Thursday, May 18, 2023

A Who Doesn't Like a Nice Box? Weekly Link Round-Up

 


All's quiet here at Casa Kittling. The weather is warming up, and soon we'll be going to places with air conditioning instead of the Desert Botanical Garden or the Phoenix Zoo. That's just life here in the desert. If you're not willing to get up at the crack of dawn to go to places like these in the early morning, it's best to stay away. Since Denis and I are still following his old work schedule (go to bed at 3:30 AM and get up between 10 and 11 AM), the only time we go someplace early is when one of our doctors insists. Why the weird schedule? It works when you stay in touch with family on the other side of the pond.
 
Since the only exciting thing that's happened in the past week is the death of our microwave, I thought you'd like to see a box that arrived in the mail recently...
 

Now that has to be just the sort of mail we all like to receive, right? In my case, four books fresh from The Poisoned Pen. I've already read one of them, and it went straight onto my Best Reads list. I'm now into a second and can't wait to dive into books three and four. Who knows? You might be seeing some of these in future giveaways!
 
Enjoy the links!
 
 
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
 
►Book Banning & Censorship◄


►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
 
►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄
 
►The Wanderer◄
  • These ten supermarket chains give you the most bang for your buck.
  • The US fast food chains that failed internationally.
  • Feast your eyes on some beauty: gorgeous timelapse photography of short-lived echinopsis cactus flowers blooming (because not all of you can get to the Desert Botanical Garden to see this in person).
  • Gibraltar: Crime on the Rock. (My niece Karen used to live there.)
  • Five lighthouses where you can be an overnight keeper.
  • Cemeteries that save the American landscape.
  • This made me laugh: A giant phallus-shaped iceberg floating in Conception Bay surprised the residents of Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada.
  • What makes Seattle such a good setting for thrillers?
  • UK "yarnbombers" knit and crochet for the coronation of Charles III.
 
►Fascinating Folk◄
  • Gordon Lightfoot, legendary folk musician, is dead at the age of 84. At the end of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," he mentions a musty old hall in Detroit that rang the bell twenty-nine times to honor all those sailors lost aboard the ship. At the news of Lightfoot's death, the 175-year-old Mariners Church in Detroit rang the bell thirty times in the pouring rain. Twenty-nine times for the lost sailors, and once for Gordon Lightfoot.
  • Beatrix Potter was a keen observer of the natural world. 
  • Peter Robinson, remembered. 
  • Sybil Ludington, the 16-year-old Revolutionary hero who rode twice as far as Paul Revere. 
  • Eugenie Clark, the marine biologist who fought sharks' bad reputations as "gangsters of the deep." 
  • Georgina Schuyler, the woman who saved the Statue of Liberty. 
 
►I ♥ Lists◄

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 are, don't forget to spend some quality Me Time with a good book!

11 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about the microwave, Cathy, but those books look fabulous! I look forward to hearing what you thought of them. As for the weather, even though I don't officially live in the desert, it does get awfully hot where I live during the heat of the day. And, yes, you don't do the outdoor thing if you don't have to. Speaking of which.... I'm off to the Oman desert now. Sunscreen, lots of water...

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  2. So glad to see your books arrived; that sometimes feels like Xmas is early. Can't wait for the reviews. I have been enjoying PP interviews. Will return to read links later, but I can feel my blood boiling at the book banning section

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    1. Yes, indeed. Receiving a box of books is Christmas come early.

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  3. Is the one you've read The Violin Conspiracy? I really liked that one. Getting a box of books is always fun. I'm currently listening to the PP podcast where Barbara talks with Brendan Slocum and his new book. Haven't read it yet, but I plan to soon. By the way, been reading your posts, just haven't been commenting on hardly any. Always a pleasure though. ;-)

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    1. Yes, The Violin Conspiracy is the one that I've read. I'm about to start writing my review. If Denis and I hadn't gotten our wires crossed, we would have been at Slocumb's event. At least we got to watch it on Youtube.

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  4. Thanks for an especially interesting round-up this week. The story about the monk seal pup was probably my favorite followed closely by the Gordon Lightfoot item. Lightfoot was always a favorite of mine and I've been listening to his music again this week. And then there is the very sad news of the California Condors. Yes, you will keep me busy reading for a while.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoy my links, since I enjoy yours so much. I think I probably drove my mother crazy with Lightfoot's music, but she never said a word.

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  5. I didn't realize how dependent we were on our microwave until it quit working! Hope you are able to get a replacement soon. I can understand keeping to a sleep schedule you are used to even when you don't have to keep those hours. It is very difficult to shift your sleep cycle. It it ain't broke, don't fix it, I say. Enjoy your new books!

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    1. The microwave's death is supremely unwelcome since we're waiting on repairs to be made to the stove. Yikes! We did get a cheapie countertop microwave to fill in the gap.

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  6. Now I will await the review on The Violin Conspiracy, and watch a\the writer's interview at PP.

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    1. I enjoyed watching Saturday's event with three authors.

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