Litsy

The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus | Margaret Atwood

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A great read from my #14Books14Weeks stack. I‘ve wanted to read this for awhile and really enjoyed Atwood‘s take on The Odyssey. Thank you so much @BarbaraBB for sending me this copy! ♥️

Liz_M

Ruthiella I really liked this too. 5d

BarbaraBB Glad you enjoyed it! 5d

43 likes2 comments

Tamra

The Power of Myth | Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers

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I loved how Campbell describes at first he was concerned teaching comparative mythology would taint or destroy his students‘ religious beliefs. However, it had the opposite effect, rather it deepened the meaning of the principles & values in their lives.

I enjoyed the comparisons between mythologies to reveal universal commonalities. Certainly they seem to reflect the human psyche, regardless whether one believes in cosmic force(s).

dabbe Teaching comparative mythology turned me from a Christian to an agnostic; it had an extremely powerful effect on me and made me question ALL religion. I‘m still spiritual but in a more nature-like way. I used this book and INTRODUCTION TO MYTH with my honors freshmen. 💫 1w

Tamra @dabbe I can see how it would be powerful! I also thought the anecdote about the priest walking away from the conversation about whether there is a personal deity was humorous and revealing. Funny thing is the priest was the one who asked him! 1w

dabbe @Tamra 🎯🩵🎯 1w

51 likes1 stack add3 comments

underground_bks

Fairy Tale: A Very Short Introduction | Marina Warner

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This is a useful, relatively quick-reading resource for those delving deeper into fairy tales, their history, and most of all, their critical and popular reception. A bit dated (a couple of unnecessary references to Harry Potter, for instance) and I wish the author had spent more time on Les Conteuses of the 17th century and their use of the literary fairy tales as resistance, but I found a lot of useful context too!

26 likes

Tamra

The Power of Myth | Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers

Can I get this read for my other bookclub by Friday? Probably not the way I‘d like to read it, but you do what you can when it‘s crunch time!

Ruthiella I‘ll bet you can listen to it on YouTube. I remember that program. 3w

Tamra @Ruthiella yes! But I can read faster. 😜 3w

AmyG This is one of my most favorite books. Joseph Campbell is just wonderful. 3w

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Tamra @AmyG I‘ve read the first two sections and it is engaging! I always liked Bill Moyers‘ interviews. 3w

Leftcoastzen Great book & show 3w

Cathythoughts Good luck 👍🏻❤️ you‘re a fast reader 👏🏻 (edited) 3w

46 likes1 stack add6 comments

quietlycuriouskate

Girl Meets Boy | Ali Smith

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It's Ali Smith so, as far as Classical retellings go, there was a little more going on than the standard fare.
I enjoyed revisiting Ovid's gender-fluid tale of Iphis and Ianthe: kind of wish I could've had Ali Smith's take on it during my teens.

sarahbarnes I loved this one. 💕 3w

34 likes1 comment

AshleyHoss820

Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth | Natalie Haynes

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As an avid fan of all things myth (from a multitude of cultures), this wasn‘t anything mind-blowing to me, but I absolutely had a good time reading it. I enjoyed her connections to modernity. I like her wit. It‘s always fun to take a feminist critique, which is what I often did with my own scholarly papers. It‘s important work, but it‘s also important to be accessible and Haynes accomplishes just that.

33 likes

Robotswithpersonality

Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth | Natalie Haynes

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Exactly what I wanted, a modern feminist lens on the Greek goddesses. Really fills the niche I was missing after reading that collection of tragic plays and feeling so alienated by the lack of such considerations in the accompanying essays.
While she covers the classics by speaking on a selection of well known myths on certain goddesses, I love that Haynes also includes 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? discussion of ancient art, artifacts, and plays as well as more modern retellings, occassional exploration of their archetypes, themes in modern pop culture, throughout literature.
Of course, Haynes has my heart for writing on Hestia. 1mo

Robotswithpersonality 3/3 The goddesses can be as cruel, power-mad, irrational as any of the males in the pantheon, but it was refreshing to see a writer consistently identify the societal factors that would affect how they were portrayed then, and how we might look on them with fresh eyes now.
On to Pandora's Jar!
⚠️ SA, incest (edited) 1mo

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