A Tiny House Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Next week, you'll see the first of two posts sharing photos that I took on our recent visit to the Phoenix Zoo. This week, Denis and I will be returning to the Desert Botanical Garden to see how many of those hundreds of buds have bloomed.

 

Nothing exciting has been going on, and that's usually a good thing once you've been run over by the express train of health problems. (Both of us are fine now, thank you.) Whenever we leave the driveway gate open, a little neighbor boy thinks it's an invitation for him to come in with his big rubber ducky. He proceeds to take the solar fountain out of the birdbath so his ducky has plenty of room to swim. Then his mother comes to chase him out, never once putting the solar fountain back where it belongs. It's annoying, and it never happens when we're Johnny-on-the-spot to go out and have a talk with them. Our only solution has been to always keep the driveway gate closed whenever we're not expecting deliveries or visitors.

 

Here's something I found that tickled my fancy--

 

 

This is my kind of tiny house. I can see how some people would like the idea of a tiny house, but I'm not one of them. I like space and elbow room. But to have something like this as a cozy reading spot with space for your books and immediate access to reading outside? I like! Someone called it a "she shed," but I have to admit that the terms "she shed" and "man cave" make me roll my eyes. Denis is the same way, so we're a well-matched pair. But back to the picture. Just think, if Denis and I were to go on a road trip, I wouldn't have to waste any time trying to decide which books to take; just hitch this baby up, throw the luggage, tunes, and snacks in the Jeep, and hit the road! 

 

Well, I'm going to go back to reorganizing my clothes closet. (What is it about spring that makes me want to do this? I've already gone through the office closet!)

 

Enjoy the links! 

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• What's going on with all the empty author signing photos?
• As classic novels get revised for today's readers, a debate about where to draw the line. Personally, I think UK publishing house Pan Macmillan has the best way to deal with it. One person's opinion on why Roald Dahl does not deserve a second chance.
  
• He's been dead for nearly ten years. Now he's narrating your audiobook. 
• This professor's undergrads struggle to read, and he thinks he knows why. 
• The backlash against TikTok darling Colleen Hoover. 
• Jacqueline Winspear considers the art of historical fiction. 
• You'll need a microscope to see these miniature masterpieces. 
• In Canada, the Indigenous Editors Association widens its circle. 

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• The Missouri GOP proposes a frighteningly efficient way to ban books.
• Llano County (Texas) didn't like the judge's ruling that they couldn't ban those nasty books, so now they want to shut down the library completely. (What on earth is making all these people act like three-year-old brats?!?)
• Looks like Llano County won't be closing its libraries. For now, anyway.
  
• An anti-book ban billboard located on private property in Louisiana was burned.
• "There needs to be some book burning": the Montana Senate debates an obscenity bill. 
• The Guardian view on US book bans: it's time to fight back.
• Student protests began when an Oregon school district pulled thirty-six books after TWO parents complained.
• A Connecticut library adopts a new policy after the town leader's decision to pull a transgender-themed book from display.
• A St. Lucie County (Florida) woman lost her appeal to ban sixteen books from district schools.
• First book bans. Now school libraries. Sally Hunt thinks media centers could be shrunk. (Yep. Florida again.)
• Here we go again. Beaufort County (South Carolina) schools introduce a new book opt-out form.
• Two Pinellas (Florida) men challenged seven books but don't want them banned. The article tells us why.
• Here's some good news: That book ban plan failed to advance out of the Indiana House committee.
• A school district in Wisconsin punished a teacher for revealing its ban on Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton's "Rainbowland". Why the ban? Because. You know. Rainbows are controversial. Especially for small children.
  

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• An absolutely gobsmacking gold nugget worth $160,000 was unearthed by a metal detectorist in Australia.
• Mysterious mosaics depicting Medusa have been uncovered at a second-century Roman villa.
• The sarcophagus of Pharaoh Ramses II was unveiled in Paris.
• How Denmark became a nation of metal detectorists.
• Find out if your ancestor is among these 19th-century silhouettes in this newly digitized collection.
• Archaeologists have discovered 1,400-year-old murals of two-faced men in Peru.
• The grand history of Westminster Abbey.
• The mystery of Roman coins discovered in a shipwreck on an island has archaeologists baffled.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Lolita, the second-oldest orca in captivity, is finally getting released after more than fifty years.
• Kluyver the squirrel learned to ring a bell when he wants some nuts. 
• Take a tour of a retirement village for senior cats. 
• Why should we care about penguins? 
• These lizards stress-eat when loud military aircraft fly overhead. 
• Just what we wanted to hear: Cockroach sex is evolving in response to pesticides. 
• See how giraffes use their super long black tongues. 
• Watch these long-distance dog besties talk to each other using FaceTime. They aren't spoiled, are they? 

 

►The Wanderer◄

• "Miraculous" snowpack alone won't save Utah's Great Salt Lake, but it's a start. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
  
• California's Once Upon a Time Bookstore, said to be the oldest children's bookstore in the country, celebrated a very special occasion. 
• The ten "smartest" cities in Europe.
• Teddy Roosevelt's perilous expedition on the Amazon.
• The most creative and unique bookmobiles from around the world.
• Climate change wiped out thousands of the West's most iconic cactus. Can planting more help a species that takes a century to mature?
• How America's beloved Meyer lemon caused a mid-century citrus panic.
• Why soda cans are different in Hawaii.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• When literary legends meet.
• Margaret Mizushima: Vet's wife, vet's life. 
• Ten fascinating facts about Mary Wollstonecraft. 
• Phyllis Latour Doyle: the forgotten spy whose knitting helped pave the way for D-Day. (Just think of the info I could've knitted into one of my afghans!)
• Why David Grann, bestselling adventure writer, isn't one for the outdoors. 
• Lydia Davis refuses to sell her next book on Amazon. 
• Michelle Obama pranks unsuspecting bookstore customers. 

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Seven books about the scam of wellness.
• Five non-fiction books that mix true crime and history.
• Nineteen of the best mysteries and thrillers of spring.
• You need to read these international bestsellers.
• Eleven hilarious memoirs about being middle-aged.
• The results of the Great American Read.
• Eight crime novels that blur the lines into SciFi.
• Twenty of the most commonly mispronounced brand names.

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.

No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!