to read a book from every country.
• A business traveler gave a homeless man a Kindle.
• Has literature evolved in the last decade?
• Can you identify the detective from his (or her) description?
• Why fan fiction is the future of publishing. 
• The Iraqi book market comes back to life seven years after bombing.
• The audiobook of I Am Malala has won a Grammy Award.
• An anti-vaccine book is getting bad reviews on Amazon. I can't help but wonder how many of these anti-vaccine folks lived in the years before these diseases were eradicated? Trust me, there's nothing marvelous about Melanie's measles-- or anyone else's for that matter. I have firsthand experience! (Ouch! Who put that soapbox there?)

Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones

• I've vowed to borrow a metal detector and get to work next time I'm in the UK. Now I'm vowing to start looking through every old barn I come across. You never know when you'll uncover a $3 million find. 
• Speaking of barn finds, a 1961 Ferrari that was found in a French barn just sold for over $16 million. Now that's a find!
• Some of Alan Turing's codebreaking notes were used as roofing insulation at Bletchley Park.
• Art investors are freaking out because Picasso's granddaughter is about to flood the market with thousands of her grandfather's paintings.
• I'm not the most graceful person to have ever trod the boards, so why can't I stumble over a 17-pound gold nugget like this Chinese herdsman did? 
• Yuck. Two mummies have been found floating in sewage in Egypt.
• Over 1,000 Disneyland collectibles are heading to auction in California.
• A Gauguin painting has just sold for $300 million.
• The drought may soon yield a mysterious World War II-era bomber beneath Lake Mead. 
• A sumptuous cache of pearl- and emerald-encrusted rings, bracelets, gold necklaces and other opulent objects from the Roman Empire are on display at Getty Villa.
• Life was a bit dangerous for Londoners in the seventeenth century.
• Don't chuck out Great Aunt Fanny's scrapbooks without taking a look in them first. You might find something interesting-- like an 800-year-old copy of the Magna Carta. 
• A couple shopping at a local thrift store bought a Lombardi sweater worth $20,000. 
• A Roman cemetery has been found near Exeter in England.

Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett

• One reason why you'll never find me on a boat with my eyes glued to the screen of my cell phone.
• This little police dog has a big purpose.
• You may not think of beavers and the Sonoran Desert in the same thought, but this isn't the first time one has tried to make the Phoenix metro area its home. Here's hoping the little guy likes his new home in Wickenburg even better.
• Rescuers save a swan after its bill freezes shut.

I  ♥  Lists

• The top ten novels featuring works of art. (#1 and #3 came to my mind immediately.)
• 17 times your love of books was officially out of control.
• 16+ cool and creative bookmarks for bookworms. 
• 20 things I'll bet you didn't know about Arizona. 
• 23 mugs only book nerds will appreciate.

That's all for this week. Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll share a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Have a wonderful weekend-- Read something fabulous!