NaBloPoMo Day 30: 3 and 200

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books, Life, NaBloPoMo, reading, writing

On Saturday WordPress reminded me that 3 years ago I started this blog. In those 3 years this blog has become more than I initially thought, but has also taken a different direction than I originally imagined.

Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com! You registered on WordPress.com 3 years ago! Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging!

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Book Review: LIVES IN RUINS by Marilyn Johnson

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archaeology, author, Book Club, book review, Life, Lives in Ruins, Marilyn Johnson, NaBloPoMo, nonfiction, Pi Beta Phi, Pi Phi Pages

Pompeii, Machu Picchu, the Valley of the Kings, the Parthenon—the names of these legendary archaeological sites conjure up romance and mystery. The news is full of archaeology: treasures found (British king under parking lot) and treasures lost (looters, bulldozers, natural disaster, and war). Archaeological research tantalizes us with possibilities (are modern humans really part Neandertal?). Where are the archaeologists behind these stories? What kind of work do they actually do, and why does it matter?

Marilyn Johnson’s Lives in Ruins is an absorbing and entertaining look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they sweat under the sun for clues to the puzzle of our past. Johnson digs and drinks alongside archaeologists, chases them through the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and even Machu Picchu, and excavates their lives. Her subjects share stories we rarely read in history books, about slaves and Ice Age hunters, ordinary soldiers of the American Revolution, children of the first century, Chinese woman warriors, sunken fleets, mummies.

What drives these archaeologists is not the money (meager) or the jobs (scarce) or the working conditions (dangerous), but their passion for the stories that would otherwise be buried and lost

(Cover image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson was the November read for the Pi Phi Pages book club. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I saw the title name on the list, but I am so glad that it was included in this year’s reads! Johnson provides a very entertaining and informative look into the world of archaeology. 

NaBloPoMoDay 24: The Coffee Book Tag

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book tag, books, coffee, Goodreads, Literature, NaBloPoMo, reading, writing

So lately for my NaBloPoMo posts I’ve been participating in book tags. (You can read “My Life in Books” and “Inside Out” book tag posts.) Since I have been enjoying these posts so much, I decided to find another one to write about as well. Today I found a post on Beachy Reads with The Coffee Book Tag. I absolutely love coffee, and obviously books (see my “I’m Addicted” post), so I thought this would be the perfect book tag for me. 😀

NaBloPoMo Day 23: “Inside Out” book tag

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bibliophile, book tag, books, emotions, Inside Out, Life, Literature, NaBloPoMo, reading, writing

For NaBloPoMo Day 23, I am participating in another book tag post. (My first one can be read here.) I also got this one from RoseRead (and you can read her “Inside Out” post here.) As you may or may not be able to guess from the title, this book tag post is based on the movie “Inside Out.” So here are my picks for books that I think go with each one of the emotions.

Book Review: JUST LIKE YOU by Robert Kroupa

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author, book review, books, Goodreads, Hannah Harrison, Inspiration, Just Like You, Life, Literature, NaBloPoMo, reading, Robert Kroupa, writing

Henry, a deaf field mouse, and his friend Boris, a spider with one lame leg, are teased by the other animals until a disaster causes them to realize they are not so different, after all.

(Synopsis and cover image from goodreads.com)

A couple of months ago my mom bought me a copy of Just Like You after she had bought and read her own copy. My mom and dad had been at a Costco near them and Robert Kroupa, the author, was doing book signings there. My mom loved the book so much that she bought me my own copy to read and review, as well as to see if there was a way I could work it into my curriculum. So for my NaBloPoMo Day 22 post, I am reviewing Just Like You by Robert Kroupa.

NaBloPoMo Day 21: Alternate History

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Alternate History, Amazon, books, Goodreads, Life, Literature, NaBloPoMo, Philip K Dick, The Man in the High Castle, writing

There’s an interesting concept that’s floating around, and one that human nature usually wonders about: what if things had gone differently? We often think about the alternative…what would things be like if we had made a different choice or if we had taken a different action?