On the third week of second grade my class was introduced to the concept of “library”. We were told we could select one book, take it home, read it, then bring it back. My choice was a child’s version of Greek Mythology. I was hooked. Eventually I took an ad hoc degree in mythological studies. All this is to say that I have been a serious fan and a lifelong fan. American Gods is raw, unromantic, and probably more appealing to men than women, but it is also an educated, thoughtful, clever treatise on the subject of our relationship with “gods”.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow. It is Gaiman’s fourth prose novel, preceded by Good Omens (a collaboration with Terry Pratchett), Neverwhere, and Stardust. Several of the themes touched upon in the book were previously glimpsed in The Sandman graphic novels.
TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY…The Grand Prize Consists of the following:$45 Amazon GC or $45 worth of books at TBD.
ebooks from Patricia Bates
a prize from Lisa Beth Darling
an ecopy of Sunburn by Rosanna Leo
an ecopy of Ain’t No Bull by Danica Avet
an ecopy of Remedy Maker by Sheri Fredricks
PROCEED TO THE NEXT STOP ON THE TOUR…
http://booklovershideaway.blogspot.com/2013/02/for-love-of-mythology-giveaway-hop-sign.html?zx=e894b68c0ecd3ed8
While I didn’t start with mythology that early, I have always read and loved stories about faeries, elves, etc. One of the first hardback books I ever bought was a collected works of the Brothers Grimm. Definitely makes you understand how sanitized the Disney versions are! In college as part of the humanities requirements, one of the classes I took was a comparative religion course. The modern religions part was not as interesting as the ancient religions part was. It’s so amazing to me just how similar they really are while still having significant differences.
I love what I call adult faerie tales or as the book world calls them fantasy. The what if such a thing existed or the creation of a world where that thing does are so fascinating to me.
Exactly what this tour is all about. Thank you for the comment!
I was very fortunate to have a chance to take Mythology as an elective when I was in the seventh grade. I was even more fortunate to have a professor that was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the class. It helped me develop a lifelong love of mythology, and a desire to learn so much more about it, and all of it’s facets. (I don’t need to be included in the raffle for the books Victoria– I already own them 🙂 )
Thank you for the comment, Angie. You’re the third person to mention being influenced by a class(es) or teacher. Makes me think there should be a unit on mythology in every curriculum.
My fascination for Greek mythology started in highschool in my Latin class. My Latin teacher was also a history teacher and spent a great deal of our class time on Greek/Roman mythology. I loved it and started reading everything I could find on it. I have a vast collection of books on Greek and Roman mythology in my personal library. Later I joined the Latin club so that I could participate in toga parties 🙂
Thanks,
lorih824 at yahoo dot com
GREAT story, Lori. You made me LOL. 😀
My favorite myths are those involving fairys and irish legends.
Me, too. In fact – take a look at my author name.
Love your books
Much like you, I fell in love with mythology in elementary school. I started with Greek myths and then expanded to Roman and later on to Norse myths. I love stories about fairies and elves and fantasy. I am currently enjoying American Gods, which was referred to me by my son, Gaiman is one of his favorite authors.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that other people have read this award-winning book, and yet I am. I picked it up because the book that he wrote with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens, is my all-time favorite. People write about laughing out loud when reading my books and say they should come with a warning label – do not read in public, but that’s what G.O. did for me. I never recommend it because the jokes require an extensive background in theology and comparative religion. Since you have that background, consider this a recommendation.
Thanks for the referral, I will check out Good
Omen.
Thank you so much for participating in this hop. I really appreciate it.
Donna From Book Lover’s Hideaway
Love to win these! Thanks for the chance!
I think Ovid’s METAMORPHOSES got me into mythology, though modern takes such as Dean Hsieh’s ATHENA manga series and Madeleine Miller’s SONG OF ACHILLES are good, too!
Thank you for sharing the great resources with those who happen by. I haven’t read SONG OF ACHILLES, but will seek it out. – V
I love Greek mythology and am always looking out for new stories that incorporate some of it. Thanks for sharing~!
bacchus76 at myself dot com
I didn’t start that early; I was thirteen and having a crisis of faith.
dragon5174 (at) gmail.com
Dear Rachel –
I hope you resolved your crisis in favor of sanity.
I was lucky enough to be given a book a picture book on Greek and Roman Mythology when I was a young child. My siblings and I played that we were heroes and gods. My brother was Hercules, my sister Mercury, and I was Aphrodite. Since I was the oldest child, I also made Aphrodite in charge of the other two. A little later I discovered the Egyptian and Celtic pantheons and I was totally hooked. I would say myths and folklore began a major interest in my life.
I just discovered The Black Swan series last week. I am already on to book 3 and I love them all.
Hi Ellen –
Definitely a kindred spirit and you may be a writer as well. Thank you for taking a chance on Black Swan. Please leave a review!!
Best,
V
My obsession started in middle school when I read Anne Rice. I loved her use of Egyptian myth and consequently, fell in love with everything related to ancient Egypt.
Yes. It’s intriguing. Graduates from my three year course in magickal arts have an option to do a year of graduate studies in Egyptian magick. It’s very intense and very personal because people either LOVE it or it leaves them cold.
I truly love mythology! When I saw that this hop was coming months and months ago, I was so psyched to get involved and start hopping! My favorites from Greek mythology are the story of Achilles, Athena because she’s the Goddess of Love and Wisdom (both awesome things to be a GODDESS of! Plus, I LOVE her name!) and the Sirens. Women who can control men when they sing. As a singer myself, I loved the allure of this myth. As far as other mythology goes, I love vampires. They look like humans, feel like humans, act like humans, but they are not human. It’s so insanely hot that they are some sort of superhuman with superhuman drawbacks, of course. No sunlight… that’s a bummer. It’s a wonder not every vampire is majorly depressed due to an insane Vitamin D deficiency!
Anywho, enough of my rambling!
Thanks for the giveaway! And, I’m totally gonna keep on hopping!
mestith at gmail dot com
i love this hop! Mythology is my favorite, I started loving it in middle school. My older sister was a huge influence on my love for mythology in books.
Thorton12 at hotmail dot com
I love mythology of all kinds but my favorite is Celtic. My grandmother, who was born in Killarney, Ireland, told the most fascinating stories. That may be the reason why Ram is my favorite. 🙂 Love this series!
I love all mythology stories, but I lean more towards Greek mythology.
mythic021@gmail.com
Your books look awesome. Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com
I began my love of mythology in 3rd grade; I was very fortunate to have teachers who believed in a progressive education. (They also read Poe and such others to us.) I quickly read everything our small library had to offer on mythology and drove my parents crazy discussing the gods, goddesses and lesser players. Of course, in time, my brain got rusty. My love never did. Now, I have dogs named for gods and goddesses from various cultures, and birds named for Greek and Roman goddesses. Once a great love is found, it never really dies. michelle_willms@yahoo.com.
I recently read Zeus by Kamery Solomon as a break from my usual contemporary romance choices and I was HOOKED!! I LOVE Greek mythology and add a little romance and I am reading until I am done 🙂 Thanks!! fishinlovingal@yahoo.com
You’re right about taking a break from romance addiction.
I love you books Mrs. Victoria but specially Familiar Stranger. I loved how you made Elora so stong and independent even thought she makes Ram and the other worry alot about her. She has a temper but I just love how Ram deals with her. They arent only a sexy but funny and cute couple. Thank you for the chance of winning the books.
I’ve always been a fan of mythology. I love exploring the ones I’m more familiar with like the Greek and Romans with the ones I’m less aware of, such as the Egyptians or the Norse. These books sound like they’d be right up my alley.
wolfgang1313@juno.com