Welcome to Litsy!

Writing for National Geographic, the author accompanied an expedition into an incredibly remote and untouched region of Honduras in search of proof that an ancient city had once existed in the rainforest. Cutting edge lidar technology enabled them to uncover the past at a site that was truly dangerous, not least from aggressive and deadly fer-de-lance vipers. What they found was amazing, but the risks were even greater than they knew. Fascinating.

Next up - some more nonfiction
After reading chapter one - What could possibly go wrong? 🐍🕷️🐛🐜

It was hard to choose a book for #September , because I read quite a number of standout books! This is Preston‘s nonfiction account of exploration & danger. Preston writes with humor and knows how to build suspense and describe scenes enough that I felt itchy from the bugs. It‘s fascinating. #12BooksOf2023

Honorable mentions:

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims
The Murder of Mr Wickham by Claudia Gray
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Merry Christmas, Littens! I‘m kicking off #12booksof2023 with this book I read in January.

I wasn‘t familiar with Douglas Preston, journalist, but WOW! He joined the expedition into the rain forest of inner Honduras to report on the search for an ancient lost city. Snakes, bugs, mud, a curse, and so much more. It felt like an Indiana Jones adventure. But real..so all the more terrifying! I couldn‘t put this down! Archaeology, science, medicine. My cuppa tea! I must read another of Preston‘s non fiction. Such a fan now! #novelnovember

Preston joins an exploration for La Ciudad Blanca, or the White City, in #Honduras that reportedly has riches beyond belief. What is discovered is quite amazing, with some moments of me squealing in disgust as Preston comes in close contact with reptiles and bugs.

It should be noted too that the methods used in this exploration raised a lot of controversy in the archaeology community - Preston does address this and gives his thoughts. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Finished! Fascinating but dragged in a few places. I would have loved to hear more about the city. ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
#jubilantjuly

January #wrapup mashed with #two4tuesday

1. Tagged book was my favorite of the month. It‘s technically narrative nonfiction, but it covers several topics.

2. I read it because of #ReadingTheAmericas2023 along with the other books marked with 🌎 but not including books set in the US because that‘s bound to happen every month!

A few parts dragged a little bit, but overall this was a fascinating and sobering book about the exploration of a pre-Columbian site in a remote area of Honduras.

There are several interesting threads about: colonialism, corruption, archaeological techniques, deforestation, pandemics, and other topics. The author packs a lot of information into about 325 pages.

Some of my other thoughts are more personal/idiosyncratic. See more in comments.

Non-fiction is not my genre unless there is something I really want to learn. However, this book was recommended by so many friends, I gave it a read. Preston was invited to be a part of the team who researched, ground verified and documented a jungle buried city in the Mosquitia area of Honduran rainforest. Some history given, the adventure itself and dealing with the unusual (for our country) disease.

This book was intense and interesting, it takes you on along on a fascinating expedition to search for a lost civilization in Honduras. It was filled with larger than life characters, bits about ecology, anthropology, and epidemiology. The epidemiology piece, written in the ‘before times‘ surprised me and there was quite a bit about epidemics and pandemics and reading that now was felt quite prescient. #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Completely unrelated to this book other than they are both about a lost city. The movie was cute and fun and I love that Sandra Bullock is a #romcom star still at 57.

This was a really entertaining and eye opening look at how lost cities are found using Lidar. It can be quite technical at times and somewhat frustrating. Scientists can be overly sensitive babies and most of the jungle just wants to kill you. But if you can get past that it is a fascinating tale.
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#Booked2021 #ContainsPhotos @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

Thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94
1- Lost City of The Monkey God
2- My dogs
3- The Guy is a jerk but only because he really loves her which only slightly beats out the tough women who has a chip on her shoulder but soon learns to love again 🤦🏼‍♀️
I tag @AmyG @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Lollymya
#ThoughtfulThursday

Adventure abounds as a team of explorers brave part of the Guatemalan rainforest that man abandoned over 500ya - but why? Was it the abundance of lethal snakes? The many deadly diseases carried by insects? Or was there a more sinister reason? This true story details how cutting edge science was used to discover cities long reclaimed by the jungle, and how, despite our advances, the challenges they present test our capabilities to this day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One minute a great adventure story, the next a sobering and cautionary tale of environmental degradation/climate change, income inequality/class division, and the ever present threat of a new pandemic.
This book fuses modern science and ancient mythology.
Engaging read!

#naturalhistory #travel #adventure #jungle #rainforest #archeology

An epic tale of archeological mystery and account of modern day anthropology and the challenges associated. It definitely challenged my view of the optimum society (specifically the US) as a whole and gave me a lot to think about.

Slow fairly scientific start but very interesting to me who studies human geography and geographic information systems. It was fascinating how combining very different studies could lead to great recent discoveries of lost cities. Also interesting ending related to disease spread such as effected us all recently.

Really enjoyed this. It was an easy read and while I think I would‘ve enjoyed more actual archaeology/ history, I appreciated the chapter and discussion leishmaniasis. #honduras #archaeology #tropicaldisease #mosquitia

I bought this a few years ago... and then recently rebought it at barnes and noble when they were doing a #blinddate display.

Taking it as a sign to actually read it #tbr

🎧 $6 Audible sale, thank you Hoopla.

It plods along in Honduras, rain forest. Looking for a rich lost civilization.

I like archeology, love it in his fiction but I wasn‘t sure how non-fiction would fly. I found it interesting. Stick it out if it‘s not totally your jam because last 25% takes a turn.

This isn‘t a perfect comparison but here goes ....

Indiana Jones meets the Hot Zone. Good book worth the price. Billy Mumy narrates.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

A nonfiction account of an archeological dig, close calls with jungle animals, a mysterious illness and the roles of government, academia and private funders to preserve an ancient city retaken by the jungle. There is a lot to unpack with this book around archeological ethics, the voice of indigenous people, corruption and money, and the potential for diseases to become pandemics (!). It would be an excellent choice for a book club.

#intothewild #windsofMarch

@Eggs

4th day of Christmas.
#12booksof2020 @Andrew65

#12coloursofdecember #evergreen

+11 #wintergames #merryreaders @Clwojick

Currently reading.

Excellent read! 🙌

I love books like this that take me on an exciting adventure full of history and mystery. Preston did a wonderful job writing this because it is packed with information, but it is never boring.

Interesting. It had me wanting to check everywhere for snakes the second I stepped outside.

Thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook! A fascinating account of going on an archeological expedition through the densest (and deadliest) forests on Earth.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

1. The tagged book

2. Anywhere. I put the volume on high even while vacuuming

3. Gotta Keep Reading - listen here:

https://youtu.be/pzisyTuYpgw

Can you play? @Hazel2019 @Klou @EH2018 @Victoriahoperose

I have been wanting to read this for quite awhile. I love Preston's Pendergast series with Child. Reading this true story, I was surprised to realize what an adventurer he is. His time in Honduras on an archeological expedition is fascinating. At times, the narrative becomes a little too academic for my taste. I enjoy the parts that read like a traditional story and less like a lecture. This is a well written book about an amazing adventure.

#16 #AudioOutOfComfort #LitsyBitsy

This book is a true medical mystery story of an exploration into the world‘s densest jungle and a hunt for The Lost City of the Monkey God‘s somewhere in the Honduran interior. There is an ancient curse and 500 year legend that who goes these will fall ill and die. The most interesting part was after Doug Preston returned home he had a horrific disease. You need to read this book for yourself & see what happens.

Heard good things about this book and am sooo excited to start it. Nice breezy deck read day before the rain comes ☺️♥️

I wanted to like it more, but I found it pretty meh. I wanted an Indiana Jones kind of adventure, but this got bogged down with discussions of helicopter maintenance, politics and jungle bugs. 3 🌟

Bk1 in my #JanuaryBookHaul I loved The Monster Of Florence & this was highly recommended. In 2012, Preston joined a group of filmmakers using lidar to map the terrain under the rainforest canopy in Honduras. In a remote valley, they found the outlines of an undiscovered city which they then journeyed into the forest to find. Battling torrential rains, quickmud & snakes, it wasn‘t until they got home they found their tragedy had just begun.

I think i read this already. Lol..This weeks audiobook while hauling the kid to swim practice. Nonfiction book about the rediscovery of an ancient civilization in the jungles of Honduras, the team that rediscovered it, what they think happened to it and how history could repeat itself. Covers everything from history to politics to archaeology and tropical disease. 👇

Mr. Preston was part of an expedition to find a “lost city” in Honduras in 2015. This book deals with the unbelievable, often daunting realities of modern archeology. He doesn‘t shy away from the politics and the controversies surrounding it, the impact the expedition had on his health and on other members of his team. It‘s a fascinating hystorical analysis of the area and the terrible impact of disease over entire civilisations. A great read.

Early spirituality is absolutely fascinating!

#historyisawesome

#nonfiction #trueadventure #exploration #history

This was a non-fiction page turner. Douglas Preston is a writer for National Geographic who traveled into the Honduran rainforest with an expedition to search for the fabled Lost City of the Monkey God. I raced through this book, eager to read of their findings and learn about the history of this lost civilization.

I just finished this one for my public library book club. I love Douglas Preston‘s fiction, so I was excited to read The Lost City. It did not disappoint!
I studied anthropology in college so I was familiar with a lot of the history discussed, but Preston tells a really engaging story.

My current “in real life” book club read (with #Pumpkins).

The first chapter of this true story, with its disgusting disease-bearing insects and necrotizing flesh from the bite of a pit viper, is pretty #Screamathon-worthy in itself. 😳

#ScreamathonPhotoChallenge

Now if everyone could just stay away so I can eat.... I mea read.... #volunteering #usedbookstore #threehoursofalmostuninterruptedreading

Final leg of my travels home from Germany.

It‘s really difficult to put this book down. I had to buy my own copy.

After listening to Chapter 1, the Honduras rainforest sounds terrifying. 🐍🦂🕷🐆☠
#AudioCleaning

1) Lost City of the Monkey God was scientific and exciting. That's a winning combo in my book!
2) Sissy. Because my sibling couldn't pronounce my real name.
3) Ohh, tough choice! Mozzarella sticks are amazing, but it's hard to beat crispy onion rings.
4) More hiking! I've spent the week touring national parks and I'm not done yet!
5) Just two. ☹ "Es ist Freitag" and "it's Friday!"
#friyayintro @howjessreads @nerdcornerbooks

So, I originally picked this up to be polite as a new friend had strongly recommended it.Good grief, I had no idea adventures like this could happen in the real world! Douglas Preston was part of an expedition to search for a fabled "lost city" in Honduras back in 2015. Preston's story is chock full of huge snakes, infectious diseases, and well- researched history in a part of the world which I know little about.
#realadventure #travel #truestory