Anyone who knows me knows that I love Greek Mythology. Okay, that's a fallacy. Many people who know me know that I love Greek Mythology. I have always had a fascination with the Gods of Olympus and the glorious myths that encompass the realm of Greek Mythology.
I took a class about Greek Mythology during my first semester of college, and although it tested my scholarly ability, I absolutely loved it. (Fun fact: I'm even so crazy [about Greek Mythology? or just crazy?] that I've taken on the task of completing a ten week research project, which is partially about, you guessed it, Greek Mythology).
Anyway, there's a series of books that deals with Greek Mythology which has received much praise called Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Now, I understand this series is considered "Young Adult" and I just celebrated my 20th birthday, but I thought, "So what? I'll read whatever I want to read, and I don't care about your labels!" Well, that sounds much more rebellious than what I really intended, but the message is the same. If the book/series is well-written and written about a topic that interests me, why should I stay away from reading it because its reading level is below my level? If I adhered to that standard, I would miss a plethora of fantastic books. I don't normally read a lot of YA fiction, but I really dislike ignoring books just because the target market is a younger audience. Sure, reading YA takes a difference mindset because the intended audience is different, but still, you can learn something from every book, if you know what to look for.
Since I'm currently reading The Lightning Thief, I can say for certain that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a unique, well-done, humorous, and creative take on the classic genre and stories of Greek Mythology. (By the way, if you're wondering how many times one person can say "Greek Mythology" in one blog post, the answer is a lot). The book is a quick read for me, but I've really been enjoying myself. I love the integration and adaption of Greek Mythology with an interesting plot, and I thought, heck, I wonder if people have tattoos inspired by this series? People have tattoos from Harry Potter and others, right? Right!
I took a class about Greek Mythology during my first semester of college, and although it tested my scholarly ability, I absolutely loved it. (Fun fact: I'm even so crazy [about Greek Mythology? or just crazy?] that I've taken on the task of completing a ten week research project, which is partially about, you guessed it, Greek Mythology).
Anyway, there's a series of books that deals with Greek Mythology which has received much praise called Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Now, I understand this series is considered "Young Adult" and I just celebrated my 20th birthday, but I thought, "So what? I'll read whatever I want to read, and I don't care about your labels!" Well, that sounds much more rebellious than what I really intended, but the message is the same. If the book/series is well-written and written about a topic that interests me, why should I stay away from reading it because its reading level is below my level? If I adhered to that standard, I would miss a plethora of fantastic books. I don't normally read a lot of YA fiction, but I really dislike ignoring books just because the target market is a younger audience. Sure, reading YA takes a difference mindset because the intended audience is different, but still, you can learn something from every book, if you know what to look for.
Since I'm currently reading The Lightning Thief, I can say for certain that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a unique, well-done, humorous, and creative take on the classic genre and stories of Greek Mythology. (By the way, if you're wondering how many times one person can say "Greek Mythology" in one blog post, the answer is a lot). The book is a quick read for me, but I've really been enjoying myself. I love the integration and adaption of Greek Mythology with an interesting plot, and I thought, heck, I wonder if people have tattoos inspired by this series? People have tattoos from Harry Potter and others, right? Right!
This tattoo, pictured above, can be found here. The owner of the tattoo does a beautiful job of explaining it, so I will leave it to her:
I've been planning on getting this tattoo for several months now. Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been one of my favourite book series for the past five years. I had a very hard time coming up with a good design. Originally, I was just going to get a trident, which seemed to be the only symbol from the series that I really liked. But I really wanted to honor Annabeth as well as Percy, so I looked up pictures of Athena's symbol, the owl. It was featured on ancient Grecian drachma, and the design of it is beautiful. So I took the two pictures to my tattoo artist and we decided on crossing the owl and the trident. The owl is in gray and the trident is in sea green, reflecting the colors of Annabeth's and Percy's eyes.
The tattoo was done by Charley Marquez at Sailor's Grave Ink in Austin. I can't recommend him enough. This is the second time he's tattooed me and I will never go to another artist. His work is fantastic and very reasonably priced.
I was going to mention something about the owl and Athena, as the owl is my favorite animal and Athena is my favorite God/Goddess from the Greek pantheon, but, the owner has already mentioned the Athene noctua, or Little Owl. (The Little Owl species is beyond adorable, by the way). But, aside from that, I think this tattoo is a fantastic example of the symbolism of a tattoo. The owner clearly took time to think of the perfect tattoo for the subject. Furthermore, the subject is, A FANTASY SERIES! Please excuse my excitement, but, if you read my previous post about Lord of the Rings, I have a special affinity for fantasy novels and a special irritation towards people who dismiss the importance of fantasy novels because they're fantasy novels. Anyway, I love this tattoo, I love the color, the symbolism of the color, and the research that went into the tattoo. This is definitely one of my favorite tattoos I've featured on here. (Shh, don't tell the others!).
Normally, I've begun the habit of including more than one example of tattoos from a particular subject/book/author; however, I think I'm going to leave this post at just one photo. My reasoning for that is because there are not many different tattoos within this series (since it is geared towards a younger audience and I'd like to think that younger children aren't getting as many tattoos as people in their late teens and older. Also, I think this tattoo is the perfect example of how to make a great literary tattoo and I think it would dominate the post if I put another tattoo with it, especially because I have included a great explanation quote from the owner.
So, anyway, if you think you might be interested in a young adult book or book series, but you're holding back because of what people might think, just go for it! Do it! You might really enjoy yourself. I'm not afraid to say that I am.
Also, as always, if you have any questions, please visit the contact link at the top of the page and send me an email or leave a comment.
And, remember - ink tells stories on skin as much as it does in books!
Kayla
Normally, I've begun the habit of including more than one example of tattoos from a particular subject/book/author; however, I think I'm going to leave this post at just one photo. My reasoning for that is because there are not many different tattoos within this series (since it is geared towards a younger audience and I'd like to think that younger children aren't getting as many tattoos as people in their late teens and older. Also, I think this tattoo is the perfect example of how to make a great literary tattoo and I think it would dominate the post if I put another tattoo with it, especially because I have included a great explanation quote from the owner.
So, anyway, if you think you might be interested in a young adult book or book series, but you're holding back because of what people might think, just go for it! Do it! You might really enjoy yourself. I'm not afraid to say that I am.
Also, as always, if you have any questions, please visit the contact link at the top of the page and send me an email or leave a comment.
And, remember - ink tells stories on skin as much as it does in books!
Kayla