Well! The following is up: I am reading AND ENJOYING The Odyssey. Believe me, after my frightening experience with the slog that was The Iliad, no one is more surprised by this than I am.
I'm only on Book Six, so I'm not going to go into too many details. Suffice it to say there are women. Women with lines and internal dialogue. Which is a thing The Iliad doesn't really have, barring lines from goddess-i. But I'm talking about human women who talk and do things and rend garments, etc. There's also a familial element that The Iliad didn't really have, aside from the one scene with Hector and his wife and son. So at this point, it's More Interesting Things I Care About, and also a translation that's a bit livelier.
I'm also delving into The Prophet, which may end up being a bit Paulo Coehlo for my tastes EVEN THOUGH in reality Paulo Coehlo is probably just a cheap Gibran knock-off. But I read The Alchemist first, so. BUT AGAIN. Just started it. We shall see.
BEA APPROACHETH. Who is going? I am going. I want to meet all of you and possibly smush your faces, except I won't because in real life I'm very socially awkward and don't really like touching. ALSO this will be my first time at BEA and I could use some pointers. What do you DO, really? Wander around and snatch ARCs off tables? Have tickle fights (say yes)? WHAT? I will have various meetings and whatnot and who-ha in my capacity as the FridayReads sales person and as a bookseller, but other than that I don't know. I WANT TIPS. GIVE ME TIPS.
Comfy shoes. Good tote bag. Don't grab. Think long and hard before you take anything as you'll lug it around. Plan your days.
ReplyDeleteLast year was my first year, and Reagan at Miss Remmers' Review had some great videos with tips.
One thing I'll say is I won't be spending all day there this time. By the last day, I could barely walk (also had a problem with my foot, so that was part of it). But I also didn't know enough to plan for the signings, etc.
Excited, though!
The signings are in the same building, right?
DeleteI'm glad you're loving The Odyssey. That makes me so happy. :)
ReplyDeleteHuzzah! It makes me happy, too. I feel less like a total literary goofball.
DeleteSO HAPPY YOU LIKE THE ODYSSEY. For reals, The Iliad: suckfest. The Odyssey: MAELSTROM OF AMAZINGNESS.
ReplyDeleteYES. Suckfest, maelstrom of amazingness. Precisely.
DeleteOh, I much preferred The Odyssey to The Illiad. Reading The Illiad felt like reading, well, The Old Testament... lists of names and heroic battles and deaths and family members and extended family members and blaaaah.
ReplyDeleteThe Odyssey was much more fun.
Dear Lord. The Illiad. You know, I think the battles in the Old Testament were actually more interesting.
DeleteI permit you to smush my face at BEA
ReplyDeleteThis year will be my first time at BEA too!! I'm getting so excited :)
ReplyDeleteMy first time, too! I'm going for work, and I've been told to expect back-to-back meetings and not nearly as much playfuntime as I want. But I WANT! I wantsss it all, all the booksses, all for me.
ReplyDeleteCome by the Perseus booth if you get a chance! I will recognize you and give you propz.
I have nothing on BEA for you. But, I'm glad you're loving the Odyssey; I have always vastly preferred it to the Iliad (which, though, I still love). I do think they are a yin/yang, in the way you alluded to: Iliad is war and man things, and Odyssey is family and homecoming (and also lots of philandering on Odysseus's part, which somehow doesn't take away from his family-man-ness in the context). Hope you love it. And btw, I'm still glowing from how much I was crazy for newly released The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, so if you're looking for one of those modern-day follow-ups I don't know when I've wanted to recommend one more than this. (review to come)
ReplyDelete