Wednesday, April 28, 2010

13 Characters from the Greek Myths TT #39

 

Today’s TT will be 13 characters from this book; Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin.

I enjoyed the book so much and loved reading and finding out more about these characters, so I thought I’d feature them this TT. =)

So…

 

  1. Zeus: The king of the Gods who poisoned his father, Cronos, to released his brothers and sisters that Cronos swallowed, and led an army against Cronos to dethrone him.
  2. Poseidon: One of Zeus’ brothers, the God of the Sea. It’s said that he created the dolphins to appease one of his lover’s jealous rage, and the horse to give to Demeter so that she would accept his pursuits.
  3. Hades: One of Zeus’ brothers, the eldest, and the God of the Underworld. He kidnapped Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, to be his wife.
  4. Persephone: She was kidnapped by Hades, and tricked into eating 6 pomegranate seeds. Zeus ruled that she had to spend a month with Hades in the Underworld for every seed she ate.
  5. Arachne: She was a very talented weaver until she displeased the Goddess Athene when she said she could weave better than her. After she lost a weaving competition with Athene, she was turned into a spider, to weave her webs for eternity.
  6. Echo: Trying to save Zeus from Hera’s wrath, she lied to Hera and when Hera found out, she cursed Echo to forever only be able to repeat the last words that anyone says to her. Until today, we can still sometimes hear her repeating the last words we say. 
  7. Narcissus: He broke Echo’s heart when he spurned her, and because she was Aphrodite’s favorite, Aphrodite vowed that Narcissus will fall in love with someone who will never love him back. He fell in love with his own reflection by the river, and spent his days rooted by the river always staring at his own reflection.
  8. Perseus: Zeus’ son from one of his affairs with a mortal woman, he slayed Medusa and saved his mother from a lecherous old king who wanted her as his wife.
  9. Pandora: She was actually a gift given to the brother of Prometheus, who stole fire from the sun and gave it to humans. When she opened her wedding gift, a beautiful golden box that Hermes gave her, she let out all the evils that haunt mankind.
  10. Midas: A greedy king who had more gold than he needed and wanted more, Apollo decided to grant his wish that everything he touch turns to gold. He was not as upset over his daughter turning into gold, as he was about not being able to eat because everything that touched his lips turned into gold too.
  11. Theseus: The son of Poseidon from an affair with a mortal woman, Theseus was small but very intelligent. With his wits and using his enemies’ strength against them, he managed to kill the dreaded Minotaur.
  12. Orpheus: He was a musician whose music hypnotized audiences. When his wife, Eurydice, died, he went to Hades to begged that she be returned to him. Hades was so moved with Orpheus’ music that he agreed on the condition that Orpheus couldn’t look back to see if Eurydice followed him.
  13. Daedalus: Lesser known in the Greek myths, Daedalus was Icarus’ father, who made the wings that killed his son. They were trying to escape from their prison, the Minotaur’s labyrinth, which was also Daedalus’ creation on the request of the king.
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a lot of fun reading about the Greek myths, and I only wish there was more! I hope you enjoyed this week’s TT. =)

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin

Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin

What is the book about?Well, the title kinda says it all, doesn’t it?

What did you like most about it? I loved that Evslin wrote the stories in a way that makes them very easy to read and understand. I got really engrossed in the stories of the Greek myths, and I really like the way he connected the characters from one story to another.

I’ve read about the Greek myths before but a lot of the time I get confused with who’s who. Evslin’s book made the distinction clearer and I felt that I really learnt a lot about the Greek myths from his book.

What did you like least about it? I wasn’t happy that it’s such a small book, only slightly over 200 pages. I wanted more. There were many Greek gods, heroes, and monsters that Evslin didn’t elaborate on. Most notably, Heracles.

I realize that Heracles’ story is very long, adding his and other stories would make the book huge, and apparently that’s not what Evslin was going for. Which is what sucks, because I loved the stories so much, and the way Evslin told them, that I really wanted a lot more.

Who would you recommend it to? If you love learning about the Greek gods and Greek myths, or if you just love great stories, this is a really great book.

Any additional comments? Now I have to find out if Evslin wrote any other books (ie. *thicker* books) on the Greek myths, and if he did, I am soooooo gonna check them out. =)

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

13 Things I Missed about Thursday-13 TT #38

For those who are just joining us, here’s a recap. ;-)

Since December, I’d been getting last minute preparations done for my wedding on January 31st. If anyone knows me, they know I was a terrible procrastinator and very disorganized person, so *everything* was last minute. =P ( I say “was” because after all the hassle I went through with the wedding, I’ll be damned if I’m gonna spend the rest of my life procrastinating and disorganized! So one good thing came out of all the headache, anyway…other than having a new husband…)

But that was in January, and it’s now the second half of April, where was I before this, you ask?

Well, the answer is:

  • being tour guides to friends from Canada who came for our wedding and decided to make it a vacation
  • celebrating Chinese New Year (CNY) which means traveling back to my husband’s and my hometowns and visiting relatives for 2 weeks
  • catching up with work that I missed coz of wedding and traveling
  • making funeral arrangements and attending the funeral of my maternal grandmother who passed away not long after CNY
  • and recuperating from everything!

So anyway, now I’m back, and for my first TT after so many months, I’d like to make a list of 13 things I missed about T13! =)

  1. I miss visiting everybody’s T13s!!
  2. I miss people visiting mine!!
  3. I miss thinking up ideas for T13s!
  4. I miss reading some very interesting T13s!
  5. I miss commenting on other T13s!
  6. I miss getting comments about my T13s!
  7. I miss linking my T13s to Mr. Linky on the T13 site!
  8. In fact, I kinda miss my own linkies… can’t decide if I should renew my linkies or not.
  9. I miss looking forward to Thursdays!
  10. I miss being part of a fun weekly community event!
  11. I miss discovering new blogs and new friends!
  12. I miss the “old” blogs and “old” friends I’d already made!
  13. I miss the feeling that I was not alone in this great big world of blogging.

It’s really great to be back! =)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

What is the book about? It’s about a boy and his two dogs, the things they go through together, hunting coons, making miracles happen, saving each others’ lives.

What did you like most about it? The fact that it’s about the love between two dogs and their human.

What did you like least about it? The fact that it made me cry. Well, ok, I don’t really hate it. I loved it too much to hate it.

Who would you recommend it to? Anyone who has a dog or who has ever had a dog. Anyone who loved “The Incredible Journey” and the movie “Homeward Bound”.

Any additional comments? I had the book for ages but never thought of reading it until I saw that the movie was going to play on TV next week. I thought I’d read the book first before watching the movie. I wonder if I’d like the movie as much.

Saturday, April 03, 2010

The Last To Know by Melissa Hill

The Last To Know by Melissa Hill

What is the book about? Oh, this one is so complicated I don’t even know how to explain it! Some people write a book and send it to Brooke, who is an editor, to let her know the truth about her background.

What did you like most about it? A very interesting story and exciting enough for me to want to read to the end to find out what happens.

What did you like least about it? The author is so full of gimmicks and deluded self-praise (you’ll understand why when you read the book) that I never want to read another one of her books again.

Who would you recommend it to? Anyone who likes stories in the vein of Jodi Picoult and has a higher tolerance level than me for gimmicks.

Any additional comments? The author is actually quite a talented writer if she would stop making it all about writing techniques and just tell the story. When you get to the end of this story, it’s so nonsensical that you just wonder, what was the point? I feel like she’s not using her writing to tell the story, but using the story to show off her writing.

Before I Forget by Melissa Hill

Before I Forget by Melissa Hill

What is the book about? A freak accident causes Abby to lose her short-term memory, which of course causes a lot of problems for her. She wants to forget the man who left her before her accident, but can’t, and there’s a wonderful new man in her life, if only she can remember him.

What did you like most about it? It’s a fun and easy read, with a very interesting premise. It was exactly what I needed because I was still in a reading slump and couldn’t concentrate on heavier books.

What did you like least about it? The author is talented but often I feel like she’s trying too hard. She’s very gimmick-y, and you’re conscious of it the whole time.

Who would you recommend it to? People in need of a light beach romance.

Any additional comments? I found her gimmick-y writing very annoying and predictable after a while. I wouldn’t have read another one of her books except that I bought two on offer.

Review Template Maybe?

To make it easier on me, especially since it’s getting harder for me to come up with coherent reviews, I thought I should come up with a template of sorts for my book reviews. Sort of like a simple question and answer thing.

I’ve seen some people doing it before, so I guess it works, but I’m just wondering what questions I’ll be using. I’m considering just these:

What is the book about?

What did you like most about it?

What did you like least about it?

Who would you recommend it to?

Any additional comments?

I’ll try it for a while and see if it works.

Template by:

Free Blog Templates