The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cute and entertaining, but meandering like the other Percy Jackson books. They just go from adventure to adventure without any kind of bigger point. I started reading these to fill the Harry Potter-size hole in my heart, but I just don't love these like I love the Harry Potter series. I should probably quit them.

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This Bright Darkness by Sarah McKinstry-Brown

This Bright Darkness by Sarah McKinstry-Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is really different because the poems follow a narrative about Persephone and her mother Demeter. I love mythology and this reminded me of the feeling of reading the epic poetry Odyssey, but at the same time, experiencing certain modern thinking underneath.

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Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very enjoyable read about really evil mermaids, and a large cast of characters that reminds me of the movie Clue (a favorite of mine). Like in many horror movies, the characters seem to bumble towards the danger and also "run upstairs" when the monster comes in the house. But overall very enjoyable.

I particularly enjoyed the primary nature of the female characters. Many of the men seemed to be ineffectual window-dressing. It's like revenge for all those 007 books and so many more. The book goes so far beyond passing the Bechdel Test, that the only time any women even discuss a relationship with a man, it's to inquire whether or not a woman has killed her ex.

The book also sparks an interest in the biology of unique marine animals. For Book Riot's Read Harder 2019 purposes, one of the main characters is neurodiverse.

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Medea by Euripides

Medea by Euripides
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So many amazing lines!

“Better a humble heart, a lowly life. Untouched by greatness let me live - and live. Not too little, not too much: there safety lies.”

“For of mortals, there is no one who is happy. If wealth flows in upon one, one may be perhaps Luckier than one’s neighbor, but still not happy.”

“And I do not fear to say that those who are held Wise among men and who search the reasons of things Are those who bring the most sorrow on themselves.”

And though this quote remains mostly true, I wonder how much Judaism and Christianity changed the balance of this:
“It's human; we all put self-interest first.”


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The Oresteia by Aeschylus

The Oresteia by Aeschylus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I recently reread this 20 years after my first reading in a college class, the details of which I cannot remember. I think we were studying the religion of mythology and their conception of justice? I don't remember what I thought the first time but on this reading at least, I am not impressed with that justice.

Part 1 "Agamemnon" is about Clytaemnestra murdering Agamemnon. I have a lot of sympathy for Clytaemnestra. Agamemnon killed their daughter Iphigenia. This is basically the most unforgivable crime I can imagine, but he's not in the least worried.

Clytaemnestra also killed Cassandra, which is maybe a little harsh, but Cassandra didn't seem especially worried about shacking up with a man who murdered his own daughter so maybe she has it coming a little bit too. Reading a more generalized Greek mythology in high school I loved the character of Cassandra, but Aeschylus doesn't really have a lot of patience for her, and that's fine.

Part 2 "The Libation Bearers" is about Orestes killing his mother Clytaemnestra to avenge his father's murder. This one is really intense, even compared to the first part.

Orestes kills his mother even after she begs him not to. Heartless. His motives are a bit dubious. Does he not know his father killed his sister Iphigenia? Is he actually just mad his mother sent him to live outside of the castle? Is he just a super religious opportunist who has to follow the Oracle or risk life-failure? Maybe all of these things.

Part 3 "Eumenides" is about Orestes's trial and is a travesty of justice.Orestes was either equally or *more* wrong in killing his mother Clytaemnestra than she was in killing her husband Agamemnon, Orestes's father.

The Gods spew total sexist nonsense that the child doesn't share the mother's blood. It's a ridiculous set-up having Athena, who didn't have a mother, judge the trial. The jury is obviously all male. Not to mention the irony that Agamemnon was such a bad father that he killed his own daughter, but he's considered the rightful parent.

My star math: 5 stars for part 1 and part 2, 2 stars for part 3. 12/3= 4 stars.

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The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pretty fun one. Not sure how to say anything that isn't a spoiler but this one develops The plot a bit further. Everyone is in a major role now, more or less.

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The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Now that we have the characters back story, the characters go on a second hero's quest, while dealing with the bigger underlying problem. Cute, fun, and more about family and religion.

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The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first fourth and third fourth went slowly for me, but I appreciated the resolution and the world that had been created mostly by that resolution.

Jason is a bit less developed than Percy, probably because he has memory loss. Piper is pretty well developed and Leo a little bit less so. I read this a long time after I read the first three Percy books and I was struggling to remember everyone at camp, though it wasn't strictly necessary. I also enjoyed the survey of mythological people as the heroes traveled from city to city in the US.

I'll probably read the next one in this series, though I'm not in a huge hurry to do so.

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (#2) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(#2) This is the one where Harry torments the Dudleys all summer- fun! We meet Dobby! Everyone drives an illegal flying car! Professor Lockhart is super annoying. The Chamber... I forget the chamber.

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Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Everyone knows the general story of Oedipus, but wow, this play is intense and amazing. It's not a just a tragedy, it's a horror of sights and emotion. Sophocles really railed against the injustices of fate.

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Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus

Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The god who gave us science and education is unjustly punished by those who wish to maintain and hoard power. What a modern story.

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Eumenides by Aeschylus

Eumenides by Aeschylus
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Orestes's trial is a total scam. Orestes was either equally or *more* wrong in killing his mother Clytaemnestra than she was in killing her husband Agamemnon, Orestes's father.

Also, total sexist nonsense that the child doesn't share the mother's blood, and ridiculous set up having Athena- who didn't have a mother- judge the trial. The jury is obviously all male. And Agamemnon was such a bad father that he killed his own daughter.

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The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus

The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one is really intense, even compared to the first one, "Agamemnon."

[2500-Year Old] Spoiler Alert:
Orestes kills his mother after she begs him not to. His motives are a bit dubious. Does he not know his father killed his sister Iphigenia? Is he actually just mad his mother sent him to live outside of the castle? Is he just a super religious opportunist who has to follow the Oracle or risk life-failure? Maybe all of these things.

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Agamemnon by Aeschylus

Agamemnon by Aeschylus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have a lot of sympathy for Clytaemnestra. Reading a more generalized Greek mythology in high school I loved the character of Cassandra, but Aeschylus doesn't really have a lot of patience for her, and that's fine.

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The Aeneid by Virgil

The Aeneid by Virgil
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We read portions of this in my Latin class over the course of two years, and I read this English translation mostly on my own at the same time. Nothing will make you love a book like pouring over it for multiple years. We also all used Latin names in class and I was Dido Elissa, which I liked because she was a powerful queen and an important character in The Aeneid. But I disliked having her name because I felt like the whole business with [spoiler alert] throwing herself on a pyre was kind of pathetic and definitely not feminist. Overall, it was such a gift to get to pour over this in Latin with a teacher to guide us through. (Thanks, Mrs. Simon.)

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The Odyssey by Homer

The Odyssey by Homer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I've read this 2 or three times in high school and in college and I've always loved it. It's a great adventure, with wonderful language, and I've always thought that the real hero of the story is Penelope. She's more clever as her husband- able to keep her suitors at arms-length without starting a war, more loyal to Odysseus than he is to her, and not prone to violence as he is.

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (#1) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In my heart, this will always be the best one. Everyone was already talking about this series when I first read the first book in 2001. I was 22, and I was really dubious about reading a children's book at first, but a few pages in, I was cheering for the boy under the stairs. The whole book was so aggressively charming and magical. I wish I'd had the pleasure of reading it as a kid when the wall between pretend and reality isn't so clear.

This is the book where we meet: Harry Potter- the loyal outsider!, Ron Weasley- the courageous poor kid!, Hermione Granger- the smartest in the class! We also meet Albus Dumbledore!, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Severus Snape!, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom!, and Ron's siblings: Ginny, Fred, George, and Percy. In other words, we meet all our best friends at Hogwarts.

We also meet the less inspiring: Petunia Dursley, Vernon Dursley, Dudley Dursley, groundskeeper Filius Flitwick, Draco Malfoy, Professor Quirinus Quirrell, Professor Pomona Sprout.

And of course, we hear about Lord Voldemort, Lily Potter, and James Potter.

Don't forget to get your wand from Ollivander's! The invisibility cloak is the best ever!

Some potential spoilers up next. (Is there anyone who hasn't read this yet?) I don't know who won at Quidditch. Gryffindor wins 2 of its 3 matches, and we never hear who wins Slytherin-Hufflepuff, Slytherin-Ravenclaw, or Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff. What's to stop these games from being 3-way ties with 3 the teams winning 2 of their 3 games? Or even two-way ties with 2 teams winning 2 games, with no championship game?

The Sorcerer's Stone (or the Philosopher's Stone in the British version I own) lets you live forever. Now that I'm an old-hearted adult, that sounds like a terrible curse to me. Also, in my opinion, the mirror in the story is way more memorable than the stone. The mirror lets you see your heart's desire!

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