The Plain Jane Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I took a spur-of-the-moment three-day vacation away from my computer. While it was nice, it's put me so far behind that I don't have time to think up an interesting introduction, so I'll share a photo and reassure you that absolutely nothing is wrong. (And I sincerely hope that everything's okay with you, too!)

A Korean War-era troop carrier was our transportation on an all-day tour of Canyon de Chelly a few years ago.

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• How about we just read and let read?
• QUIZ: Can you match the mystery novel to its opening line?
• TikTok users report reading 50% more because of BookTok.
• UK's The Guardian wants to know: Could ChatGPT really write good book blurbs?
• Speaking of blurbs, how about those overused words in book blurbs?
• Josh Kendall on the life of a crime fiction editor.
• Meet red velvet cake before it was colorful.
• A cultural history of Barbie.
• Someone asked, "Can I be friends with people who don't read books?"
• A brief history of long movies.

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Amanda Gorman's poem for Biden's inauguration has been barred for younger children by a Florida school.
• Texas lawmakers pass a bill to ban certain books in libraries. It awaits the governor's signature. 
• LGBTQ books are remaining in York County (Pennsylvania) library children's sections as the board tightens review rules. 
• A new set of school book policies has been approved for Park County (Wyoming) School District 1.
• A U.S. Marine's memoir has been banned from the Hudsonville (Michigan) High School library.
• It's two to one in Saline County (Arkansas) billboard fight over book banning.
• A bill to restrict youth access to "sexually explicit" public library books advances in Louisiana.
• The Liberty Lake (Washington) mayor vetoed the city council's library ordinance. Wow... she actually thinks the library board should be in charge of its ordinances.
• Banning books in Connecticut.
• Massachusetts librarians are under attack amid a record number of national complaints and challenges.
• The Papillion La Vista (Nebraska) School District is reviewing numerous challenges to school library books.
• UK's The Guardian had this article: Illinois is set to become the first state to end book bans. (Makes me proud to have been born and raised in that state.)
• Librarians, publishers, and bookstores have joined together in a lawsuit over the Arkansas Library Obscenity" Law.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A diver unexpectedly discovered a Roman-era shipwreck carrying beautiful marble columns off the coast of Israel. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
  
• An ancient object unearthed in Jerusalem depicts something a cashier may hand you today.
• A nearly 2,000-year-old Roman villa-- complete with a private pool-- has been unearthed from a French cemetery.
• A man paid $6,000 for a pair of damaged stained glass windows and found out that they're actually worth a fortune.
• 8,000-year-old rock carvings in Arabia may be the world's oldest megastructure blueprints.
• Jackie Kennedy's pink suit is locked in a vault and will be hidden from public view until 2103. Here are surprising facts about the famous outfit.
• Archaeologists have discovered a lost world of 417 ancient Mayan cities buried in remote jungle and connected by miles of "superhighways".
• What was the longest-lasting civilization?

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• What is the deadliest spider in the world?
• A TikTok user shared a video of the bird that made a nest on her front door wreath.
• A camera attached to a cat's collar gives a cat's-eye view as they explore the outside world.
• A bird flu vaccine has been approved in an emergency effort to save California condors. These magnificent birds have had so much to contend with.
• A recent study says that older dogs that sleep badly may have dementia.
• Something that I didn't need to be told: Why birds and their songs are good for our mental health.
• The iconic ivory-billed woodpecker was feared extinct for decades-- until appearing on a Louisiana trail cam.
• Orcas have sunk three boats in Europe and appear to be teaching others to do the same. But why?

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Three states have proposed a landmark deal to conserve the Colorado River. Let's hope it's not too little, too late.
• By fighting the ozone hole, we helped curb climate change-- and if we could do that, we can do more.
• Who knew? America's oldest yarn shop is in Provo, Utah. Naturally, I wasn't knitting when I lived there.
• Scientists have discovered microbes that could revolutionize plastic recycling.
• Thirty years on, the Hay Literary Festival is still thinking, talking, and laughing. I cherish the day I spent wandering the streets and bookshops of Hay-on-Wye.
• How about a map of 1,001 novels to show us where to find the real America?
• Feeling adventurous? The U.S. Government is giving away lighthouses. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
  
• Henri Matisse's stunning apartment overlooking the French Riviera is for sale.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Maud Allan-- Belle Epoque beauty, concert pianist, actress, dancer, and choreographer, and... spy?
• Helen Taussig, the doctor who pioneered pediatric cardiology and saved "blue babies".
• Tina Turner, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, left an indelible mark on music history.
• 101-year-old Lou Conter is the last survivor of Pearl Harbor's USS Arizona.
• Dolly Parton has claimed three new Guinness World Record titles. 

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Seven criminally under-rated heist films that deserve another watch. 
• Fifteen new thrillers releasing this summer.
• 35 must-read books of non-fiction by AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) authors.
• Twenty bits of groovy '60s slang.
• If you love Sherlock Holmes, pick up one of these historical mysteries.
• Ten grand estate mysteries.
• Eight must-read mysteries by Black authors.
• Eight mysteries set on the Titanic.

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!