‘As symbols of ‘unacceptable’ women, Lilith and our demons are symbols of us all.’

Woman’s Lore: 4,000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi Review 🐍🌫️

I’ve recently just finished Woman’s Lore by Sarah Clegg, a deep dive into feminine demonology and all things sirens, serpents and succubi!

Let me start off by saying that the detail in this book is beyond meticulous. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I picked up my copy of Woman’s Lore, but I’ve been really enjoying mythological retellings lately, so I thought I’d try and learn some more about the foundations of women in global myth. This book definitely meets that expectation, even if a lot of the deep detail was a bit lost on me.

The read is far more academic than I originally had thought, but I still found myself engaged in the key themes, and I learned loads about male appropriation of women in myth which I find super interesting.

I particularly enjoyed the chapters and notes around Lilith, the supposed demonic first wife of Adam. I find her story fascinating, and have loved seeing Lilith pop up across pop culture in the last couple of years, most notably in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series on Netflix (which even gets a mention in the book)!

In my opinion, what Clegg does really well here is set an extensive background for how misogynist societies have appropriated women in myth for their own gain, and then map out how these symbols of feminine rage and womanhood are now represented in our contemporary understandings of women’s rights and feminism. The final chapter had SO many ‘aha’ moments for me, I would have easily read an entire book on queer reclamations of Lilith, Mermaids and Demons.

I’d definitely recommend reading Women’s Lore, particularly if you like the academics surrounding classics and myth and enjoy lots of great referencing and background information. It’s also just a great read if you love detailed storytelling!

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Atalanta by Jennifer Saint

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Well once again, Jennifer Saint has DELIVERED. Quickly becoming one of my favourite authors, Saint has given us the same warmth, curiosity and fire 🔥 with Atalanta that we saw with Ariadne and Elektra.

This feminist retelling of the myth of Atalanta follows the heroine from being left on the hillsides of Mount Parthenion as a baby, to joining the Jason and his Argonauts, and later racing (literally) for her freedom to remain unmarried.

I loved reading about Atalanta and Hippomenes in particular as their characters completely defy the traditional gender norms of Greek society. This eventually takes the story on a different path than other Greek myth retellings I’ve read in the past.

All in all, super enjoyable read and I gave this 4.5 stars 🌟. Admittedly I’m a big fan of feminist retellings in popular mythology, but I think a lot of readers would enjoy the book regardless of background knowledge in myth.

Rising Strong by Brené Brown

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

‘There is no greater threat to the critics and cynics and fearmongers than those of us who are willing to fall because we have learned how to rise.’

Is there anything authored by Brené Brown that I wouldn’t rave about? Probably not, I think it’s safe to say I’m firmly a BB groupie by now. But if you are yet to come across Brené’s work, let this be a gentle nudge in her direction. This incredible book walks the reader through finding the courage to show compassion, dare, fall, and find meaning it getting back up again.

Rising Strong sits informally as the third and final instalment of Brene’s progression of works around vulnerability. All of her books are about vulnerability in a myriad of ways, but Rising Strong acts as the conclusion to the series that started with the Gifts of Imperfection, followed by Daring Greatly and finishing with Rising Strong.

Side note: If you’re completely new to BB and are not sure where to start, I’d recommend beginning with the Gifts of Imperfection.

The book does great things with expanding on some of BB’s research over the years, and is particularly interesting when she looks at case studies of using the ‘Rising Strong’ method both in and out of the workplace.

This is a book I’ll come back to time and time again, as it doesn’t entirely sink in the first time you read it. It’s also quite heavy in places, so I used a mix of reading the paperback and listening to the audiobook to break up long journeys and drop and in and out of chapters before bed.

If you’re like me and you are quite easily overstimulated sometimes by the intensity of your thoughts and feelings, BB’s work can be really helpful for realising you are part of a global community of people that think and feel a similar way. We all feel this way from time to time. For me, Rising Strong is a testament to all of us scrappy and determined lot who try time and time again, fall down, learn from our mistakes, and get back up to try again.

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bookiewithacookie's reviews 173 reviews

bookiewithacookie's reviews
173 reviews