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#Post#: 312252--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: MidwestmikkiJ Date: March 20, 2025, 11:10 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=kkt link=topic=68.msg312147#msg312147
date=1742434745]
I just finished the Songs of Penelope trilogy by Claire North.
It's a new take on Homer's Iliad and especially Odyssey. Each
book is narrated by one of the major goddesses, which allows
them to be the all-knowing narrator plus adding their private
feelings and funny quips at the expense of other gods and major
mortal characters. She weaves events in Homer together with
other scenes and dialog that might have happened in between
scenes in Homer that didn't happen to get sung about by the
poets.
Book 1 is Ithaca and concerns Penelope's governance of Ithaca
after the Trojan War ended but before Odysseus returns, Ithaca
is relatively poor by nature compared to the great other cities
Mycenae and Sparta and Corinth and Athens, and especially weak
because every man able to wield a weapon between 15 and 50
during the war was shipped off to fight in Troy, and not a one
of them has returned. This book is narrated by Hera, Queen of
the Gods and goddess of wives and families, with many a swipe
against "my STEP-daughter" Athena and "my husband" who won't
stay away from the mortal maidens.
Book 2 is The House of Odysseus. Ithaca is still wondering why
most other cities have had their men return from the war years
ago but Odysseus is still overdue. The suitors want Penelope to
presume Odysseus dead and remarry so that one of them can become
king. Many of the citizens of Ithaca think a king would be
better at raising an army than Penelope and resisting domination
by the other great powers of Greece. Clytemnestra shows up
asking for asylum from her children Orestes and Electra, and
Penelope feels an obligation to Clytemnestra because they are
cousins, but she also needs their powerful city of Mycenae to be
independent of the other great power Sparta ruled by Orestes and
Electra's uncle Menelaus. Orestes is going mad and if he is
discovered to be unfit to rule Menelaus would be delighted to
step in. Penelope plays a difficult game playing Ithaca's
powerful families against each other and rival powers against
each other to maintain her independence. She also has to raise
her son Telemachus who has had no father figure since he was old
enough to remember. This book is narrated by Aphrodite and also
tells more background about the beginning of the war - Sparta
was the most militarized city of ancient Greece, how could Paris
have abducted their Queen Helen and carried her off to Troy? Or
was she cooperating?
Book 3 is The Last Song of Penelope. Odysseus is finally back!
Yet once he is back for a few days things are going so badly and
the careful balancing act Penelope has been walking so badly
upset that Penelope almost wishes he wasn't. The civil war that
she's spent the last 20 years trying to prevent is happening and
not going so well. This one is narrated by Athena, who supports
Odysseus and Penelope and Telemachus, and also has her own
agenda.
There are many new ideas in these books, it's not just a prose
retelling of Homer. Claire North is concentrating on the women,
and telling the story of Ithaca is perfect because there are
almost no men. The women must do the traditional men's jobs
from business negotiations with Ithaca's trading partners to
farming and care of livestock to the defense of their island.
Having just finished it I'm torn between rereading the trilogy
immediately and seeing out Claire North's other works in other
genres (and other pennames).
[/quote]
I’m sorry. I meant to hit like, not dislike.
#Post#: 313090--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: LesserGoddess Date: March 25, 2025, 1:07 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I finished Salem's Lot by Stephen King.
Wow, what a good book. He is a genius at building a story.
#Post#: 313093--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: MidwestmikkiJ Date: March 25, 2025, 1:11 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=LesserGoddess link=topic=68.msg313090#msg313090
date=1742926025]
I finished Salem's Lot by Stephen King.
Wow, what a good book. He is a genius at building a story.
[/quote]
That’s an oldie but definitely a goodie.
I loved Stephen King for many years. Then like a lot of prolific
authors I began to see enough similarity from book to book that
I stopped reading him. I should try him again since often after
a few years I remember why I liked someone.
Carrie, It, and The Stand were also excellent.
I’ve thought of rereading the The Stand because it’s got some
messages for todays political climate.
#Post#: 313113--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: LesserGoddess Date: March 25, 2025, 2:21 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=MidwestmikkiJ link=topic=68.msg313093#msg313093
date=1742926298]
[quote author=LesserGoddess link=topic=68.msg313090#msg313090
date=1742926025]
I finished Salem's Lot by Stephen King.
Wow, what a good book. He is a genius at building a story.
[/quote]
That’s an oldie but definitely a goodie.
I loved Stephen King for many years. Then like a lot of prolific
authors I began to see enough similarity from book to book that
I stopped reading him. I should try him again since often after
a few years I remember why I liked someone.
Carrie, It, and The Stand were also excellent.
I’ve thought of rereading the The Stand because it’s got some
messages for todays political climate.
[/quote]
He's written so many books! I looked at the date for Salem's Lot
and it was 1975.
It's impressive that a book doesn't reveal until a little after
the middle what the heroes are going to fight, yet keep your
interest until that point.
And the layering of scene after scene increasing my feeling of
dread...just really well done.
I can imagine that keeping up that level book after book is
maybe impossible
#Post#: 313132--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: NoLongerAubergine Date: March 25, 2025, 3:42 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=LesserGoddess link=topic=68.msg313113#msg313113
date=1742930468]
[quote author=MidwestmikkiJ link=topic=68.msg313093#msg313093
date=1742926298]
[quote author=LesserGoddess link=topic=68.msg313090#msg313090
date=1742926025]
I finished Salem's Lot by Stephen King.
Wow, what a good book. He is a genius at building a story.
[/quote]
That’s an oldie but definitely a goodie.
I loved Stephen King for many years. Then like a lot of prolific
authors I began to see enough similarity from book to book that
I stopped reading him. I should try him again since often after
a few years I remember why I liked someone.
Carrie, It, and The Stand were also excellent.
I’ve thought of rereading the The Stand because it’s got some
messages for todays political climate.
[/quote]
He's written so many books! I looked at the date for Salem's Lot
and it was 1975.
It's impressive that a book doesn't reveal until a little after
the middle what the heroes are going to fight, yet keep your
interest until that point.
And the layering of scene after scene increasing my feeling of
dread...just really well done.
I can imagine that keeping up that level book after book is
maybe impossible
[/quote]
I've read a couple of his more recent novels - Fairy Tale and Mr
Mercedes. They veer from his horror based stuff. The former
still has a fair amount of metaphysical aspects, but the latter
was primarily a police/detective story with almost no
metaphysical stuff (I can't really remember but I think a
touch.) I liked it and plan to one day finish the trilogy.
#Post#: 313140--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: Paloma Date: March 25, 2025, 4:45 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=NoLongerAubergine
link=topic=68.msg313132#msg313132 date=1742935357]
[quote author=LesserGoddess link=topic=68.msg313113#msg313113
date=1742930468]
[quote author=MidwestmikkiJ link=topic=68.msg313093#msg313093
date=1742926298]
[quote author=LesserGoddess link=topic=68.msg313090#msg313090
date=1742926025]
I finished Salem's Lot by Stephen King.
Wow, what a good book. He is a genius at building a story.
[/quote]
That’s an oldie but definitely a goodie.
I loved Stephen King for many years. Then like a lot of prolific
authors I began to see enough similarity from book to book that
I stopped reading him. I should try him again since often after
a few years I remember why I liked someone.
Carrie, It, and The Stand were also excellent.
I’ve thought of rereading the The Stand because it’s got some
messages for todays political climate.
[/quote]
He's written so many books! I looked at the date for Salem's Lot
and it was 1975.
It's impressive that a book doesn't reveal until a little after
the middle what the heroes are going to fight, yet keep your
interest until that point.
And the layering of scene after scene increasing my feeling of
dread...just really well done.
I can imagine that keeping up that level book after book is
maybe impossible
[/quote]
I've read a couple of his more recent novels - Fairy Tale and Mr
Mercedes. They veer from his horror based stuff. The former
still has a fair amount of metaphysical aspects, but the latter
was primarily a police/detective story with almost no
metaphysical stuff (I can't really remember but I think a
touch.) I liked it and plan to one day finish the trilogy.
[/quote]
I remember reading Salem's Lot when I was a late teen and it was
absolutely riveting and terrifying in equal measures! I remember
casually looking for garlic after finishing reading late at
night and could only find garlic salt (which was hard to
explain). I just reread it, coincidentally, a couple of months
ago. It stands the test of time. :)
If you like a bit of history, horror/suspense plus a love
story, Bag of Bones is King's very literary nod to the Gothic
horror novel. One of my favorites!
#Post#: 313161--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: Lurknomore Date: March 25, 2025, 9:54 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I just got Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld from library.
I’ve loved all her books (except Rodham.) She’s an amazing
writer!
I am tired of moving related chores and taxes, and since this is
a book of short stories I should be able to concentrate!
#Post#: 315154--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: kkt Date: April 5, 2025, 10:08 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I just picked up Jennifer Saint's novel Hera based on Greek
mythology. I haven't started the book yet, but the dedication
is:
[quote]For Mum and Dad, much better parents than are often found
in Greek mythology
[/quote]
Such a low bar makes me laugh. I'm delighted that her parents
didn't murder or eat any of their children!
#Post#: 316077--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: Mr-Bay Date: April 10, 2025, 8:29 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I just finished a re-read of the Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn
Muir. Loved it even more the second time, as there's a lot to
unravel that I didn't catch on the first read. The first book in
the series is Gideon the Ninth and if you are curious what it's
about...well, the pull quote on the cover is "Lesbian
necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!".
As you might imagine, it's very funny throughout, but I wouldn't
call it a comedy, as it has a really compelling story,
characters, and world-building that it takes seriously. It's
still ongoing and I'm eagerly awaiting the 4th book; I'd say
it's in my top 5 of favorite book series. I don't think I'd
recommend to everybody, though - it can get very weird and the
storytelling can be challenging to follow at times - but great
for anyone who enjoys that kind of read.
#Post#: 316109--------------------------------------------------
Re: What are you reading?
By: MidwestmikkiJ Date: April 10, 2025, 10:46 am
---------------------------------------------------------
My book club read The Thursday Murder Club for our discussion
last night. Amazingly everyone liked it and we had a good
discussion about it. I enjoyed it but it’s not the kind of book
with lots of deep themes that usually keep discussion going. Two
of us have already gotten on the library list for the next one
in the series. Besides me the other person who did is one of
those who usually wants to read much more literary books.
I think part of it was that while it’s a quick read it is about
older people which we all are or are getting to be and it’s a
book you can pick up when news of the world is simply too much.
Good escapism.
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