Welcome to Litsy!

January reads (not pictured above)
🎧 Cosmic Queries by Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson
🎧 60 Songs That Explain the 90s by Rob Harrvilla
🎧 King of the Murgos by David Eddings
🎧 The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
🎧 Elevation by Stephen King
🎧 Dark harvest by Norman Partridge
🛜 Redshirts by John Scalzi

I know there‘s a week left but I‘m being proactive 😄

Made it to page 137…just not into it…time to get the book back to its owner.

A mesmerizing take on Greek Mythology. This story about the elusive and mysterious Circe, daughter of Helios the sun deity is a non stop work of genius. The author was able to convey the tension and fear of living on Aeaea alone. I felt as though I was actually there. Like Marquez in One Hundred Days…,the mysticism felt real. This is one of the best Greek Mythology extensions I‘ve ever read. Well written, easily one of my top ten for the year.

I've never been one for Greek mythology, but Madeline Miller really makes the stories accessible and easy to follow.

I knew nothing about Circe going in, and now I love her 😄

Great story!

Recently went on a family vacation to Key West and stopped in this bookstore! If you‘re ever in the Keys highly recommend! 💛💜💛

Circe is a mesmerising novel, I loved hearing these familiar tales woven together and the exploration of her character throughout. At times it was a little disjointed but the writing was so engaging it was easy to overlook. 7/10

I am not familiar with Greek mythology, so this book was a learning curve, which means it took a week to read it. I loved the themes that poked through without being too obvious. The writing was fantastic.

Another #Waterstones, this time in Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿!
During my holiday, I also spent some time with a few of my favourite novels:

A Song of Achilles
Circe
The One Hundred Years of Lenni & Margot: not very well-known, but it‘s a complete tearjerker and extremely lovable characters. If you like Ove & Anxious People, you‘ll love this one too.

#Holiday

3/5📚

Finally got into this one - it does start slow - but once it gets going it‘s SO GOOD. Like reading the most intense ancient gossip but with beautiful prose. Love it.

Brilliant telling.

@DebinHawaii is doing a Giveaway! Make sure to check out her page to be in the drawing for some awesome goodies. #500KGiveaway
5 things that bring me Joy
1. My husband and kids❤️
2. Our pets🐶🐺
3. Friendships🌸
4. Books📚
5. Nature☀️🌳
Tagging: @Kshakal @BooksNBowls @ShelleyBooksie @Meshell1313 @5feet.of.fury

#Two4Tuesday
Thanks for the tag, @TheSpineView! 😘

1. I want to be a hippogriff and tag along with Buckbeak. 😃
2. LOVE the books by Madeline Miller, especially the tagged one.

Play? @TheLudicReader @IndoorDame @The_Penniless_Author + everyone! 🤩

“I would say, some people are like constellations that only touch the earth for a season.”

#Withmap
#Ittakesallkinds

🧡✨💫

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 3 #Mythical

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

#ItTakesAllKinds @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#Mythical

“He showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend that I had none.”
― Madeline Miller, Circe

#luckyinlove #intimacy
(Image is Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses by John William Waterhouse pulled from Wikipedia)

Narrated by Perdita Weeks (get it together, Audible: we will never give up human narrators so this method of hiding their names in the hopes we won‘t notice your artificial voices is converting no one)

Circe is a daughter of Helios who rebels and is banished to an island for eternity. She develops her skills as a witch and also comes into contact with many characters from Greek mythology.

The writing flows well and is easy to read while still conveying the idea that the story is from a different time period. Circe herself is relatable but still has some distinct flaws. The various characters from Greek mythology gave the story more depth. 4.5⭐️

This sat on my TBR list for awhile and I can‘t believe I waited so long to pick it up. It was beautifully written and I loved all of it. I‘ve never been interested in Greek mythology, but this reimagining of Circe gave her such personality and depth. Book #14 in 2024

“He was quiet for a long time. “You are wise,” he said.
“If it is so,” I said, “it is only because I have been fool enough for a hundred lifetimes.” -Telemachus and Circe, page 374

Edit: Spoiler ahead!!! Sorry!

Second reading! The first time I read this beautifully written retelling was in 2020. I loved it just as much this second time. I definitely identified with her character even more throughout the chapters when she was becoming a new mother now that I‘m in that season myself. I love the character, the writing, and the strong woman energy. Recommend!

#stars #luckyinlove @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

I‘m not much of a mythology fan, but this was so beautifully written I became totally absorbed.

An impassioned piece of feminist lit at the height of Miller's #MeToo era. Circe - portrayed as a two-dimensional villain in post-Homeric works - is depicted instead as relatable & flawed, powerful, & unequivocally human with her tempestuous whims & follies, jealousy & faults compared to her egomaniacal, patriarchal kin. Despite her divinity, Circe's tale of womanhood runs parallel to that of the modern female-identifying experience. Breathtaking.

#goddess #witchcraft #greek #mythology #feminist #gods #circe #madelinemiller #quotes #annotating #fantasy

#goddess #witchcraft #greek #mythology #feminist #gods #circe #madelinemiller #quotes #annotating #fantasy

Miller's prose is infinite.

#goddess #witchcraft #greek #mythology #feminist #gods #circe #madelinemiller #quotes #annotating #fantasy

Just finished listening to Circe by Madeline Miller. I really love books based on mythological characters and there were plenty in this books besides Circe. The narration was also very pleasing to hear. I picked this book up at our library book sale the year before last - it was in beautiful condition, but I just hadn‘t got around to reading it, so it‘s my first #ReadorDonate of the year! #BookSpin #BFC24 #JumpStart24 #ReadAway24 #Buzzword24

#WinterGamesDailyPhotoChallenge #Day1 #RedCover Starting the games PC with this gorgeous red & gold SE of Circe by Madeline Millar. #TeamEvergreen 6pts

A slow book which had some beautiful writing. Circe is one of the lesser characters in Greek mythology and the retelling is from her view. A few Greek gods and more prominent Greek characters make appearances throughout the book.
#roll100

#ScarathlonPhotoChallenge #Day11 #Witch This book from Madeline Miller is a retelling of the original witch from Greek mythology & is fantastic. Highly recommend. #SpookyGhostClub 6pts

#orangestack #autumnplease

Bk8 from my recent #BookMail is this special edition of Circe. Matches the edition of The Song of Achilles I bought last year( that was blue). I think I‘m gonna have to start culling my shelves and only keep the pretty books, special editions & ones that have a lot of meaning to me. Otherwise the Hubbys gonna move out so he has some room! Books or Husband🤔 #CrazyBookLady #ChoicesChoices

I love this book. I'm interesting in classic history and to discover women characters.

#book #goodreads #litsy #litsybook #bookly #books #toread #libro #libri #leggere #bookworm #bookshelf #madelinemiller #circe #readingchallenge2023 #marsilioeditore #greek #classicbook

I heard much about this book and I wasn't disoppointed at all.

Summer reading ☀️☀️☀️

Book mail!❤️

1. My local indie had a book signing with Madeline Miller. I was on the fence about going, but I‘m so glad I did!
2. I once bought a Kindle book I‘d already read. 🫤
3. Middle Earth
#wondrouswednesday

Here‘s my review for a book I just finished reading.

I chose this book for the following prompt:

☑️ Aphrodite: Goddess of Love & Beauty | A book with an absolutely gorgeous cover - #greekmythologychallenge

29-31 May 23 (audiobook)
I am always up for a Greek myth. Trix thought it very amusing that I was listening to a book about Circe the witch as she makes her way through Rick Riordan‘s back catalogue.
I enjoyed this more than Achilles, who I find a difficult character to admire. Circe is far more relatable - her empathy for humans, disgust at the behaviour of the gods, and her jealousy. I also appreciated her unusually happy ending.

I started this book tonight. It‘s good so far. I feel like Circe is telling me the story of her life and I like that this book is written that way. This book has a storytelling quality about it and I think that‘s really interesting.

Interesting.

I found this to be a somewhat slow but beautiful book, with a fascinating character at its center. Circe is less badass than I had expected her to be… but maybe that‘s just because I could read her thoughts and knew how she felt about her actions. All of the characters in this book feel very real, even the great gods and heroes. That doesn‘t mean they‘re good, nice, or human—but they are real.

“It is a common saying that women are delicate creatures, flowers, eggs, anything that may be crushed in a moment‘s carelessness. If I had ever believed it, I no longer did.”

Featuring a peony from my garden 😁

DNF at 50%.

This is beautifully written but just not for me. I found it incredibly slow and didn‘t care about Circe or her story.