A Putting in the Miles Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Before you think "putting in the miles" means that I've left the premises and gone somewhere, think again. I've been putting in time every day on the new exercise machine and almost immediately began experiencing benefits. When it looked as though Denis thought bringing the thing inside and putting it together was the sum total of his involvement, I gave him a gentle nudge (honest!), and now he's fallen under its spell, too. The machine is closely related to the one I was using at the lymphedema clinic only better, and I'm not just talking about the price. 

It's amazing how quickly a pool can cool off here in the desert. We actually had a couple of days with temperatures below 100° combined with three to four days of overcast skies due to the smoke from poor California. When you combine those two things with the fact that this is the exact time of year that the sun's position in the sky changes, all of a sudden, yikes! The pool water turned cold. Denis was in the habit of going for a swim when he got home from work. Last week, he was back in the house in slightly less than a minute. "My knees wouldn't let me go in any further!" he told me. Thus endeth another season, and I'll end this with another t-shirt, which would be completely true if only someone had added "Books"...

 

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• An interactive map of Earth shows where your home was 500 million years ago.
• The unexpected politics of book cover design.
• The oldest cookbook in Korean was written by a genius noblewoman.
• Surprising secrets of writers' first drafts.
• Why U.K. publishers released 600 books in a single day.
• Researchers have figured out why return trips always seem to go by more quickly.
• The Game of Thrones producers will be adapting the Chinese Sci-Fi novel The Three-Body Problem for Netflix.
• What the country is reading during the pandemic: dystopias, social justice, and steamy romance.
• Good on 'em! Old Navy will pay its employees to work at polling stations on Election Day.
• Donating books during COVID-19.
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Norwegian archaeologists have unearthed the grave of a left-handed Viking warrior.
• Severe cyclones may have played a role in the Maya collapse.
• The world's most expensive coin is up for sale.
• Montezuma Castle: this incredible ancient dwelling is still intact thanks to Teddy Roosevelt.
• An ancient Egyptian funeral home reveals embalmers had a knack for business.
• Archaeologists discovered a teenage mummy buried with a trove of ornate jewelry.
• A naive retiree reveals that she declined a free Van Gogh painting now worth $16 million.
• The remains of a Bronze Age chieftain were found beneath a U.K. skate park.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• This thirsty squirrel begs to drink from a man's bottle of water.
• Thought to be extinct, New Guinea's singing dogs have been found alive in the wild.
• Want to support wildlife conservation in Africa? Start by going on a virtual safari.
• Underwater footage of flamingos feeding.
• A tiny yellow bird learns how to skateboard like a pro.
• An Ohio woodworker built a beautiful curved backyard bar for squirrels with a wide variety of nuts on tap.
• Ten golden retriever puppies sit transfixed by a purple dragon reading to them at storytime.
• In France, a bloody World War I battlefield has become a wildlife refuge.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Elsie Conick, the first Black woman tennis player to appear on the cover of an American magazine.
• Remembering the forgotten women writers of 17th-century Spain.
• Parnell Hall: while waiting on a life-saving lung transplant, I finally finished writing that thriller.
• It took nearly fifty years, but this week, Octavia Butler made the New York Times Best Sellers' List.
• The paralyzed World War II veterans who invented wheelchair basketball.
• Denise Mina: Where to begin with the award-winning Scottish crime author.
• Richard Osman: "I want
•  to be writing novels for the rest of my life now."

 

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• Hotel del Coronado: L. Frank Baum wrote part of the Wizard of Oz series in this wooden Victorian beach resort, and movies like "Some Like It Hot" have been filmed there.
• Gustave Eiffel's secret apartment. Guess where it is...
• Why up to 100 authors live in this mountain town of 14,000 (Canmore, Alberta, Canada).
• Sanford Biggers' quilts carry secret messages.
• Poveglia Plague Island.
• Tampa Bay Noir: shady stuff in the sunshine.
• Seven spectacular libraries you can explore from your living room.

 

►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄

• What type of reader are you based on your bookshelf opinions? According to the quiz, I am a slow reader, which-- after reading their definition-- is only partly true.
• Five ways to think about social injustice through crime fiction.
• Ten books about space travel.
• Twelve immersive reads about families: the good, the complicated, and the crazy.
• Ten novels that will fly you to Italy.
• Ten riveting reads filled with shocking secrets.
• The elusive "good marriage" in crime fiction.
• Ten unforgettable thrillers about memory loss.
• Top Latin American short stories.

 

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. 

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!