A Life with Alexa Weekly Link Round-Up

I think this is the last time Denis will be using me as his alarm clock. At the requested time I went into the bedroom, told Alexa to play Reveille, and she did. Loud and clear. Perhaps because he spent several years in the Royal Navy, he was so not amused that when he came down to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee he said, “Alexa, don’t listen to Cathy!”

Both of us were stunned when Alexa replied, “Sorry. I’ve been taught never to ignore people when they speak to me.” I laughed until I cried. Denis was not quite as amused, although he was laughing, too.

Alexa's nickname has changed from “Cloth Ears” to “Traitor.” That made my day! (Don't know what "Cloth Ears" means? It's British slang for someone who has extremely poor hearing. Denis started calling Alexa that when she kept having trouble understanding his accent.)

I'd better stop laughing and head on out to the corral. You came to see the links, and links you shall see. Head 'em up! Moooooooove 'em out!

►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Loved to death: a photographer's tribute to discarded library books. 
• “In the 1860s […] Russia had its own trio of writing sisters. Like the Brontës, the Khvoshchinskaya sisters wrote under male pseudonyms, endured hardships, and lived in the provinces.” Perhaps it's time to discover these sisters even if we can't pronounce their name? 
• The graduate research paper that helped Rachel McCarthy James solve a century-old crime. 
• Take a look at the photos of this 1931 Chicago condo on the shore of Lake Michigan and guess which room made me smile. 
• What books will we be talking about one hundred years from now? 
• The importance of rare, remarkable manuscripts.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• The Old North Church opens a 200-year-old tomb. 
• A Mongol shipwreck reveals golden treasure from when Genghis Khan's descendants ruled China. 
• The statue of an Egyptian queen has been unearthed near the pyramids of Giza. 
• Seven Jacobite relics still found in the Highlands. 
• This ancient skull may have belonged to the world's oldest tsunami victim. 
• A rare mariner's astrolabe has been found in a shipwreck near Oman.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Low sealing! A 450-pound seal had to be removed from a northern Alaska airport's runway. 
• Huh? Shrews shrink their skulls and brains for the winter. 
• Photos document dramatic wildlife migrations across Yellowstone. 
• What do you think... can bats swim? 
• I'm still laughing over this one. A wild badger sneaked into a house and impersonated the family cat. 

►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄

• Six famous writers injured while writing. 
• The twenty-five best movie adaptations of classic children's books. 
• What kind of book reader are you? A diagnostics guide. 
• Answer these questions and you'll be given a badass fictional woman to be your mom.  (Mine was Annalise Keating, which means little to me since I haven't watched the program in which she stars.)
• Seven reasons why fall is the absolute best season for reading. 
• Seven people who hated Pride and Prejudice.

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!