Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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A retelling of a classic, but are these the right secondary characters to focus on?

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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This is the story of Achilles and his companion Patroclus. Companion here should absolutely be read in the way that we all had that one uncle in his 80s and 90s who lived with a roommate. If you remember any part of your high school English classes, you probably know the over all plot. Trojan War, fated warrior, death, destruction, etc. What Madeline Miller has done in this book is really taken a deeper dive into the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. Which, by the way, […]

Holy Moly

Circe by Madeline Miller

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When (I read it): Late night treat-time only, when the pull of the book matched the pull of (spoiler warning) my bed. Where (I read it): In bed, where my cocoon allowed me to sink in without expectation or judgment. Why (I read it): A long-ignored predilection for mythology combined with a general crowd gaga-factor. How (I read it): With great anticipation, bought many months ago to read when I could appreciate it. Finally got there. In preface, I’m three books read by the first […]

snapshot of a sculpture

Galatea by Madeline Miller

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We’ve heard his story countless times; it’s been a well-trod myth since Ancient Greece. We read Metamorphoses, we studied Pygmalion, we sung along to My Fair Lady, and we mourned the short life of (the terribly named but very good) Selfie. With Madeline Miller, Pygmalion strikes again. He strikes the marble into a statue, the statue becomes a woman, Galatea strikes out on her own, and Pygmalion strikes her down. Galatea is convalescing (read: held captive) in a hospital by the sea. She is cut off from her daughter, […]

Fanfic — Classics Edition

The Song of Achilles: A Novel by Madeline Miller

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Cbr12bingo Gateway BINGO horizontal (Gateway to Shelfie) I first read The Song of Achilles for CBR4, and for me, it is the gateway to a genre that I will call “reimagined classics” or perhaps “fanfic: classics edition.” This is the first book I can remember reading that is based on a classic story, in this case The Iliad, expanding on a part of it and telling it from the perspective of a minor character. Re-imagined classics allow authors to go into more detail on aspects […]

“Name one hero who was happy” (CBR12Bingo2: Debut)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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I debated being cutesy about it and calling this my “orange” square since it won the Orange Prize, or a tongue in cheek “friendship” square, but figured I’d be more straightforward and go with the “debut” space. What a debut it was, too. I read Circe and enjoyed it quite a bit, but found it a bit detached. Undeniably great, but it just didn’t hook me like I had expected given the rave reviews here and elsewhere. This book? Blew me away. I loved Greek […]



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