The Wet Rag Weekly Link Round-Up

 

It's been a quiet holiday week here at Casa Kittling. For the first time in years, the neighborhood didn't explode under the weight of all the fireworks being set off, and Denis and I certainly enjoyed being able to hear ourselves think. I have to admit that I've never been a huge fan of fireworks, especially here in Arizona where I worry about them setting off fires in our tender-dry landscape. We already have wildfires burning; we don't need any more of them!

Although the best laid plans of my wound care doctor were messed about by the holiday, it seems that I'll be having a home health nurse come on Mondays and Wednesdays to clean and wrap my leaky leg, and then I'll board Dial-a-Ride for the trip to the wound care clinic to see the doctor. My leg is responding very slowly to treatment, and lately I've had all the energy and enthusiasm of a wet dishrag. I've even contemplated cutting back on my blogging a bit, especially since these appointments and other obligations are cutting into my free time. I'll do some more contemplating and see what happens. 

In the mean time, I'll leave you with one of my favorite photographs taken along the Apache Trail east of Phoenix.

Overlooking Apache Lake along the Apache Trail.

 

Enjoy the links!

 

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why the Brits love up lit.
• Reading books is not just a pleasure; it helps our minds to heal.
• What journalism can teach you about writing fiction.
• Why are algorithms still so bad at recommending books?
• Quiz: Can you match the mystery novel to its opening line?
• Overused words in book blurbs.
• Doppelgängers don't just look alike-- they also share DNA.
• The publisher dropped an author after her TikTok backlash and Goodreads review bombing. 
• According to The Guardian, one in three say books offer the best form of escapism when having a bad day.

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has delivered a potentially crucial finding in the fight against book bans.
• The American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights.
• The Dayton (Ohio) Metro Library has declared itself a book sanctuary.
• The author and parents have sued Lake County (Florida) Schools over a banned book.
• This comes as no surprise. The Davis (Utah) School District has reversed its decision; the Bible can stay in all schools. The same school district also stands out for the number of its book challenges.
  
• LGBTQ librarians are trying to keep vital books accessible to queer youth despite book bans.
• The Williamson County (Tennessee) school board voted to keep five challenged books in school libraries.
• The Attleboro (Massachusetts) state representative has filed a bill to ban book bans in the state's libraries.
• A proposed bill targets "obscene" materials at school, and some fear state-wide book bans. (Wisconsin)
• A new group has been formed to save the Samuels Library's collection and funding. (Virginia)
• Oklahoma teacher Summer Boismier didn't violate the state law in providing books, but she may lose her license anyway.

 

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A double hoard of Viking treasure has been discovered near Harald Bluetooth's fort in Denmark.
• These ninth-century coins change our understanding of Alfred the Great.
• Researchers have found hidden markings on the Stone of Destiny (AKA the Stone of Scone), the sacred slab used in British coronations.
• Jars found at a thrift store turned out to be treasures from the Qing Dynasty.
• Archaeologists uncovered a 400-year-old skeleton in a sister colony to Jamestown.
• A man paid $6,000 for a pair of damaged stained glass windows that are actually worth a fortune. 
• Thousands of stolen artifacts have been recovered by the Italian police.
• Newly discovered stone tools drag the dawn of Greek archaeology back by a quarter-million years.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Watch a raccoon steal a couple's Door Dash order off the front porch. If the video doesn't load from that page, here's the direct link to it on TikTok. Just X out of the login screen that will pop up. I've lost track of how many times I've watched this and laughed.
• The rarest of the rare: two albino egg-laying echidnas have been spotted in Australia.
• A rare wolverine has been spotted in California-- the second in 101 years.
• Burmese pythons are helping rats take over Florida's Everglades-- and that could help spread disease. 
• Found hatching in a suitcase, these rescued parrots are beginning a new life.
• The video for this seems to have gone walkabout, but the photos are still funny. I think this flying squirrel has been watching too may crime shows; it repeatedly faked its own death with a broom handle!
• A "virgin birth" has been recorded in a crocodile for the first time ever. 
• Pablo Escobar's "cocaine hippos" top 200 animals-- twice as many as scientists originally thought.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• "People who really love books will come": a poet has opened a bookstore in a mountainous village in China to provide space for locals to read and children to study.
• For the first time in a century, Paris is making the Seine swimmable.
• The world's largest lakes are shrinking dramatically, and scientists say they have figured out why.
• See the house engineers built from dirty diapers.
• Crime and the City: Panama City.
• Explore the nine newest national recreation trails.
• Longleat Hedge Maze in Wiltshire, England is the longest hedge maze in the world.
• Ten reasons to visit Asheville, North Carolina during the week.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• The curious case of Charles Osborne, who hiccupped for 68 years straight.
• Why actress Sarah Bernhardt was the first modern celebrity.
• The many sins of Maurice E. Balk.
• S.A. Cosby on inspiration, serial killers, and how he writes.
• Eleven facts about Billie Jean King.
• Alfred L. Cralle, the Black businessman who invented a better way to scoop ice cream.
• Angela Alvarez, forbidden from being a musician as a child, releases an album at the age of 95 and wins the Latin Grammy.
• Dolly Parton has done it again: her Imagination Library expands its free book efforts in California.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Fifteen books by Mexican and Mexican American authors.
• Sixteen historical mysteries featuring strong female sleuths.
• Eight quietly creepy books for Shirley Jackson fans.
• Fourteen thriller movies where women turn the tables on men.
• Eight books about characters with chronic pain.
• 28 fun facts about books and reading.
• Fifteen books set in museums.
• Eight historical fiction books ideal for bookworms.

Note: If any of you notice a link that has been in previous round-ups, my apologies. The program I use for bookmarking these links decided to try to be fancy, and the "improvements" have caused all sorts of hiccups. Hopefully, I'll have everything sorted out by next week.

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!