Do you ever revisit the books of your youth? It’s one of those big dilemmas. Do you reread them to see if they’re as good or do you not take the risk? It’s awful going back to something that you loved and realising that it’s just not that great. That was my quandary with this book. I had thought about it for years but couldn’t find it anywhere. It didn’t help that I’d forgotten the full title and didn’t know who wrote it. There was a point where I genuinely believed that I’d made it up. Although, I also remembered how much I loved this book. I am sure that it was the reason that I love Greek mythology. It must have been my introduction to them. I can’t remember where I bought it but it was probably at the Scholastic book fair. Those places were magical. I miss the rush you’d get at one of those. Nothing in adult life can match it.
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 enjoyably 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.