June 2024: Wonders of the World!

I get to visit Glacier National Park this year for the first time. The more research I do for our trip, the more exciting it looks. So, my challenge is to read about wonders – natural or otherwise. Nonfiction or fiction. As the book’s setting or as history.

From the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to lists from other eras; from engineering marvels, solar system wonders – there are a lot of wonders to explore listed here on wikipedia.

What a great topic! I was thinking of that for another group I'm in! I have an older book, The Seven Wonders by Steven Saylor which is a prequel to a series. This is a book of 7 essays or short stories where the main character travels to each of the seven wonders and solves a mystery there.

Enjoy your trip to Glacier National Park, Cindy. The "Going-to-the-Sun Drive" is a spectacular scenic drive!

I'm off to check out my books for "Wonders" to read about.

Here is the link to the group wiki:

https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Reading_Through_Time_Challenge#Future_To...

I have a book entitled Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels that is a novel based on real events when in the 1920s a honeymoon couple tried to ride the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

Fantastic theme! Although it seems that I do not have much for this on my shelves. My first idea is to listen to The Early Years: Zoo Quest for a Dragon, Quest in Paradise & Quest Under Capricorn by David Attenborough, which covers his travels in the 1950s. It is on my Audible wishlist.

One I've been meaning to get to for years: Joan Breton Connelly's The Parthenon Enigma.

I've got quite a number of books in that Wonders of Man series. This could be a good time to read some of them, see if I want to keep any, and weed out the rest for a fifth-grade teacher in my church.

I'll have finished Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris (reading it for April's "disabilities" theme), but this one would fit for anyone who wants to take on Hugo.

There are at least several interesting videos in the Great Courses – World Heritage Sites, A Guided Tour of Ancient Egypt, The Cathedral, The World's Greatest Churches, probably quite a few more (links are to GC's Wondrium site) – which I can watch at my desktop computer while I nebulize for my COPD.

If I could get enough books packed away to create some clear table space, I've got a very advanced (2K+ pieces) lego puzzle of the Taj Mahal that I want to get working on, though that doesn't qualify as a book.,,,

>6 CurrerBell: Oh, Notre Dame de Paris is a great idea! I didn't think of that.

I'm not sure what I'll read, but >6 CurrerBell:'s suggestion of Notre Dame de Paris is a possibility.

I also have a nonfiction book I've been meaning to read for ages The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan. According to wikipedia "The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area and the second-largest by total volume", so sounds like a natural wonder to me.

>8 kac522: That's a thought. I've got The Death and Life of the Great Lakes in TBR storage as well.

This is a potentially very rich field, depending how widely one ranges for lists of wonders. Plenty of time to ponder it though.

Though there may not be much (if anything) on my tbr, I love this theme!

I've also never been to Glacier National Park (or Waterton on the Canada side... in my own province! My excuse is I don't drive). I would love to see both!

I’ll be starting a new mystery series with The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison. The series is set in the Himilayas, the world’s highest mountain range and for sure a wonder of the world for me. I love reading stories set there.

forgot to save this, what a great idea! not sure where Im going with this but I did find this list which is very encompassing, wonders from around the world the 200 wonders of the worldI surely will think of something

always fascinated with The Alhambra. think Ill start with the tales of the alhambraby washingto irving also the bird king

I am so glad this theme popped up: I have always loved the story and history of Granada and the Alhambra. So the book I chose is tales of the Alhambra and chronicles of the conquest of Granada.

I have only read two books by irving in HS Rip Van Wrinkeld and the Headless horseman. Thought it was about time to read this.
I am not far in, but I already feel like Im part of this journey. The descriptions, the people he meets, the history is more then I could imagine. I suspect I will be spending a while with this book. so thankyou for this theme!

I am in the process of reading Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks by Terry Tempest Williams. I am also reading this one for a real life book discussion group and it fits in perfectly here. I am also going to see what else I have on my waiting list that would fit into this category.

If I get time I will also read Seven Wonders of the Industrial World by Deborah Cadbury.

Finished tales of alhambra for and what an excellent journey I had. Irving is a very good travel writer, I felt as if I was on the trip with him, even smelling the dust and seeing the markets. This 1832 volume follows the author's visit to ruined Alhambra; a time long before the current legions of tourists, when he could ramble about and pick where he lodged! He's a good writer and combines a largely descriptive first third - picturing the palace, its environs and the colourful characters encountered there - with traditional fairy tales and a bit of history. The first half was about the building of the alhambra and the surrounding city of Granada. my only compliant would be the lack of a map, but suspect there is one in hardback. Np, I used google.

the last part contained the tales, I felt that they were too many (perhaps becaue they were somewhat repetitious), but nearly every individual story is well written and enjoyable. The framing narrative of the author's arrival and sojourn at the Alhambra is especially well done. I did not realize when it was written, and was pleasantly surprised how modern the writing was. so wish I could go there myself, but this is as good as any guide. Plan to read his history of New York just for fun

recommended to anyone who enjoys traveling vicariously though books

rating 5*

I read The Seven Wonders by Steven Saylor. This was the story of Gordianus, who is just 17 and Antipater of Sidon, the world's "greatest poet" (a real historical personage), Gordianus' teacher. For reasons we don't find out until the last chapter, Antipater faked his own death and with Gordianus traveled to some ancient wonders, solving crimes along the way. The problem being for me, that several of the "mysteries" were based on Greek myths, of which I had no knowledge, so the intricate details of the crime and its subsequent resolution made no sense. I almost DNF'd this book, but I persevered. 321 pages 3 stars (would have probably been higher had I been a better mythology student) This is a twofer and will also count for the quarterly read: Ancient/Biblical Times.

I have finished Babel where we meet Robert Koldewey on the digsite in Babylon, waiting for permission to ship the crates containing the Ishtar gate and part of the Procession Road to Berlin, and reflecting on his work and much else.

I wasn't sure that I had anything for this topic, but I found something I had forgotten: The National Parks: America's Best Idea. This one is a chunkster, although there are a lot of pictures, so I'm not sure if I'll finish it this month, but I'll give it a start at least.

>19 atozgrl: I love most anything by Ken Burns! BTW, the video by the same name is free on Amazon Prime.

I'm still pondering what to read for this theme.

>20 Tess_W: I saw the original video when it aired on PBS, and like all things Ken Burns, I loved it. That's why I picked up the book. But I had completely forgotten that I had it. This may be one of those things that I read as I can, in bits and pieces. Normally I don't read more than one book at a time, but this is one of those books that I can read while also having another book going.

>21 john257hopper: through a dart (figuratively!), eeny meeny miney moe, rock, paper scissors?

>23 Tess_W: haha yes maybe....I have not really focused on it yet. I am away next week, so will focus on it from the 15th of the month.