I am pretty sure this was supposed to have been read along my academic career and I likely snagged the Cliffs Notes version and watched a movie to pass the test. I have never read it.
I moved all of my 'classics' to the hall bathroom, where the tub is, and now that winter is here, chances are more of these will pop up.
I read the W.H.D. Rouse translation from 1937.
It is one of the more plain-spoken versions, which made it seem like it would be easier to get through, despite my love of Shakespeare and Jane Austen who are both rather flowery in their own way.
It took me something like two months to read the whole thing through, I got hung up on names and places and had a hard time sorting them simply because I am HORRIBLE with names, even those of the children I birthed and named myself. Long names that I can't associate with anything are even worse. At least I just call my kids each others names, sometimes the names of the pets...occasionally my husband's name...
What I learned from the story very early on is-don't tell the truth (about your name) and then nearly immediately, tell the truth (about the content of the bag of winds). If O had just been a little more humble, he would have been home way sooner. And I think that's where he ends up, learning to be humble and then-as a rag covered beggar-he is finally allowed to return home.
But, as with all my reviews, it's just my opinion.
I won't go into great detail about the storyline, as it's surely been done elsewhere and better, but I do have a few things I wanted to talk about.
The name Odysseus means 'trouble'. Which is interesting to me because an odyssey is a long journey, and the word is taken from the name Odysseus. It makes me think that while now, my name means 'star' one day, it might mean 'dire warning'. Or...'hide the cookies'. I haven't really made my mark on the world yet. Not sure that I want to, I'm pretty content being who I am over here without any sort of fanfare.
I thought it was interesting as well that hosts had to give all sorts of gifts to their visitors. I can't even reliably remember to offer a drink, which is why people who visit regularly just go to the fridge themselves. I am glad this is no longer the custom and I wonder where it all went. Are there still whole sets of visitor gifts or did they get split up and melted down? I love to think of that scene from The Count of Monte Cristo in the sea caves. It's all piled up somewhere.
Also of interest was that O asked after his wife every chance he got-particularly if she was still faithful. Also O 'tearfully shared love' 'for the last time' with more than one woman on the 20 year route.
His wife managed to sob...for 20 years. And remain beautiful, which is impressive.
The suitors at his house ate the best of every type of food in stock. For years. I could likely feed a pack of 6 suitors spaghetti for one evening. This might explain a few things, actually.
I have looked at olive trees...the bed still confuses me.
In all, I am glad to have read it, though I can't say how much actually sank in. I wonder if it's the lack of any type of police procedural-the only thing I seem to read anymore-or if it's my total lack of culture that made it so difficult. I am now reading Moby Dick and am finding it to be much more accessible. So, we'll see where that goes. Maybe I can train my brain.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Damaged: Pamela Callow
Book 1 in the Kate Lange Thriller series.
This series starts off in what feels like book 2. Kate has recently changed jobs, broken up with her fiance and bought a new house. So the reader is thrust into her turmoil from the very start. As if this were not enough, Kate also has a guilty past she's trying to rise above. Every. Single. Minute. She's either wallowing in the past or fretting over present decisions and how they will affect the future. The only moments she is in the 'now' are when she's in danger or jogging. There's only so much inner life the reader needs to be privy to.
Descriptions are hazy at times, some effort is made to make one man remind her of another-or maybe the first guy IS the guy? Other than they are both blonde, there's not much else to go on as the reader. In another scene in her pantry, I read it over and over and could not picture what was going on, the description was not painting a picture. That happened a few times other through the story, too.
The scenes between Kate and her ex (because of course they have to interact) read like watching a toddler play with magnets. Attract and repel like a yo yo, he can't get beyond her past-which has nothing to do with her now at all. A sinner of a father and a stupid teen mistake. Should those really affect the way other people love you 15 years later? I'd have kneed him in the balls myself. I found myself flat not liking him and so the scenes were not exciting at all.
Now, complaints aside, the plot DOES pick up pace and Kate on her own and not brooding (read:in danger) is a good character and she develops once away from the ex, the bosses, the dog walker (all men-the only women in the book that got more than a quick mention are A) the one who betrayed her B) the elderly neighbors C) a funeral director) then she makes decisions quickly, takes action (in heels, UGH) and is generally a far more interesting person to read about.
By the end of the book, the writer seems to find their footing and the characters trot along nicely on that path she creates, leaving me to hope that Book 2 will pick up that pace and be more story than backstory. Don't give up on Pamela or Kate too soon, I think they are both going somewhere.
This series starts off in what feels like book 2. Kate has recently changed jobs, broken up with her fiance and bought a new house. So the reader is thrust into her turmoil from the very start. As if this were not enough, Kate also has a guilty past she's trying to rise above. Every. Single. Minute. She's either wallowing in the past or fretting over present decisions and how they will affect the future. The only moments she is in the 'now' are when she's in danger or jogging. There's only so much inner life the reader needs to be privy to.
Descriptions are hazy at times, some effort is made to make one man remind her of another-or maybe the first guy IS the guy? Other than they are both blonde, there's not much else to go on as the reader. In another scene in her pantry, I read it over and over and could not picture what was going on, the description was not painting a picture. That happened a few times other through the story, too.
The scenes between Kate and her ex (because of course they have to interact) read like watching a toddler play with magnets. Attract and repel like a yo yo, he can't get beyond her past-which has nothing to do with her now at all. A sinner of a father and a stupid teen mistake. Should those really affect the way other people love you 15 years later? I'd have kneed him in the balls myself. I found myself flat not liking him and so the scenes were not exciting at all.
Now, complaints aside, the plot DOES pick up pace and Kate on her own and not brooding (read:in danger) is a good character and she develops once away from the ex, the bosses, the dog walker (all men-the only women in the book that got more than a quick mention are A) the one who betrayed her B) the elderly neighbors C) a funeral director) then she makes decisions quickly, takes action (in heels, UGH) and is generally a far more interesting person to read about.
By the end of the book, the writer seems to find their footing and the characters trot along nicely on that path she creates, leaving me to hope that Book 2 will pick up that pace and be more story than backstory. Don't give up on Pamela or Kate too soon, I think they are both going somewhere.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Graphic Novel Review: The Damned, Volume One, Three Days Dead
Just finished reading Volume One of The Damned, Three Days Dead.
Set in the Prohibition Era, the plot is like any other involving two warring crime families each wanting the bulk of the profits. But in this tale gambling, prostitution, and drinking are only the backdrop to the real currency-souls. The rival families are headed up by demons and when their attempt to make peace is thwarted after their go-between is kidnapped, they need a special human to go find him. So, they bring him back from the dead.
The story involves violence, tawdry women, bad men, a femme fatale, and our protagonist who isn't quite all back from the land of the dead. In fact, he keeps popping back for visits. An exciting tale that fills in enough gaps to keep the reader from being lost, but leaves enough unanswered questions to make the next volume in the series much anticipated.
Available in stores and online March 8, 2017
Set in the Prohibition Era, the plot is like any other involving two warring crime families each wanting the bulk of the profits. But in this tale gambling, prostitution, and drinking are only the backdrop to the real currency-souls. The rival families are headed up by demons and when their attempt to make peace is thwarted after their go-between is kidnapped, they need a special human to go find him. So, they bring him back from the dead.
The story involves violence, tawdry women, bad men, a femme fatale, and our protagonist who isn't quite all back from the land of the dead. In fact, he keeps popping back for visits. An exciting tale that fills in enough gaps to keep the reader from being lost, but leaves enough unanswered questions to make the next volume in the series much anticipated.
Available in stores and online March 8, 2017
Book Review: The Many
by Nathan Field
Part conspiracy thriller part dire warning about online dating, this book, the first in a trilogy, struggles to find it's footing. The co-heroes of the story are incredibly young at 18 and 19 and their insight and ability to deal with the very unusual situation they are in is...hard to believe. I have had an 18 and 19 year old and they are bright kids, not coddled, independent. I don't think either could have managed this storyline in real life.
The premise is the women in their lives, older relatives in both instances, are trying out online dating. Both women return the following morning totally changed. In both instances, the teens in their lives think they have been sexually assaulted. The stories parallel along twin plot point paths with minor variations until they intersect.
The teens launch an investigation are are eventually aided by a cop, a PI and a bartender. The trifecta of the amateur gumshoe tale. The Bad Guy is discovered and minor plot twists ensue. There isn't a true ending because there's the next book coming. Even in the dangerous bits, there was not any inner concern while I was reading because-main characters in a trilogy.
The human experiments and mind altering background story read like an episode of Fringe and I could only picture Walter from that point on.
It's about a 4 hour read and the writing does improve slightly over the course of the book, giving hope that the next book will be even more cohesive and rely less on standard plot devices that don't give a true reflection of the talent or ideas of the writer.
Examples: the female protagonist is a teenage girl who does not see herself as pretty. It takes the male protagonist to assure her she really is. She never has a positive image of herself until it's given to her. *yawn* and guess what? She really IS hot in the right clothes with her hair and makeup done!
He kills off characters left and right, including those that could have further advanced the plot. This is usually done when there's a need to ratchet up the danger level 'these guys don't mess around' style but in a trilogy, again, the reader doesn't fear for the main characters. So killing off everyone around them reads more like a movie plot than a book. Oh, it's Mr and Mrs Smith at the end, the world a shambles around them. Next move, coffee.
It's not a horrible book, but there's room for improving in the next two. Maybe the writer will move away from the tried and true in every situation and look for a creative alternative. Maybe he has the end in mind and is just filling space until that moment arrives. Either way, it feels more like the reader is along on the tour trolley than on a face paced ride and neither is where I want to be because both follow a set path.
I am personally looking for more originality and this trilogy has not delivered yet.
Part conspiracy thriller part dire warning about online dating, this book, the first in a trilogy, struggles to find it's footing. The co-heroes of the story are incredibly young at 18 and 19 and their insight and ability to deal with the very unusual situation they are in is...hard to believe. I have had an 18 and 19 year old and they are bright kids, not coddled, independent. I don't think either could have managed this storyline in real life.
The premise is the women in their lives, older relatives in both instances, are trying out online dating. Both women return the following morning totally changed. In both instances, the teens in their lives think they have been sexually assaulted. The stories parallel along twin plot point paths with minor variations until they intersect.
The teens launch an investigation are are eventually aided by a cop, a PI and a bartender. The trifecta of the amateur gumshoe tale. The Bad Guy is discovered and minor plot twists ensue. There isn't a true ending because there's the next book coming. Even in the dangerous bits, there was not any inner concern while I was reading because-main characters in a trilogy.
The human experiments and mind altering background story read like an episode of Fringe and I could only picture Walter from that point on.
It's about a 4 hour read and the writing does improve slightly over the course of the book, giving hope that the next book will be even more cohesive and rely less on standard plot devices that don't give a true reflection of the talent or ideas of the writer.
Examples: the female protagonist is a teenage girl who does not see herself as pretty. It takes the male protagonist to assure her she really is. She never has a positive image of herself until it's given to her. *yawn* and guess what? She really IS hot in the right clothes with her hair and makeup done!
He kills off characters left and right, including those that could have further advanced the plot. This is usually done when there's a need to ratchet up the danger level 'these guys don't mess around' style but in a trilogy, again, the reader doesn't fear for the main characters. So killing off everyone around them reads more like a movie plot than a book. Oh, it's Mr and Mrs Smith at the end, the world a shambles around them. Next move, coffee.
It's not a horrible book, but there's room for improving in the next two. Maybe the writer will move away from the tried and true in every situation and look for a creative alternative. Maybe he has the end in mind and is just filling space until that moment arrives. Either way, it feels more like the reader is along on the tour trolley than on a face paced ride and neither is where I want to be because both follow a set path.
I am personally looking for more originality and this trilogy has not delivered yet.
Monday, November 21, 2016
Books in General
I have read many very good books over the years and many mediocre and many more that I can't even recall the main character or city or even a basic plot a week later. I read like a binger eats. It rarely matters what it is, as long as my eyes are full. My hands are in constant stages of aches from being held in claw formation for hours each week, holding books and my ereader. When I am in the tub reading, I sometimes carefully check that my hand is dry so I can highlight an unfamiliar word on a page to get the definition. I only read bound books in the bath because I have a fear of dropping my tablet, So I am just poking the paper like a dingbat.
I have a short list of books I think everyone should read, but really even after 40 years (yes, I was born reading) there is only one series I wish I could forget just so I could read it all over again for the first time. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. So let's get that out there first.
In no real order, other series: Harry Potter, Golden Compass (though I will admit The Subtle Knife took two read throughs), Ransom Riggs books about Peculiar Children, a variety of police procedural and forensics books, though those tend to depend on the readers taste and there's a series for everyone. From knitting women who solve murders with their cats to cops with addictions and a penchant for violence yet who pull it out one more time and celebrate the conviction binge drinking in dirty apartments looking at photos of the kids they see far too infrequently. I'll say my favorite series are set in Scandinavia.
Justin Cronin has done an AMAZING job with his Passage series. I have the final book. but can't seem to crack it open because I don't want to be done with it all just yet.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is fabulous. I don't like end-of-the-world books, but this is so much more and does the one thing none of the other books I have read in the genre does-it leaves the reader hopeful.
I don't normally like lawyery books, but John Grisham has a handful I really enjoyed. Gray Mountain, Sycamore Row (set after A Time to Kill), Ford County: Stories, A Painted House.
There are more books I have loved and I will share them along the way. Since I do read do much, I plan to work some reviews into this space.
I have a short list of books I think everyone should read, but really even after 40 years (yes, I was born reading) there is only one series I wish I could forget just so I could read it all over again for the first time. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. So let's get that out there first.
In no real order, other series: Harry Potter, Golden Compass (though I will admit The Subtle Knife took two read throughs), Ransom Riggs books about Peculiar Children, a variety of police procedural and forensics books, though those tend to depend on the readers taste and there's a series for everyone. From knitting women who solve murders with their cats to cops with addictions and a penchant for violence yet who pull it out one more time and celebrate the conviction binge drinking in dirty apartments looking at photos of the kids they see far too infrequently. I'll say my favorite series are set in Scandinavia.
Justin Cronin has done an AMAZING job with his Passage series. I have the final book. but can't seem to crack it open because I don't want to be done with it all just yet.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is fabulous. I don't like end-of-the-world books, but this is so much more and does the one thing none of the other books I have read in the genre does-it leaves the reader hopeful.
I don't normally like lawyery books, but John Grisham has a handful I really enjoyed. Gray Mountain, Sycamore Row (set after A Time to Kill), Ford County: Stories, A Painted House.
There are more books I have loved and I will share them along the way. Since I do read do much, I plan to work some reviews into this space.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Welcome
It will be a bit before this blog is off the ground, but it will get there. I currently have a long running homeschool blog and website, family travel website, personal travel blog and another info-only travel blog with just how to and where to type info. This is our last homeschooling year and I intend to retire the homeschool sites. I want to consolidate updates for what's going on as well as any random adventures in one place, so...I started another blog, as a means to an end. It's not easy to unravel from unschooling/homeschooling after 17 years. And it's not easy finding my footing for what comes next, or watching the kids as they do the very same.
I grow weary of the politics, the narrow confines, the fact that the pool is so shallow. I long to stretch and grow beyond labels and old conflicts and things that no longer serve a purpose or bring fulfillment. To identify myself as something other than 'unschooling mom', which with teens just means 'cash cow, activity planner and transportation'. I look forward to not having to plan field trips, since I am being honest.
Will I ever feel done? Will I ever look at the kids and know I didn't screw up their chances by keeping them home? Will I find my next step? I feel like I have been able to put off 'what I will be when I grow up' for 2 decades now. What WILL I be, when 'mom' isn't the first of my self-identifying labels?
I guess we'll all find out.
I grow weary of the politics, the narrow confines, the fact that the pool is so shallow. I long to stretch and grow beyond labels and old conflicts and things that no longer serve a purpose or bring fulfillment. To identify myself as something other than 'unschooling mom', which with teens just means 'cash cow, activity planner and transportation'. I look forward to not having to plan field trips, since I am being honest.
Will I ever feel done? Will I ever look at the kids and know I didn't screw up their chances by keeping them home? Will I find my next step? I feel like I have been able to put off 'what I will be when I grow up' for 2 decades now. What WILL I be, when 'mom' isn't the first of my self-identifying labels?
I guess we'll all find out.
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