A Peaceful, Easy Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I've just been responding to comments on my post about the legendary musical instruments on exhibit at the Musical Instrument Museum here in the valley, so that's probably where I got the idea for the musically themed title for this week's round-up. 

After braving an unexpected stampede of people at the Desert Botanical Garden last week, Denis and I made the decision to stay home this week in order to avoid more hordes of winter visitors, people off work, and children of all ages being out of school. Not that it's a hardship; we have plenty to keep ourselves occupied. In fact, we "celebrated" Boxing Day by cleaning out our closet in the bedroom. (After spending all this time clearing out and reorganizing a space, you'd think we'd take extra care in keeping it that way, but we never do... at least where closets are concerned.)

Right now, I'm sitting here in the living room watching a mockingbird take a protracted bath and the next-door neighbor pulling weeds. We've been getting some much-needed rain, and more is expected today. When I'll get done here, I'll curl up with my latest book (I've just experienced another hurricane in John Keyse-Walker's latest mystery) and keep snug beneath one of Mom's afghans. I can almost hear her say, "All those afghans you've knitted, and you're wrapped up in one of mine!"

Another thing I've been toying with is making reading resolutions. This is something I really don't do; I'll have vague thoughts about this and that. If I happen to actually accomplish them by year's end, that's good, but I don't beat myself up if they're not done. What sort of resolutions, you ask? I keep telling myself to read more translated fiction. I certainly didn't follow through with it this year. I'd like to read one non-fiction book and one translated book per month in 2022. It's certainly doable, but will I remember? Guess it's going to take a year before any of us find out!

Here's hoping that you all have received new reading material for the coming year. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Alison Stine on how writers should name their characters.
• Spencer Kope on the monsters of Maple Falls in Whatcom County, Washington.
• The strange history of the worst sentence in English literature.
• A scientific explanation for your urge to sniff old books.
• Ann Patchett on creating the workspace you need.
• Why William Hogarth is Britain's greatest artist. (Well...he was my mother's favorite, too.)
• For Pete's sake-- just who is Pete?
• The American Library Association says there were 155 efforts to censor books in U.S. schools and libraries since June 1, 2021. More on the book banning abomination in Texas. And finally, the Guardian on how all these American conservatives trying to ban books are starting to make reading cool again.

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Scientists just reconstructed one of the oldest family trees ever charted.
• A gold ring with a Jesus symbol is one of the items found in a treasure trove in an ancient shipwreck off the coast of Israel.
• A rare gold-wrapped jar may reveal the splendor of early medieval Britain.
• There's a lost palace that rivaled Versailles buried under Brussels.
• A miniature by Sarah Biffin, a 19th-century artist born with no arms or legs, exceeds its estimates at auction.
• Why this ancient civilization fell out of love with gold for seven hundred years.
• 1,900-year-old Roman "battle spoils" were recovered from robbers in Jerusalem.
• An extremely rare penny found in a boy's lunch money is now worth a fortune.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• How shark antibodies could aid in the fight against Coronavirus and prepare for future outbreaks.
• At first she thought her dog was acting weird. Then she noticed something wrong with her baby.
• This thoughtful buffalo uses his horn to flip over an upside down tortoise.
• The Australian lyrebird can mimic the sounds of cameras, chainsaws, and car alarms. (I remember watching one of Sir David Attenborough's specials that featured lyrebirds.)
• A lost eagle from Asia has been flying around America for more than a year.
• Once a year, capybaras at this Japanese zoo are treated to a fully immersive spa day.
• Baby elephants can't control their trunks, and it's hilarious to watch them try.
• Everything you always wanted to know about detection dogs.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Eleven-year-old Davyon Johnson helped save a child from choking and a woman from a house fire... on the same day. 
• Teen Emily Bhatnagar found a way to ease her anxiety and despair by giving away thousands of books to sick children.
• Twenty heads that changed history.
• Disney inspiration Uta von Ballenstedt.
• Twenty unsung heroes from history.
• How Tim Wong repopulated San Francisco with a locally rare butterfly species.
• Five things to know about French Enlightenment genius Émilie du Châtelet.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Wreath-making in national parks? In Mexico, yes.
• Fossils from one of the world's first reefs can be seen on mountains in Nevada. (Bet you weren't expecting that location.)
• Inside the apartments of New York City literary legends, c. 1995.
• Mexicans create wetlands to ease drought and ensure an adequate supply of water.
• Los Angeles crime fiction.
• How one small English village sacrificed itself to stop the plague from spreading. (I've walked the streets of Eyam.)
• Seaview Terrace, the Gilded Age mansion of Dark Shadows fame, has 43,000 square feet and is on the market for $29.9 million. (I used to watch Dark Shadows because the acting was so hilarious.)

 

►More of Those Best of 2021 Lists◄

• CrimeReads: Best Speculative Thrillers and Mysteries of 2021.
• LA Times: America's top mystery book critics break down the year in crime.
• CrimeReads: The Best Crime Movies of 2021.
• BookMarks: The Award-Winning Novels of 2021.
• The New Yorker: The Best Cookbooks of the Year.
• New York City libraries release their top checkouts of 2021.
• CrimeReads: The Best Crime and Mystery TV Shows of 2021.
• The Ultimate Best Books of 2021 List.
• Thirty of the Best British Christmas Commercials of 2021.
• BookPage: Best Mystery and Suspense of 2021.
• CrimeReads: Best Debut Novels of 2021.
• CrimeReads: Best Historical Fiction of 2021.
• CrimeReads: Best Noir Fiction of 2021.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Ten long-forgotten expressions to drop into conversation. (I love doing this.)
• Books by women writing in World War II. 
• Eleven of the most expensive celebrity dresses of all time.
• Seven epistolary novels that push literary boundaries.
• Ten historical novels for when the weather outside is frightful.
• Twenty of the most important moments in internet history.
• Twenty-three nature photos you would not believe are real.
• Ten winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
• Twenty winners of the 2021 Nature Conservancy Photo Contest.
  

 

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!

Happy New Year!