Greek myths

Book Review – Circe by Madeline Miller

books, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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?

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Book Review – A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

2023 is turning out to be the year of Greek myths and their different retellings. I hadn’t meant for this to happen but I’ve just found myself in a bit of a cycle that I’m not intent on breaking. Thankfully there are so many recent books that I can read. Publishers are relishing the resurgence of mythology and it feels like every week we get a feminist rewriting of one of the most famous myths. Natalie Haynes is one of the most celebrated, so I felt that it was only fair that I give this book a chance. I guess it also helped that I’ve already refamiliarised myself with the events of the Trojan War thanks to Stephen Fry. Plus, it just happened to be available on my library app. Why not listen to it as I was working? Hearing the plight of all those women might make me feel better about my dull job.

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Book Review – Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

This recent trend of feminist rewritings of myths and legends isn’t going away any time soon. It feels like every single book being published at the moment is based on some poor figure in Greek mythology. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for it but do we need quite so many at the same time? People regularly moan about the lack of originality i the film industry but what of publishing? It feels as though the only books getting a green light right now are either mythology retellings or cosy crime. Flooding the market with these types of books just means that quality declines. Yes, The Song of Achilles was great but not everything can be the same. Ariadne is one of those books that I’ve heard so many good things about. Although, it was also nominated for a GoodReads award in 2021 which is often a worrying sign. I was interested to see what it would be like but also kind of scared to start it. This week, I finally took the plunge.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

films, books, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

I think this week has been better than the last few but I’m weirdly tired. I’ve booked put in some holiday at work but it’s not until Easter, so I have a bit of a wait. Wondering if I should cave and just take some time off in March too. I’d love to just not worry about getting up every day and get through some more of my TBR. I haven’t done as well as I’d have liked this week with reading. After finishing my last read in 2 days, I’ve gone back to being pretty slow and distracted. It’s the tiredness. My plan is to go to sleep at reasonable times next week. Of course, I’m saying this as I start writing this post at 23:27 on Saturday night. I’m never going to change.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

films, books, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

February looks set to be another interesting month. It’s already messing with my head timewise. It’s only the 5th but it feels like it’s been this month forever. How is that possible? Reading-wise, it’s been a slow start. I’m hoping to gain momentum but my last read really didn’t inspire me to pick up something else. I’m hoping it will get better and I’m going to listen to another audiobook this week. I didn’t really get a chance to last week because of what I was working on.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

films, books, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

We’re not even one month into the year and already I’m kind of over it. Okay, not the year as a whole but certainly work. It’s going to be another 12 months of the same old thing. Thankfully, everything else seems to be going okay and I’m mostly enjoying myself. My reading is getting better and I’ve been pretty happy with the books I’ve read. Maybe I’m still a bit slow and my monthly total won’t be great. I’m not worried. I’ll get better and this year isn’t meant to be about quantity but quality. I’ve managed to cross some books off my TBR and that feels good.

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Book Review – Troy by Stephen Fry

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

It seems as though the trend of introducing modern readers to Greek mythology isn’t going away any time soon. And I couldn’t be happier. I love being able to revisit these stories in a more relaxed way. I finished listening to Stephen Fry’s Heroes last Sunday and immediately started listening to Troy. I had so enjoyed his retelling of the myths about the great Greek heroes that I knew I wanted to see what he made of the Trojan War. After all, we’d heard it referenced so much in the earlier work. It also helped that Helen gets a mention in Less is Lost. I felt like the universe was telling me that it’s time.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

films, books, rundown

Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

This has been a weird week. I feel like it’s both flown by and dragged on. I can’t believe that last weekend was only last weekend. If this is giving us an idea of how the year is going to go then 2023 is going to be interesting in a temporal sense. Whatever is going on with the timeline, I have managed to finish a few books this week. I started the week behind schedule for my reading goal but now I’m ahead. I just need to get back into the groove.

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Book Review – Heroes by Stephen Fry

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I’ve had the audiobook version of this book in my Audible library for quite a while but never felt like listening to it. I don’t find it easy to listen to myths when I’m working because I tend to lose track of who everyone is. Those Greeks had such similar names so I always worry that I’d get lost. It’s also much longer than my usual audiobooks, so it wouldn’t be something I could finish over the course of one day. Meaning I’d had to rely on my memory to remember what I’d just listened to. In my constant attempt to decrease my TBR, I decided it was time to listen to it. Over the last week, I’ve listened to it in between reading a physical book. I definitely think this was the best way to do it. That way I can take a break whenever things get a bit too weird or rapey. Although, thankfully, there isn’t as much in the follow-up to Mythos.

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Book Review – Top Ten Greek Legends by Terry Deary

books, reviews
Hand holding teacup, a plate of toast, a bowl of strawberries and the book Top Ten Green Legends by Terry Deary

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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.

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