A Boxy Weekly Link Round-Up

 

When the temperature's been 118-119°F like it has been here in Phoenix, the heat leeches all human desire to get out and do anything. It's a chore to even go out to empty the trash or fill the birdbaths or take care of the pool. Denis did have a doctor's appointment this week, but my doctor is in San Diego, so I've had the pleasure of staying at home and having people come to me. 

It's been Box Week here at Casa Kittling. So far, I've received a box of specialized bandaging for my leg (which has almost stopped leaking), and a box from one of my very favorite places, The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.

 

Few things can brighten my day more than a box o' books!

There's only one more box that will make my week complete, and that's supposed to be delivered tomorrow. What is it? I think most of you faithful readers will be able to guess. Yep. A box o' yarn. FedEx is the delivery company, and I have a bet with Denis over whether or not the driver will just toss the box over the fence to let it bake in the sun. (FedEx is horrible about that, and since it doesn't trigger the outside cameras, it can be hours before Denis and I know what's happened.)

While I leaf through my new books and wait for my yarn, I just want to say a quick thank you to some special folks sending me goodies in the post. You're the best!

Stay cool and enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Hever Castle will display a 16th-century prayer book believed to be Thomas Cromwell's from his portrait by Hans Holbein.
• On the pitfalls of book promotion in the internet age.
• There's no such thing as a guilty pleasure.
• The best ways to find discount books in person and online.
• From fan fiction to TikTok: long live the microgenre.
• The path to becoming a school librarian.
• Can American craft sodas save the soft drink industry?
• The advantages and pitfalls of illustrated romance covers.
• The mystery of crime scene dust. 
• Meta's Threads becomes the most quickly downloaded app ever.
  

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• The Governor of Louisiana signed a bill limiting access by minors to "sexually explicit" library materials.
• More LGBTQ book removals were demanded in Douglas County (Colorado), but most residents at the meeting resisted.
• The uncertain fate of the Dayton Memorial Library (Washington) looms after a recent board meeting.
• How Moms for Liberty (recently designated a hate group) teaches its members to spin the media.
• Wilmette (Illinois) library patrons sing loud and proud in response to a protestor at a Pride event.
• Can even a short K-12 library book ban lead to a Civil Rights violation? (Yes.)
• A Northwest Iowa public library is wrestling with removing books because it's tied to a school.
• There's no opt-out for LGBTQ+ storybooks: Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools doubles down on its policy.
• Despite the age of consent in Mississippi being 16, no one under the age of 18 will have access to digital materials made available through public and school libraries without explicit parental/guardian permission. 
• Hoping to follow in Illinois' footsteps, Pennsylvania has introduced a bill to ban book bans.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A woman found a mastodon tooth while walking on a California beach.
• A study suggests that mysterious rock art painted by Aboriginal people depicts Indonesian warships.
• An "octagonal" sword from a Bronze Age burial in Germany is so well preserved that it shines.
• A vast cemetery of Bronze Age burial mounds has been unearthed near Stonehenge.
• Divers are about to pull a 3,000-year-old shipwreck from the depths off the coast of Croatia.
• The face of an "elite" 7th-century girl buried in a bed with gold and jewels has been revealed after 1,300 years.
• The ancient Maya city of Ocomtún was hidden in the jungle for more than 1,000 years. More from Live Science. (Let's get out our passports, Dorothy.)
• Research suggests that a 1,000-year-old wall in Peru was built to protect against El Niño floods.
• What do (real) archaeologists think of the legacy of "Indiana Jones"?
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• See eleven breathtaking bird images from the Audubon Photography Awards.
• Dolphins use baby talk when their calves are around.
• A wild squirrel named Helen comes to the window daily to visit with her canine friend.
• Speaking of squirrels, Joey, a pet squirrel in Idaho, thwarted a would-be burglar in a resurfaced viral video.
• Why physicists tried to put a ferret in a particle accelerator.
• An invasive Australian spotted jellyfish washed up on a beach in Texas.
• Watch two tiny baby stoats meet for the first time.
• Scientists have found rare deep-sea octopus nurseries.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• The doberge cake is a slice of New Orleans immigrant history.
• Vienna is the most livable city in the world.
• Bologna: crime fiction in the Red City.
• The Habshi Dynasty of India.
• Dust from the drying Great Salt Lake is wreaking havoc on Utah's snow.
• Empty office buildings are being turned into vertical farms.
• The not-so-chill history of Hawaii's breeziest shirt.
• California's long-dry Tulare Lake has returned.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Hawaiian artist Marques Hanalei Marzan weaves contemporary style with ancient tradition.
• The extraordinary life of freed slave John Edmonstone who taught Darwin taxidermy.
• The controversial gay priest Raymond Broshears who brought vigilante justice to San Francisco's streets.
• Kazue Togasake: one pioneering doctor's journey from internment camp to delivering 10,000 babies.
• How Mildred and Richard Loving defeated the ban on interracial marriage.
• Who was Tessa Kelso? A feminist history of the librarian pioneer.
• Fourteen musicians who are also novelists.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• This is what AI considers a "beautiful woman" in 100 different countries.
• Fourteen mysteries and thrillers set in the desert.
• Ten Sci-Fi and fantasy books about fantastical voyages.
• Master summer entertaining with these thirteen new cookbooks.
• Ten dark mysteries for The Secret History fans.
• Twenty must-read works of historical fiction set in Mexico.
• The highest-rated book in each country, mapped.
• The funniest movie the year you were born.

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!