2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Jill Elizabeth has read 1 book toward her goal of 285 books.
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2023 Reading Challenge

2023 Reading Challenge
Jill Elizabeth has read 5 books toward her goal of 265 books.
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Book Review: Quakeland by Kathryn Miles

This was a seriously interesting – and seriously freaky – book. I live in the Northeast and have never given much thought to earthquakes before since I live (I thought) in a largely earthquake-free zone… After reading Kathryn Miles fascinating new book, I realize there’s no such thing – and it’s a bit horrifying, as far as realizations go.

The book offers an excellent history of earthquakes around the world, as well as an exceedingly interesting introduction to geology, seismology, and other -ologies that I never gave much thought to, prior to this book. The writing is clear and engaging and the chronology is sprinkled with details and insights that keep the book resoundingly human in its focus. This is no dry instructional tome; nor is it a bit of irresponsible fear-mongering. Instead, it is a thoroughly remarkable tale of the history of our earth and its bumps, shifts, creaks, and shakes. The personal expeditions she takes in her attempt to unearth (pun intended) the details about nature-made and man-made ‘quakes are fascinating – her time in mine shafts buried miles within the earth sticks out most resoundingly for me. She uses these trips to conferences and fracking sites and mines and fault lines (well-known and previously unimaginable) to explore the myriad explanations and theories behind the unbelievably large number of earthquakes and earthquake-type events that occur around the world on an increasingly common (and severe) basis. Along the way, she explores things like infrastructure, energy (production and consumption) and technology to provide a very comprehensive and interesting profile of our earth and its reactions – both to its own action and to ours on/under/in it.

This was a slow but well-worthwhile read!

My review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

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