A Well Up for Happy Weekly Link Round-Up

Denis and I were sitting in the waiting room of the surgi-center before my first cataract surgery Tuesday. Another couple came in shortly afterward and-- to be kind-- I'll just say that they were a Very Special pair. She couldn't wait for her own surgery because she wanted to go home being able to see that very day. I couldn't help but mentally shake my head. Everyone is given instructions pre-surgery, and it's sad what some of those instructions have to be. Fortunately, I didn't have to strip down and put on one of those flattering designer hospital gowns. Nope, all I had to do was wear loose, comfortable freshly laundered clothing that would give easy access to heart monitors, etc. Sitting there waiting, I would've paid $20 for a glass of water; I was parched. But... the cut-off for food and drink pre-surgery was six hours, and I was following directions. The Very Special woman also awaiting surgery had on a filthy t-shirt and slacks... and was chugging an ice cold Pepsi. I haven't dealt with the public in so long that they're beginning to surprise me again.

I thought you might like to see my bottle of "Liquid Gold" that cost $300. It's so small that-- even with just one drop in the eye per day-- I doubt that it will last through both surgeries. Ah well.

I came home from surgery, ate something, inhaled an ice cold beverage, and stretched out in my recliner for a three-hour nap. When I woke up at 6 PM, I removed the eye shield, covered the eye that hadn't been operated on, and took a look through my new peeper. Totally blurry. It didn't bother me because that's what I'd been told would happen. At 9 PM, I took another look. Almost every bit of blurriness was gone, and I couldn't believe what I was able to see.

The next afternoon, I went in for my post-op appointment. The doctor checked me out, said, "Perfect!" several times and told me that my ophthalmologist had corrected everything, and I now have 20/20 vision in that eye. I don't think I was born with 20/20 vision! Now I'm not wearing any glasses and constantly amazed at what I'm able to see. The clarity! The peripheral vision! The COLORS! Tuesday and Wednesday, my eyes kept welling up, and it seldom had anything to do with all the drops I have to put in my eye. No...

I'm so happy, and I can't wait to see the world when both eyes are done!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Val McDermid dreams of a lost Josephine Tey mystery.
• The birth of American detective fiction.
• A new study confirms growing up in a home filled with books is good for you. (Duh.)
• How feminist dystopian fiction is channeling women's anger and anxiety.
• Joe Ide on bringing Sherlock to modern-day L.A. 
• Why buying books will not save our beloved bookstores. 
• How Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House rewrote horror's rules. (Don't watch the Netflix adaptation and expect it to be a slavish copy of the book.)
• Incarcerated Pennsylvanians now have to pay $150 to read. We should all be outraged.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• How salty fish helped the Maya of Belize bolster their economy.
• A newly discovered tyrant dinosaur stalked ancient New Mexico.
• You thought modern life was bad. This Neanderthal child was eaten by a giant bird. 
• Could a rare Mummy poster fetch $1 million at auction?
• The British Army has started recruiting for a revived Monuments Men unit to protect art and archaeology in war.
• This ancient 10-year-old received a "vampire burial" to prevent its return from the dead.
• The Rising Sun shipwreck in Lake Michigan.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Non-human mammals love the suburbs, too.
• How men's cologne might catch a man-eating tigress. (Something that was covered by Wendall Thomas in her mystery, Lost Luggage.) 
• A study says dogs are smart, but not exceptional. (I think I'll take umbrage at this report...)
• This gecko butt-dialed a "bazillion" times from a seal hospital in Hawaii. (Someone should really warn the Geico gecko about that...)
• Busy bees take a break during total solar eclipses.
• How Siberian Huskies get their piercing blue eyes.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• An interview with Tana French, the queen of psychological mysteries.
• Madame Tussaud: the astounding tale of survival behind the woman who made history.
• Q&A with Leslie S. Klinger, author of Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• Sedbergh is entering a new chapter as it continues to develop its status as England's only Book Town.
• The crime fiction of Phnom Penh. 
• A Navajo Code Talkers tribute, the first permanent memorial to a unique secret weapon of World War II, is right here in Phoenix.
• How to spend a literary long weekend in Atlanta.
• A look at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona almost twenty-five years ago.

►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄

• Seven mysteries that infuse an iconic character (Sherlock Holmes) with humanity.
• Highly recommended pastry murder mysteries.
• Here's a quiz for you: Do you know which word is older? 
• Books to read if you like amateur sleuths.
• Ten British crime dramas to die for.
• The thirty best female detectives and amateur sleuths in mystery fiction.
• Ten great clerical sleuths.
• Twelve authors write about the libraries they love.

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!