An "It Is What It Is, But..." Weekly Link Round-Up

Some of you may be under the mistaken impression that my middle name is Pollyanna, or that everyone calls me Little Miss Cathy Sunshine. Think again! I am no stranger to the dark side, I just think it has very little place here on my blog. After all, none of us has any problem coming in contact with the bad stuff, do we?

But I have to admit that I'm having a bit of trouble staying positive recently. I missed months of being out and about at the end of last year and the beginning of this due to my leg. I obeyed doctor's orders, and things began looking up. I actually did some non-chore and non-medical things. Then two of my three "free" days were taken up by therapy at the lymphedema clinic. I sucked it up, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and now I have a month free and clear from clinic appointments. I should be galavanting all over the place and having a blast, right?

Now I'm being forced back inside due to COVID-19. Staying inside as much as possible to read, knit, and watch TV can be a great thing-- unless you've been doing it for months and are heartily sick of it. But, it is what it is. I'll be a good girl and mind my P's and Q's. I've come too far to stop now. And I do know that I'm not alone in this.

Please, everyone, stay safe and healthy. Practice your social distancing skills by curling up with good books. Now that I've whined a bit, I'll take a deep breath, feel better, and soldier on. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• What happened when Hong Kong's schools went virtual to combat the spread of Coronavirus.
• Humans have been taking out insurance policies for at least 30,000 years.
• How a library handles a rare and deadly book of wallpaper samples.
• Avatar 2 will examine Quaritch "in detail" says returning star Stephen Lang.
• The one letter in the alphabet that can't be silent.
• In a brilliant move, Penn Museum hires refugees as guides to exhibits from their homelands.
• Don't be afraid to let children read graphic novels. They're real books.
• Bikes and books in Afghanistan.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Zennor, England's  15th-century Mermaid's Chair.
• A stolen collection of Persian poetry that was found with the help of the "Indiana Jones of the Art World" is going to auction.
• A World War II bunker used by Churchill's "Secret Army" has been unearthed in Scotland.
• Bones unearthed in an English church are likely to belong to a seventh-century saint.
• A half-eaten cookie was found inside a 16th-century Tudor manuscript.
• Did a seventh-century warrior queen build the Maya's longest road?
• A postcard sent by D.H. Lawrence is to be auctioned after it was kept under a bed.
• A treasure trove of personal artifacts was found on the doomed Arctic wreck of HMS Erebus.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Sea turtles might be eating old plastic because it smells like shrimp.
• California bats thrive in forests recovering from wildfires.
• A study has found that most dogs show anxiety-related behaviors.
• Rocco, an African grey parrot, has fallen in love with Alexa and keeps ordering things from Amazon.
• Swamp wallabies can get pregnant while they're pregnant. (I wonder what's worse: having a two-year-long gestation period like elephants, or getting pregnant when you're already pregnant?)
• The largest insect that ever existed was a giant dragonfly.
• The wildlife at Leopard Rocks is as impressive as the terrain.
• A duck ensnared in plastic sparked a rescue mission in Central Park.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Libby Riddles, the Iditarod's first woman champion, faces blizzards and accidents, but she persists.
• Michelle Howard helped save Captain Phillips from Somali pirates. Then she became the first female four-star admiral.
• Helen Hamilton Gardener, the woman who pushed the Smithsonian to preserve the victory for suffrage.
• Augusta Fells Savage, the sculptor who persisted: "He almost whipped all the art out of me."
• Nine women who changed history... and the men who took credit.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• The new Buckinghamshire Midsomer Murders tours aim to "hook" visitors.
• The essential crime novels of Los Angeles.
• Crime and the city: Saigon.
• After a truck topples an Easter Island statue, the mayor calls for traffic restrictions.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The best historical fiction of 2020 (so far).
• Ten great works of historical fiction to ease your Thomas Cromwell withdrawal. 
• The uncanny appeal of the seaside mystery.
• 2020 Update: 460+ British TV shows you can watch with Amazon Prime Video.
• Top ten mentors in fiction.
• Eight unforgettable true stories of women who made their marks on history.
• The biggest typos in the history of literature.
• Seven imposters in literature.

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 safeguard your health by staying at home with a good book!