The Pool Time Weekly Link Round-Up

Yet another quiet week at Casa Kittling. A trip to The Poisoned Pen to see Brad Parks (so much fun!) and a box of yarn being delivered were the highlights. And of course I've been in the pool reading some marvelous books and spending time with my wild buddies.

On Facebook I had mentioned that a group of juvenile white-winged doves were jealous of my ability to sit in the pool, and they kept trying to do it, too. All they got for their efforts were wet butts. One of my friends suggested a "kiddie pool" for them, so I got one and put it by the steps where they keep trying to sit. 

In the photo to the left, you can see four of the six gathered around their pool. The sun is still shining on a corner of it, and they waited until the "pool" was completely in the shade before they got in. Three can sit in there comfortably, four is too much of a squeeze-- and there's been a bit of flapping and quarreling over how long each bird gets to sit in there and cool off. I think they must like it. The attempts to sit in the pool have greatly decreased, and so have the number of times they've flown over to my umbrella to look down on me accusingly. Do I spoil the birds in my back garden? Naaaaaaaaaah!

 

►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Are there literary uses for boredom? 
• Just what year is the greatest year for books ever? 
• Celebrating the sci-fi cinema of one of my favorites-- Jeff Goldblum. 
• IBM's Watson can analyze your writing for emotion.
• How a long-lost Dr. Seuss book was discovered. 
• Since the BBC is filming a new TV series based on Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence, here's a quiz about detective duos for you.
• Goodreads conducted a poll, and here's the infographic with the results. It's all about our summer reading habits. (Strangely enough it seems that no one else likes to read while in the pool!)
• I really enjoyed this video interview of Stanley Trollip and Michael Sears for their latest Detective Kubu mystery.
• What college students are reading.
• Is this the greatest book award acceptance speech ever?
• Rest in Peace, Ann Rule. Ann was the first author I ever got in contact with. She was generous. She was funny. You've left us a marvelous legacy in your books, Ann, and you will be missed.
• eBook piracy is virtually nonexistent in the UK.
• Rediscovered Pablo Neruda poems are to be published. (One of my favorite poets!)

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists have found a very significant 4,000-year-old home in Ohio. 
• Weird horse-cows and 6-legged sheep have been found in some Iron Age burials. 
• Maybe, just maybe... Alexander the Great's father has been found. 
• A Civil War ironclad in Savannah has Navy divers and archaeologists spellbound. 
• Why museums hide masterpieces away.
• A dig in Guatemala has uncovered Mayan artifacts. 
• You'll never guess what the owner of a painting worth $1.5 million was doing with it!
• Just because I like them: historic British post boxes in pictures.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• The elusive snow leopard has been captured in come amazing photographs.
• The 10 best movie dogs of all time. (I still remember Mom and me at the drive-in with tears pouring down our faces when Old Yeller died.)
• You're sure to get some smiles from 30 cats and dogs losing the battle against human furniture.
• Just by looking at him, you'd never believe this tiny guy could stare down the police.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• 10 best secret U.S. road trips. 
• A resort company has launched a donation campaign for America's National Parks.
• Ever wanted to sleep in a bookstore in Tokyo?
• An obsessively detailed map of American literature's most epic road trips.
• The famously beautiful fjords and eerie ghost towns of Greenland.
• Windowless planes in ten years? (I'm not talking the Bill Gates kind of Windows....)

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The best regional slang words from around the U.S. 
• 15 mysterious facts about The Hardy Boys.
• 29 pictures only book lovers will understand. 
• 7 inventions for techie book lovers. 
• The 100 greatest American films, a poll conducted by the BBC. (I've seen 63.)
• The 10 best Emily Dickinson poems. (My favorite American poet.)
• Lost American slang from the 1800s.

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

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!