Kittling: Books: A Where's My Machete Weekly Link Round-Up

All that rain we got here in Phoenix last fall, as well as what we've received this winter, means that the trees and shrubs here at Casa Kittling have gone ballistic. Gone are the days when I donned a sweatband, gloves, and battle-scarred clothes to go out and hack back the jungle. Now, I have to hire people to do it, and they certainly don't come cheap!

Snazzy arborist's truck, eh?

When I was given quotes on everything that needed to be done, it's a good thing I don't have false teeth because they would've fallen out. So... it's a case of necessity over appearance. I have one tree that's grown into the power lines and another that's partially hanging over solar panels, so they have to be taken care of. Even the price of having that done made my eyes water. (Anyone have a winning lottery ticket?)

My knitting has been put aside for the time being because I've found my needlepoint projects to be very relaxing and fulfilling. I may also be doing some crafty needlepoint thing with Daisy and Suzanne when they come for a visit. We'll see what happens.

I've finished Sujata Massey's The Star from Calcutta, and I have to admit that I found it difficult to get into the story and enjoy it as much as I have previous books in the Perveen Mistry series. Now I'm beginning Steve Cavanagh's latest Eddie Flynn legal thriller, Two Kinds of Strangers, and I'm looking forward to finding out how Eddie gets out of his latest predicament. I was given the opportunity to read the next book in a series that I've previously enjoyed, but I decided to turn it down. The author has gotten into the bad habit of letting her main character get into an impossible situation then having the mysterious love interest suddenly arrive to save the day. I'm more curmudgeonly about things like that than I used to be, but -- let's face it-- I'm in no danger of running out of books to read!

It's time to stop yakking and time to round up this latest batch of links. Virtual hugs to you all!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

The history of "the Ton" in Regency England and what Bridgerton gets right.
Why is AI so bad at reading PDFs?
Facing a mental health crisis, a New Jersey school pulled a beloved novel from English class.
What we think is a decline in literacy is a design problem.
Humans are infiltrating the social network for AI bots.
Are villains the most important characters?

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

14,000-year-old ivory tools found in Alaska hint at how Clovis ancestors first arrived in the New World.
A mass grave uncovered in Serbia hints at a violent Iron Age massacre that targeted women and children.
Humans may have used these mysterious symbols to encode information tens of thousands of years before the first writing systems.
Archaeologists discovered "sumptuous" frescoes at an ancient villa preserved by Mount Vesuvius' eruption.
A coffin holding a dead "princess" fell from an eroded cliff over 100 years ago, and archaeologists just solved a major mystery about her.
A mysterious shipwreck was discovered in "pristine" condition in Lake Ontario-- with its masts still standing.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

Kazakhstan is planting tens of thousands of trees in a giant effort to reintroduce tigers. (And those trees won't just benefit the tigers.)
Giant tortoises vanished from the Galápagos' Floreana Island more than 150 years ago. Now conservationists have brought them back.
Remarkable footage of a beaver felling a tree in just a few hours to build a protective dam.
How the decline and fall of the Roman Empire stunted the size of domestic and wild animals.
Revealing the hidden kingdom of seahorses.
New research suggests that dogs have been surprisingly diverse for more than 10,000 years.

Not that I've ever experienced this...

►The Wanderer◄

Six English country towns straight out of a period drama.
Why did a man build this secret passageway below a dresser drawer nearly 200 years ago?
I wouldn't mind visiting Praia dos Cristais, a small Spanish beach covered in sea glass.
The oldest state park in America is about to expand.
Investigators unraveled a $12 million ticket-fraud scheme at the Louvre.
Hike the ancient route to Delphi, once believed to be the center of the world.

►Fascinating Folk◄

7 real life female pirates who ran their ships like businesses.
These extraordinary photographs of Golden Age Hollywood stars, from Greta Garbo to Clark Gable, are worth a second look.
Why Marie Antoinette's reputation changes with each generation.
Who was Jermain Wesley Loguen, "King of the Underground Railroad"?
David Stuart's family business was solving the mystery of the Maya civilization.
This Austrian diplomat resigned when the Nazis annexed his country. To make ends meet, his wife, Gretchen Prochnik, turned to dressmaking-- and captivated the American public.