Cannonball Read 11

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A witchin’ re-imagining

Circe by Madeline Miller

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Oh, how I loved this.  I saw everyone’s glowing comments on it on last year’s Cannonball Read, but my TBR pile was so big I couldn’t justify buying a new book.  Luckily I made an exception and once I picked it up last week I couldn’t put it down.  I have a backlog of reviews I need to write for other books I finished before I finished Circe, but I wanted to review this one first, before my feelings faded. Miller’s novel is a modern re-imagining of the life of Circe, the mythical Greek witch who pops up in the […]

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Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

  • Circe by Madeline Miller

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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7/29/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 29 |

Sometimes the stories we know are actually just the footnotes in another (better) story.

Circe by Madeline Miller

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I picked this up because I was seeing it evvvvverywherrrre.  I had low expectations because I am a contrarian and, in general, I don’t trust people’s opinions of books (except for Pajiba readers’, of course.)  But this book was so good!  It immediately became my new buy-it-for-everybody’s-birthday book. First, this book has it all: mythology, complex heroines, curses, potions, love, betrayal, exotic lands, gods and humans, bloodshed, magic, and monsters.  It also has an awesome female protagonist, “empowered” in the best way, by which I mean she has agency in the narrative itself, and in the very fact that Miller […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

  • Circe by Madeline Miller

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Sometimes the stories we know are actually just the footnotes in another (better) story."

7/28/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 4 |

“Maybe the real question is why are your friends so turn-into-pigsable?” BINGO

Circe by Madeline Miller

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#CBR11 Bingo: Remix  (Would also work for Award Winner, Listicle (was on a ton of Best of 2018 lists) and/or Cannonballer Recommends) Official book description: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft. When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

  • Circe by Madeline Miller

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "“Maybe the real question is why are your friends so turn-into-pigsable?” BINGO"

7/23/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 51 |

The truth is, men make terrible pigs

Circe by Madeline Miller

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I knew almost nothing of Circe before going into this. I remembered that she was in The Odyssey, and that Odysseus lived on her island for a time, but nothing more than that. She is the daughter of Helios, and is an unremarkable and naive nymph. Shunned by her siblings and dismissed by her parents, she finally discovers that her power lies in witchcraft. Because of this, and for how she uses it, she is exiled for eternity by her father to an uninhabited island. She (spoilers) learns to harness her power in a way her more powerful siblings do […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

  • Circe by Madeline Miller

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/19/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 7 |

Circe – Mic Drop

Circe by Madeline Miller

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My knowledge of Greek mythology is minimal: I know only the broadest of strokes. I mean, I’ve read the Odyssey (bits of it at least?) and I’ve seen “O Brother Where Art Thou.” I was a bit skeptical that I would enjoy this book, but it had such rave reviews and a lot of ladies I know really enjoyed it, so I joined the pack and I’m glad I did. In fact, not really knowing about mythology made it even more fun to read and preserved the twists and turns of the story. Circe is the daughter of Helios, the […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

  • Circe by Madeline Miller

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Circe – Mic Drop"

5/17/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 18 |

“When I was born, the word for what I was did not exist.”

Circe by Madeline Miller

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Circe has been topping a lot of people’s Best Of books this year and for good reason. It is a well written, interesting take on several well known Greek myths but doesn’t require an extensive knowledge of Greek mythology to enjoy (although Madeline Miller is obviously a Greek mythology fan girl). Nymph-turned-witch Circe is the daughter of Helios; she is never meant to rule kingdoms because while she is immortal she is not a God. She finds happiness being a nanny to her siblings but after they grow up and fulfill their destinies Circe is back to being largely ignored. […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

  • Circe by Madeline Miller

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "“When I was born, the word for what I was did not exist.”"

12/30/2018 's CBR10 Review No:127 |

Books I Want to Talk About with my Friend, the Classics Professor

Circe & The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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Thanks to all the Cannonball Read folks who raved about Madeline Miller this year.  Because of the accolades, I read The Song of Achilles back in May and Circe in November and both were books that engaged and transported me.  Thanks to my procrastinating ways, I decided to review both books together and because they’ve been reviewed by a lot of folks already, I thought I’d talk more about my experience reading them and spare you the plot summary. I read Song of Achilles on my kindle, which is not my preferred mode, but I needed books for a two-week trip […]

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12/18/2018 | Post by

So good I ignored everyone and everything until I’d finished

Circe by Madeline Miller

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Unlike the rest of the world (or so it occasionally seems), I haven’t read The Song of Achilles, mostly due to my being possession of a fiery hatred of Achilles that tends to ruin anything he happens to be mentioned in. However, I did note all of the squealing going on around it and so, when people started talking about Circe, promptly splurged on it. I was not disappointed. Taking another figure from the myths – one mostly known for turning Odysseus’ men into pigs when they stopped off at her island on their way home from Troy – Miller […]

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9/7/2018 | Post by


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