My dad often sends me links and things that he discovers on his travels around the internet, and sometimes I think I need to share that with others - but never quite get round to writing a post about it. Instead, here’s a compilation of five recent links and bits that I found quite interesting.

1. A List of Books. I’m working through my own select list of reading material, but I like the idea of this list - compiling together several other top book lists into one giant compendium. It’s also quite fun to look down and see just how many of these I’ve read thanks to my reading adventures!
2. Britain. I’m not sure where this has come from, but it’s apparently the information that was given to GI’s coming over to Britain during World War II - giving them a quick start guide about how odd us Brits are. I particularly like this bit: “If Britons sit in trains or buses without striking up conversation with you, it doesn’t mean they are being haughty and unfriendly.  Probably they are paying more attention to you than you think.  But they don’t speak to you because they don’t want to appear intrusive or rude.”
3. Best Animal Pictures of 2012. There will no doubt be a heap of “best of” compilations emerging soon, a couple even on this site. But I love the first picture in this group, where an errant sloth tries to get in on the photo action. Cute.
4. Paint Sample Calendar. This isn’t the exact info my dad sent over, but it’s the same idea. And a genius one! A dry wipe calendar made out of the free paint swatches from your local DIY store. I’m very tempted to try this.
5. Smart toaster. This one was sent a while back, a toaster that tells you the weather. Of course, weather forecasts aren’t always top notch, so why not just eat them?

It’s always fun when other people curate the internet for you - that’s why I follow blogs like Kottke. Finding cool things without too much effort!