It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like... a Weekly Link Round-Up

Be forewarned: I'm about to gloat a little. 

Others may be scurrying around buying presents, grocery shopping, and more. Me? I'm sitting in my new favorite spot each afternoon, surrounded by Christmas decorations, drinking cups of green tea, nibbling the occasional cookie, and reading.

While others ask what books do we just have to read before the end of the year, I select books by whim. While others race to compile their best reads of the year lists, I've had mine up on the sidebar of my blog since last January. 

I am very fortunate to be able to do the holidays my way. I'm very aware of how lucky I am because-- for many years-- I wasn't. Perhaps it's all those years of retail, of never being able to take time off from the first of November until the end of January, of working eight to twelve hours a day on my feet and still having to fit in decorating, shopping, laundry, and all the rest of the usual suspects that I know that if I put in extra effort right at the beginning, I'll be able to relax my way through the best part.

Speaking of relaxing, I'd better stop. I hope you are all enjoying the season. If it's a tough time of year for you, I've been there, and I wish I could give you a big hug and spend some time with you.

Now it's time to mosey over to the corral where my herd of links is getting very restless. Head 'em up! Mooooooove 'em out!
 

►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Australian libraries are helping youth report cyber bullying. 
• Some folks think that eReaders have missed the boat because they do not provide a valid social media experience. My question is: Why do we have to be "hooked up" all the time? There's much to be said for some quiet reading time when you don't share anything with anyone. 
• A record number of UK publishers are going out of business. 
• Librarians are in an uproar (and rightfully so) after the borrowing record of Haruki Murakami is leaked. 
• Pixar's The Good Dinosaur may be its first loss at the box office. 
• Penguin Random House has changed its eBook terms for libraries. 
• Public figures show the damage that's been done to public libraries in the UK. 
• A school board member wants a Muppet book (For Every Child a Better World) to be banned.  
• How books are booming in the Middle East. 
• Are books getting longer? 
• Inequality is now killing middle America. 
• Some writing tips from James Lee Burke. 
• As of December 12, women in Saudi Arabia could finally vote. Now there's only one place in the world where they cannot.
• Protecting Arizona's Petrified Forest can be as easy as taking a hike.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• An ancient Etruscan tomb has been found "undisturbed" in Italy. 
• This particular shipwreck gave doctors the first clue that mercury might not be good for you. 
• Stonehenge may have been first erected in Wales. What? Was there an ancient equivalent of IKEA? 
• A castle has been found beneath Gloucester prison's basketball court.
• For Sale: An historic French castle covered in murals by Pablo Picasso. 
• A carved stone block has upended assumptions about ancient Judaism. 
• Hidden treasure was discovered during a museum renovation.
• An historian has announced that Suleiman the Magnificent's tomb has been found in Hungary. 
• Shifting sand dunes in Scotland have revealed a large Bronze Age settlement. 
• A Viking hoard found in a field has shed light on England's origins. 
• Angkor Wat  has yielded astounding buried towers and a spiral structure. 
• Archaeological evidence of Biblical King Hezekiah has been discovered near Temple Mount. Why did this catch my eye? Because one branch of my ancestors loved to name their first-born sons Hezekiah-- one generation after another after another after... that's why!)
• A mystery shipwreck has been discovered in a New Jersey inlet. 
• A rare treasure found in Suffolk, England depicts a medieval "Wild Man." 
• The ancient archives of the West Country Wyndham family is going to be made available online. 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Tibor Rubin is dead at the age of 86. His Medal of Honor was delayed by anti-Semitism. 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The 25 greatest British novels. 
• The best books Bill Gates read in 2015. 
• 10 literary ugly Christmas sweaters to make your holiday parties bookish and bright. (Ugly is definitely in the eye of the beholder....) 
• 8 clever ways to celebrate the holidays with books.
• 22 literary Christmas puns. 
• Time unveils its Top 10 Lists of Everything for 2015.

That's all for now! Don't forget to join me 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!