The Ties that Bind Weekly Link Round-Up

 

In case any of you have been wondering, I have recovered well from last week. Amazing how we take electricity, water, and air conditioning for granted!

Lately, my thoughts have been on a special person in my life, a person I have never met, a person whose name I do not know. It's one of the wonders of the internet-- these faceless meetings that can form ties that bind. I feel ties to many of you who have followed my blog faithfully over the years, and I do miss you when you don't leave comments or contact me for a period of time.

I'm missing someone right now. That someone I mentioned earlier whose name I do not even know. This person has gone out of their way to remain anonymous, but their thoughtfulness and generosity have been lifelines on many occasions. They have been silent for quite some time now, and I worry about them. Nameless Friend, I hope you're reading this and that you are well. Sending you love.

Virtual hugs to you all. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Minotaur responds to The Last Mandarin printing snafu.
• Dad books are a dying breed.
• How forensic linguists identify criminal suspects by analyzing their writing patterns.
• BookTok made reading cool again, but it also turned authors into content creators.
• How Remarkably Bright Creatures went from bestseller to Netflix.
• An electronic eye implant restored vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists found hundreds of huge ancient mass graves hidden in the Sahara Desert.
• A 1,200-year-old "death jar" in Laos contains generations of human skeletons.
• A doctor's kit was found on a Mount Vesuvius victim in Pompeii.
• A high-status Roman woman was buried in a lead coffin with jet hairpins and exotic resins in Colchester, England.
• How a one-of-a-kind robot led researchers deep into the Great Pyramid.
• A man spotted strange-looking rocks near a pond in Thailand. They turned out to be the bones of a massive new dinosaur species.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Are we more closely related to cats or dogs?
• How to see this "feathered serpent"-- one of the world's most dazzling birds-- in the wild.
• Why some birds walk while others hop.
• Scientists recorded a sperm whale birth up close for the first time. They discovered something extraordinary.
• How horses shaped the Mughal Empire.
• A secret weapon to fight carbon emissions was just discovered: beavers.

►The Wanderer◄

• The biggest El Niño event since the 1870s is now the most likely scenario by the end of this year-- and the humanitarian cost could be huge.
• Ivrea, Italy's Battle of the Oranges is raucous, sticky fun.
• 10 unique beaches from around the world.
• This historic rail corridor offers a new way to see the American West.
• Crime and the City: Medellín, Colombia.
• In one of the wettest places on the planet, Indigenous people build bridges and ladders out of living tree roots.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Photographer Richard Avedon was famous for snapping celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, but his images of Vietnam war victims and coal miners revealed the surprising power of portraits.
• Clarke Speicher, the man who reads books for a living.
• Ayelet Waldman on what quilting taught her about the creative process.
• Can DNA testing help solve the mystery of the Fourth Musketeer?
• 5 historical figures that led double lives.
• How "Seabird Sue" Schubel blends art and science to attract birds back to lost habitats.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 20 non-fiction books that read like novels.
• 15 graduation gifts for English majors.
• 6 cozy mysteries like The Thursday Murder Club.
• 8 must-read AAPI mysteries.
• 6 ways medieval life is misrepresented in movies.
• The beguiling magic of floral mysteries.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!