Welcome to Litsy!

We saw road signs for a Danish windmill in the middle of Iowa on our way to see John Green. What was supposed to be a quick detour for it turned into about an hour of book shopping, touring the grounds, looking at trinkets, and an impromptu mead tasting with two old ladies who sold me some Viking Blod to sip while I read my new book of Nordic folk tales tonight. 🤍

Loved this one. Easy to listen to

Really excited that spotify has this audio book. My library won't buy it or get the audiobook. The struggle of small libraries.

#Jolabokaflodswap on the way tomorrow.

@MaleficentBookDragon

Recent acquisitions (50% off all hardbacks at my local right now!):

📖 Viking: Hammer of the North by Magnus Magnusson
📖 The Celts: Life, Myth and Art by Juliette Wood
📖 Timpson's England: A Look Beyond the Obvious by John Timpson

#UniteAgainstBookBans and #LetUtahRead

It was good to tick this one off my TBR, though it was more than just a tick-box exercise as I did enjoy it for itself.
The earlier poems are more mystical and esoteric, being prophecies of the gods and gnomic sayings for good conduct, surprisingly abstemious in respect of alcohol, and sadly misogynistic in parts. The later poems deal more with human heroes and dynastic strife. While some of the women here are marriage pawns, many are warriors ⬇️

"With a hell-bent hand she loosed the dogs;
hurled before the hall doors a flaming brand; wakening the house servants,
the bride made them pay for her brothers.

She gave to the fire all who were in there,
who after the death of Gunnar and Hogni had come from Myrkheim;
the ancient timbers fell, the temples went up in smoke,
the estates of Budli's descendants, shield-maids inside
burnt up, their lives stopped, they sank into the hot fire."

"The bright-faced woman darted about, bringing drink,
the terrible woman, to the nobles; she brought morsels with the ale
for the pale-faced men, reluctantly; then she told Atli his shame.

'Your own sons' - sharer-out of swords -
hearts, corpse-bloody, you are chewing up with honey;
you are filling your stomach, proud lord, with dead human flesh,
eating it as ale-appetizers and sending it to the high seat."

"I expect a wolf when I see his ears."

A quote about knowing a wrong 'un when you see a wrong 'un from the Lay of Fafnir, a story about how the lust for wealth and power ends in much suffering. It's quite an ancient story; not sure that it has any relevance for the modern age. ?

"Hearing I ask from all the tribes,
greater and lesser, the offspring of Heimdall;
Father of the Slain, you wished me well to declare living beings' ancient stories, those I remember from further back."

- Voluspa (The Seeress's Prophecy)

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl