nausicaa83: (<literature> marilyn)
[personal profile] nausicaa83
And here it is. The last entry of this year's Reading Bingo. And I left the best for last, with the last book in a saga that I've deeply loved for years.



For the "A Book With More Than 500 pages" square, I waited patiently for Rick Riordan's last book in the Percy Jackson saga to come out. It's Herous of Olympus - Blood of Olympus.

As I said before, I love these books, and I have for years. I grew up with Greek myths, I graduated in Archaeology with a thesis in Roman Topography, and I have a weird sense of humor. The Percy Jackson books are written by someone who loves Greek mythology and knows every single detail, every forgotten myth, and knows how to put them in a modern context in a way that's believable and doesn't betray their roots at all. He has incredible respect for the original source, and he still loves playing with it. Plus he has an incredible sense of humor, cunning and sharp, while never offensive. For years I've loved these books with a fierce passion. With the new saga, the Heroes of Olympus, he breathed new life in his stories, moving from the single character to the chorus, introducing heroes of all different races, and last year he even revealed that one of them was gay. In this book he let him talk at lenght about his sexuality, exactly like he had done for all the other main characters, and I loved him so much for it. AT the same time he didn't make his sexuality the central point of his character, just one of the many ways he's himself. His female characters are all different, and they all have their own stories, their own agenda, and they're all strong in their different ways.

In this book we faced the final battle, and said goodbye to our heroes. I was prepared to be devastated, but the story was so perfect, the ending so well-written, I actually feel happy. He didn't try to wrap every single story up, he didn't give us a horrible epilogue (yes, I'm pointing fingers), he left some doors open, he left us to imagine all new different paths our heroes could take, while still giving us a wonderful finale to a fantastic story. Such brilliant writing!

I told Tati yesterday, while I was mid-journey, that I planned on re-reading all the saga from the start when I reached the ending of this book. But the ending was so perfect, I feel like keeping it fresh in my heart for a while longer, before going back to the beginning. That's how much I loved it. ^^

And seriously, if you love Greek and Roman history and myths, and are looking for a fantasy saga that's both funny and gripping and wonderfully written, I can't recommend these books enough. \o/ (Just, do not watch the movies, they're horrible and offensive and still give me nightmares with how bad they are. Just FYI.)

Date: 2014-10-17 08:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] space-oddity-75.livejournal.com
Wow, congratulations on finishing your reading bingo, hon!!! I didn't even manage 5 squares in total, so your achievement is even more impressive! ^^


I was wondering whether you were feeling unwell, since I didn't hear from you or read any new journal entries. Hope everything is fine. If not, remember that I'm always here for you, okay?
*sends hugs for good measure*

Date: 2014-10-17 08:50 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nausicaa83.livejournal.com
Grazie tesoro!!! Effettivamente sono stata poco bene, ma oggi mi sento meglio. E ho avuto tanti tanti pensieri, il che non aiuta.

Ti va telefonatina nel weekend per raccontarci come vanno le cose? *_____*

Date: 2014-10-17 09:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] space-oddity-75.livejournal.com
Assolutamente sì!!! Non vedo l'ora di sentirti, così ti racconto di Londra, e tu mi racconti di cosa stai facendo. Baciotti.

Date: 2014-10-17 08:51 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tati81.livejournal.com
Ehhh...è stata un po' colpa mia, l'ho monopolizzata per qualche giorno, perché ho avuto qualche problema... ^^

Date: 2014-10-17 09:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nausicaa83.livejournal.com
Monopolizzami quanto vuoi, tesoro! ^^

Date: 2014-10-17 09:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] space-oddity-75.livejournal.com
L'importante è avere qualcuno accanto (con cui sfogarsi, aiutarsi, parlarsi...). Avere gli amici vicino è sempre un grande aiuto.

Un abbraccio a tutte e due. :)

Date: 2014-10-18 04:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] entangled-now.livejournal.com
Congrats on finishing your bingo! So much reading! :)

I think I still have five books to go, I kind of don't want to finish, it's been so great at motivating me to read things.

Date: 2014-10-18 04:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nausicaa83.livejournal.com
I agree so much. Now that it's over, I miss it a lot, even if I still have my Reading Challenge going on Goodreads. I challenged myself to read 35 books this year, and it's only three books left. But it still doesn't feel the same, I loved browsing through my "to be read" piles (I order books in batches from Amazon, and then leave them in piles all over the house) for books that would fit a particular square, it was so much fun. *_____*

I hope they'll do a new Reading Bingo next year. Otherwise, I'll just use their old card from 2013, or maybe tweak the Young Adult one they did for this year.

Date: 2014-10-22 04:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] entangled-now.livejournal.com
It's great that you're doing other challenges :) I think I shall definitely look around for another one myself. I'm hoping I can get the rest of it done before the year's out. Though I suspect Dragon Age: Inquisition is going to eat a big chunk of my time. Just like Shadow of Mordor is doing.

Date: 2014-10-22 05:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nausicaa83.livejournal.com
Oh boy, between Dragon Age Inquisition and Kingdom Hearts 2.5 I know how I will spend my free time in November and December. I should really work on that challenge before then!

Date: 2014-10-22 05:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] entangled-now.livejournal.com
Yes, I need my free time for adventures through Thedas!

Date: 2014-10-19 04:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] stardust-made.livejournal.com
Pardon my French in advance:HOLY SHIT, you finished the reading bingo! It's like you started it yesterday! I've bookmarked some of your comments as an addition to my never-ending reading list. (Ever since I started writing five years ago my reading time has dropped dramatically. I just don't seem to concentrate and/or I have this weird, subconscious tendency to emulate 'the voice' of the more distinctive authors. It's scary.)

Anyway!

 photo tumblr_m7kwtoVjMR1rziwwco1_250_zpsc282b621.gif

Date: 2014-10-19 05:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nausicaa83.livejournal.com
I can't believe it's over! I slowed down a lot during the summer, and then during the last two months I suddenly accelerated. Mostly because in November and December they'll release two videogames I've been waiting for for ages, and my free time will be mostly devoted to them. Had to finish before then. :D

I still have three books on the Reading Challenge on Goodreads, but that should be easy. But first, I have a bazillion fanfics downloaded on my Kindle during the last two months, and it's definitely time to start going through that pile!

Date: 2014-10-21 08:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] capracotta.livejournal.com
Complimenti per averlo portato a fondo! Questa recensione è scritta con un tale tasporto che dovresti mandarla alll'autore!

Date: 2014-10-21 08:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nausicaa83.livejournal.com
All'autore vorrei dare un abbraccione strizzacostole, altrochè! *_________*

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