Those Last Four Blocks Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Gotta write fast because I think the charger for my laptop died, and my laptop is almost out of juice. Last week, I mentioned that Denis and I were going to hop on our chariots and head over to Target. We did. We got the latest Covid booster vaccine and then did a little shopping. In case any of you are wondering, I resisted the urge to challenge Denis to a race in a quiet parking lot that we cross on our way over there.

 

It's a good thing I did.

 

2½ blocks to go...

Just as we got across one of the busier intersections in Phoenix, Denis' motorized wheelchair ran out of juice. With very little warning, I might add. Just curled up its toes and died. Fortune was with us, thank heavens. The wheelchair isn't that heavy, and Denis was up to the task of pushing it the rest of the way home, AND he had very few aches and pains afterwards. We dodged a bullet on that one, didn't we? (And I've got to run before this laptop curls up its toes...)

 

Enjoy the links!

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why the Baby-Sitters Club books are still bestsellers three decades after their first release.
• The UK publishing industry reports a record-breaking year in 2022.
• Julia Carmel spent the night at the Last Bookstore in Los Angeles. Thigns got spooky.
• After thirteen years underwater, lost digital camera photos were reunited with their owner.
• What will the bookstore of the future look like?
• A Twilight television series has been announced.
• Can you guess the horror novel based on its one-star reviews?
• The enduring appeal of country music's murder ballads.

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Mayor Adams has backed down on some New York City Library cuts, but a $36 million hole remains.
• A school librarian has sued for defamation after New Jersey residents complain about "pornographic books".  
• Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-03) have once again introduced the  Right to Read Act, which would, among its provisions, ensure all U.S. students have access to a school library staffed by a certified school librarian.
• An Idaho library banned six books it deemed harmful to children. But wait-- there's more!
• The same Idaho library reverses its book ban after breaking the open meetings law.
• The Alabama Early Childhood Education Secretary resigned after a pre-K educator book was pulled. This wasn't a book for children, it was a book for teachers.
• The St. Tammany (Louisiana) library has signed off on a policy to relieve the burden of book challenges.
• A Book Sanctuary has opened at the Northwest Regional Library in Coral Springs, Florida. I'll bet that made Ron DeSantis' day...
• The ACLU is urging the Spotsylvania (Virginia) school board to override the superintendent's book removals.
• Kids' books and stories are causing a flap in Patrick County, Virginia. Get a load of this: all but one of the books are not even in the Patrick County school libraries, and one of the flaps is due to a child having a nightmare after reading a book on...Norse mythology. 
• A textbook said to include critical race theory has been rejected by the Murrieta (California) school board. The book was said to be (1) critical of Donald Trump, and (2) written to make white people feel guilty.
• Jeannette Walls' memoir The Glass Castle is in jeopardy after a parent filed a complaint.
• Dozens of students at a Nebraska high school protest a decision to ban books in their school.
• The Guardian in the UK wants to know: What if censoring books only makes them more popular?
• Books about riots, murder, and terrorism will be removed from minors at Hamilton East Public Library in Indiana.
• The Seattle Public Library grants free access to banned books.
• Fight censorship with these banned book goodies. (As long as that's not all you're doing...)

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Who was the woman aboard this famed 17th-century Swedish warship?
• Antiquities plucked from a storeroom are now on display in Rome's Forum.
• A cache of severed hands may have been part of a ritual in ancient Egypt. 
• A 2,000-year-old hoard of Roman coins may have been hidden by a soldier during a bloody civil war in Italy. 
• Lizard remains have been found inside sealed 2,500-year-old coffins from ancient Egypt. 
• Under Lisbon's streets, ancient Roman galleries tell a story of the past. 
• The story of slavery and Shakespeare's First Folio. 
• 3,300-year-old Egyptian tombs and a chapel with "amazing decorations" have been unearthed at Saqqara. More from Live Science.
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• The easiest dog breeds to train according to a professional dog trainer.
• How octopuses use their arms to detect taste.
• A man has built a furnished home for his adopted squirrels.
• Meet Billy, the ornery granddaddy of Orlando's famed swans.
• Outsider animals may be the best at solving problems.
• Saving bats in Papua New Guinea through"knowledge-weaving" tradition and science.
• Scientists taught these pet parrots to video call each other, and the birds loved it.
• The first lion spotted in Chad National Park in twenty years is "beautiful" and "healthy".

 

►The Wanderer◄

• A blog I've been enjoying: Mike's Cornwall.
• Classic detective novels from the Netherlands and Belgium. 
• Broaden your horizons with new travel books. 
• Nine books set in US National Parks. 
• The most expensive neighborhood in each state, mapped.
• See the pristine coral reefs found off the Galápagos Islands. 
• Defiant Evelyn Waugh superfans (AKA squatters) are still living in the literary giant's £3 million Cotswold home four months after it was sold. 
• The seven best mysteries for long car rides. 
• The world's newest national park protects 550-million-year-old fossils. 

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• What we're still learning about Rosalind Franklin's unheralded brilliance.
• Ann Patchett: author, bookstore owner, and BookTok influencer.
• Five other Princes of Wales who waited a long time to reign.
• Tillie Black Bear: Lakota activist and grandmother of the anti-domestic violence movement.
• Harry Belafonte, groundbreaking singer, songwriter, and activist, has died at the age of 96.
  

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Mysteries and thrillers set in New England.
• The best non-fiction of all time.
• Eleven of the best non-fiction books about basketball.
• Eight French novels that accurately represent French culture.
• Twenty Indigenous historical fiction books set in North America.
• Indie booksellers recommend thirteen books for 2023.
• Eight new mysteries to die for.
• Eleven of the best British podcasts for mystery fans.

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!