#Because i started reading norse mythology by neil gaiman

[leofrith]

completely overwhelmed by all the possible things i could do with all the free alone time i have this week

#wanna try to get the next chapter of honor bound done at the very least but beyond that....idk #started reading neil gaiman's norse mythology on the plane and its not bad #i brought like four books on this trip not because i actually think i'll read four books #but because i couldn't decide what i was in the mood to read aksjjsdfhk (and also: insane) #i forgot i would be here during the film festival so maybe i'll go see a movie #also meal ideas i need meal ideas fuuuuuuck #ky posts text

[theniftycat]

What other Neil Gaiman work might you like?

The biggest thing to know about Neil Gaiman is that each work of his is a mixture of horror, fantasy, and subtle comedy.

That being said, each of his projects is pretty distinct from one another and there might be some that are more up to your tastes than others.

I haven't read some of his newer stuff (because I largely stopped reading as much since the early 2010s), but I'll do my best to remember what matters in other works.

Horror

The Sandman is a great work for horror fans. It's also great for mythology fans and other nerds, but horror is a major push and pull factors.

The comic is probably the greatest body of work Gaiman produced and it's recommended if you're a goth at heart and are comfortable with themes of death and humans being gods' toys.

The Sandman (TV) is a great adaptation, but it's very short so far and doesn't cover the best stories.

Coraline is a horror story for children. It doesn't have anything that's not suitable for kids, but it can be viscerally scary to some people. Both the book and the film are great.

Mirrormask is my personal favourite, it's a low budget film with mindblowing surreal imagery and one of the best soundtracks ever.

It's about a teenage girl who has troubles with her parents (who run a circus, btw) and who gets swiped up by her imagination into a bizarre world that is being eaten by her depression. Not a scary film, per se, but it's disturbing. However, it's a very warm film and it always makes me feel better.

Fantasy

Neverwhere is set in a dimension of twisted London Underground where everything that's straightforward in our world becomes weird and too real.

It really tickled my imagination, I highly recommend the book.

Stardust is set in a more high fantasy setting.

It features kings, witches, ghosts, and a star that fell to the Earth. It has a young protagonist who's not exactly the best or the brightest person, so if you hate such things, stick to the adaptation. In my opinion, the book is just lovely.

American Gods is a darker fantasy that asks the questions: "What if every god people ever believed in became real through the power of their worship? And then what if that worship started fading?"

It's set in the USA and because that country is such a melting pot, there are many gods. And not all of them are happy. This is the book that gave Neil Gaiman his reputation of a writer who loves weird sex scenes.

Humour

Stardust the film is often compared to Princess Bride. It's lighthearted, funny, full of imaginative adventures.

Just a very nice film with an all-star cast.

Anansi Boys is a spin off of American Gods, but it's a lot more lighthearted.

Anansi is a trickster god, so you know things will get funky.

I haven't read The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane yet, but I hear they're very good as well.

Also, short story collections or Norse Mythology might be a good place to start if you want to get a feel of Neil Gaiman as an author first.

#neil gaiman #book recommendations #neverwhere #stardust #mirrormask #anansi boys #coraline #the sandman #american gods

[peaches-creek]

Jason was looking for something. Not just someone, Homer, author of The Odyssey. He had been on a mythology kick, and wanted to read something more sophisticated. For a 9 year old this kid knows how to read, it was the only thing he could do during the day, waiting for nighttime to act up. So he taught himself to read at a very young age, and kept at it. He’s at a high school reading level. He would immediately come to the library after school, and would stay until closing hour. He had seen a reference somewhere that said, “Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earths, nothing is bred that is weaker than man.”

His thought’s were then interrupted.

“Excuse me, I just have to get something by your feet really quick.” It’s a girl, about his age, one who doesn’t wait for his answer, just crouches by his feet and rips out a book. Not just any book, Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology.

That has him in awe, what kid his age knows how to read anything like that?

“Hey, you know how to read that?” He asks. You scoff at the implication.

“If I didn’t I wouldn’t have grabbed it, now would I?” You sarcastically reply.

That was the start of a very important relationship to Jason. Every day after school you would meet there, and argue about various topics, whichever ones interested you for the week. You guys would stay til close, and he would walk you home. You became important to him very quickly, he liked your gentle hands and kind way about yourself. When talking about characters you would always stick up for the underdog, just like in real life.

He remembers walking home with you one day, through the park when you both stumble upon a scene. Three boys a few years older, and a younger boy. He saw you stop, tears filling your eyes. He turned, about to say something.

“You know he’s a person? What makes you do something like that?” She yelled, crying at the same time.

“Why the fuck are you crying?” One of the boys sneers. Jason’s fist clenches, wanting to bruise this fucking kid’s liver, but decides against it, he is terribly outnumbered.

You say nothing, but walk up to the boy and grab his hand, walking away with him. You hear protests and sneers behind you. You bring him to the swings, asking him where his parents are. He points to two people arguing in the distance. You and Jason say nothing. He looks at you, the tears have stopped but the sniffles haven’t.

“Well then, let’s just play until they are done talking.” You say.

The three of you did exactly that.

You had taught Jason something about humanity that day. He knew he loved you in that moment. For someone so little to know exactly how to show someone else that they are loved.

The walk home had felt bittersweet that day.

“Can you hold my hand?” You say suddenly.

“Why?” He asks.

“Because I’m sad, and I want to hold someone’s hand.” He always forgets that you are a year younger than him, you don’t act it.

“Okay.’ He says, grabbing your hand.

“Why did you do that today?” He asks you.

He didn’t understand kindness like that, no one had shown him kindness before you, but he didn’t understand how you did it so effortlessly. When he first met you, he thought you were acting, lying to him about who you were. But then he realized that you’re just a girl, a girl who loves people.

“Why did I do what?”

“You know.”

“Oh, well, he didn’t deserve that, I don’t have to know him to know that he didn’t deserve that.”

“I see.” Is all he says.

“Kinda like you,” you start, “I don’t know how your life is hard, or why, but you don’t deserve it. I know that.”

“My life isn’t hard.” Is his answer

“Alright, sorry.” You apologize.

“Don’t apologize.”

He didn’t like to think about his life. Drug addict mom, alcoholic father, bills not being payed, going to bed hungry. You were the one good thing to him. Always offering him your spare mittens, sharing your snacks, helping him with his math homework. He didn’t like his life, but he liked you, that was enough.

“Y’know tomorrow is a half day, my mom said she would give me some money to get sandwiches on the way to the library. Which shop should we go to?” You ask.

“Daveny’s, they give you a pickle with your sandwich.”

“I hate pickles, so you can have mine, deal?” You say.

“I’ll share my chips if we have enough to get them.”

“We will, I saved the five dollars my Papa gave me last week.”

“Gotta love him.”

You continue on your way home, only stopping when you reach your steps.

“See you tomorrow Jay.”

“Since when did you call me that?”

“Since now, I think I have earned nickname basis.”

“Sure,” He smiles, “see you tomorrow, don’t forget the five dollars.”

“I wont, I wont.”

You walk up your stairs and into your house. He waits until he sees the lights go on in your room, and begins his trek to go and mess something up, maybe steal some hubcaps.

#jason todd x fem!reader #jason todd x you #jason todd imagine #jason todd x reader #jason todd fluff #jason todd fanfic #jason todd headcanon #jason todd fanfiction #jason todd #red hood imagine #red hood x reader #red hood x you #red hood #mygirl!verse

[concerningwolves]

do you have any like, folkore book recommendations? it could be of any folklore! although, i mainly know about Greek & Norse. or maybe perhaps, books about witchcraft & demonology?

Anon I am kissing you on the forehead. thank you for this ask

If you like Norse myths, Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman is a really good starting point – I adore how Gaiman weaves a narrative through the tales so that they feel cohesive. (I think this can be a slightly problematic practise, but imho it's also very effective if you want to just read and enjoy some myths). I read it in one day and then had Many Thoughts for the rest of the week.

Northern Lights: Legends, Sagas and Folk-tales edited by Kevin Crossley-Holland is a collection of Norse and Germanic stories. I've been meaning to reread this one because I don't think I was in the right headspace to really enjoy it the first time, so I can't give much of a review other than I feel it gives a really nice entry-point to anyone who wants to branch out beyond the more popular Norse myths. (Plus, it's up on the Internet Archive)

For a more scholarly deep-dive into Norse myths, I wholeheartedly recommend Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H. R. Ellis Davidson. It's a deeply fascinating book which looks at the cultural history around Norse myths, then walks through how much we actually know about each Norse god and goddess. (I am still haunted by the fact Davidson says that Heimdall has been described as a "woodpecker god" and then doesn't elaborate)

Moving into Greek myths, I'm a big fan of the Mythos series by Stephen Fry. It's three books, one covering the cosmology of the Greek mythic world; one focusing on the myths around heroes and demigods; and the last telling the story of the Siege of Troy. Like with Gaiman's Norse Mythology, Fry brings a sense of narrative cohesion to the myths, but he's not just telling a story – he talks about the sources and different variations of the myths, which I find so fascinating. I've listened to the audiobooks three times now.

The folklore I'm most into is British Isles folklore. The Fairies in Tradition and Literature by Katharine Briggs is a fast favourite. Despite the title, she also looks at a wide variety of fairy-adjacent folkloric beings. I had so so much fun reading it.

(And on the subject of English folklore, two recent-ish favourites are The Folklore of Sussex by Jacqueline Simpson and the Folklore of Hertfordshire by Doris Jones-Baker; they're part of a collection of regional folklore books which I'm determined to read in its entirety. I really appreciated the way Simpson wrote about witchcraft and the kind of people most often accused of being witches).

I cannot talk about folktale books without recommending English Fairytales and More English Fairytales by Joseph Jacobs. I've only read More English Fairytales, but I've read it... so much. I killed my first copy with love and had to get another one. I picked up English Fairytales in a secondhand shop last week and I'm excited to start reading it. I think both are available online for free, too.

I'll have to go look at my cabin bookshelves tomorrow because I'm sure I'm forgetting some other favourites; I just wanted to answer this now before it got swallowed by my drafts forever

If anyone else has any recs of books on folklore, I would greatly appreciate them :3 (and I'm sure anon will too)

#book recs #misadventuring in Mythology and folklore #folklore #fairytales

[lokiinmediasideblog]

Can you recommend me Loki books? (as in novels, not norse mythology textbooks)

I am not sure if I rated these correctly in terms of audience maturity. But I tried lol.

Comics:

Valhalla comics-Peter Madsen

Fun slap-stick re-tellings of the Norse myths. Children oriented?

Loki (2004) aka "Blood Brothers" by Robert Rodi & Esad Ribic

It's my favorite Marvel!Loki comic of all time. It altered my brain chemistry. You can read it for free on the links in my pinned post.

The graphic novel version of Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman.

There's also this webcomic I found as a teen that's ongoing to this day and I need to go back to following:

Kids:

Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good by Louie Stowell

Diary of a Wimpy Kid but with Norse mythology! What's not to love about that?!

Eight Days of Luke-Dianna Wynne Jones

The book that inspired "American Gods."

Odd and the Frost Giants-Neil Gaiman

A boy named Odd encounters Odin, Thor, and Loki who have been turned into animals.

Teens:

Runemarks duology-Joanne Harris

Just keep to the first two books. You'll hate the rest. Let's just say it dealt horribly with Eating Disorders and Harris should have done research on heavy topics before writing about them. Her Loki in the first two books is very enjoyable and he rules over goblins for a while, among other things. I also thought the way rune birthmarks worked in here was fun.

Norse Mythology-Neil Gaiman

It's an entertaining overview of the myths. If you're unfamiliar with them it's a good place to start.

Adult:

Black Wolf: The Binding of Loki-Una Verdandi

I don't recommend if you want a soft!Loki or one that remains a decent person. Loki is interesting and feels like a force of nature. But let's just say he's like the Joker with all that implies. But I thought it was a worthwhile read (very long). It has probably the best Sigyn depiction I've encountered. She feels like a real person! I go more in detail here. I'd pay attention to the things I warn about in case they're deal-breakers or triggers. My review is not spoiler free but contains warnings.

American Gods-Neil Gaiman

Has very interesting premise and a multiple pantheons existing at the same time. It's fun how the deities adapt to the USA and modern times.

The Goddess of Nothing at All-Cat Rector

This book is basically a Norse myth whump fic. I would avoid if that's not your thing because I can see how someone else might hate it. I know I like it because making fictional characters suffer is my guilty pleasure. You won't be laughing at the mythology-based Loki memes. I don't think it's perfect. For example, I dislike that they have to make Loki's every action "justified", such as cutting Sif's hair because Sif called him fantasy racism slurs. Let him be a bit of an asshole just because. The disproportionate punishment makes it difficult not to sympathize with Loki either way. I don't know how I feel about her Sygin. It's the 2nd best Sygin I've seen yet in books. She has a personality, is likeable, and is not a doormat, but something about her and this Loki feels sanitized to me. Like the author was checking boxes for Sygin and Loki. I don't know how to explain it.

Father of Monsters-A. B. Frost

Short read. Loki is a loveable little shit that gets the Aesir into trouble and takes one for the team to get them out of it. I really liked this characterization and it had cute illustrations of Loki, Angrboda, and Jormungandr.

The Nine Worlds Rising Series-Lyra Wolf

They're not perfect. I think her Loki is very funny and likable but too sanitized. And Sigyn has no flaws other than caring too much for her no-good brother while the other goddesses are evil witches. But the author has a very comedic writing voice that is highly enjoyable and keeps the stakes high so that you want to keep on reading. I also like how one of the books starts with a very vengeful Loki and draws comparisons to Lucifer. Thought that was cool. Also, some reactions to some reveals didn't land the impact as well as they should. They do tease the Odin/Loki abusive relationship, but not with the toxicity I wanted, and Odin goes on a redemption path a bit too soon for my liking (while making all the goddesses evil witches...). There's also a lot of anachronistic language in here, such as Loki mentioning a Chihuahua.

Books I haven't read but I know of their existence:

Loki-Melvin Burgess (I saw a Sigyn stan complain about it, but I am not sure how seriously to take her complaints because she said shipping myth!Loki with say Balder or Thor or Odin was "incestuous" because Loki is Odin's "blood brother" despite Loki being unrelated to everyone but Narfi and Nari on Asgard). My standards for Loki don't require that Loki be a paragon of morality, unlike hers. UPDATE: A mutual told me it's horribly transphobic and has rape apologia.

Harbinger of the End-Nicki Chapelway (I've seen praise from Logyn shippers for this one)

Loki: Nine Naughty Tales of the Trickster by Mike Vasich

I saw an excerpt with a rather humorous joke, but the one other Mike Vasich Loki book I read bored the hell out of me. So I haven't given it a chance for that reason.

The Blackwell Pages by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr

It's a children's book series where the descendants of Thor and Loki are the protagonists.

I might have some revies in "LokiBookClub" tag.

#anon asks #norse mythology #LokiBookClub #myth!loki

[writing-for-life]

Hey girl. What author most inspires you? Popular press or obscure, dead or alive - no matter. Bonus Q: What author's work is like your comfort food, that you find yourself coming back to at different times in your life?

Whoa, how much time do you have? 😂

Let’s start with the obvious and kill two birds with one stone:

I love Neil Gaiman, and The Sandman absolutely is my comfort.

I don’t even know how often I’ve read it cover to cover, so to speak—my guess is roundabout 15-20 times (and that doesn’t even include dipping into individual arcs or stories just because)?

It’s just a work that has matured with me, and I’m honestly not tiring of it. I still feel I discover new stuff on every reread. It’s honestly the work that’s been most influential on my life in so many ways.

But it’s not just The Sandman. I love The Graveyard Book (I don’t care if people say it’s a children’s book). I really like Neverwhere, literally everything in Smoke and Mirrors, Norse Mythology, The Sleeper and the Spindle, and Snow, Glass, Apples. I also like his other stuff, but the “big ones” aren’t always highest up my list (like Anansi Boys, American Gods, Good Omens and Stardust)—make of that what you will 😂

Also: I really love Art Matters and The View from the Cheap Seats (for some of his non-fiction stuff).

And of course his children’s books.

I just love his worldbuilding, it honestly awes me.

But it’s not just Neil Gaiman. Matt Haig. The Midnight Library and How to Stop Time in particular. His children’s books are wonderful too, especially To Be a Cat, The Truth Pixie and A Mouse Called Mika. And Notes on a Nervous Planet is always worth a read (I think it’s also a comfort one).

Other books I frequently revisit:

Joan Aiken’s Midnight is a Place.

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.

Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon (she writes great dialogue)

I also like Tolkien, but I feel I need to be in a very particular mood. His overly descriptive prose irks me on occasion (nothing to do with him, but all with me), but the overall story and worldbuilding makes up for it.

Sinclair Lewis (surprising, I know 😂), John Steinbeck, David Foster Wallace 😢

And many more, so that’s all just from the top of my head and very unfiltered.

#asks open #send asks #about anything really: sandman | writing | life #writers #what i read #writing inspiration #great worldbuilding #great dialogue #inspiring writers #asks answered #asks

[tears-of-amber]

Hi there! I just wondered if I could ask you a question about paganism. I have never been a religious person, but I have always been "spiritual", if that makes sense, and everything I've seen that you've posted/reblogged has intrigued me and made me want to look into paganism as a religion for myself. Do you have any book recs or website recs for someone like me? Who knows absolutely nothing about it but is definitely intrigued? :3 Thank you so much, have a great day! (Also, I'm really sorry if I got any terms wrong here dhjdsfsdhfg)

Hi there! Ok, so as far as paganism is concerned it really depends on what type of paganism you’re interested in :) so I’ll give you recommendations for the type I’m most familiar with (aka Norse paganism).

A great website for learning about Norse Paganism that has a lot of different prayers for the gods and ideas for offerings and devotional acts is linked right here:

Blogs you should definitely follow if you want lots of amazing takes on the Norse gods and goddesses are @notthesomefather and @broomsick as well as @freyjas-light . All these blogs are great because they aren’t run by white supremacists or assholes of that sort. Unfortunately that is something you will have to be wary of if you want to explore this type of paganism.

Books you should read! Ok, so ill recommend the best book to begin with (in my personal opinion) is the D’Aulaires Book Of Norse Myths. It’s beautifully illustrated and gives you a general retelling of the Norse myths. I like it cause it’s simple and approachable (more than diving straight into the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda which are the ultimate oldest sources we have fir the myths being told in full). But feel free to read the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda too! I also love the way Neil Gaiman writes about the gods and goddesses and their many stories in his book “Norse Mythology”! You can tell he really did his research.

As for getting started with Norse paganism, here is my MAIN tip. It can and will feel overwhelming so instead of starting off diving right into deity worship with a bunch of different gods and goddesses, acquaint yourself with their stories and really journal and contemplate which one you could learn the most from in your life. Which ones do you feel most interested in? Unlike most of tumblr and pagan places online, you do not need a god or goddess to reach out to you first. That rarely happens despite how many people claim it to occur. Hope this helps! Dm me if you want any other answers! -Velvet Rose

[orionsangel86]

Hey Saz!

Love your meta analysis about Sandman so much!!!! I'm currently reading the series for the first time. By the way, which ones are your favorites?

But I meant to send you this ask, 'cause you also like other Neil Gaiman's works. And I was wondering which of his books you really like/think people should definitely read? 😁 Today's the kick off of the annual Lisbon's "book fair", and I wanted to seize the opportunity!

Have a nice day 💖

Hey! Thank you so much! :) It's so nice to hear because half the time I'm writing things thinking "Does anyone really care what I think?" so its lovely to get this message!

My favourite Sandman stories are Season of Mists and Overture.

Season of Mists is predominantly set in the Dreaming (and Hell) and I absolutely love all the characters that are introduced in it. I tend to prefer the stories that are set mostly away from our world. I love all things fantastical and I honestly wish more of the Sandman was set IN the Dreaming.

Overture is just a phenomenal piece of art in my opinion. The artistry is the MOST gorgeous of all the Sandman books and it is set all over the universe and we get to meet Dream's (horrible) parents and Hope Beautiful Lost Nebula!! There isn't a single frame of Overture I don't adore and I think I have read it half a dozen times already.

Honorary mention to Brief Lives because my girl Delirium is in fact my most favourite Endless sibling and Brief Lives revolves heavily around her.

As for Neil Gaiman works, Neverwhere is a good starting point I think. Well, I don't know for sure as I haven't read all his stuff. But I liked Neverwhere. Then again, I get the London Underground at least twice a week so it's fun to think about London Below when I'm on the tube.

Good Omens obviously is a fantastic book Neil wrote with Terry Pratchett. I usually assume people have already read this one or at least seen the show but on the rare chance that you haven't please do! A huge and really accepting wonderful fandom too. It's really hard not to fall in love with Crowley and Aziraphale so I highly recommend it if you haven't already.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I admit I watched the play in London before I read the book. But its gorgeous. Its a bit scary, in the same way Coraline is a bit scary, but its just gorgeous and had me sobbing. The play is also absolutely stunning and fabulous and I highly recommend trying to see it if you can.

I have been meaning to read Stardust for ages but I am a bit hesitant because the movie is one of my all time faves but I know the book is supposedly quite different from the movie and knowing Neil Gaiman that means its darker and less comedic... but I still plan to read it at some point (or listen to it on Audible maybe)

Others that I haven't read but plan on reading include Norse Mythology and The Sleeper and the Spindle. Can't really go wrong with the batshit crazy North myths and some dark versions of classic fairytales in my opinion!

Enjoy the book fair!!

#neil gaiman #the sandman #neverwhere #good omens #the ocean at the end of the lane #stardust #book recommendations #asks

[welshaphrodite]

hi hey hello. I just wanted to come on here to thank you for your service to the blitzstone community because like 90% of the fics on the blitzstone tag are crossovers and chat fics, so thank you for writing the origin novel, it gives me life and I want to eat it /pos

also, question; how did you get the idea for the novel? What's your inspiration?

Hi! Thank you so much for your ask! (I cracked up at reading "it gives me life and I want to eat it /pos".)

I got the idea last November, when I finally finished the Magnus Chase series. I had read the first and second books upon release but waited several years after the third book was let out to reread the series in full. I was literally in the last chapter of Book 3 when I realized that Hearthstone and Blitzen just weren't... ever mentioned to be dating or anything. This bothered me. At the time, I thought it was very obvious that they were a couple. I couldn't figure out why Riordan had left out this detail.

I had a long commute last fall, over a half an hour each way. Add on many long trips to the nice library, and I spent a lot of time daydreaming. During my trips I started coming up with a little story about how Blitzen and Hearthstone met. We know how Hearth almost died using magic for the first time and got blasted to Nidavellir. But what happened after that? They would go to find Mimir. But where was Mimir's well located? (I found out it resides under one of the three major roots of Yggdrasil, underneath Jotunheim.) Okay, the land of giants! How would they get through there? What sort of challenges and problems would they come up against while trying to reach Mimir? How would they know which direction to walk? (I had them follow the Vimur River. It is an actual river in Norse mythology, which can be found in the tale of Thor and Geirrod.) The longer I daydreamed, the more questions there were to be asked and answered.

I kept the daydream going and began more detailed research to make it better. This really helped me with inspiration and structure for the novel. I started reading books on Norse Mythology. (Neil Gaiman's book was awesome!) I reread Magnus Chase and realized a lot of Riordan's book scenes are retellings of Norse myths. This helped me create the foundation for many chapters. For example, Chapter 19 and 20 are based on an actual Norse myth featuring Loki, Thor, Thjalfi, and Skrymir. Chapters 28 through 30 are based on one of Blitzen's lines from Chapter 24 of the Sword of Summer: "One time a giant made Hearthstone think I was a warthog, and Hearth almost killed me." When I had to create my own characters, I wondered how they would react to the values of the world they lived in. Would they be like Blitzen, who did not fit in at all? Or did they fit in? How did the society make them feel? Who did they become because of the rules and ideals in place? What jobs and livelihoods would they have because of the society? Because of their beliefs?

In short, this is a daydream that got out of hand. I have had such a great time writing it. The rest of the story is outlined, and I look forward to finishing it! I am so glad that you are enjoying it.

(Also, please know that Blitzen and Hearthstone's relationship is mostly my inspiration. Their dedication to one another, whether romantic or not, is something soft and lovely to read.)

#The Journey to Find Mimir #is the story of two lonely people who #at their lowest moment #find one another #thank you for the ask! #blitzstone relationship is just neat #magnus chase #blitzen mcga #hearthstone mcga #blitzstone #hearthstone alderman #blitzen freyason #blitzen son of freya

[squimoo]

Aight my dudes we're having a BRAIN RAMBLE LESSGOOOOO

I enjoy listening to audiobooks. As much as I like the idea of actually making time to read books, I just dont - and a lot of books I'm interested in are not at my level. I'm not thick and its hard to explain but I struggle a lot with taking in information when its like, smarty-arse well written literature with big words and allegories and crap.

I dont know why (maybe I am just a self-accepted dumbass)  but ANYWAY I take it stories better when they're read to me. I also wish I was better at orally telling stories because I love the oral tradition of storytelling but I am getting off subject this is my brain today. I mostly listen to them at night in bed. I feel like there's a bit of a stigma if you listen to books rather than read them? Like you can't properly say you've experienced the book? Idunno my dudes. But anyway.

I like to listen to a mixture of fiction, historical non-fiction (mostly on celts, vikings, saxons) and folklore (mostly British, Scottish and some Irish and Norse).

Absolutely nobody is interested but this is my blog and here is some books I have listened to, in no particular order:

1) 1984 by George Orwell:

I love its themes and ideas but I wouldnt list it as a top fave.

2) Mythos by Stephen Fry:

Its good and he also narrates it which I like but jfc its a long arse neverending book. Tends to be one I just put on to eventually fall asleep to.

3) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett:

Most of it anyway, before I fell off but I feel too far through to be arsed to start over. I feel like you can tell the bits that Terry definitely had the ideas for.

4) The Nine by Gwen Strauss:

Absolutely love this biography about a group of young women who survive the holocaust together and escape a nazi death march. 10/10. Narrater performance by Juliet Stevenson is also fantastic.

5) Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend by Donald Alexander MacKenzie:

Relatively short but a fave, I listen to it regularly and often fall asleep to it but ive listened to it enough times to have listened to all the stories.

6) Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman:

Good shit. Very much like. Does what it says on the tin.

7) Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams:

Actually listened to this one on a road trip.

8) Beowulf:

I mean, it was an experience.

9) Lord of the Flies by William Golding:

Actually just finished this one. Always been interested in this stories themes and characters. Can confirm from career experience school children are dumb.

10) Viking Britain by Tom Williams:

A historical non-fiction. I really enjoyed it its really indepth but Id be fucked if I can tell you much about it because I kept falling asleep during this one and having to go back over chapters endlessly.

Im not too sure what to really listen to next or what even my taste really is in books???? Anyway thank you for listening to my pointless TedTalk.

[marmotsomsierost]

I went into the notes of the reading a book =/= reading a fanfic post and just got more cranky but i don't want to get snarkier than the tags i wrote on the actual poll....but...

Nowhere in there is the content of the book discussed in the definition, because it doesn't matter. That's what i mean about exclusionary vs inclusionary definitions of things. There's no way of defining Art that includes 'normal' art while excluding 'weird' art that won't also exclude things often considered 'normal' art. Same with music, with writing, with anything creative humans do- the only way to define it is, ultimately, because you say it is. It's art because it is. It's a book because someone wrote it. You can't argue that books go through an editor and get published because otherwise you have to start picking around the self-published or indie publishers, and what happens if someone writes, does their own editing, self publishes four novels, then does well enough that their next three books are traditionally published? Have they only written three books? Of course not.

You can't even really use content to define what makes a book a book, because how do you define a book that includes nonfiction and biography or autobiographies and fiction and anthologies of short stories or poetry book collections that also excludes fanfiction? 'Is an entirely new story with worldbuilding and characters' will lose you ulysses and the aeneid and neil gaiman's norse mythology and basically every king arthur and the round table story ever written. 'Is over x word count' no, now we're arguing about novel vs novella vs short story collection vs deserialized serial novel vs osv osv osv and that's a side argument that can really only happen if you remove content from the equation- and then you have nothing separating fanfic from nonfic from fic, so why even ask the question in the first place? Is an audiobook a book? A braille book a book? An ebook a book? A comic book a book? Why are we asking?

This is a different use of book but here:

Humans are humans because we are. Art is art because it is. Reading is reading because it is.

#kent simmonds i hope you're happy #your single january term aesthetics class has fully broken my brain #this length of time i am not going to actually calculate definitely should have been spent fixing the screen as i intended #instead i sat down to google why the FUCK i kept breaking the stupid fucking thing when i was following instructions #got the answer and then had a notification and then scrolled briefly and went hey #now i'm hungry the screen is not finished and the puppy has finished her frozen kong and is Annoyed and would like Out Now #anyway #it's just a stupid internet poll m why do you care m #i care because life is too short to define things by what they aren't

[bonniebird]

I'm going book shopping, do you have any recommendations? Could be old books or new I don't mind 📚🍂

Sure :D

The Inheritance Cycle (There's a new ne coming out in Nov v excited for it) The books are good. The movie is... ok for a dragon movie of it's time and the audio book is enjoyable as long as you overlook the weird girly voices for the female characters and that all the dragons are doing Batman impressions for some bizarre reason.

The first four TVD books (The other vampire diaries books are ghost written and there are also a bunch written to go with the show that don't fit with the OG books. They're all pretty good but the first fur are my fav)

The Hobbit and LOTR (obvs lol)

Dracula

Frankenstein

The complete wizard of OZ collection (I just finished this and it's SO long. It look like over 90 hours to finish.)

The game of thrones books are good

The Adrian Mole collection is good but it's a bit weird if you're not British it's a lot of British humour?

War of the worlds, The first men on the moon, The time machine, the invisible man, the island of dr moreau all by HG Wells. They're all good.

Homer Illiad & Odyssey are god if you're into mythology

Lovecraft's monsters (Specifically the one put together by Neil Gaiman (Or features him? I'm not 100% clear on that but is SO SO good. It's my go to audiobook. 100% recommend if you're into spooky horror/syfy) I can't find a picture that Tumblr will let me load in of the cover but there's a link to it on amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lovecrafts-Monsters-Neil-Gaiman/dp/161696121X

The once and future king is ok but the modern version of it has had science and historical events added into it which is majorly jarring

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

Sherlock Holmes, any of the books (the collection is like a billion pounds tho)

Anne of Green Gables. I just finished this and it was really great I heard there was more books after it which i'm going to look into so I would recommend the first one for sure.

Good Omens was a good read. (I say read but I listened to the audiobook on a trek across my town to get to the dr office lol. Kept me distracted.)

Neil Gaiman's Norse mythology collection was good too I liked the way that they were compiled the book was very easy to read.

The Narnia books are good. I like the one about the chair, to be honest I did find them a bit boring last time I read them but the chair one was good. The one about the nephew was really confusing as far as I remember.

Grimm brother Fairytale collections. there are a few different ones But the ones that say they're by the brother's have loads of different versions of the tales which is so fascinating to me and some of the copies of the book break down and explain the differences which I like because I'm a fairytale nerd.

The Jeeves collection is pretty enjoyable though I would recommend the Stephen Fry audiobook more than the book because he makes it a lot less boring.

the Witcher is good (Do not get the audio book of amazon the man does accents for all the characters and by the end of the book they all have the exact same accent and you can't tell whose who.)

There are for sure more I could recommend but I've started packing to move house and also for some reason I've forgotten all the other books i've ever read.

#book rec

[bondsmagii]

hello, it’s me, ya boi (can’t read becade of adhd and also needs constant distractions or i perish to the brain worms)

I forgot that I also used to write. I’m my “prime” I wrote…interesting things (YouTuber x reader in scrumptious format) at the ripe old age of 13 but I turned 20 a few months back and getting back into it is awful. I used to be able to write nice informative papers and I have the creativity but im insecure about my writing. I wanna read some cool books and I know you know a lot about folklore and that’s actually an interest of mine so…book recommendations that involve that? If there’s an audiobook format of it somewhere too that would help a lot because it’s hard for me to focus. Anything would be appreciated ^^

losing my mind over the wording of "scrumptious format" like rest assured you still have a gift for writing anon because that was Evocative™.

anyway you're on the right track. the one piece of writing advice that I think is actually legit and not very much "your mileage may vary" is that if you want to write well, you have to read a lot. mythology is a useful place to look because that's where basically all our stories come from, either rooted or inspired, and there's a reason that they've stuck around for so long. I am fortunate to live in a place that's full of it, but unfortunately that means that a few of my favourite mythology books are local collections that were printed in the 70s or some shit and so copies are not easy to come by lol. two of my high-rated and more readily available books are Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends by Peter Berresford Ellis. Norse Mythology is available as an audiobook; unfortunately I do not think The Mammoth Book... is, but the myths and legends contained in it vary in length and a lot of them will likely be short enough that you should be able to get through them.

as for other things that are folklore-aligned... Unexplained: Supernatural Stories for Uncertain Times is excellent, focusing on a handful of paranormal mysteries/unexplained events and containing a very interesting chapter on internet folklore, and how creepypasta is basically folklore for the modern era. it's also available as an audiobook, and best of all is actually based on a highly successful paranormal podcast, itself called Unexplained. so if listening is what works for you, this might be a good place to start!

#anon #asks

[lokiinmediasideblog]

Myth!Loki's Hair Color: Common Depictions

Because the AI user that just annoyed me also claimed myth!Loki's canonical hair color is blonde and that's why they did that crappy blonde MCU!Loki AI art, and I am feeling spiteful cus fuck AI and that eyesore, and I need to wash that off my brain.

AND I KNOW this claim came from those people that interact with THAT ONE VERY obnoxious Sigyn stan that pretends to be a Norse mythology expert despite never providing proper citations or citing modern myth re-tellings and whines about children's story books not being accurate. Ask her to cite her claims and actually look at the sources, for the love of Loki!

LOKI HAS NO KNOWN HAIR COLOR IN THE MYTHS! THERE's NO SOURCE FOR THAT! Loki's also a shape-shifter! Loki can have their hair look like whatever the fuck they want. To my knowledge, the only gods that have confirmed hair colors are myth!Thor, who is said to a red-head, and myth!Sif being a blonde who gets a wig of magical gold to substitute her chorn hair. There's also a description of myth!Heimdall who is said to be the "whitest" god, implying blonde/white hair? Loki's only mentioned to be pretty, assumed to be Aesir -sized rather than gigantic, likely smaller than myth!Thor because myth!Thor can kick his ass and he can hold onto Thor's belt when crossing a river (Skáldskaparmál), and have scars on his lips due to them being sown shut.

Also from Gylfanning: "Loki is beautiful and comely to look upon, evil in spirit., very fickle in habit. He surpassed other men in that wisdom which is called 'sleight,' and had artifices for all occasions; he would ever bring the Æsir into great hardships, and then get them out with crafty counsel."

There's also the Snaptun stone, believed to be Loki due to the scarred lips, giving him a mustache.

The most common and widespread hair color depictions of Loki have red/ginger/orangey hair due to Loki mistakenly being thought to associated with fire because their name's too similar to the fire personification Jotun's name, Logi, because Richard Wagner fucked up in his Ring Cycle Operas and combined the two of them into "Loge". Arthur Rackham's illustrations based on Wagner's Ring Cycle are possibly the most influential in that regard because they're fucking awesome. Even GOW made their Loki depiction a red-head.

And here's a painting that looks like a ginger to me by James Doyle Penrose (1912):

The second most common hair color depiction is black hair, probably thanks to Marvel as it's most prevalent in modern depictions (e.g. Alan Cumming's Loki in "Son of the Mask", whom I fucking love).

There's also the Valhalla comics that started in 1979 (after Marvel, but I don't think that contributed AT ALL because Vallhala comics are way more myth-accurate and fucking awesome. I am just including it here because it's a black-haired Loki depiction).

There's also Eric M. Esquivel's Ragnarok n' Roll (have not read and I am not inclined to do so, but it kept showing up in my loki searches 10+ years ago and its existence was archived in my brain due to that). Is it me or does he looks like Cantinflas because of the mustache?

This is Cantinflas btw

There's also Jul I Valhall Loke (Thanks Scandinavian Twitter users for showing me this gem even if I can't understand the language. I am forever grateful.)

And surprisingly, Marvel was not the first to give him black hair. Marten Eskil Winge portrayed Loki with black hair in his 1863 painting "Loki and Sigyn."

Neil Gaiman has depicted Loki with a variety of hair colors, USUALLY as a literally "fiery" red-head (Sandman comics & American Gods book), whatever Johnathan Tucker's hair color is in the American Gods TV show, and black-haired (Norse Mythology graphic novel).

There's a brown-haired Loki depiction in Assassin's Creed (I have not played it btw).

And sometimes he's just some demonic thing with horns:

#i have a weird belief myth!loki's hair is brown because no one comments on it #myth!loki #norse mythology #valhalla comics #the life and times of juniper lee #neil gaiman #american gods #arthur rackham #richard wagner #son of the mask #alan cummings #marten eskil winge #sandman #assasin's creed #marvel comics #mcu #jul i valhal #james doyle penrose #peter madsen #eric m. esquivel #idw comics #atreus #god of war #LokiInMedia #IStartShit #hot takes #Youtube

[ferociouslycreativemystery]

Thanks for the tag @maakeba !! 😊💜🥰

rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

last song: Due Vite by Marco Mengoni is currently the wavelength of my brain my heart my soul my life only the spotify overlords know how long I've had it on repeat for and I'm not stopping any time soon it's just so se questa è l'ultima canzone e poi la luna esploderà sarò lì a dirti che sbagli ti sbagli e lo sai qui non ARRRRRRIVA LA MUSICAAAAA *actually explodes* last show: um... I think Inventing Anna back in January?? currently watching: Succession s4 currently reading: Nordiska myter (Norse Mythology) by Neil Gaiman, Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett, and a wonderfully angsty fic about the Captain from BBC ghosts current obsession: I mean Good Omens is here to stay, then I think Succession will be a grower since I caught up last week, and any time I'm not spending on those I'm listening to the Eurovision songs and hyping myself up for rehearsals to start in Liverpool :D

zero-pressure tags: @aracloptia @sp-aace @sevenmilliongoldfish @tenthrees @because-its-eurovision and anyone who wants to :)

#maddie debrief

[morhath]

book recs 8, 31, 37, 62, 69, 122 👀

8. a book you finished in one sitting

It's a novella, so obvi it's a little easier, but What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. It came out recently, and it's a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher. I totally fucked up my sleep schedule for this one, it's sooo good. Very spooky, cool gender stuff and worldbuilding. Seriously, I would read so much more stuff written in the same world as this book. Also: cool mushrooms and a cool lady mycologist!

31. a book that mentions a name in the title

Okay so originally I was gonna say this for #8 because this was also a one-sitting book, but then I realized I could sneak it in here instead--Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel. This is a mythological retelling, of a mythology that I'm pretty much completely unfamiliar with! Very cool magic system, love the depiction of the gods as people who don't really have the same goals as humans, love the twisty politics. Awesome main character.

37. your favourite heist book

Okay so I want to say The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner--or really, any of the QT books, I think you could argue for all of them to count. However, I talk about those constantly, so I'm also going to say Provenance by Ann Leckie to change it up. You've all heard me talk about QT a billion times, but Provenance is amazing! I find the main character super endearing--very anxious, very in over her head. Ann Leckie always knocks it out of the park with worldbuilding, esp. social elements. The aliens are really cool in this one. This is a standalone in the same world as the Imperial Radch books, but you can totally read it without reading those--and in fact it would be really interesting to read in that order!

62. a book with a forgettable plot but amazing characters

Uh, this is all books for me, because I am forgetful and prone to skimming. (I would love to be able to switch it off when needed but literally can't.) I'm just looking at my high-but-not-five-stars reviews on The StoryGraph. Ooh, how about Aspects by John M. Ford? It's unfinished, so it's esp. hard to remember the plot, because there's no resolution. (The author died. In the version I read, there's a foreword from Neil Gaiman that made me WEEP.) However, I found the characters SUPER interesting, especially the romance subplot, which is something that can be hit or miss for me.

69. your favourite mythological retelling

Nice. The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec is a Norse mythology retelling about an often-overlooked female character. Okay I gotta do a few for this--I went and looked up mythology retelling lists to jog my memory and there were too many good ones. Sword Stone Table by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington is an anthology of Arthurian retellings. The one with Merlin time traveling to the 1980s and the one with the little Native American boy both WRECKED ME. SOBBING. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia started slow but turned out to be great, and I found the setting so interesting! WAIT HOW CAN I FORGET A CHILDHOOD FAVE Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney has shaped so much of my taste in books/my own writing. It's set just before and then in the early days of the Trojan war and follows a young woman who goes through HORRIBLE things and then accidentally scams her way into Troy. Extremely cool god stuff, love how Medusa is handled. Okay okay one more: The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley is a modern retelling of Beowulf, where Grendel's mother is a woman of color who's recently left the military, and the real villain was white suburbia all along.

122. your favourite winter read

I don't really do seasonal reads, but I definitely like to hole up in the winter with various series I find comforting. Examples would be Connie Willis's Oxford Time Travel books or the Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee. (Yes I'm probably a little sick in the head for the latter to be a comfort read. It's whatever.)

#queen's thief #imperial radch #greek mythology #arthurian mythology #machineries of empire #reading #books #life #friends #clockworkcrow