Links + Things: Justin Timberlake! The Calming Manatee! Plagiarism (Ugh)! Sexism (Double Ugh)! Libraries! General Interestingness!

You guys, it's been slow around these parts because I kind of lost the plot with my reading and nearly every book I've read in March isn't out until May or June. Obviously, I would be a jerk if I started reviewing things that weren't out for months--on a number of levels. 

However! I have many links of interestingness, including a Very Special Section devoted to the one and only Justin Timberlake. I have had The 20/20 Experience on repeat since Tuesday and I am in love--especially with Pusher Love Girl, which is Swoon City, USA.  ​

This Week's Video of Awesome

This is a ​fantastic speculative ad for Durex--it's brilliant and actually tells you want you need to know about the product.

Interestingness

Jane Goodall’s ‘Seeds of Hope’ book contains borrowed passages without attribution (Wash. Post)

Jane Goodall, the primatologist celebrated for her meticulous studies of chimps in the wild, is releasing a book next month on the plant world that contains at least a dozen passages borrowed without attribution, or footnotes, from a variety of Web sites.

The borrowings in “Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder From the World of Plants” range from phrases to an entire paragraph from Web sites such as Wikipedia and others that focus on astrology, tobacco, beer, nature and organic tea.

​Well, this is disappointing news to say the least. I'm getting so weary of one plagiarism story after another. I realize there are so many pressures to publish, publish, publish, but it's at the point I'm no longer all that surprised by each week's plagiarism story. What worries me the most is the desensitizing--I have had a number of students in their 20s who have been surprised by my anti-plagiarism spiel because it's the first time they've had someone explicitly address the issue of plagiarism and what it precisely means. 

What Brittney Griner says about us (ESPN)

But whereas Shaq was hailed for being big, bold, different, Griner is sometimes viewed in a harsher light, with skepticism bordering on suspicion. When people called Shaq a freak of nature, it was a compliment; when directed at Griner, the term often carries a cruel edge, punctuated with the refrain of "She's a dude!"

Such wary appraisals are not unique to Griner, of course. This is what Joe Fan does to any female athlete who doesn't fit neatly into one of two boxes: the cool, tough-talking guy's gal (see: Ronda Rousey, Lindsey Vonn) or the unattainable beauty (see: Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova).

​Brittney Griner is an absolutely remarkable athlete, but, sadly the public response to her has been quite disturbing over the years. This ESPN columnist hits the nail on the head with regard to the root of many people's incredibly sexist response to Griner's success. Even if you're not a sports fan, this is an important subject, and this piece is really worth reading.

There Are No Free Libraries (American Libraries)

But libraries, as we know, do not exist for free. They cost their communities—whether composed of taxpayers, tuition-payers, donors, or a combination—a substantial amount of money. It’s well-intentioned to emphasize that libraries provide materials and services without exacting immediate payment from users for each transaction. But today it is at best a mistake and at worst self-destructive to underrepresent the considerable ongoing investment that the members of a community make to have library collections, technology, personnel, and facilities available to them.

My two pennies on this subject: ​As a recovering public sector employee who worked on public finance elections, I agree 100% that positioning any public service as “free” is a bad, bad idea—the public devalues that which they see as “free.” Rather, communicating the public value of accessible services such as libraries, parks and other facilities is much more effective in helping the public understand the importance of these entities. 

I Am Jane Doe: An Open Letter to CNN, Poppy Harlow and All Steubenville Rapist Sympathizers (HyperVocal)

You threw Jane Doe under the bus. You threw all of us under the bus.

I try to imagine you solemnly expressing these sympathies for two young murderers of a 16-year-old girl. Would you say how sad it is to see their lives ruined by imprisonment? Or would you use words like “heinous,” “disgusting” and “unthinkable” to describe their crimes?

Alas, when a young boy rapes a girl, it’s a “misstep.” He’s still learning the boundaries. He doesn’t know what he’s doing is rape. I hate to be the one to break the news (ha!), but the boundaries are simple. Everything outside of a “yes” and/or enthusiastic consent is outside the boundaries.

I know many of you, like me, were incredibly disturbed by the press coverage of the aftermath of the Steubenville rape trial. Chelsea Levinson's moving and important person response gets to the heart of the matter. 

Further Reading

• We all need more Calming Manatee in our lives. 
• ​Smithsonian Magazine has a fascinating piece about "The Newspaper of Tomorrow: 11 Predictions from Yesteryear."
• ​This Onion piece about finding the thing you love is painful, even worse because it's satire, but totally true.
• This is some thoughtful commentary on the hubbub around Beyonce's new song. ​
• I'm submitting this bit of information about Jon Hamm without comment.
• A favorite author of CEFS, Trish Doller, has some very exciting news!​
• I'm enjoying this Tumblr marketing campaign for Lindsey Leavitt's Going Vintage.​
• Author Ceclia Grant has some interesting commentary about feminism and romance writing--the comments are worth reading, for sure.​
• Tiger Eyes has a release date!!!​

Links About Justin Timberlake

(Yes, in honor of JT's first album in seven years, he gets his own category this week.)​

• ​The Atlantic draws some brilliant parallels between JT and Sammy Davis Jr. (And Jay-Z and Frank Sinatra.) Mind. Blown.
• Here's the story behind JT's Mirrors video--it's pretty touching. (And here I was thinking that song was awfully narcissistic; I sure feel like a jerk now.)​
• Does your man enjoy JT's new haircut? GQ details how to replicate the style.​
• Jon Hamm has issues with JT's style.​
• There is going to be a companion album to The 20/20 Experience!!!

Cover Art

It seems like there were a ton of covers revealed this week, but three definitely stuck out. The first is David Levithan's Two Boys Kissing, which is pretty groundbreaking. The always-brilliant Malinda Lo has some insightful thoughts on this one. ​I adore every single thing about the cover of Leila Sales' new book, This Song Will Save Your Life: the headphones, the glasses, the hot pink, the typography. Everything. The cover of Jon Skovron's Man Made Boy is pretty badass, right?

Books That Are Cheap

Question: Do you like these deals included with this links post, or would it be more helpful to have them separate? When I first started including them, my links posts were shorter, so I don't know if I'm heading to information overload territory or not... ​Anyway, I've got three ebook deals for you this week--enjoy!

• Julie James fabulous Something About You is only $2 for Kindle and Nook right now (I believe it's only good for this week). I've really enjoyed all of her books and highly recommend them to folks who usually avoid romance.
• So many people I know adore Courtney Milan's novels and novellas, and while I'm not a historical reader, I have read one of hers and enjoyed it. Right now, The Governess Affair is a free e-novella on all platforms.​
• A number of people have recommended Brodi Ashton's Everneath to me me, but I've shied away because of the flowy dress and decapitation situation on the cover. However, at $3 for the Kindle ebook (price matched at BN), it's pretty cheap-o, so I'll give it a whirl,​

Have a fabulous weekend, y'all!​