A Don't Just Think It Weekly Link Round-Up

 

It was a Red Letter Dial-a-Ride last Friday. The driver was friendly and skilled, and the trip to the doctor was smooth and uneventful. When I got off the bus, I looked the driver right square in the eye and said, "You are one of the best drivers I've had the pleasure of riding with. Thank You!" You should've seen the way his face lit up. My entire working life was spent dealing with the public. I know how easy it is for everyone to complain and pitch a fit, but how hard it seems for them to share compliments and happy thoughts. That's why one of my mottos is "Don't Just Think It. Say It." when it comes to appreciating something someone else has done. You  never know how much of a positive impact you'll make on someone's day.

Week after week, it seems that I've been doing nothing but sharing medical woes, and I'm sick of it. No, I wasn't released from my weekly doctor visits last Friday, but I am hoping that happens today. What I want to do is share a cuteness overload with you.

Who is this handsome lad and his faithful companion? Let me introduce you to Denis's youngest grandson, Ivan and Dora. Both were enjoying a recent family holiday. I love this photo!

Sending happy thoughts your way-- and a special thanks to a certain someone for a great Halloween card. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• AI is coming for your audiobooks. You're right to be worried.
• The ritual of rearranging your books.
• "It's like comfort eating": why readers are hungry for Colleen Hoover.
• Jacqueline Wilson says rewriting children's books can be justified.
• A book blurb controversy shows an ugly publishing practice. More from The Atlantic. And more from The Guardian. And even more from Esquire.
  
• The authors whose pirated books are powering generative AI. More from Stephen King.
  
• How much does it cost to open a bookstore?
• Booksellers are suddenly at the vanguard of the culture wars.
• Moving books is a big pain. Here's how to make it easier.

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Banned Books Bingo for book clubs.
• A judge has blocked a Texas book ban law. (It would be nice if that were the end of it.)
• Texas argues that parts of the new "book rating" law should be allowed to take effect.
  
• Twenty-two challenges to school library books have been filed in Maine since January 2022. Just one book has been removed.
• The mayor of Ozark, Alabama calls for defunding the public library if LGBT books remain in the YA section.
• Mobile, Alabama library book challenges have been rescinded. It seems both challengers had not "yet seen nor read the books." (Come on, people. Get your fifteen minutes of fame for doing good, not doing stupid...)
• Here's the Fort Worth Independent School District's list of over 100 library books that have been removed for sexual content.
• Guest Post: I'm a teacher wasting valuable time on Iowa's nonsense new laws.
• A judge has ruled against religious parents stopping kids hearing LGBTQ+ storybooks.
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) students temporarily denied library books because of the Parents' Bill of Rights.
• Book challenges are having a chilling effect on school librarians nationwide.
• The Pima County (Arizona) Library faces a surge of complaints as the debate over book bans heats up.
• Book banners may force the closure of a public library in Virginia on October 1.
• The conservative book ban push in Wyoming fuels a library exodus from the national association that stands up for books.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• An eight-year-old in Germany unearthed a Roman-era silver coin in the school sandbox. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
  
• Ancient Roman walls discovered in the Swiss Alps are an "archaeological sensation."
• An 8,000-year-old encampment-- with tridents and war paint materials-- has been found in England.
• Wreckage from a Tuskegee airman's warplane has been recovered from Lake Huron.
• A new legal challenge reignites the battle over a tunnel near Stonehenge.
• A lost N.C. Wyeth painting, bought for $4, could sell for $250,000.
• The locations of these shipwrecks are no longer a secret.
• 2,800-year-old figurines unearthed at a Greek temple may be offerings to Poseidon.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Rebel, the dog who served on both sides of the American Revolution.
• Ospreys breed in Ireland for the first time in more than 200 years.
• This interactive tool tells you which birds are migrating through your area.
• Turtle shells keep a record of humans' nuclear history.
• A dog named Moose found a forever home after saving his foster family from a boat fire.
• Why thousands of brooding pearl octopuses migrate to thermal spring waters to create the Octopus Garden.
• Farmers are breeding cows to withstand heat waves.
• Every year, dozens of female hammerhead sharks mysteriously convene in French Polynesia under the full moon.
• Why you shouldn't put out fake spider webs this Halloween.
  

 

►The Wanderer◄

• The search for a vanished hiker on the Pacific Coast Trail.
• Here is the best new public library in the world.
• The U.S. government is trying to stop an upcoming Titanic expedition.
• A gorgeous Te Reo Maori cover of Bohemian Rhapsody.
• Will El Niño end the Southwest's megadrought?
• What are the most polluted cities in the world?

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• J.D. Salinger and wielding copyright as self-protection.
• 19-year-old Garret Tarter made a 30-day solo trip sailing 2,400 nautical miles from Honolulu to Tahiti.
• Moe Berg, the baseball player-turned-spy who went undercover to assassinate the Nazis' top nuclear scientist.
• James Jesse Strang, the Mormon king of Beaver Island.
• Sarah Bagley, the voice o America's early women's labor movement.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Short funny mystery collections.
• Eight great books to read if you're new to science fiction.
• Eight great books headed to the screen.
• Seven killer mystery series where book two is even better.
• Eleven bookmarks for all genres.
• These wooden library beds are a book lover's dream come true.
• Powerful female characters in crime fiction.
• Eight twisty missing person thrillers.

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!