May Reading Wrap Up! This

May was a really good reading month for me, I was mostly happy with the books that I read and managed to get through a fair few of them too.

1. Penhallow by Georgette Heyer

I have previously discussed my love of Pride and Prejudice on this blog and many people have recommended Georgette Heyer’s books to me as the Regency setting is quite similar and involves a lot of society-type things and I can get really into who is related to who and what title is where and I love it. Penhallow is about a grumpy old man who is horrible and everyone hates him then oh my word he ends up dead and oh my goodness it was a murder. Gotta solve it. It was quite good so I’ll likely pick up another of Heyer’s books, she wrote quite a lot so there’s a lot of choice!

2. Cut To The Bone by Alex Caan

A whodunnit for the modern Youtube era. Very well done and I really enjoyed it, my friend has recommended the second book in this series as the detective characters develop quite nicely there so I’ll be reading that soon(ish). I also did a full review if you want to find out more you can read it here.

3. How To Come Alive by Beth McColl

I’m realising now that this month was when I started doing a lot of individual reviews so I’ve sort of run out of things to write in a Wrap Up…EXCEPT THAT THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT. Truly a wonderful book that I’d recommend to anyone struggling to manage with mental health issues as she gives no nonsense advice on the realities of life carrying on while you’re in a fog of depression and also has guidance and templates for speaking to GPs, managers and friends. Full review is here.

4. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Blasphemy maybe, but I wasn’t blown away by this book. Yes, it was lovely to read. I much prefer Circe or The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. Full review here.

5. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

I’ll link my review here but I’ll also tell you now, I didn’t like this book.

6. The Man in the Next Bed by David K Shipley

Ok but a short story so lacks the opportunity to be more interesting, quite surface level and a bit boring. Full review here.

7. The Doctor by Lisa Stone

A bonkers crime thriller, twists and turns and a lot of WTF? This book was an ARC so a full review will be posted nearer publication 25th July 2019.

8. Frat Girl by Kiley Roache

I had fun reading this and couldn’t put it down! A girl is granted a scholarship based on a research project she’ll complete by joining a fraternity accused of misogynistic behaviour and exposing the Greek system but she makes some friends and it’s such a cute story with a nice feminist message along with a heavy dose of girl hate (sounds weird but you’ll see what I mean).

9. A Serial Killer’s Daughter by Kerri Rawson

Mixed emotions about this one. I admire the strength it took to write such a difficult book about a loved one but it wasn’t a very enjoyable or interesting read. A true crime memoir from the point of view of BTK’s daughter, this was an odd read.

10. The Killing Lessons by Saul Black

This is a thriller splitting perspectives between two serial killers/rapists, a ten year old girl that escaped them during a home invasion and the police detective after these men. This was interesting but at some point I got lost with the story and it just wasn’t holding my attention, the depiction of sexual violence was just too much and unnecessary in my opinion and you can definitely tell it was written by a man (Bret Easton Ellis vibes during those parts). I don’t think I’m particularly bothered about picking up the next book in this series, only to find out what happens with the lead detective and the other woman that hacked her medical files and somehow that was just glossed over like that’s not illegal???

11. Develop Your Assertiveness by Sue Bishop

I just had my appraisal last week and one of my development objectives is to be pushier. Hopefully these lessons will rub off on me and I’ll be pushy as anything and not apologise for everything ten times over.

And that’s it for May! Quite a good month for me (reading-wise), how did you get on this month?

You can find my social media @beccaggray on Twitter and Instagram, I also have my bookstagram @booksforbecca if you want to see any of my bookish posts. Thank you for reading!!

Book review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles is a retelling of Achilles and Patroclus’ story and the battle of Troy from the perspective of Patroclus. Somewhere between YA and general fiction, Miller’s writing is engaging and brings Homer’s story to life for a new audience. I sat through torturous hours in class reading The Odyssey, The Iliad and The Aeneid paragraph by paragraph with the whole class and that isn’t the way these stories are meant to be enjoyed.

Miller’s retelling is far more enjoyable than that experience but truer to the mythos than the Percy Jackson series. Her portrayal of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is everything that historians and classicists have tried to take away from mythology – ya bois are in love and it’s cute.

I also wasn’t expecting (for some reason) to see Briseis presented here as nicely as she was. I read The Silence of the Girls earlier this year and in that she was the main character, bed-slave to Achilles which she is not in this novel. I also forgot about Phyrrus, a really annoying character in the original text and this one, just a really snotty twelve year old who goes to fight in the Trojan way (as you do) and is terribly rude and oh yeah loves literally stabbing people in the back. What’s the deal with that? Stop it.

I do have to say, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. Maybe because of how much I enjoyed Circe and The Silence of the Girls but I also think this book has been overhyped for me. I gave it 4 stars because the story is enjoyable but then again, I enjoy the myths. Sorry that this isn’t a more in depth review but the most fun I had while reading this was saying everything that Odysseus said in a Sean Bean voice.

Top 5 Tuesday: Unputdownable Books!

Another Tuesday and another top five picks! Top Five Tuesday is a book tag created by Bionic Bookworm, I’ll link her blog here with the topics for this month, it’s a great way to think about your reading and find new books and bloggers to check out too!

1. Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I finished this all in one sitting a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I can’t speak highly enough about this book and think it’s definitely one of my favourites. I’ll link my full (very excited) review here.

2. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

I think this is my absolute favourite retelling of classical mythology. It’s the story of Briseis, a woman captured by the Greeks in the Battle of Troy who becomes a prize of Achilles. Yay for female focused retellings! I did put this down a few times but only to prolong the experience of reading it.

3. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Favourite book of 2018! I think it’s truly wonderful, I’m excited for his second book and think he’s a lovely man, he was so nice and funny when I went to his event with Laura Purcell. Speaking of…

4. The Corset by Laura Purcell

Victorian crime and intrigue and classism and murder and scandal and phrenology? Yes please sign me up oh my goodness this is wonderful and just came out in a beautiful ‘arsenic green’ paperback!

5. Vox by Christina Dalcher

Dystopia focused on female oppression and religion dominating the political landscape? I wonder where that idea came from…

You can find my social media @beccaggray on Twitter and Instagram, I also have my bookstagram @booksforbecca if you want to see any of my bookish posts. Thank you for reading!!

April Book Haul

After a few months of quiet book buying months, this month seems like I’ve splashed out a bit with my book haul 🤗

Physical:

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid

I read this soon after it came in the post and I LOVED it, I’ll link to my full review here because I can’t gush about this novel any more.

Twisted by Steve Cavanagh

I kept walking past the stand for this book in my local Tesco and ended up caving in. All I really know is that there’s murder and a married couple and possibly a detective? I liked Thirteen (even if I got distracted by my brain and neglected to finish it so that’s back on my TBR) so I’ve got high hopes Thor this one!

Circe by Madeline Miller

I listened to the audiobook for this last September(ish) and loved it but I want to actually read it because I think I forgot quite a bit of it and want to revisit it. Also the paperback edition is out now and it’s gorgeous.

Digital:

How to Come Alive Again by Beth McColl

This was a pre-order that landed on my kindle at the beginning of the month and I’ve been taking my time with it and really enjoying it. Very down to earth and realistic look at depression and anxiety-type illnesses with advice that is actually helpful. It’s also very funny and uplifting when you need it to be. I’m really enjoying this at the moment so I’d definitely recommend it to anyone!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins-Reid

It was 99p on kindle and I was excited about Daisy Jones. I am weak. I am excited.

Review:

The Man in the Next Bed by David K Shipler

This is a Vintage short story about a hospital stay where you learn about ‘the man in the next bed’. Called a ‘miniature masterpiece’ so I thought it sounded interesting.

The Girls of Yellow by Orest Stelmach

The description of this sounded a bit dystopian and involves spies so I’m intrigued to see where this goes!

You can find my social media @beccaggray on Twitter and Instagram, I also have my bookstagram @bookstagrambecca if you want to see any of my bookish posts. Thank you for reading!!

Top 5 Tuesday – Top Rereads!

Hi everyone! This weeks TFT is looking at the top 5 books that you want to reread, I’m in a kind of reread-y mood lately but I’ve been putting it off since there are so many new things that I have to read. I’ll link to Shanah’s blog post here (The Bionic Bookworm) where you can find the topics for this month 😊

1. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

This book hasn’t been everyone’s cup of tea, I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews lately but I read it last year after getting it on Netgalley and got my own copy after seeing him and Laura Purcell at a Waterstones event because it was my favourite book of the year. I absolutely adored it and I’m excited to read his next book even though I have no idea when it comes out, he only submitted it last week 😂

2. Circe by Madeleine Miller

I listened to this on audiobook last year and even though I’m familiar with the mythos, I’d still like to actually read this book. It was recently released in paperback so I’ve got that waiting for me to get to.

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This is on the list because it’s my most reread book in all formats, I love it to bits, Darcy and Lizzy 4eva.

4. Perfume by Patrick Süskind

It’s just been a while since I read this and I really enjoyed it, I’d like to revisit this soon!

5. Psycho by Robert Bloch

I’m in the mood for a reread and a rewatch of this, one of my favourites and a truly fantastic film.

Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

I’ll start this review as I mean to go on. I loved this book.

I adore Classical retellings and any kind of mythology, studied Classics at A Level and did my Masters dissertation on feminist retellings of Greek and Roman myths so I knew going into this that this book was my jam. Yes. My jam. I had only read the Madeline Miller short story Galatea which I used for my dissertation but that was enough to get a taste for her writing and her use of first person which can sometimes be off putting but really works in these types of epic narratives.

Circe is about Circe (duh!) a minor sea goddess that I knew a little about due to her presence in the Odyssey but not much more, I think she makes an appearance in Rick Riordan’s work but not as a large character (maybe I should revisit Percy Jackson soon?). This book, however, is 338 pages of dedicated Circe time which is much appreciated because this was SO. GOOD. Miller focuses on Circe’s entire life, much as she did in Galatea even with just 44 pages there was an entire lifespan of her protagonist, this makes me hope that there will be more books coming soon that focus on neglected characters from these myths.

Note – The Silence of the Girls is another recent release focusing on a neglected group of women from Greek mythology and one that I hope to get to soon, if you’ve read it or heard good things, please let me know! I’m writing this sentence and I’ve just ordered it now so yeah, top of my TBR.

This is an incredibly sympathetic portrayal of Circe, from birth to the end of the novel you are on Circe’s side as she is cast aside by her family, by her love and then by those that she comes to trust in her exile. The creation of Scylla as a monster was one of my favourite early parts of the story and is SUCH a cool story, there were some omissions from the myth (because there are so many variations in the stories) and the inclusion of the Scylla myth is so vital to her exile and to her development as a witch it would be hard to go without and Miller used it magnificently. Her writing also has that lyrical quality that Classic works have, it had more of a purpose when the stories were actually sung but now it’s a bonus that just makes reading so pleasant.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the book because even with its basis in myth, people might not know everything about Circe (I certainly didn’t) and it was an excellent story all the way through. I’d highly recommend Circe to anyone, especially to those with an interest in mythology but it’s such fantastically written story it doesn’t require any background knowledge as relations and extended myths are explained by the characters.

I can’t speak highly enough about Circe and can’t wait to read Song of Achilles and any other Miller books I can get my hands on. Have you read this? Is it on your TBR? Let me know your thoughts J

Book details:

Read as: Audiobook

Length: 12 hours 8 minutes

Published: 01/08/2018

Book Review: Galatea by Madeline Miller

This is another of the books that I used for my Masters dissertation and I really loved this one. Despite it being a Kindle single (and therefore quite short) this story had such a compelling protagonist in Galatea herself that I couldn’t help but love it.

Galatea is the name of Pygmalion’s statue that is given life as a gift from the gods in the original story – which you can find in Ovid’s Metamorphoses – and in Miller’s short story, readers find a darker and more chilling version of the relationship than has been depicted by other authors – such as George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and the most famous adaptation, My Fair Lady. In Galatea, the sculptor is portrayed as a physically abusive and mentally/emotionally manipulative husband that has trapped Galatea in a hospital-like institution and is forcing her compliance by vaguely threatening Galatea’s access to their daughter or the safety of their daughter. Because of this, she is forced to behave how he deems to be appropriate for a woman, an extension of his creation of her as the epitome of what a woman should be as he could control her body during the sculpting process but now she is living she has control over her mind and free will.

I don’t want to ruin the entire plot of this short story that is definitely worth reading, but I will mention that this story contains brief descriptions of rape and physical violence as well as suggestions of pedophilia that might not really be there but I had to write a whole chapter on this book so I REALLY had to look at it.

Overall, I highly recommend this book and as Miller has written more novels/short stories that involve the use of Ancient Greek and Roman myths such as Song Of Achilles, I want to try and read those too soon.

Book Review: The Penelopiad – Margaret Atwood

Part of the Canongate ‘The Myths’ series, The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus is Margaret Atwood’s female-centric depiction of the events of Homer’s The Odyssey. I honestly love this book.

My Masters dissertation was focused on classical works rewritten by contemporary female authors and this is by far my favourite of the bunch.
Atwood’s humour is more prevalent here than in her other works that I’ve read, Penelope has a dry humour that I just adored. She doesn’t attempt to change the events of The Odyssey to make Penelope’s role more prominent but instead shifts between the past and present (life and afterlife) to show her reflection on the events, allowing for more examination of what happened. Atwood gives Penelope more credit and more personality than Homer allowed, she purposefully gave female characters more voice and agency than Homer did – especially the Chorus of maids – which is the aim of The Myths series, really. The novel switches between Penelope’s narration and the maids in either songs or interviews in the style of a Greek Chorus which is a really interesting way of incorporating source material into a rewrite (even if there is no Chorus in Homer’s poem because it’s a poem not a play) but it makes the maids presence so much more sad and sympathetic. In The Odyssey, Odysseus kills the maids that slept with the suitors and betrayed his kingdom – kind of – and in The Penelopiad, Penelope persuaded the maid to do this in service to her, becoming close to the suitors so that they can pass information along to her and their murder is something that weighs heavily on herself and her husband in the afterlife. The portrayal of rape in the story is a bit jarring but when you remember the period in which it is set AND that the protagonist is 2000+ years old, you just have to go with it. To be clear, there are no direct depictions of rape or sexual violence, only the understanding that the maids are there for the use of palace guests and Penelope states that this use is often sexual and this was acceptable (even taking children from slaves that she expected to grow up to be beautiful, for this purpose).
If you’re familiar with The Odyssey and Greek drama then I would really recommend picking this up, Atwood mixes the format of prose poetry and dramatic choral odes in a way that feels modern and natural and it’s a really enjoyable read. I’m most familiar with The Handmaids Tale, having studied it a few times and (not quite finishing) watching the TV series but the humour that you find in that (though sometimes sparse) really drives The Penelopiad. There are moments of tragedy and betrayal but Penelope is ultimately a relatable character, maybe it’s because I’m a cynical person now that I think about it
Star rating: ★★★★★