From what I can see, the majority of people who have read both Circe and The Song of Achilles tend to prefer Circe. Of course, that’s possibly just my Instagram bubble rather than a real statistic. I ended up enjoying The Song of Achilles way more than I expected. Yes, I had my issue but I think it was mostly well-written. My issues came from the YA of it all and the slightly cringey way the romance was written. However, I celebrate the fact that Madeline Miller represented their relationship in this way. More than anything, it was a sweet and emotional story that I was happy to have read. I didn’t immediately rush out to buy Circe but I did want to read it. After my recent run of Greek mythology novels, I decided it was finally time. Would I be one of the people who preferred this to the earlier book? Or would I buck the trend?
Oh, the smugness that I was experiencing last week. What an idiot I was. I was so cocky when I finished two books in one week. So, cocky that I almost didn’t get this one finished in time. I expected to get through this poetry collection in no time but, whenever I had the chance to read it, I just didn’t want to. Maybe it was because I had just finished two really easy to read books? Or maybe it was just that I wasn’t engaging with this one enough? I guess it was about time that I had a bit of a struggle. 2019 has, for the most part, been a really good reading year. I’ve not experienced much of a reading slump so far so it was high time that I had a small one. It also doesn’t help that I’m super tired this week. I feel like I’ve barely slept the last few nights. So, I’m going to be a boring old lady and get to bed early tonight. Wrapped up, herbal tea, and a pair of fuzzy socks. Sounds blissful.
There was a point when I didn’t think I would finish this book for today’s post. I was well on track until I got horribly distracted by a podcast I listen to. A friend from work and I are obsessed with the My Dad Wrote A Porno podcast and love discussing it. I’d been saving series 4 for a bit to give me a break after series 3 but, the other day, she announced she’s finished book 4. So, naturally, I have to catch up with her and I may have listened to that instead of Stephen Fry one night this week. It was enjoyable listening to this book as an audiobook but I’m not convinced it’s the greatest way to do it. For one thing, I fell asleep in the middle of several chapters and had to go back the next day. For another, it took me way less time to read a chapter than it took Stephen to narrate it. I’ve never considered how much longer saying something out loud is compared to reading it in your head but it must have a major impact on the time you spend with a book. But this feels like a topic for another time. It’s late and I have to get this review finished.
Yipee ki-yay, motherbooker 