Greek Gods and a BIRTHDAY

First, today is the birthday of our hero and bestie Jen! What does this mean? Ten and I will hit Saint Fratelli’s later this morning to pick up a variety of luscious pastries. The birthday girl wants an Alpine—chocolate cake layered with fresh homemade whipped cream and coated in crunchy chocolate fudge. I want carrot cake, of course. There will be cannolis, fruit tarts, and whatever else strikes our fancy.

During dinner and death by pastry, we’ll watch  Michelle Yeoh’s latest, undoubtedly fab, movie: Star Trek: Section 31.

…Starfleet’s guilty secret is getting its very own movie, as Michelle Yeoh's Philippa Georgiou is brought back into service with an all-new team of specialist operatives.
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Section 31 is a top-secret branch of Starfleet Intelligence, operating way outside usual Federation rules and regulations. Its operatives exist in the shadows, doing unsavory work behind the scenes so that James T Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway, and other Starfleet captains can carry out their day jobs without getting their hands too dirty. (source)

That’s tonight—I’m psyched!

Meanwhile, here in Bookworld, what I miss most about ink on paper books is the cover art.

Fer instance—John Scalzi. All his tales have the BEST cover art. Due out in late March is When the Moon Hits Your Eye.

The moon has turned into cheese.

Now humanity has to deal with it.

For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. (source) 

Scalzi’s also just finished The Shattering Peace (book seven of the Old Man’s War series), and has sent it off to his publishers. Sadly, it won’t be out until September. The cover looks fantastic though. (click the linky for the art)

Cover art tells me so much—whether the story inside will be fun, serious or both—whether it's a skippable romance, cozy mystery, or teenage testosterone fueled BS thriller. A brilliantly illustrated cover will sell me faster than a blurb or review. What else makes a book irresistible to me? Greek gods. Put Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, and whoever else in a book (along with some humor) and I am SO there.

I just finished Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riodan It’s a collection of short stories about Greek mythology narrated by Perseus "Percy" Jackson. He’s half human and half greek god (son of Poseidon). Through his daddy he’s a grandson of Kronos, nephew to Hades, Zeus, and myriad other Olympians, as well as the half-nephew of Chiron.

Yes this is a YA book. Yes, I’m an old woman reading a kid’s book. SO?! I like tales of the Greek Gods especially when they’re told with irreverent humor.

A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week.
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"If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that." (source) 

Given that I’m mightily struggling with balancing staying informed on current horrific events, (Captain Crazypants and his Nazi sidekick trying to destroy our country), and remaining sane, well, I’m sticking with comedies and big escapist stuff. 

Actually, I’m not sure that Greek myths really count as true escapism. I mean, the gods are often right bastards, just like humans in real life. Even Dionysus (who I LOVED on the show Kaos) can occasionally be a dick.

I believe I need to reread Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. Maybe I need to see if the library has a copy of Stephen Fry’s Mythos and Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes:A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology by Corey O’Brien too.