jesskeatingbooks-blog - Tumblr blog

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Vampire Bat Buddies!

Happy November!

Halloween is over, but it’s never too late for some vampire bat science. I really loved this article about vampire bat besties. 

“Much like many primates, vampire bats can form strong bonds with each other and often maintain these friendships even after being uprooted.“

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Cat Hats!

“Several years ago Ryo Yamazaki was brushing one of his three Scottish Fold cats. A lump of shed had accumulated on the floor and in that moment Yamazaki noticed that it kind of looked like a hat...”

Seriously, how bizarre and amazing are these cat hats? (Made from shed cat hair!)

More:

“According to the Yamazakis, their cats don’t seem to mind at all, perhaps owing to the fact that the hats are super lightweight and smell just like they do. After all, they were part of the cat’s body up until a few moments ago.” 

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Fairy Houses!

If you’re looking for a magical place to hide away for autumn, may I suggest these lovely fairy houses? 

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Michaelangelo & Seaweed

How do you restore a 500 year old work of art from one of the greatest artists of all time? 

If you’re Marjorie Shelley, you use seaweed. 

I really loved this behind-the-scenes look at getting 500 year old creases out of Michaelangelo’s drawing. It makes me wonder what works of art we’ll be restoring in 500 years!

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

The Lost Words

If you’re a word lover like I am, you’ll want to check out this book! Includes words like rizzle (to relax after eating a big meal), sloom (a light sleep), and absquatulate (to run off with someone.) I vote we bring them all back. 

Enjoy, nerds!

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Magic Fountains, Guillotine Haircuts, and Lavender Fields Forever

Happy Friday!

I hope you’re well on your way to an amazing weekend! I’ve been loving the cooler air and whisper of autumn that’s on the wind. Pretty soon all of us fall souls can rejoice!

Here are 10 things that made me take notice this week. 

1. I just finished a FRIENDS rewatch. Have to admit, I kind of wish Rachel had gone to Paris (and maybe taken Joey with her?) Am I alone on this? Either way, this Central Perk LEGO set is pretty cute.

2. I’ve also had a not-so-secret belief that fountains are magical portals to other worlds. Particularly these fourteen, who exhibit zero chill.

3. I just started this book, and am in love with it already. Here’s a glimpse:

4. I like big guts and I cannot lie? Fascinating read on alternating ecological strategies. Or better said: guts vs brains. 

5. Calling all cat people - here is the best way to pet your cat, according to science. 

6. In weird society and culture stuff: the way kids draw men and women has changed a lot in the past fifty years. What does it all MEAN?! 

7. It is a truth universally acknowledged that every online recipe must start with a forty page essay about the author’s life. This one’s no different, but the recipe for Strawberry rhubarb hemp balls is pretty darn good.

8. Morbidly fascinating...and fashionable. Guillotine haircuts and how they became all the rage. (PS If you like this awesome history-culture stuff, you have to read all of Sarah Albee’s books - she is a master of topics like these!)

9. I recently made a squirrel comic about ‘Sweet Caroline’, and this look at the song caught my attention. 

10. Forget strawberry fields, let’s check out some Lavender Fields...forever. These aerial views are a dream!

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Movie Review: Dora and the Lost City of Gold

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Surviving the Fall: Useless Knowledge (Until it’s Not!)

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

GROSS AS A SNOT OTTER - Sneak Peek!

Hey all!

Happy Friday to you! I’ve got a fun sneak peek today of my next upcoming book, GROSS AS A SNOT OTTER! 

This is the fourth book in the World of Weird Animals series, and I’m happy to report that it’s even more fresh and fun than I could have hoped for! It’s jam-packed with amazing (and very disgusting) creatures, and I can’t wait for you to meet them all! The book releases into the wild on October 28th, 2019 -- you can preorder your copy today!

Here’s an inside look, and some of my favorite critters!

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

How to build confidence, for writing, art, and anything else that tickles your fancy! 

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

We’re Not So Different

Scientists call it “visually attending to a video together to facilitate great ape social closeness”, but you and I might just call it chilling out and watching a movie together. 

Today in chimpanzees, this awesome study that indicates that they bond together by watching movies! 

"Experiences are richer watching together," says report co-author Wouter Wolf, from the department of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University in the US.”

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Chasing the Sun

Writing cabins are always a hot ticket for authors, but here’s an idea you might want to consider if you’re ever drawing up plans for a room of your own!

This is George Bernard Shaw, in his rotating writing hut. It was built on a turntable, so he could face the sun all day long. Best part? He called the place “London”, so if he ever had visitors, his staff would say “Sorry, he’s in London right now”. 

Visit the place yourself here! 

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray - Book Trailer!

It’s almost here! 

The first book in my next middle grade series is out on July 9th! I cooked up a book trailer to pique your curiosity. I’m really excited for this series: it’s full of action, adventure, comedy, and lots of heart. Have a peek below!

Here’s a little bit about the book: 

"Let the official record show that, I, Nikki Tesla, did not intend to destroy the world." There are only so many times a kid can invent an instrument of global destruction without getting grounded. So when Nikki's death ray accidentally blows up her bedroom (if you can call a pet ferret with an itchy trigger finger an accident), she's sent to the only place that can handle her. Genius Academy is a school for history's greatest brains. Leo da Vinci? Charlotte Darwin? Bert Einstein? All extraordinary. Yet even among her fellow prodigies, Nikki feels like an outsider thanks to a terrible secret she can't let anyone discover. Ever. But when her death ray is stolen, Nikki must stop worrying about fitting in and learn to play nice with her new classmates. Because it doesn't take a genius to track a thief around the world, outwit the authorities, and keep a French fry fanatic ferret happy. It takes all of them.

Preorder it today and you’ll be first to receive it on July 9th! Enjoy!

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

The Little & Big Things in Life

They say it’s the little things in life, but sometimes, it’s the big things. If you’re familiar with any of my books, you know that biodiversity and the natural world are near to my heart, and constant sources of inspiration to me. I absolutely adore these sea urchin sculptures! You can’t step inside real sea urchins, but these babies were open for business (and awe). Click through the link up top for more!

For this year’s i Light Marina Bay Festival, a sustainability-focused, Singapore-based spectacle, Choi+Shine Architects created The Urchins, a series of 3 interactive installations. The crochet sea urchin sculptures have been meticulously crafted by hand, offering attendees a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.

Speaking to the event’s theme of sustainability. each 56-foot-tall work of interactive art symbolizes the beauty and diversity of nature. Though, at night, the works are spotlit by artificial luminescence, during the day, The Urchins rely on natural light to cast ephemeral, ever-changing shadows. Similarly, each suspended sculpture organically moves when touched by the wind or even visitors, who are invited to handle the polyester cords and panels that compose it.

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Landromat Mermaids & Wasabi

This past week flew by so fast! SHARK LADY received some pretty beautiful hardware, and I rounded a big wordcount milestone on my next novel. The combination of drafting and prepping for an upcoming book release means lots of dirty dishes, but I’ll save you the joy of that visual.

Here are ten things that caught my attention this week!

1)  These square waves look pulled right out of a YA dystopia novel.

2) Speaking of dystopia (aren’t we always?) -- did you hear about this Hunger Games news? I’m a huge fan of this series, so I’m eager to see what’s in store for us 64 years before Katniss showed up.

3) Laundromat mermaids. Enough said.

4) For your soul: How to Listen to Your Body and Give it What it Needs. 

5) I’m not the one to write it, but there is a beautiful, timely picture book to be made of this incredible story of America’s first Black radio station.

6) Wangari Maathai was the First African Woman to Win the Nobel Peace Prize. This book is a must read, as is this beautiful essay. 

7) Drop everything and listen to this previously unreleased recording of my hero, Freddie Mercury. (Seriously!) 

8) “I’d do anything for love, but I won’t do that.” A phrase you won’t often hear coming from a spider, if science has anything to say about it. 

9) I love naked mole rats. I included them in one of my books because they are basically potatoes with teeth, but some new research shows that they’re immune to wasabi. This sounds weird (and it is! Imagine being that researcher!) But it also has some pretty cool ramifications for pain management.

10) Know who else I love? Leonardo da Vinci. I’ve had this book for years and was interested to find this little article that pulled out some main prompts on how to think like da Vinci. Get your genius on!

Thanks for reading! As always, if you enjoy this kind of thing, pass it on to a creative friend! I hope it sparks something inspiring for you!

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Blue Tears

I recently came across this incredible research about sparkling, bioluminescent dinoflagellates by the East China Sea. The ocean is enchanting without a light show, but when you add in something that looks like it’s designed by mermaids, you get a whole other level of beauty. 

The blue tears are, surprisingly, caused by red Noctiluca scintillans, balloon-shaped, single-celled microorganisms known as dinoflagellates. These tiny creatures give off a bioluminescent glow when they are disturbed, and the larger the collection of them, the more spectacular the light show. 

[jesskeatingbooks-blog]

Holy Grail Lizards & Read Alouds

It’s been a busy writing week here, as I work on book three in my Elements of Genius series! One of the strangest sensations as a writer is spending so much time writing a sequel to a book, when the first one isn’t out yet. You’re so fully immersed in this world, and nobody is around to share in it! Writers are used to feeling a little out of phase from the rest of the world, but there’s nothing like arguing in your head with characters nobody has met yet to make you feel like an odd duck.

Luckily, that won’t last for long now, as my next book is out in the world in less than a month! I recently shared a reflection on my five year publishing anniversary, and in some phenomenal cosmic timing, I also found myself signing copies of my next MG series this week. They look beautiful!

Here are ten things that caught my eye this week. I hope they take you down some fantastic research rabbit holes for your own work!

1. No biggie, people just stumbled across the gigantic severed head of a wolf that dates back 40,000 years ago. 

2. Dig vampires? My latest episode of Animalogic is all about vampirism, and it is packed full of inspiring weirdness. (Also it’s not for the squeamish, so watch yourselves!)

3. There’s a Studio Ghibli Theme Park coming, and the early designs look incredible. 

4. I’ve talked a lot about the importance of reading aloud (particularly on Twitter!), and NPR had a great piece on what happens in our kid’s brains when we read them a story. Bonus marks: here’s the study that inspired the essay. 

5. In crazy, terrifying science, the newest lab rat has eight arms, as science continues to develop the model organism.  

6. I recently came across this (new to me) animal and it absolutely blew my mind. Meet the Borneo Earless Monitor. It looks like a real life dragon, and has some gorgeous eyes, too. Fun fact: they’re known by herpetologists as the “holy grail of lizards” because so little is known about them.

7. The decline of bees has been a well documented issue, and I’d love to see more about this Zen beekeeper, who became an apiarist after having a bunch of vivid dreams about bees. Pair this with THE HONEYBEE, from Kirsten Hall (which belongs on every book shelf, by the way.) 

8. The culture of busyness is a thing I believe we actively need to combat, and I really enjoyed this piece, How I Stopped Being Busy and Why I’m Now More Fulfilled. (If you’re interested, I’ve previously discussed “hustle” and how my opinion on it has changed over the course of my career so far - you can read about that here.)

9. For your eyeballs: an idyllic Irish Island that happens to be looking for new residents. Want to leave it all behind? Here’s your chance. 

10. For your belly: legumes and pulses will save the world, so here are 19 lentil recipes that you’ll love. (Bonus, they’re cheap!) 

Thanks so much for reading! 

As always, if you’re enjoying my Writer’s Notebook posts, why not share them with a creative buddy? Have a lovely weekend, everyone.