Welcome to Read this Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that needs to jump onto your TBR pile! We’re starting out the new year with a book all about Greek goddesses, their roles, and how the stories told about them (mostly written by men) have informed us as to who they are.
Divine Might by Natalie Haynes
As a kid, my mom introduced me to Egyptian, Greek, and Roman mythology, reading me story after story. Later, I picked up a middle grade book called Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. But all through college and into grad school, I pored over English translations of the original texts, horrified that the original stories were little like the child-friendly versions I’d first read. In Divine Might, I was delighted to rediscover these mythic figures again, but this time retold for modern times.
We are now in a golden age of myth retellings. Everyone and their mother’s brother has been trying their hands at these myth-inspired tales, but few authors are as good as Natalie Haynes. A Thousand Ships, her retelling of the fall of Troy, made her name here in the U.S. (She’d already written other myth retellings, which were only released in the UK.) She possesses a unique way of viewing these age-old stories, teasing out ideas that make readers think about familiar characters in whole new ways.
While Haynes is more known for her fiction, Divine Might is nonfiction, each chapter examining different goddesses and their stories. Haynes steps back and asks, who is telling these women’s stories? When are these stories being told? How would these stories have been received in ancient times versus how are they perceived now? Haynes’ holistic way of viewing mythical goddesses invites readers to reexamine their own assumptions about these divine figures.
Haynes’ prose is intimate, like a friend chatting with you over coffee. She’s funny, charming, and heartwarming—sometimes all in the same paragraph. In a world saturated with myth retellings and reimaginings, Haynes’ work stands out time after time, establishing her as one of the best in the field. Everything she touches is gold.
2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy reading, Friends!
~ Kendra
