A Rooms for Improvement Weekly Link Round-Up

 

After almost a week's absence, J.R. the raccoon paid us another visit. We don't know if he's been visiting all along and just stayed out of camera range or if he decided to come back since Denis did move one of the cameras to point it in a different direction. (The old set-up was at the hummingbirds' favorite feeder. Talk about wearing out camera batteries!) You're probably wondering about the name I've given our masked visitor. It's short for John Reid, and that's all I'm going to say. A few of you may turn to Google to learn who John Reid was. Who knows?

 

On the Denis Front, he had his last visit from the physical therapist Wednesday. Like me, Marian could see that Denis is continuing to be more mobile, and-- even better-- he's proved that he can get on our elliptical machine and use it, so exercising on that daily will help even more. After months and months, I can't begin to tell you how wonderful it is to see improvement!

 

I've continued to work on smaller projects in the evenings. I'm working on a scarf that's a departure for me in more ways than one. For one thing, it's one of those complicated-looking cable patterns that always make my eyes light up, and two, I'm using a fancy schmancy yarn that's a blend of alpaca, silk, and superfine merino wool. Talk about knitting with filaments of clouds!

 

I also finally finished one project for the guest bath. I'd originally knitted a shelf topper, but when I put it in place, I didn't like the way it draped over the shelf. So... I decided that a needlepoint one would work (and look) much better. Take a look for yourselves before heading off to the links. What do you think?

 

 

Knitted shelf topper

 

Needlepoint shelf topper. Same yarn, completely different look!

 

Enjoy the links!

 

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why mysteries and thrillers make sure great beach reads.
• And while we're on the subject, start with mysteries, thrillers, and true crime if you're new to audiobooks. 
• A love letter to (perpetually underfunded, gloriously democratic) public libraries. 
• How gothic romance led to contemporary romantic suspense novels. 
• Why do so many long-running series work so well? 
• Hip, woke, cool: It's all fodder for the Oxford Dictionary of African American English. 
• The Crypto Revolution wants to reimagine books. 
• Yale researchers say that people who read live longer than those who don't. (Duh.) 
• How to fall back in love with reading. (Hopefully, none of us here really needs to read this particular article.) 
• Why are so many literary prizes closing? 

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Madison County (Mississippi) School District parents want answers on books.
• Librarians in Idaho are preparing for continued efforts to ban books.
• Hanover (Virginia) NAACP asks county leaders to reconsider school board appointments.
  
• Polk County (Florida) Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid has announced an opt-in policy for controversial books-- which means censorship is in effect.
• The Laramie County (Wyoming) School District's policies have divided a community.
• A ban on 52 books in Utah's largest school district is a worrisome escalation of censorship.
• I would imagine that this doesn't come as a shock to many of us, but many book banners don't know what a book ban is.
• A Michigan library that was defunded for having LGBTQ books has raised over $50,000 in donations.
  
• Here is a template for talking with school and library boards about book bans.
• The North Lamar (Texas) Independent School District has voted to keep library books despite a complaint.
• The mayor of Victoria, Texas says the library will not be evicted amid an LGBTQ book controversy.
• "Mama Bears" sues the Forsyth County (Georgia) schools for censorship. (They want to do the censoring; they do not want to be censored themselves.)
• The criticism of library content continues in Idaho.
• Why won't Kirk Twigg (Virginia) read the books he wants to ban?
• Virginia Beach (Virginia) schools to remove some library books and keep others after complaints.
• South Carolina Senator Josh Kimbrell demands book removal and threatens library jobs and funding. 
• Nearly 90 library books will carry content labels in Collier County (Florida) schools. (Wait till you get a load of which titles these warnings have been placed on.)
• Book bans are threatening American democracy. Here's how to fight back.
• The American Library Association responds as legislation threatens librarians for offering information on abortion services.
• How teens are pushing back on book bans.
• Most efforts to ban books in Texas schools came from one politician and GOP pressure, not parents. (Remember, remember the 8th of November.)
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• The mystery behind medieval bed burials in the UK has possibly been solved.
• A Roman coin depicting a zodiac symbol has been discovered off the coast of Israel. 
• 14,000-year-old engravings by a "technically skilled" artisan have been found in Spain. 
• Read about the race to preserve treasures from a legendary 17th-century shipwreck. 
• Ten rediscovered British treasures. 
• An ancient ritual bath and an elite villa have been unearthed by Jerusalem's Western Wall.
• An ancient Egyptian temple to the sun cult has been uncovered near Cairo.
• A mass grave of Revolutionary War mercenaries and a rare gold coin have been uncovered in New Jersey. 

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Take a look at these amazing tiny needle felted dog sculptures.
• Take a look at this mid-century modern house aquarium for pet fish that includes a tiny BMW in the garage.
  
• Polar bears are being forced to dine on "batteries and dirty nappies" as climate change forces them inland.
• A stunt dog trainer talks about how she prepares dogs for movies and television.
• An unbelievable video shows a humpback whale scooping two women into its mouth. (Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time!)
• Scientists have discovered that whale sharks are the world's biggest omnivores.
• Picky penguins are refusing to eat "cheap fish" after the aquarium was faced with budget cuts.
• Watch a rescued baby pangolin go for piggyback rides on the back of its human caretaker.
• Moths are the unsung heroes of pollination.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Keeping the centuries-old tradition of Venetian bookbinding alive.
• The world's 25 most beautiful cities, according to science. 
• Damascus: crime writing in the world's oldest capital city. 
• How the block party became an urban phenomenon. 
• How the Thames, once a "zombie river," was brought back to life. 
• 17 alleyways with hidden histories. 
• Kolkata and Partition: between remembering and forgetting. 
• Why some countries call the long purple nightshade an eggplant while others call it an aubergine.
  

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• How colonialism and patriarchy create enduring misery for Native American women.
• On telling a multicultural Indigenous story.
• Librarian Sharon McKellar collects all the things left in books. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
  
• Lynne Tillman may have her book collection cremated with her.
• The women of the Manhattan Project.
• Sara Paretsky: "The story of Joan of Arc made me long for a vision."
• Who were the Warrior Women of Dahomey?
• Award-winning popular historian David McCullough has died at the age of 89.
• Stephanie Kwolek: he groundbreaking chemist whose invention stops bullets.
• Susie King Taylor: from a secret school to becoming the first Black army nurse of the Civil War. 
• On the remarkable life and boundless determination of war correspondent Virginia Cowles.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The search for the funniest crime novel ever written.
• Ten adult books with animal narrators. 
• Eight mysteries and thrillers about dysfunctional families. 
• Eight fun and festive Christmas murder mysteries. 
• Set sail for suspense. (Do you prefer a bit of salt water with your mystery?) 
• When journalists turn to fiction: a reading list. 
• A reading list on animal intelligence. 
• Ten audiobooks narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. (Warning: they are all abridged editions.) 

 

In case you're wondering, I did not post all the banned books links I had, but I did want to get caught up with them. I'm hoping against hope that there will be fewer in the future. I find it so difficult to deal with rampant fear, ignorance, and hatred. Don't those people ever wear themselves out?

 

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