A Wet But Artful Weekly Link Round-up

 

Rain showers have been rolling into Phoenix on an almost weekly basis, and we need every drop we can get. The Sonoran Desert has seasonal rain. The summer monsoon season usually is the most temperamental. This is the season for big storms filled with sound and fury, while the winter rain tends to be gentle and can lead to fantastic wildflower blooms in the spring.

Growing up in a small farm town in central Illinois-- and with a birthday at the end of January-- after having two birthday parties in a row snowed out, I proclaimed that, henceforward, I would be celebrating my birthday at the end of July. Pool parties are much superior to ones in blizzard conditions, dontcha know. But the proclivity for outing-spoiling weather followed me here to the desert. Denis and I want to get to the Phoenix Zoo or the Desert Botanical Garden, but every time we start making plans, here comes a few days of rain. Since we need the rain so badly, we really can't complain, but we do spend a few seconds grumbling.

Last week, the two of us went to the Phoenix Art Museum to spend a few hours enjoying what it has to offer. Let me tell you, that place has changed in the forty years since I was last there! I took lots of photos, some of which I'll be sharing with you in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I'll share one of Denis taking a photo of a painting in the Western American Art wing.

 

I just remembered... I need to thank someone for reminding me to read another of Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey mysteries. It's been much too long since I've read one.

 

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• "We are living in the century of fear": author Hisham Matar on why we need books.
• A UK charity has launched a support scheme for at-risk libraries in wake of budget cuts.
• On the history and morality of the "poison pen" letter.
• On Appalachian literature and noir.
• How many books did you read in 2023? Are you in the top 1 percent?
• Scammy AI-generated book rewrites are flooding Amazon.
• Shane's lot: How a 1949 gun-toting loner still rides through American literature.
• How hobbies changed the home.

 

►Book Banning & Censorship◄

• Bill O'Reilly is outraged that the book ban law he supports caused his own books to be banned. (I really should stop laughing...)
• An anti-book ban bill has been introduced in the Colorado legislature.
• Kansas legislators have introduced an anti-book ban bill.
• A book ban was reversed in North Attleborough (Massachusetts) after the community reacted.
• EveryLibrary's list of legislation of concern in 2024.
• A Utah committee has given the OK to new rules guiding the removal of books from school libraries.
• Rockingham County (Virginia) students protest temporary book bans.
• "Libs of TikTok" creator's controversial library appointment sparks a backlash in Oklahoma.
• As book battles rage, the Washington Senate votes to make it harder to shut down a library.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A 2,000-year-old bullet found with Julius Caesar's name on it was likely used in civil war.
• Construction workers have discovered an Indigenous burial ground in Toronto.
• Lasers have revealed ancient settlements hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest.
• Ancient DNA from Eurasian herders sheds light on the origins of multiple sclerosis.
• An Anglo-Saxon teen girl has been discovered buried with lavish jewelry strewn across her head and chest.
• A 4,000-year-old wall found around an oasis in Saudi Arabia likely defended against raids from nomads. More from Smithsonian Magazine.
  
• Forgotten Tudor wall paintings have been discovered in a Cambridge University loft space.
• An "extremely rare" 2,500-year-old broken silver coin has been unearthed near Jerusalem.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Jonathan, the world's oldest tortoise, is still randy at 191 years old.
• DNA pulled from paw prints may help researchers study elusive polar bears.
• Colorado reintroduced endangered gray wolves in December.
• Scientists may have finally figured out how elephants got their incredible trunks.
• 52 cold-stunned Kemp's Ridley sea turtles were rescued from Cape Cod.
• Spy, a medical alert dog, told her owners to check on their diabetic daughter just in time.
• A bird landing on a bride's head wins the 2023 International Wedding Photographer of the Year contest.
• Some female meerkats have a brutal, bloodthirsty streak, and now we may know why.

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Must-read historical fiction set in Italy.
• Pasadena's historic Vroman's bookstore is up for sale, along with Book Soup.
• The oldest restaurant in the world has been in operation for 300 years.
• The most anticipated museum openings of 2024.
• These maps capture where the world's rivers go.
• The largest dam removal project in U.S. history begins its final stretch, welcoming salmon home.
• Europeans are admitting these 15 everyday American conveniences feel like a "luxury."
• You can see Josie Morris' cabin (she was an occasional associate of Butch Cassidy) in Jensen, Utah.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Eleven books on nature and conservation coming out in 2024.
• Five of the best books on whistleblowers.
• Six novels about missing persons and deeper mysteries.
• Reporters in cozy mysteries.
• Shocking first lines of mystery novels.
• Seven authors who write themselves into their own murder mysteries.
• Bookish gifts for art history nerds.

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!