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It hurt to bail on this, since it contains the #HauntedShelf #WordSearch word “Chestnut“ 😂 but it really wasn't working. Too whimsical for my taste, and the premise that the main character is blind and so has no idea her aunt is literally a monster just didn't sit well with me.

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Antarctic exploration - the ultimate team survival
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs

This book tells the story of Captain Cook‘s final voyage and its well written. Just enough historical diary entries, explanations of ship maintenance and navigation, and a variety of characters lead this book to be entertaining. The colonialism isn‘t avoided, critiques about decisions are included, and shocking avoidance of death make it interesting.

My two Hampton Sides books from HPB. The tagged book should work for #readingOceania @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

#middlegrademonday
@karisimo

From the Newbury winner for OUT OF THE DUST (my favorite YA book of all time): Eleven-year-old Nicholas Young is about to embark on the journey of his life. In August 1768, he sneaks on board the H.M.S. Endeavour , piloted by famous explorer Captain James Cook, only to find that the ship is destined for an exciting adventure around the world.

Mine is an #unpopularopinion, but I was bored to tears through most of this. I‘m sure the audiobook narrator didn‘t help, but there are nonfiction authors whose writing is more compelling, IMO. It wasn‘t until the last visit to the Hawaiian islands and Cook‘s death that things got interesting. I struggled to convince myself to pick it up, as evidenced by the fact that I finished with only 2 hours left on my Libby check out.

This is a pretty lively summary of readings about discoverers and “discoverers”, explorers and mapmakers. Inherently a volatile mix of political chicanery, the hubris of men that think it‘ll be fun to sail off the edge of the world, scurvy, occasional deaths by polar bear, and the vicissitudes of pre-industrial economics, expansionism, and mercantilism, I found myself grimly laughing at all these misadventures.

Read it.

It‘s history, so you think you already know how the story goes. But Hampton Sides somehow always manages to imbue his nonfiction accounts with suspense and a propulsive narrative that reads like a thriller. This details the third and final voyage of Capt. James Cook, which ended with his death in Hawaii in 1778. What precipitated that violent and tragic encounter on the beach? I couldn‘t put it down.

This is a fascinating look at Captain Cook‘s final voyage, from inception to conclusion. Using primary sources, it helps clear up some misunderstandings about him and explores some unknowns/remaining questions. (Did you know he never named a place after himself, despite being a prodigious mapmaker? All those places named after him were done by others.) I was riveted by it.

This is a detailed account of Peter Freuchen, a legendary polar explorer. He had one of the more ridiculous, badass, and gross survival stories from his days of exploring Greenland. Outside of polar exploration, his life was filled with a variety of unique adventures and twists and turns.

#bookspinbingo
@TheAromaofBooks