The Anybody Got a Towel Weekly Link Round-Up

In case any of you are wondering, I am indeed taking stacks of books out to the pool to read. My waterproof Harrod's bag carries my books, some hand-knitted cloths, my reading glasses, cell phone, mosquito deterrent, a small flyswatter

Brother, can you spare a towel?

(for bailing out drowning insects), a lighter (for the mosquito deterrent), and a small sandwich bag filled with le munchie du jour. I also have a new pair of gloves because I wore my other pair out last summer. So... essentials bag in one hand, super-size ice cold drink in the other, I make my way down to the shady end of the pool.

But I did goof on my first afternoon out there. I locked myself out of the laundry room and didn't have a towel with me. This means I sat down in a patio chair until I air-dried enough to go in the house because I definitely didn't want to drip all over the floors. (Naturally, the towels were all the way down at the other end of the house!)

I haven't made that mistake since, but all the noise coming from out in the corral means I'd better get out there and avoid a possible catastrophe. Head 'em up! Mooooooooove 'em out!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Reading Karl Marx's Das Kapital as a Victorian crime novel.
• How America invented "young adult" fiction for a new kind of teenager.
• Agatha Christie, travel writer.
• Another effect of the #metoo movement: the fall of the confidence man. 
• Why do so many judges cite Jane Austen in legal decisions?
• And since I've already mentioned her-- Jane Austen and the timeless tradition of mansplaining.
• How a Christmas present gave Harper Lee the time to write To Kill a Mockingbird.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• New details have been released about two ancient shipwrecks that were found during the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
• An airport janitor might get to keep $325 million in gold bars he found in the trash. (The cynic in me says that there will be some way the poor soul won't get a dime.)
• Egypt says there are no hidden rooms in King Tut's tomb after all.
• Digital forensics has reconstructed seven lost masterpieces. 
• Three 18th-century ships found in old town Alexandria tell a story of Colonial-Era Virginia. 
• Ancient Romans painted horrifying blood-red warnings on the Antonine Wall separating England from Scotland.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• A 16th-century fortified Scottish castle was invaded and ransacked by a tiny masked marauder-- a badger.
• Hundreds of blue whales are permanent residents off New Zealand's coasts.
• Why Deception Valley's deadly heat is good for wildlife.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Nine debut crime novels to discover this spring.
• Ten historical mysteries that balance story with history.
• Eleven authors recommend US bookstores worth traveling for.
• Six books for armchair travelers.
• Five remarkable women who changed the course of maritime history.
• Twenty-two photos of famous authors and their mothers.

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!