Welcome to Litsy!

One day late.

I would love to eat ambrosia and drink nectar with the Greek gods. That way, I'd stay young, gorgeous, and live forever so I could actually read every book on my TBR! 🤩🤣🤩

Emily Wilson's translation gets a HUGE standing O from me, and Audra McDonald's audiobook narration is unbelievably moving and deeply emotional. It's a long listen (took me 4 weeks to get through), but it's worth the commitment. And the quote here from Wilson's introduction could not be more true. The loss throughout the story is staggering in scale, brutal and overwhelming- yet the grief described is so human and so cathartic. Bravo all around.

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

This is one of the many which I have, along with the Iliad: A New Translation by Peter Green. Before I had discovered these books, I did not know that they were around to make these old works an easier read. At first, they were tough but the extras that these books come with, really helped, it's been amazing, I'm reading books that I always thought would be out of my reach, I am truly grateful to these books.

New plan: Greek myth-sci-fi-fantasy fusion; can someone please write a story about the golden handmaids of Hephaestus?
I now have a mighty need for ancient Greek robot narratives! 💛🤖🏛️🏺

That's right, Zeus, nothing more seductive than telling your wife you suddenly find her sexier than all the women you cheated on her with, (a partial list). 😑🙄

Ancient Greek smack talk. 🤌🏻

He saved the horsies. 🥹 Though I do question the primary argument of leaving them behind because he thought they'd be hungry, when driving chariots into battle would arguably have been the more dangerous part of being present in a war/siege zone. 🤔 🐴

Sibling rivalry is too mild a phrase for what the Olympians have going on.

Very blockbuster action movie hero depiction:
'He's injured, but don't forget, he's hot.' 🤕🔥

'Spear didn't work, sword didn't work, I guess I'll grab you by the head and spin you, see if I can't choke you out with your own helmet strap.'
Menelaus gets points for improvisation. 🫣

I was so excited to get this #bookmail this week! I preordered it, but it shipped before the release date, so I was completely surprised. I need to find the time to focus on it, which is hard to do at the moment. But soon, yes…soon.

Zeus, you are ALWAYS in a quarrel with Hera, because you can't keep it in your pants! 🤦🏼‍♂️

That's because you're a DICK, Agamemnon. 🙄

It's a tie between The Iliad and The Odyssey (4 each), although I guess it's maybe different than "copies" since they're all different translations/interpretations. Not counting audiobooks, the next closest are Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, Feeding the Whole Family, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, and Roget's Thesaurus (2 editions each).

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

I have a copy of The Iliad and a set of Dickens‘ works that were both published in 1870. I also have a set of Thackeray published in 1890. I started collecting antique books a couple of years ago!
#SundayFunday

#TuesdayTunes @TieDyeDude
This week I'm going to recommend Open Mike Eagle's podcast 'What Had Happened Was' where each season he interviews an artist or figure significant to hip hop. Making the interviews season-long instead of varying by episode means you get about a memoir's worth of stories. I found it via a Spotify recommendation because I'm a longtime fan of Questlove's podcast, and he's the interview subject for Season 4 👇

I suppose it depends on what is meant by publication date. Here is an interesting article about The Iliad, which would have to be the earliest book I have read. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/geneticists-estimate-publication-date...

Probably The Iliad. From what I can find it was published in the late 1400s.

Another great question, thanks for hosting @BookmarkTavern

#SundayFunday

#TLT #ThreeListThursday

1. Translations make all the difference. Robert Fagles' translation of THE ILIAD made me appreciate what I hated in high school.
2. THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING: by far my favorite Arthurian story.
3. SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson: to remind me that EVERY story is essentially a hero's journey, and it doesn't have to be “super“ or “epic“. It just has to feel real.
All are welcome to play and tagging as many as I can! 😍

I was feeling guilty about listening to an audiobook of The Iliad instead of reading it and then I remembered ....

It was meant to be heard. Not that I don't always love audiobooks. I'm excited to start this version

Thanks @julesg for restoring my Litsy app so I can do my first #gladstonerds post of 2023.

There's the fun thing about preorders...I forget I ordered them until they show up in my mailbox. It's like a surprise gift I send to myself. :-) I loved Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey so much, I had to nab her Iliad, too.

1. Definitely tagged which I read in High School.
2. I love a duology, it feels like a full story without a big commitment. Though I don‘t mind a long series.
3. The Green Bone Saga which I just finished early this month. I hope she writes more in this world!
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

#wondrouswednesday

1. Probably The Iliad, written in 8th century BC, published in English in 1598

2. Depends on the series and if it‘s still interesting to me. JD Robb‘s In Death series is up to 56 and I still enjoy it. But other series, I‘ve burned out after 7 or 8.

3. Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. I was sad but book 10 was a good place to end it.

@dabbe as for your question, I have kind of an Odyssey problem! I love it so much I‘ve collected several translations over the years. I first studied the Fitzgerald in college, which is great but uses Ks instead of Cs (Kirke not Circe) and can be confusing. I think I read the Fagles the next time I studied it but I‘m not sure. I loved the Wilson translation because it gives a different perspective, and it‘s beautiful. Not sure I can pick just one!

Well, lookie here - publishing in September, Emily Wilson‘s translation of The Iliad! Now the difficult question: to wait forever for the paperback to match my Odyssey, or dive in as soon as there‘s a decent price on the hardcover? Decisions, decisions.

I started the Caroline Alexander translation of The Iliad on audio, but I think I'm going to need to read the print version to retain any of it. I focused well during the introduction (super interesting!) but kept spacing out during the actual story. Which is unfortunate because I have much more time to put books in my ears than to put them in front of my eyes.

A rose from our garden. Our landlord has a landscaper, so I enjoy them but do no work.

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

I found a different translation of the Illiad. This one is for children but I think this one will work better for me since I‘m struggling to understand the translation that I‘m currently trying to read.

I decided to start this book next. I want to learn about Greek Mythology because I don‘t know anything about it. I listened to the first 5 books of this audiobook and listened to book summaries of each book on YouTube but I don‘t feel like I retained the information. I‘m interested in this story but I can‘t explain what‘s going on. All I know is that Greek Gods are fighting with each other.

#TemptingTitles
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Starting with the 1st complete book of western civilization that we have. Iliad means “Troy.“ 💜

#epicpoetrymatters
@TheSpineView
#sly

This is just awful. This is an iconic bookstore here in Los Angeles. Here is the GoFundMe if you want to donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/iliad-bookshop-needs-help-recovering-from-arson

3.5/5. I don‘t know why I decided to read this. #2022 #june2022 #greekmythology #june

Awhile back we created fantasy football teams with authors, we put a lot of thought and effort into this silly idea and we enjoyed it so much that we are back for baseball. Tonight, learn how much Matt loves this concept. Would he abandon everything and create fake author baseball teams all over the country? Maybe. We hope you make your own team and nerd out on this ridiculous idea. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hrzGltI5l8lVmtwYsw4Hx

After fourteen intense hours, I‘m proud to say I read The Iliad! I‘d not been exposed to it before, and I was as intimidated as I was intrigued. I thank y‘all who read things like Homer and Shakespeare so casually here on Litsy; you make me feel like I can, too.

Caroline Alexander‘s translation was much more readable than I expected, and I found the extended similes exquisitely beautiful. My favorite part was meeting the disabled god Hephaestus.

I just realised that this is the 4th time I‘m reading the Iliad. This is also the second time I‘m reading the translation by Stephen Mitchell, which honestly makes the experience even better. I hope some day I can learn greek and actually read the Iliad, until then I will be reading this again and again.

My #bookspin list for December!

It‘s Iliad study time! I really feel Bernie‘s mood today, hopefully this will get me out of today‘s funk. 😜

It‘s a Greek mythology kind of day.

Why yes, I will be sharing some funny Iliad memes while I read. 😁

first required reading of college

I started my self-study of Homer‘s Iliad today! Taking a lot of annotations this time around, and loving this translation a lot more than Lattimore‘s, it feels more accessible.

#HelloKitty hasn‘t my left my side today. Maya‘s 1st day of 8th grade, and she misses her. #catsoflitsy

Such a joy to read!

🦉🏺✨ just thought I‘d share my new purchases with everyone! I am a huge Greek Mythology nerd and The Iliad is one of my favourite stories, so I‘m super excited to read the Robert Fagles translation! Aren‘t they pretty? ✨🏺🦉

Gift from my sister 🖤

The Rage of Achilles 1757
by giovanni battista tiepolo

#MayCharacters @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Helen of Troy #Mesmerizes men and causes wars.

I really enjoyed Caroline Alexander‘s translation. It was easy to read and flowed very well. I know from an academic viewpoint there will be some that complained she did not keep the verses in dactylic hexameter, but that didn‘t matter to me. If you want to read The Iliad for pleasure, this is a great translation to choose.