Mostly Queer Book Club discussion

has anyone read The Song of Achilles? i need someone to cry alongside because of it :’)

I did read TSoA!!! Madeline Miller is so brilliant with these Greek Retellings.

she truly is. despite knowing what happens, i was still so heartbroken. such a bittersweet book 😭

I feel like she takes just enough creative liberties to give the stories a new feeling without compromising too much of the original's integrity. I felt that even more so in Circe. Honestly, I'm really hoping she does a Medusa retelling because I really think she could do the complexity of her story justice after reading Circe.

totally agree! like, you can really tell she took 10 years to write TSoA, and that the entire effort was a labor of love in the way she characterized Patroclus and the depth she gave Achilles. the Troy movie was the biggest disappointment because it completely crushed the significance of a very blatantly queer relationship between two men in love and ill never forgive hollywood for that, lol.

i cant wait to read Circe, and if she does come out with a book on Medusa, id love to read that too! i honestly feel that she would do the story and the characters justice, especially if it was from a Gorgon’s perspective. thats what i loved about TSoA, is that it was from Patroclus’ perspective

if we don't end up reading circe for this book club at some point, i would 100% do a buddy read with you! i liked it slightly more than tsoa even. it didn't tear me up in the same way, but her journey of self-discovery really resonated with me in a way i've never experienced before, which sounds dramatic but like... it is lmao.

she gave voices to the people history has silenced and that's so powerful to me!

id love to do a buddy read if we dont make it one of these months! it sounds really nice from your description. cant wait!

Roman wrote: "has anyone read The Song of Achilles? I need someone to cry alongside because of it :’)"

i just finished reading the book and oh god it was just absolute love and madeline's writing is just so beautiful and lyrical!!! Can't wait to read circe,, Also hi, I just joined :))

welcome to the group!

welcome to the group, happy to have you here!

happy to be here :))

Hi everyone! just joined, I look forward to getting to know everyone and sharing reads (books, not judgement) ;)

William wrote: "Hi everyone! just joined, I look forward to getting to know everyone and sharing reads (books, not judgement) ;)"

hii William, glad to have you here!

<3

Hello, William, welcome to our little group; we hope you have fun reading with us all! :)

Me Too! I guess it's time I picked up TSoA... lol

William wrote: "Me Too! I guess it's time I picked up TSoA... lol"

Hi William, welcome! I hope you will like The Song of Achilles. I found it very poetic and beautiful to listen to!

Roman wrote: "totally agree! like, you can really tell she took 10 years to write TSoA, and that the entire effort was a labor of love in the way she characterized Patroclus and the depth she gave Achilles. the ..."

So I just came across your conversation, I had not check this discussion before haha. I'd love to read Circe with you guys at some point! I'm less familiar to the real myth than with Achilles and Patroclus' story, so I can't wait to discover it as well. (And I agree with you Roman, a book about Medusa would be incredible!)

Anaïs wrote: "William wrote: "Me Too! I guess it's time I picked up TSoA... lol"

Hi William, welcome! I hope you will like The Song of Achilles. I found it very poetic and beautiful to listen to!

Roman wrote: ..."
Fur sure! I'm familiar with greek myth, but haven't read any novels based on them, other than some y/a reads, so it'll be interesting!

yes yes! There are so many women in Greek myths and tragedies that get overlooked, so most things written about them (in a more positive light or with a deeper study/understanding of them) are written by more modern authors. I would really love one written about Medusa specifically, but there are a great many Greek women that hold lots of rich lore in their stories.

in the same vein, I am working on compiling a bookshelf full of modern adaptions on Greek myths (Circe, TSoA, Helen of Troy, Daughters of Sparta, etc)

William, if you do start reading novel adaptions, TSoA is a great first introduction, and I cannot recommend it enough. It is exciting and very sad, but so incredibly written. I do not personally have experience with Circe, but it will be one of our possible reads these coming months, and I have heard many good things about it!

If you are a fan of the Odyssey, and more specifically Menalaus, theres a short story called Menelaiad written by John Barth apart of Lost in the Funhouse (a collection).

Roman wrote: "yes yes! There are so many women in Greek myths and tragedies that get overlooked, so most things written about them (in a more positive light or with a deeper study/understanding of them) are writ..."

Thanks for the recommendations! I'm looking forward to looking into these! yeah, it'd be nice to see more mythical women written in by people that don't share the extreme misogyny of pretty much all ancient poets and thinkers... (a product of their time?) ugh, anyway, enough politics. I look forward to reading more of these kinds of works!

Hello everyone I'm new to the group

Hi Jessi! Welcome!

Hello and welcome, Jessi!

Hi Jessi!

how is everyone doing today

Hi Jessi, welcome! I'm doing good, a little bit of late night reading after a hard day of work :) How about you?

doing good although I just sprained my neck

Has anyone read "A Pact with Demons"? It's not perfect, but so good. It's got a good combination of folklore and fantasy elements circulating around a gay? bi? queer? black/ possibly mixed teen. Part of what I like about is is that, though issues of race and sexuality are addressed, the author does it without being distracting from the plot. The characters are all interesting, beautiful and confused. Definitely a Y/A read, but handled in a really cerebral way. I loved it. I think it's still ongoing. It's really a collection of short tales that spin an overarching narrative about the main character and his friends' journeys as people. A bit coming of agy. Anyway. Would love to talk yooz all about it if anyone is so inclined.

im so sorry about your neck! how did that happen??

i have not read that one so far, but it aounds interesting! adding to my tbr— ive had lots of success with YAs, so im sure id enjoy it if you did! :)

awesome! let me know What you think. I there hasn't been anything published for the series since 2018, but I reached out to the author and they said they do plan to do more with series, just not right now. so don't be too frustrated when you see where it leaves everything.

hi i just wanted to ask if anyone has read the priory of the orange tree and if its worth a read?

im glad to hear that the author has more planned! ill try to check it out soon and get back to you, thanks for the rec!

hi there, and welcome! :) i havent read it yet, but i have heard many good things about it, and its on my tbr!

Never heard of TPOTOT but I'll look into it! btw, Hi Meriach, and welcome!

sorry I just saw the mssg, roman, but my neck is all good now. it just sorta happened on the whim for no exact reason?? I think I was trying on this shirt and I accidentally tanked it too hard and crack went my neck lmao.

I think I've heard about the book but I haven't read yet,, also hello :)

I'm reading history is all you left me rn and OHMYGOD I'm already crying,,,,,,has anyone read it here?

omg im glad your neck is better now! sometimes ill sleep on it weird and have a tilt for a week while it recovers— i dont think ive done that wearing shirts though, but i suppose theres time for that to happen LMAO

and i just added that to my TBR, the author has a solid rep it seems so im excited to check it out!

I've been reading history is all you left me AND I CANNOT SEEM TO BE ABLE TO FINISH THAT BOOK. i end up crying each time and idk what I'm gonna do once I do read it all. i will never get how people can write such lovely realistic relationships like just blows my mind.

omg i promise ill get to these recs soon, LOL i gotta get through a bunch before i can get into them!

Hello everyone, does this group do virtual meet-ups on Discord, Zoom, or something like that to discuss books they've read together?

Hello, Merry!

currently, we only do discussions on the goodreads app in the forum topics, but with more interest we could create a discord server and have discussions there!

I just finished The King of Infinite Space and loved it! Queer Hamlet! Has anyone else read this?

The King of Infinite Space

i have not! ive never read hamlet myself, but i know its chock a block full of homoerotic undertones— sounds like this would be a good introduction to it!

Sorry I've been absent from this club for a bit. Life got hectic. I'm excited for our reads next year though!

no worries, Mandi! life sometimes gets that way, but im happy youre back and doing okay— we look forward to reading with you!

Hello everyone, sorry been awol for a while but hope everyone is doing well! Has anyone read I'll give you the sun??? I'm currently in the process hoping to finish it today but holy hell that book just leaves me breathless everytime I read it,,

no problem, Charvi! the last quarter of the year is probably the busiest with holidays, school, and work, so not to worry. i am happy to see you are back and well, and still reading!

i have not read it yet, but its been added to my TBR now :)