You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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June's Group Themed Read - Exploring Exploration!
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Ok, it's June, and time to go Exploring. What does reading about exploration do for you? Would you actually prefer to be an explorer, or a a re-creationist - or is vicarious exploration your preferred method of travel? Remember, you need only read one of the selections to participate in this discussion (and earn this badge). We'd love to hear your thoughts on other related books, too!
Going through my "Read" shelf, I don't see too many books that fit this genre. Let's see... I've read:Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Seven Years in Tibet
Afterlands
Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole
That's about it. You could say that this is new genre for me.
That's more than I've read!!I guess I did read Tracks, about a single (modern) woman in Australia's outback, and A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. But they were not forging new ground, nor were they ever in any real danger.
I'm confused about this thread. For some unknown reason (ok - my misfiring brain), during the May one I thought I had to have read at least two of the books and compare them. Do I have to have read one before discussing here? Two? Or is this a general discussion on the theme of exploration?
This is just a general discussion on exploration hence the title of the thread "exploring exploration". You may pick one or more of the selections for the month to read. You don't need to compare them.
This is a completely new genre for me. I can't pick up Blue Latitudes until Thursday as library closed until then. Will have to see how I get on with it. The other two weren't available via library and I didn't want to buy them as I don't know if this genre is for me or not. Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying it out, and perhaps afterwards adding exploration books to Mt TBR.
I may have miss-communicated - I'm still new to this myself - sorry. I would definitely prefer you read at least one of the books chosen. Then you'll be able to come to this discussion with some ideas in common with the other folks who are reading the chosen book(s). I do hope we wind up comparing the books but if it turns out there's not much to say about them in connection with one another, then we won't.
For example, I'm reading Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before now, and Horwitz mentions the Lewis & Clark expedition. I'll talk about details later.
Suzie, it's taking me some time to get through this, but I think it's just me, distracted in my real-life activities. I think it is generally an easy & engaging read. It is getting even more interesting now that he's in New Zealand....
Ok, I'm done with Blue Latitudes. I decided to give it four stars, as I learned so much from it and did find it simply engaging. (I'm not as fond of Bryson's work, as it's all 'look at me, watch my funny misadventures.')Here's the quote that compares Cook to certain other explorers: In his journals, "Cook's remarks were also unsettling. They presaged the fate of New Zealand's natives and their environment, just as Lewis and Clark's journals foretold the ravaging of the American West."
I wound up not being able to read either of the other selections. It's just not my genre of choice. But one comment did come up in discussion of one of the books that provoked a thought that I wanted to bring here.Are explorers heroes? They're certainly tough, enduring the adversity in the adventures described. Does that make them heroic? Or is their goal relevant? Columbus is not a hero to the First Americans, nor is Cook to many of the quiet peoples he visited.
What do your heroes have in common with the folks in these books, or with other explorers that you've learned about? Are explorers men with wanderlust?
I don't see that exploration in itself is heroic. Sometimes, it's foolhardy, but that's beside the point. Personally, I think that people bandy words around, giving them more significance than is required.Jumping into rapids to rescue another person who is drowning is heroic. Jumping onto a ship and exploring new lands may be brave, but not heroic.
Just my opinion. :)
I agree, Janice. Exploring is just that exploring - going to new places and having new challenges and experiences. Nothing heroic there. We each explore every year: not to the extent the 'first' explorers did, but to us it can be a real sense of achievement but there is nothing heroic about it. Going into a burning building to rescue strangers is heroic. Sailing into unknown harbours is not. People can do heroic things in many ways but exploration is not one of them. In my opinion.
I agree that explorers are not heroic. Generally, to me, a hero is someone who has saved a person(s) (or can be animals) from harm, while giving no thought to their own safety. Which brings up another quandry in today's use of the word hero. Firefighters go into burning buildings and save people, and the headlines will call them heroic. But it's their job, and they're trained for it. Soldiers and police can be in the line of fire doing their jobs. Is there a point where their actions become heroic, or should they just be considered to be very good at those jobs? I think it's a fine line, and I'm not sure I know where the line is.
Now, back to explorers :)I think exploring is a natural trait of humans. Some just do it on a much grander scale. We always want to know what's around the next corner, or over the mountain, or across the ocean.
I only read Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before. Captain Cook was exploring for the future, while Horwitz was exploring the legacy of Cook's journeys on the present (in between bouts of drinking :D). In Beneath the Sands of Egypt: Adventures of an Unconventional Archaeologist Ryan was exploring the past to preserve it, so we might understand it better. There are so many reasons for exploration: knowledge, fame, riches, new travelling routes, new sources of raw materials, and just plain old curiosity. And usually the original goal of exploration leads to other results, like searching for new trade routes leads to discovering new lands, or even proving that the world isn't flat (it actually sits on the back of a really giant turtle). Oops, that last part belongs with scientific exploration, from one of my favorite books - A Briefer History of Time :)
Whenever I'm getting ready to move, I try to find out about the area. Then I have specific things in mind to do and see when I get there. I love finding the oddball attractions, the thing I most wanted to see when I moved to Charleston, WV, was the circus fleas. But that part of the building had just closed while they turned it into The WV State Museum. It finally re-opened in 2008 and it's a wonderful place! And my fleas:
"Reaching the pinnacle of their lavish career in the flea circus of New York City's Hubert's Museum in the late 1800's, Emmiline and Alexander joined the ranks of the immortal in 1906. Mrs. R. P. Dayton generously donated this celebrity couple to the West Virginia state collection. More than 100 years later, they serve as "Ambassadors of Hospitality" when you enter the lobby gallery."
I agree, too, that explorers may sometimes be more brave than those who don't go adventuring. And that other kinds of exploration count, too. But that heroism is a different thing.And yet all three of these books, as best as I could see, dramatized the adventures to the point that the leads seemed to be heroic. Is that just marketing, a a means of appealing to readers and buyers?
Would anyone read jaxnsmom's memoirs as a tale of exploration? I'd definitely want to read them, were she to write them up, based on the post above about finding oddball attractions every time she moves... but would she have to spice up her autobiography to make herself seem more heroic, in order to sell it more widely?
When we chose this theme, did we even think about more tame explorations?
I know I discouraged scientific explorations because I want to use that as a theme in the future, but I just want to share the thought that even write-ups of scientific discoveries are dramatized to the point where somebody like Antoine Lavoisier is seen as an heroic explorer for discovering oxygen.
(Sorry, I'm not writing clearly. I hope you get my drift enough. :)
No, I'd just have to learn to write better and market it as humor :)
I think so. I mean, I, personally don't want to call people who seek out extreme sports challenges, like buildering (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buildering), heroic. Just cuz they like the thrill of it.So, actually, I have another question. Have any of you ever felt a strong urge to do adventurous exploration, the kind that Lewis and Clark and Cook did?
Erm, no. I'm a home-girl. No exploring for me. Never even contemplated a year round the world trip. Would get far too home-sick. And far to anxious. Someone else can explore for me and I'll read about it. Thanks!
And anyway some of it is just crazy. Going to the North Pole and risking toes/fingers/noses/life. Nah. Not for me.
I like to travel - but not without creature comforts. I empathize too much to enjoy reading about challenges, even. Judy, you'll have to find other people to read your memoir of your life in the woods. But I don't think you're any crazier than Thoreau.
I grew up near Dinosaur Provincial Park in Southern Alberta and one of my favorite thigs to do was to go exploring the dunes, looking for dinosaur bones.Plus, any time we'd be on vacation and I saw a pathway or side road, I'd want to go see where it was going and what might be there. I have a board on Pinterest called "Imagine What Lies Beyond", and it contains pictures of doorways, windows, pathways.
So, yeah, I have the curiosity of an explorer.
Judy, I don't think I could last a year, but I'd come visit you for a month or two :) I'd help you start a garden.I'd love to travel in search of the weirdest attractions, unique places, sights, museums...My last two mini-vacations in WV were to tour Moundsville Penitentiary, and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum :)
Janice, I know what you mean about wanting to go down pathways and side roads. I sometimes pick a direction and go see what's out there. My Dad was visiting when I lived in Winchester and we went to Harpers Ferry and were riding around and got a little lost (we didn't even know what state we were in - it was MD). How can I find your Pinterest board?
When I was younger I wanted to be an archaeologist. And I'd love to re-trace the journeys of some explorers. I know I could never re-create and survive the actual experience, but a short time would be fun (like Horwitz's week on the Endeavor).
Yes, I have some explorer genes.
So it does seem like there's a personality characteristic, an 'explorer's gene,' judging by the interesting conversation here. And it seems like it's more than just general curiosity, and different from the trait that drives adventurers who thrive on adversity. I get the impression it's different than the trait that drives people to conquer mountains or be the first to dogsled to the pole, too.I never realized the theme of exploration was so rich - thanks folks!
Janice, you mentioned your Pinterest board. I think it would be fine to share a link here, if you want to.I have a group here on goodreads called Fans of Maps which welcomes members interested in many different kinds of exploration, including geocaching.
Does anybody want to mention any other resources that would serve those of us who want to explore the theme further?
Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Janice, you mentioned your Pinterest board. I think it would be fine to share a link here, if you want to.I have a group here on goodreads called Fans of Maps which welcomes members interested i..."
Here's my Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/jan260/
Going back to the builder ing etc, I went to a big car show today and went abseiling down a wall. My first time. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and am rather proud of myself. The only other exciting adventure adrenalin type thing I want to do is a zip-wire. Other than that I think it's all a bit too crazy/life before your eyes for me!
I would like to try a zip-line, too. But I don't think the zip-line would like me to try.
You'll have to tell us all about it after, Judy. Janice, you may not like the zip wire much after! But I reckon it's a real good feeling you'll get after.
Good for you Suzie! And I'd love to hear a report when you come back, if you try it, Judy. :)
Judy wrote: "Jaxnsmom, some Sunday afternoons hubs and I jump in the car and drive. We'll stop whenever something grabs our interest. We have explored a good part of lower Michigan this way. We've found some ni..."What a great way to discover the area around you! Especially since a lot of the most interesting things aren't in any guidebook or website.
My version of exploring is called "getting lost" and finding my way back...I've learned to be patient with this and have discovered alot of unique places. Not too far from here (Unger's Store?) is a man who collects huge rubber advertizing blow up dolls. In his yard he has the Michicelen Man.
Great conversation folks, thanks! Ok, badges will be going to: jaxnsmom
Snoozie Suzie
Judy
Janice
Cheryl
maybe Betsy - did you read any of the three chosen books this month or recently?
Let me know, the rest of you, if I put you on the list even though you didn't read a book with us, or if I overlooked you.
I only read the first chapter of one of the books, so I don't qualify.
I didn't read any of the books, just joined in the chat :-)
Ok, tx for clarifying. Hope to get the badges soon but not yet sorry.
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
A Briefer History of Time (other topics)Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before (other topics)
Beneath the Sands of Egypt: Adventures of an Unconventional Archaeologist (other topics)
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before (other topics)
Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback (other topics)
More...
The three books we've voted to read together are:
New Found Land: Lewis & Clark's Voyage of Discovery
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before
Beneath the Sands of Egypt: Adventures of an Unconventional Archaeologist
Note - we will *not* avoid spoilers in any of these discussions!