A Slow and Steady Weekly Link Round-Up

 

It's a gray, rainy Wednesday, perfect for blog posts and curling up with a good book afterward. Problem is, I have three good books all on the go at the same time: Christoffer Carlsson's Blaze Me a Sun (Sweden), Harini Nagendra's Murder Under a Red Moon (India), and Rupert Holmes' Murder Your Employer (New York City). I'm listening to Holmes' on audio, and it's been great so far, reminding me that I may have had some absolute stinkers for bosses in the past, but nothing compared to the one I'm reading about now!

 

With all the winter rains we've had here in the desert (and California continues to share today, thank you very much), spring is starting to bust out all over, promising super blooms of wildflowers out in the mountains and deserts-- something everyone who loves nature should experience at least once. Hopefully, Denis and I will be able to spend some high quality time at the Desert Botanical Garden in the weeks to come.

Our huge senita cactus, knocked down by high winds a couple of weeks ago, was hauled away after sharing a few of its arms with friends and neighbors. (After cutting them off and letting them rest for awhile, you can stick them back in the ground where they'll take root and-- hopefully-- grow.) How huge was the cactus? At least 2,000 pounds, if not more, which means we were incredibly lucky that the wind didn't blow it through our big picture window.

Our new carport has yet to be installed; it seems to be taking its time in transit. (The scenic route?) At least the birds are happier now that we've replaced the birdbath that was demolished when the cactus fell. I don't know what they'll think about the cactus not being replaced.

It's time for me to curl up with one of those good books. A new bookmark came in the post, so it looks like Blaze Me a Sun will get it. (Thank you, Sender!) 

 

Enjoy the links!

 

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Sometimes you just have to read some Feel Good News: Callisburg (Texas) High School students raised $225,000 for an 80-year-old janitor who was forced to un-retire after his rent skyrocketed.
• What is it that makes used bookstores so wonderful? 
• Did air pollution influence famous Impressionist painters? 
• Did Vermeer's "Girl" really have a pearl earring? 
• Barnes & Noble will be overhauling its membership program as well as cutting its free educator program. 
• Women's History Month grew out of a weeklong commemoration by Jimmy Carter in 1980. 
• Women are publishing more books than men for the first time, and it's good for business. 
• Dictionary.com has added more than 300 new words. 
• And sometimes you just need some funny news: Presidents with mullets.
  

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Volusia County (Florida) Schools want to invest in Moms for Liberty's BookLooks. (I'm at a loss for words.)
• "We want to be heard": Washington County (Utah) students organize an anti-censorship group after books were removed from schools.
• Bruce Friedman-- already responsible for 288 books being removed from school library shelves-- has a list of 3,900 books that he wants removed because they're "damaging souls".
• As LGBTQ book challenges rise, some Louisiana librarians are scared to go to work (and I don't blame them).
• Iowa Republicans grill school officials over book policies. ("If an image from a book isn’t appropriate to wear on a T-shirt at school, then why is the book appropriate for a school library?")
• A northern Michigan lawmaker's bill would close a library indefinitely for offering explicit books.
• The Roberto Clemente book was returned to school shelves in a Florida school district.
• Lapeer (Michigan) District Library had to reschedule an overflowing board meeting.
• Books were removed from Siloam Springs (Arkansas) Library due to possible questionable content.
• A concerned parent brought a poster of explicit quotes to a school board meeting in North Carolina.
• A public hearing is set for the dissolution of the Meridian (Idaho) Library District. (If this doesn't scare you, what will?)
• The Idaho House Education Committee killed a library bill targeting "harmful" materials for minors, but it adjourned without voting on another bill.
• Noting the "changed complexion of staff", the Elmwood Park Public Library Board has taken over: a case study in library de-professionalization.
• Meet the FReadom Fighters taking on book bans and online abuse: "Books are not contraband."
• The Bologna (Italy) Book Fair 2023: A global view of book banning.

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• The 3,500-year-old tombs of two royal officials have been opened in Egypt.
• What a comb can tell us about the history of the written word. 
• A 2,200-year-old  flush toilet-- the oldest ever found-- has been unearthed in a palace in China. 
• This wooden sculpture is twice as old as Stonehenge and the Pyramids. 
• A 2,000-year-old hall in an Italian villa is where Roman emperors and knights came to party. 
• A lost 4,500-year-old palace of a mythical Sumerian king has been unearthed. 
• A stunning silver wedding dress has been recovered from a 17th-century shipwreck. 
• A 2,000-year-old sarcophagus has been discovered in Gaza in pristine condition. 

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Watch this sloth lazily lounge in a hanging chair.
• How the resurgence of whale populations impacts our ecosystem.
• Watch this elephant expertly dig a well to find much needed water.
• How scientists are saving North America's largest salamander, the eastern hellbender.
• GPS-tagged possums and raccoons could be sacrificed to capture Florida's invasive pythons.
• Watch this woman raise an injured baby squirrel she found on her driveway.
• A video shows a bald eagle that refused to move and got buried under snow-- with only its head poking out-- to protect its eggs during a storm.
• A stray puppy found in Australia turned out to be a rare alpine dingo.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Space officials want a time zone for the moon.
• Seven of Scotland's most enchanting standing stones. 
• Crime & the City: Odessa, Ukraine, a city of legends. 
• The mystery of a French beach's Garfield phones is finally solved. 
• The return of Glen Canyon. 
• Eleven museums dedicated to extraordinary women. 

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Six epic female warriors you wouldn't want to mess with.
• Dive into these biographies and memoirs of women who changed the world.
• Bryant & May novelist Christopher Fowler has died at the age of 69.
• Who was Mina Miller Edison, wife of Thomas Edison?
• We still need Judy Blume.
• How Edith Wilson kept herself-- and her husband-- in the White House.
• What made Judy Heumann, mother of the Disability Rights Movement, an American hero.
• Grandmother of nine, Linda Clark, spends her spare time knitting tiny graduation caps for babies leaving the East Tennessee Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
• A born survivor: the remarkable and inspiring story of the "unsinkable" Molly Brown.
• Sofia Akel has given away 6,000 free books because she believes "Reading shouldn't be a privilege."
• For the enslaved potter David Drake, his literary practice was his resistance. 
• R.W. Green reflects on carrying on his beloved friend M.C. Beaton's long-running series.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The sisterhood of serial death.
• Seven new Southern Gothic novels by women writers. 
• The best book nooks to decorate your shelves. (Not that many of us have the spare room to "decorate" our shelves...) 
• Fifteen books actor Chris Pine thinks everyone should read. (Why is it that, when I don't even particularly care for a celebrity-- which isn't so with Pine-- I'll still take a look at that person's reading list?)
• The 25 most iconic book covers of all time. 
• These are the best-selling mystery books of all time. 
• Mysteries featuring anonymous notes as catalysts. 
• Cozy mysteries set during wedding season. 

 

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.

 

Remember to spend some quality Me Time curled up with a good book!