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Rob P (30 KP) rated Mythos in Books

Jan 22, 2019 (Updated May 6, 2019)  
Mythos
Mythos
Stephen Fry | 2017 | Religion
10
8.7 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
Accessible (2 more)
Simplified
Incredible insight into how much the modern world has taken from Greek and Roman culture
A lot of pretty complex names to remember (1 more)
Constant footnotes (usually at least one per page) to explain certain aspects, or highlight an interesting fact.
Mythos - The Greek legends retold
Ah, what a great read. Stephen Fry writes exactly how you would expect him to, if you've ever heard him speak. He understands the subject matter, and more importantly, realises how easily a reader will be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of players in these myths and answers that problem without condescension.

The book reads as a quasi-novel, from the birth of the universe to the third and fourth generations of immortals (this includes the creators, the titans, the gods, and mythical creatures/characters, spawns of titans and gods, gods and creatures, gods and men and all sorts.) and their adventures, each following on from the other.

I have always had an interest in the Greek myths and gods, and as I suggested above the really interesting part of these stories, beyond the very human nature of the immortals (jealousy, unreasonableness, duplicity, rage, deceit and pride) which makes for so much more of a believable creation theory, is the myriad ways they have influenced English language (any many others I'm sure). To give an example (I'm showing my own ignorance flagrantly here) a simple thing, the alphabet. It never occurred to me, in my own self centered existence, this simply come from the first and second letters of the Greek alphabet. Alpha and Beta. So simple, so obvious, yet I never made this connection.

The stories themselves are wonderful, and the best thing about them is they all tie in with a creation theory. Something, whatever it is, is learned, or created. Some paradigm is set, some moral conundrum is answered, or something in the world is explained by the end of every story told (the tides, the moon, wine, love, soul, war, sex, the seasons, humanity itself just to name a few). It's such an entertaining read, and I find myself telling anyone who will listen some of the revelations I find in this book page on page on page.

As an end note, don't be overwhelmed by the prospect of reading about these stories, this installment ONLY covers from creation, to the establishment of the twelve Greek gods, and their children. It stops before the even greater amount of legends stemming from human demigods (Hercules, Perseus etc) and these are picked up in Fry's most recent offering, Heroes (which I am yet to read).

If you have any interest in the Greek mythology, or etymology, or even history as a whole, this is absolutely one for you.

- Rob
  
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Liberty Boston (93 KP) rated Oh. My. Gods. (Oh. My. Gods., #1) in Books

Mar 15, 2021  
Oh. My. Gods. (Oh. My. Gods., #1)
Oh. My. Gods. (Oh. My. Gods., #1)
Tera Lynn Childs | 2008
1
1.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
After trying to sort myself out I've finally gotten to a place where I can tell you without a doubt:

I DETEST THIS BOOK!!!!

Why?

1. The formatting is wonky, there's no indication when it time jumps.

2. it felt very rushed.

3. I could see the ending from a mile away.

Onto something better.

Seriously give me better greek myth-inspired books to read than this
  
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Kasi Lemmons recommended Do the Right Thing (1989) in Movies (curated)

 
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
1989 | Comedy, Drama
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Movie Favorite Watch

"The sense of place is what I cherish. I love the Greek chorus assembled out of all these characters in the neighborhood, and how specific each of them is. Spike’s work was a revelation for me, and I had been a fan since his first film. With Do the Right Thing, it felt like he was orchestrating his masterpiece—it’s so musical, so vibrant, and so brave."

Source
  
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ClareR (6106 KP) rated Those Who Are Loved in Books

May 30, 2019  
Those Who Are Loved
Those Who Are Loved
Victoria Hislop | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
An emotional look at modern Greek history.
This book is about the lives of the Koralis family, and particularly Themis, from 1930 to 2016. We follow them through some of the most disruptive times in Greek history - I hadn’t actually realised how deeply traumatic recent Greek history was.

Themis is a partisan fighter during WW2, trying to get the Germans out of Greece, and then fighting the right-wing government who had supported the invading Germans. She ends up a prisoner and endures terrible living conditions and violence at the hands of her prison guards. She returns home, marries and has a family, but her past is always with her. Greece doesn’t allow her to forget, as it continues to be led by a military government under martial law.

I loved following Themis and her siblings lives in the earlier chapters of the book, the history I’d never known about before (that Victoria Hislop describes so well), and her children and their lives in the latter half of the book.
Themis is a quietly formidable woman, who always stands by her beliefs and her family, and there are some really very emotional parts to this book.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this wonderful book - I’ll definitely be buying some copies as birthday presents this year, that’s for sure.