Reading the classics, reimagined

Born June 5, 1964, Rick Riordan has made his mark on the young adult literary scene and helped bring classical mythology to a new generation.

It all started as a bedtime story.

What would spawn a multi-million dollar franchise, including books, movies, and graphic novels, first came to Rick Riordan as an idea to entertain his son. Now the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series has been translated into 42 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. With a background in teaching Greek mythology to middle schoolers, Riordan has brought the classic stories of monsters, gods, and heroes to a young, modern audience.

When Haley (his son) asked him to create a new Greek myth, Riordan spun a tale over the course of three nights about gods and their descendants living in modern times. Originally inspired by his son who was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, Riordan wrote the titular character as ADHD/dyslexic to recognize children with similar conditions and to remind them that being different is not bad.

The wild popularity of his books caught Riordan off guard. While word-of-mouth recommendations helped grow the series’ recognition, Riordan credits librarians with helping to spread the news of a series based in Greek mythology. “I owe a special debt to the librarians of Texas, who embraced the books early on and did a huge amount of book-talking with their kids. Without them, I doubt the momentum would've built nearly as much or as quickly.” (Rick Riordan.com)

Riordan has since branched out and written other series of books based on Norse and Egyptian mythology, Magnus Chase and the Kane Chronicles, respectively.

Start your summer reading with The Lightning Thief, book one in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.

-Ariel Slick

Literary Lights

Today marks the birthday of several literary lights including a man born into slavery and one of Marilyn Monroe's husbands.

Jupiter Hammon was born into slavery in New York state Oct. 17, 1711. He obtained an education and became a writer of poetry and sermons, although he remained enslaved. His poem An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Ties is the first published poem by an African American, although it isn't the first one written.

The 88-line An Evening Thought was printed in a broadside newspaper in December of 1760. There isn't much written on the man himself, but his work can be found at the Poetry Foundation's website. Hammond died around 1806.

Playwright Arthur Miller's birthday was also October 17. He was born in 1915 in New York and began writing plays as a young man.

Miller was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman and also a Tony Award for The Crucible. Miller was married to Marilyn Monroe and also penned a play based on that period of his life. Miller died in 2005.

Update: Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction

Winners for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were announced recently, and you can check them out at the Richland College Library.

The awards are a joint effort from the ALA and the Carnegie Institute in New York.

Donna Tartt won for The Goldfinch in fiction.

Doris Kearns Goodwin won for The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism in the non-fiction category.

Kearns Goodwin is also the author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln and several political biographies. The 2012 movie Lincoln was based on Team of Rivals.

If you'd like to read a review of these books, you may click on the linked title above, then click on the book cover image in the description page. The library website offers this feature for most newer titles in the district.