Happy Friday Links

6-21-24

Hi readers,

I’m going on an Alaskan cruise with family in July, and it will be my first cruise—it’s beginning to feel real. I joined a few Facebook groups related to the cruise line and Alaska cruising specifically, and I feel like I’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool. There seem to be so many things to learn—will I have time to learn it all before I go? How do I know what it is that I don’t know? I’m a beginner and realize that I don’t like the “beginner” feeling. Fortunately, some in my family are cruise enthusiasts, so I’m in good company, I’m sure.

Today's links are varied—books, reading, calendars, mind-blowing facts, links to a few Substack newsletters, trivia, and much more; stick around, and you might learn something you didn’t know you wanted to know more about:

• There are so many reasons to love libraries, and in this article, twenty-three authors and public figures share their reasons. Maybe some of their reasons are your reasons, too.

• The host of one of my favorite bookish podcasts, The Book Case, takes a look at “silent reading parties” for Good Morning America, where people sometimes pay money to read together silently in community.

• I loved reading author Lisa Unger’s recap of Thrillerfest 2024—all the pictures of some of the best thriller authors writing today and Lisa’s narration of her memories and award winners.

• At the beginning of this year, I decided to use a digital calendar (not Google or iPhone) to keep track of my busy life (family, bookish, travel, volunteering, etc.) since retiring. I tried several calendar templates for Goodnotes but wasn’t happy with any of them. I stumbled across Artful Agenda and finally found what I’d been looking for. It does exactly what I want; it’s pretty, and you can make it your own with custom covers, stickers, and more. It’s easy to add new events, and there’s an app for the iPhone and iPad, too. If you’ve ever been interested in something like this, you will want to check it out.

• What a fun look at where six iconic fast-food chains began. I grew up in the town where McDonald’s started, and I remember going on a restaurant tour in the ‘60s when I was in Girl Scouts.

• In case you missed it, on Tuesday, I published a feature on

  A Lit Life on Substack
  by
  Stephanie Affinito
  . It’s not too late to sign up for your own personalized “snail mail.”

• I don’t know where

  🅟🅐🅤🅛 🅜🅐🅒🅚🅞
  comes up with all his “mind-blowing facts,” but if you don’t already subscribe to the
  Deplatformable Newsletter
  , you might want to. The facts might not all be useful, but most are entertaining. You can find previous newsletters here.

• Many people start their day with Wordle, or maybe you are like me and end your day playing it. This NYT article tells you how to make the most of each guess and the reasons why.

• I remember people talking about how good Remarkably Bright Creatures is, but I wasn’t interested in reading about an old lady and an Octopus. I finally read it several months ago for a book club and loved it. People who enjoyed the book also recommend reading The Soul of an Octopus, which is on my TBR. If you enjoyed either of those books, NatGeo has a three-part show, Secrets of the Octopus, which is absolutely the best way to learn more about these creatures. Now, I want to go back and reread Remarkably Bright Creatures.

• Substack has a vibrant community of writers, and you can find almost any topic to read about. If you are a trivia fan, I’ve got a newsletter for you.

  Ryan Smith
  writes the twice-weekly newsletter,
  Trivia Factorial
  . He says, “We publish two weekly editions, each featuring six questions. Question #6 in each newsletter generally requires that readers identify a connection that pervades throughout that edition. Each edition often features a recap of the previous edition, and those recaps explore facts about our answers.” If trivia is your thing, this is one newsletter you will want to subscribe to.

• If you have ever thought about starting a book club,

  Katherine Leak
  from
  Bookish Ramblings
  has got some excellent tips on how to do it.

What are your plans for this weekend? Hopefully, if you are in the “heat-dome” area, you can stay inside where it’s cooler. It sounds like a great time to be inside reading a book.

Have you ever gone on an Alaskan cruise before? Did you enjoy it? Do you have any tips for me? I’ll take all the advice you have—you can tell me in the comments below. Have a great weekend, and happy reading!

Some of the links in this newsletter may be affiliate links. That means that if you click through and purchase anything, I may earn a small commission. This costs you nothing and helps me feed my voracious reading habit, and for that, I thank you.