The Survivor Weekly Link Round-Up

It wasn't easy, but I did survive spring cleaning. Well, I did manage to spray myself in the face with furniture polish and had a couple of other small mishaps that didn't amount to much compared to what else had happened earlier. I never did care for housework, and as I get older, the more I hate it. I'm seriously thinking about hiring someone else to do it while I sit outside with a cold drink and a good book. Wonder if I could find someone who would clean for books?

Last week Denis and I went to see "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," and we loved it. In fact... even if the rest of the movie had been truly awful, there was one line of dialogue that was well worth the price of admission. And who better to deliver it than Maggie Smith? I howled with laughter then, and thinking about it now puts a huge smile on my face.

Denis and I are also busily planning our next trip to the UK. It won't happen for quite some time yet, but that won't keep us from planning. There will be several new experiences for me this time around: a direct flight to London (we've always flown into Manchester), the overnight train to Inverness, a week in a lovely little cottage overlooking a gorgeous beach in remote northwestern Scotland, and spending two days in London before returning home. I do not like crowds, traffic congestion, or anything of that ilk, so I've avoided London. (My heart's in the Highlands!) But I've found that even though I'm dreading the crowds, a part of me is excited about being in London. I'm busy looking at the London A-Z, bus routes, hotel locations....

Oh. You came here for some links? Well, I've got plenty of those. Let me round 'em up for you!
 

Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits

• As one writer discovered, after publication, a book or a poem isn't yours any longer. How he found out left me stunned. 
• Raising kids who want to read.
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the victim of a police conspiracy.
• There's no wrong place to start reading Pratchett. (And there's one more book still to come.)
• This is something I've learned not to do: the perils of re-reading.
• Harper Lee's abandoned true crime novel. 
• Gee, I don't know why this particular article caught my eye: New data on the mental health benefits of knitting.
• When it comes to education, the weaker sex isn't the one you might expect.
• The creators of Game of Thrones have admitted that the show will spoil the books for anyone trying to watch and read.
• David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are returning for six new episodes of The X-Files.

Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones

• 25 years after the art heist, empty frames still hang in Boston's Gardner Museum.
• It's been an amazing month for archaeology. Here are 7 of the most exciting discoveries.
• A huge tomb complex has been uncovered in Beijing.
• Italy shows off a restored Pompeii villa.
• A gem engraved with a goddess's image has been found near King Herod's mausoleum.
• I might have shared this link about some 2,200-year-old mosaics discovered in an ancient Greek city, but I thought I'd share it again because the mosaics are fabulous. I also found a video about the archaeological work being done in the ancient city of Zeugma. More fascinating stuff!
• Fun facts about the real Downton Abbey. 
• The Neanderthals appear to be the globe's first jewelers. 
• Meet one of the women who helped Alan Turing break the Enigma Code in World War II.
• After more than 500 years, England's King Richard III finally gets some respect-- and Benedict Cumberbatch is to read a poem at the king's reburial.
• After finding so many "worthless" Roman coins at a dig in Navenby, an archaeologist is speculating that there was a McDonald's-style eatery on the site. (I wonder how much a Big Mac cost back then?)
• An El Greco painting seized by the Nazis has been returned to the owner's family.

Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett

• Alaska prepares for the return of wood bison after a century's absence.
• This very cute endangered mammal hasn't been photographed in twenty years. 
• When I saw this link to a chart listing the longest-lived animals on earth, I had to click on it-- but the list in my head didn't come close to what was on the chart!
• Why is this little girl getting gifts from crows? 
• Meet Biddy the traveling hedgehog.
• Just what I always wanted to see: a cockroach wearing a backpack. The why of it all is interesting, though.

The Happy Wanderer

• The fastest way to hit the best landmarks on a road trip in the U.S. Let's face it-- we don't always have a lot of time. 
• Be prepared to get dizzy taking a look at these precariously perched dwellings.
• Would you like to stay at Jessica Fletcher's house?
• There is a battle raging now around the fate of many castles in the Highlands of Scotland. 
• 15 scenic sights that will make you want to visit the Outer Hebrides.
• On the literary trail of Peter May's Lewis Trilogy.
• 30 photos that show Mother Nature reclaiming what once was hers.
• If I ever get to Norway, I'd like to travel the Atlantic Road. 
• Check out this palace that a French mail carrier took 33 years to build.

I  ♥  Lists

• 50 great novels about madness.
• 10 bookish song parodies.
• 7 breathtaking natural cloud formations. 
• 25 photos of shadows that tell a different story.
• Famous authors who've used pen names.
• Take a guess how many times the novel has been declared dead since 1902.

Book Candy

• This house on Camano Island in Washington is a book lover's dream!
• If you drooled over the Camano Island link, you're going to drool over how an upstairs landing became a book lover's library!

That's all for now. Don't forget to stop  by next weekend when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!

Have a great weekend, and-- Read something fabulous!