A Tenterhooks Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Yesterday (Tuesday), Denis had his picc line removed. We had a celebratory dinner, and I'm certainly not missing all the times each day when there would be volleys of oaths filling the air as the tubing from the infusion pump caught on Denis's toes or wrapped itself around the steering wheel of his scooter.

 

Now it's a waiting game. Denis goes in for an MRI next week to see (1) if the infection is gone, and (2) what exactly is wrong with his spine. We're hoping that the infection is gone because then the doctors can get to work on what's causing the awful pain in his spine. There was no way they could do any sort of procedure with that infection in residence. Fingers crossed that the doctors will be able to proceed!

 

Putting cloth on tenterhooks so it can dry.

Tomorrow will be a first for me. Luckily, we live less than six blocks from our primary care physician because I have an appointment there. In days of yore, Denis would load my scooter on the lift at the back of the Jeep, and we'd motor on over there. With neither of us being able to load the scooter onto the lift, I'm going to have to don my hat and sunscreen, climb aboard my trusty scooter, and make my own way over there. It's only going to be 100° or so, hence the hat and sunscreen. It probably wouldn't hurt to take a bottle of water along, too.

 

Sheesh. It sounds like I'm going on safari, doesn't it?

 

(By the way, have you ever heard the expression "being on tenterhooks"? Centuries ago, people would have to hang newly washed cloth outside on tenterhooks so it could dry. Problem is, thieves loved to come along and steal their hard work, hence the folks being on tenterhooks waiting for their cloth to dry.)

 

Enjoy the links!

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The nine biggest non-fiction trade publishing myths, debunked.
• Rediscovering E.C.R. Lorac's Two-Way Murder.
• Research suggests that there are four times more male characters in literature than female.
• Reading chronically ill authors.
• How to start book clubs for awesome folks over a certain age.
• The ground-breaking art of Bascove's book covers.
• Why psychedelic drugs may become a key treatment for PTSD and depression.
• What goes into a book's appearance?
• Inside the expansive, intimate world of audiobooks. 
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library will be giving books to refugee children.
  

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• In the battle over books, this Nashville library's response is "I Read Banned Books" cards.
• Over 100 books have been challenged in Eanes, Texas, since March 20, 2022.
• The next book ban: States aim to limit titles students can search for. More on this from NBC News.
  
• A coalition of librarians, teachers, and publishers has formed to fight book bans. 
• Upset by book bans, this fourteen-year-old formed a forbidden book club in her small Pennsylvania town. 
• Librarians push back against book-banning. 
• BookLooks, touted as an "objective" book rating resource, is really a Moms for Liberty joint. 
• Texas librarians face harassment as they navigate book bans.
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• In the classical world, Persia's powers rivaled Greece and Rome.
• In a burial ground full of Stone Age men, one grave holds a "warrior" woman.
• The largest known cave art images done by Indigenous artists in the U.S. has been found in Alabama.
• An ancient "harbor" was actually a sacred pool designed for scanning the stars.
• An amateur archaeologist stumbled onto a trove of coins dated to the reign of Constantine the Great.
• An ancient Egyptian mummy forgotten in storage turns out to be a sacred bird often sacrificed to Thoth.
• Unearthing ancient Sudan's powerful complex past.
• An ancient Roman sculpture likely looted during World War II has turned up in a Goodwill in Texas.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• A new species of tiny frogs found in Mexico can fit on your fingertip.
• In India, a wildlife photographer captured a tender moment between a tiger mother and her cubs. 
• This grizzly bear family comes with paparazzi. 
• A pup in Texas named Zeus has broken the world's record as the tallest boy in the world. 
• A rescued sloth and beagle have become the best of friends. 
• Fast horses and eugenics. 
• Can the mighty Bankhar dogs of Mongolia save the steppe? 
• This tiny yellow robot spies on Antarctica's Emperor penguins. 

 

►The Wanderer◄

• The world's only Native comic shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• A bookish U.S. road trip on the Pacific Coast Highway.
• Letters from the loneliest post office in the world.
• At least 85% of U.S. plastic waste went into landfills in 2021.
• Lampposts, rings, cameras: over 25,000 pounds of junk were recently cleared from Lake Tahoe. More from CBS News. Sometimes I think the entire human race is nothing but a bunch of murderous slobs. Just take a look at the next link.
• Las Vegas mob lore floats to the surface along with bodies in Lake Mead as the drought in the western U.S. drags on.
• These are the most and least popular states for book settings.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Teenager Aseel Rawashdeh found a way to control mosquitoes using essential oils and baker's yeast.
• Lee Child: "The Handmaid's Tale changed me-- hopefully for the better." 
• Meet the new old book collectors. 
• Sara Paretsky: V.I. Warshawski and my quest for voice and justice. 
• The pandemic: inspiration and injury to writers (or what they did to cope). 
• Subjected to painful experiments and forgotten, the enslaved "Mothers of Gynecology" have been honored with a new monument. 
• Life as a book publisher in wartime Ukraine. 
• Talented gingerbread sculptor Caroline Eriksson. 
• Margaret Atwood: "I invented Gilead. The Supreme Court is making it real." 

 

►I ♥ Book Lists◄

• Five atmospheric novels where the setting is a character.
• Fourteen thrillers featuring groups of friends.
• Five historical murder mysteries.
• Environmental and ecological mysteries.
• Ten of the best Nigerian books.
• Fourteen mysteries set in New England.
• Six thrillers that should fool the most seasoned reader.
• Eleven of the best Swedish books available in English translations.
• Author Victoria Thompson's favorite sleuthing partners.

 

►I ♥ Non-Book Lists◄

• Ten of the greatest puzzles in history.
• Eleven of the best word game apps in 2022. 
• Fourteen (thankfully) discontinued Guinness World Records. 
• The twenty-five safest countries in the world. 
• The eleven longest Jeopardy! winning streaks. 
• Eleven Greek expressions you should know. 
• Ten apps like Wordle you can play for free. 

 

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!