Denis and I were called the week of Thanksgiving by the company we hired to install the new shower in the main bath. They'd had a cancellation. Could they come at 7 AM tomorrow (Tuesday)? We came very close to saying no, but since we weren't having a big holiday shindig here, we told 'em to bring it on.
They came at 8 AM, ripped out the old shower, found damaged wood and a bodged repair job by the company we'd hired to remodel the bathroom over a decade ago, told us they didn't handle things like this, packed their bags, cleaned up, and left by 10 AM. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Denis hustled and called the company who'd remodeled the guest bath. Claude came out last Saturday to see what the job entailed, and he'll come fix it tomorrow. The original company had better left our original slot reserved because if we wanted to get everything over and done with then, we really want it in the rearview mirror now! However, this did add something else to our Be Thankful list: thank heavens, we got the guest bath remodeled when we did!
In the meantime, I thought I'd show you, courtesy of The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, a behind-the-scenes peek at the major release of Diana Gabaldon's latest Outlander novel, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. Now, I have to admit that I enjoyed the first few books in the series but lost interest once Claire and Jamie came to America. I've also enjoyed the first couple of seasons of the television series, but haven't kept up with that either. But I have been to The Poisoned Pen to see Diana, who's a local author, and she's so much fun and a very interesting speaker. Let's take a look at the photo from The Poisoned Pen, which is Gabaldon Headquarters...
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| ©Photo courtesy of The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, 2021. |
The bookstore has been receiving shipments to the tune of 50,000 copies, and Diana has been signing most of them. There's been curbside pickup for those who want to get their hands on their autographed copies as soon as possible, and just think of all the books being shipped around the world! USPS will have to back up a semi to take care of it all. Wow!
Enjoy the links!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- Someone else chimes in on the fact that life's too short to finish books you don't like.
- What we would lose by privatizing public libraries (and it's a lot).
- A fragment of a lost twelfth-century epic poem has been found in the binding of another book.
- Why are there so many missing mothers in fiction with empowered young heroines?
- "We're preparing for a long battle": Librarians grapple with conservatives' latest efforts to ban books.
- Josephine Tey and the Detection Club: a mystery solved.
- "It's surreal": the five-second book reviews going viral on TikTok.
- How Thomas Perry learned to live with his books' errors.
- This innocent children's toy has a chilling story behind its name. (My grandmother had a couple of these in her doll collection. I didn't know the story behind them, but I did think they were weird.)
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- A hoard of 5,500 Roman-Era silver coins has been unearthed in Germany.
- A tiny gold book found in an English field may have ties to Richard III.
- Israeli archaeologists have uncovered an ancient Hellenistic fortress.
- The rise of the London police and the 1877 scandal that nearly shut down Scotland Yard.
- A holding cell for gladiators and doomed prisoners has been found in a Roman amphitheater in England.
- An ancient amethyst ring found in Israel may have been worn to ward off hangovers. (Good luck with that...)
- Archaeologists used lasers to find nearly 500 Mesoamerican monuments hidden in the Mexican jungle.
- World War II "ghost ships" have risen from the Pacific after a volcanic eruption. (That must have been a bit... creepy. Plus... Iwo Jima? My grandfather was there. He might've seen them sunk.)
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
- How Australia's eastern barred bandicoot came back from extinction.
- A millionaire dog named Gunther is selling his Miami villa that was once owned by Madonna.
- Nineteen winners of this year's Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
- The rarest mammal in North America was found in a Colorado garage "looking for a new home."
- This tiny baby monkey has become fast friends with a piglet.
- Fourteen ways that spiders use their silk.
- Twenty-one calves were born to humpback whales in the Salish Sea, breaking a record.
- A five-year-old shepherd-cross named Gem escaped from her fenced backyard and headed straight for her favorite doggy day spa.
►The Wanderer◄
- Even rainbows have a dark side.
- Ten books about Calcutta.
- Inside the world's most beloved independent bookstores.
- Look what happened when Lyon, France, got a fresh coat of paint.
- The timeless mystery (books) of Savannah, Georgia.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- In nineteenth century New England, amateur geologist Ellen Sewall Osgood created her own cabinet of curiosities.
- Artist Juho Könkkölä spent three months planning and folding an origami samurai from a single sheet of paper.
►I ♥ Year-End "Best of" Lists◄
- Kirkus Reviews' best nature and environment books of 2021.
- Kirkus Reviews' 2021's best books about being Black in America.
- Kirkus Reviews' best memoirs of 2021.
- Kirkus Reviews' best biographies of 2021.
- Bookpage's best mystery and suspense books of 2021.
►I ♥ More Lists◄
- CrimeReads' 2021 Holiday Gift Guide.
- CrimeReads' 2021 Holiday Gift Guide, Coffee Table Edition.
- Eight gripping mystery movies like Knives Out.
- Two by two: A reading list of books that belong together.
- Ten medieval era books to deepen your love of historical fiction.
- Six intriguing novels about lesser-known historical figures and events.
- A literary scholar takes us around the world in eight books.
- Ten perfectly plotted murder mysteries that take place during Christmas.
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!
Oh, my, Cathy! What a story about the bathroom! I'm so glad you can get it fixed soon, and I hope it won't get even more complex. Now, I think I'm off to that Hellenic fortress. I wonder if they remodeled bathrooms at that time...
ReplyDeleteI think remodelers have been in business for a long, long time!
DeleteRemodeling is always an adventure, isn't it? It seems to me that our present project of replacing some of the flooring in the house is causing as many problems as it's fixing. We are in the fifth day of not having access to our washer, dryer, kitchen, and only limited access to certain rooms that are for the moment out of bounds. But everywhere we look, we are finding collateral damage that will have to be touched up later. And the clean-up once the builders leave is going to be a real challenge.
ReplyDeleteOur first mistake was using a "dust free" system to remove the floor...several hundred dollars more expensive, and I fail to see the difference. We CAN'T WAIT for this to be over.
I'd be chomping at the bit to get that over with, too!
DeleteIt's never easy when you do a remodeling project. I hope it is all fixed up soon!
ReplyDeleteThat picture of the stacks of books is amazing. I had no idea an author would sign so many copies. My husband is a mail carrier, so I am well aware of and thankful for the oodles of packages being mailed this time of year 🙂.
Can't wait to look at the year-end best of lists!
Those year-end/best of lists are addictive (even if you don't agree with them), aren't they? :-)
DeleteOh, my, what a time you've had with that bathroom. Thank goodness you've found someone reliable now to take care of it.
ReplyDeleteI can't altogether agree about not finishing books we don't like. I find that I sometimes learn quite a lot from such a book, although I just finished one recently that I didn't like and can't really say I learned much from it. But the key is taking the time to find out a bit about a book before adding it to your reading list and choosing ones that you have a good chance of liking. Honestly, I very seldom read a book that I rate below three stars.
I agree with you, Dorothy. I've learned some mighty interesting things by continuing to read books that I didn't like, but I feel no guilt about deciding not to finish one. I think the most important thing is to not feel obligated to finish a book just because you picked it up and started to read. It's not as though readers sign a contract, is it?
DeleteOy, about that bathroom. That's all you did not need. Glad there is a solution.
ReplyDeleteI just love those animal links, especially the monkey sharing its caggage with the piglet. How sweet. But one also learns more about how some monkeys act and their instinct to share and be close to another animal, even of another species. Fascinating.
And thanks for the book links. The one really irksome thing is this book banning. Where would I be and how would I think without the array of books I've read from which I've learned so much.
And several of my favorite books are on the overall banned books list. Horrid.
Book banning really chaps my hide-- and usually the person wanting to ban a book has never even bothered to read it.
DeleteYes, of course they haven't read the books they want to ban. Some of these people want to burn them.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if they read the books they want to ban, they'd learn some things. But they're too narrow-minded to open their minds to read.
Maybe some of them don't even read books. Dare I say that? I think it's true.
To grow up without reading is like growing up without food. I can't even imagine it. And now I feel lonely if I don't have a pile of books on my bed.
My only regret is that I can't read more and faster as I get older. Just reading reviews is fun. And I just read the Guardian's article about 2021 books some authors recommend. I am just gobsmacked about the variety of books and ideas. And a bit deflated that I can't read all of them, or those I'm interested in.
So without books how does one learn and experience other lives?
Let's face it. There are too many people out there whose minds are so narrow that tightrope walkers couldn't navigate them.
DeleteYes, and opening a book is a threat to them because it might make them think.
ReplyDeleteI had a dentist once who was afraid for her children to read certain books because they differed with their religion. I said, but they will learn more how to uphold their beliefs as they read. If their beliefs are strong, they won't be rattled.
But even if they are, why not think about one's ideas? Expand them. Learn about the world. Maybe change, but at least think.
Yes!
Delete