My Childhood Favourite

-

The Problem with Percy Jackson - Tales of Times Forgotten

 Yesterday, I was bored and restless, having finished the BBC TV series Sherlock, which left me feeling empty because I didn't have anything more to look forward to. I opened the book cupboard, hoping to find some fantasy to entertain myself. I dug out my old copy of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, which was the first book in the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I sat down on the floor and immersed myself in the world of Greek gods, monsters and demigod heroes. 

The Percy Jackson series was the HIGHLIGHT of my life back when I was 11 years old. I first saw it as an advertisement for the movie (of the first book) in a brochure, and after I read the excerpt, I was immediately drawn to the story. I was excited when I found out that it was adapted from a book. (Yes, I was a total bookworm.) I begged mom to buy me the book, and to my surprise, it was sold as a set of three! That was when I became a total fan of the Percy Jackson series. 

If you haven't read it, you definitely have missed out a lot in your childhood. Percy Jackson is a demigod (also known as a half-blood), a child of a mortal and a Greek god. He has black hair, sea-green eyes and lean muscles. He is a troublemaker, fights wickedly with his sword Riptide and controls the water. (How can you not love a hero like him?) It turns out that Greek gods still exist today because they are tied to the Western civilization. As an example, Olympus now lies on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building, instead of being physically on Mount Olympus in Greece. The whole series is about how Percy, the son of Poseidon (the sea god), fights monsters and goes on quests with his friends, to fulfill prophecies by the Oracle of Delphi (a spirit which tells the future). 

There is a heartwarming story behind why Rick Riordan (the author) created Percy Jackson. His son has ADHD and dyslexia and hated school. Riordan found out that he was fascinated with Greek Mythology and told him many bedtime stories of them. When Riordan ran out of myths to tell, he son said, "Well, make something up!" And Percy Jackson, a hero who has both ADHD and dyslexia too, was born.

I finished rereading the 5 books in two days, and I think it was the sixth time that I reread the whole series. (This proves that the books were worth the money.) One of the reasons I love the series is because it was written from the first point of view (using "I..."). It's really funny to read what goes on in Percy's mind and what his internal thoughts are. Reading them now as a 21-year-old is quite amusing, I can definitely feel that they are books written for 11-year-old kids. (Side-note: the Harry Potter series does NOT make you feel that way at all.)  But hey, Percy Jackson started off just being 12 years old, and kids' conversations are hilarious sometimes. 

The Percy Jackson series was the one that taught me a lot about Greek mythology, and I really recommend it to kids. For teenagers/young adults, it is a good source of entertainment, although it's a bit shallow, that is what makes it fun and relaxing to read. Reading fiction is just so effortless and feels like a holiday for my mind from non-fiction (which requires lots of mental power ugh). 

There are a few more series that Rick Riordan wrote after this one: the Heroes of Olympus (Greek and Roman), The Trials of Apollo (Greek), The Kane Chronicles (Egyptian) and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Norse gods). Seeing that it's summer right now, I am going to have them as a nice fantasy snack whenever I'm bored. 

(Why does it sound weird? Never mind. 😋📚) 

Popular posts from this blog

My Relationship with Self-Help Books

-
Image
Secrets of Successful Teens  by Adam Khoo My first "self-help" book was Secrets of Successful Teens by Adam Khoo. It was about how to take charge of your life, make many friends and get along with parents. I loved the book because Adam shared a lot about his rocky teenage years, where he was failing all the subjects in school and had a bad relationship with his dad. I first read it when I was 13, and the book really spoke to me. It was then when I learnt about setting goals, time management and how to study well. When I had finished the book, I reread some of the chapters whenever I needed guidelines. It was my handbook to survive and thrive in my teenage years.  Secrets of Successful Teens was the book that made me believe that self-help books could really change my life. Today, I would say I was not quite right, but not entirely wrong either.  I have had my fair share of self help books:  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Th
Read more

What Happened Before the Big Bang?

-
Image
Reading a few science-y books got me thinking about the question of Origin: where did everything come from? What was there before the Big Bang?  I went digging around the Internet, hoping to find some interesting theories. But to my disappointment, it seems as if physicists were quite conservative in coming up with theories to answer this question. (Perhaps I should turn to Sci-fi or mythologies to satisfy my thirst for mind-blowing conspiracies.)  I have summarised some of the main theories below: Cyclic Model (the Big Bounce) The ancient Hindu cosmology  says that the universe is eternal, consisting of infinite series of cycles. In modern cosmology, physicists have come up with similar models as well. One of the famous bounce cosmologist, Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University, wrote a paper in 2002 on " A Cyclic Model of the Universe " with Neil Turok of Perimeter Institue in Waterloo. We propose a cosmological model in which the universe undergoes an endless sequenc
Read more