A highly entertaining novel set in North London, where the Greek gods have been living in obscurity since the seventeenth century. Being immortal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Life’s hard for a Greek god in the twenty-first century: nobody believes in you any more, even your own family doesn’t respect you, and you’re stuck in a dilapidated hovel in North London with too many siblings and not enough hot water. But for Artemis (goddess of hunting, professional dog walker), Aphrodite (goddess of beauty, telephone sex operator) and Apollo (god of the sun, TV psychic) there’s no way out... until a meek cleaner and her would-be boyfriend come into their lives and turn the world upside down. Gods Behaving Badly is that rare thing, a charming, funny, utterly original novel that satisfies the head and the heart.
Gods Behaving Badly examines the blurred boundary between popular culture and religionùone that has given way to an often confounding fusion of the sacred and the profane. Flipping through pages of tabloid media and looking underneath the veil of Hollywood's glamour, Pete Ward exposes how, in its consumer life, Western society elevates celebrity to the theological and, in so doing, creates a new para-religion. Inevitably, whether despised or extolled, individual celebrities evoke public moral judgment, creating fertile ground for theological innovation. --
God has a bad reputation. Many think of God as wrathful and angry, smiting people for no apparent reason. But the story is more complicated than that. Without minimizing the sometimes harsh realities of the biblical record, David Lamb unpacks the complexity of the Old Testament and assembles an overall picture that gives coherence to our understanding of God in both Old and New Testaments.
Takes a close-up look at thirty-two holy men and women who took a less than saintly path on their road to sainthood, profiling St. Olga, St. Mary of Egypt, Thomas … Becket, and other sinners-turned-saint. 20,000 first printing.
Longlisted for the 2015 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction Sir Humphrey du Val of the Table of Less Valued Knights – Camelot's least prestigious table, with one leg shorter than the others so that it has to be propped up with a folded napkin – doesn't do quests ... until he meets Elaine, a damsel in distress with a secret to hide. Meanwhile, Queen Martha of Puddock is on the run from an arranged marriage to the odious Prince Edwin of Tuft. But an encounter with the Locum of the Lake (standing in for the full-time Lady) leaves her with a quest of her own: to find her missing brother, long believed dead. The two quests collide, introducing a host of Arthurian misfits, including a freakishly short giant, a twelve-year-old crone, an amorous unicorn, and a magic sword with a mind of her own. With Gods Behaving Badly Marie Phillips showed that she has a rare gift for comedy, giving the Greek Gods an ingenious contemporary twist. In The Table of Less Valued Knights it's Camelot's turn, and you'll never see a knight in shining armour in the same way again.
When God decides to quit and join the human race to see what all the fuss is about, all Hell breaks loose. Sensing his abdication, the other defunct gods of Earth's vanquished pantheons want a piece of the action He abandoned. Meanwhile, the newly-humanised deity must discover the whereabouts and intentions of the similarly reincarnated Lucifer, and block the ascension of a murderous new God. How is he ever going to make it as a stand-up comedian with all of this going on ?
The author, a professor of classics and visiting scholar at the Harvard Divinity school presents modern interpretations of traditional Greek and Roman myths that render classic themes accessible to a new generation of readers. Here he retells some of the most popular myths and tales of errant gods, fantastic creatures, and human heroes, including powerful Zeus, his wife Hera, Apollo, beautiful Aphrodite, fierce Athena, the dauntless heroes Theseus and Hercules, the doomed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, as well as the tales of the Argonauts, and the narrative of the Battle of Troy. These Greek and Roman myths are as relevant today as ever in their sharp observations about human nature; they still inspire awe, give us courage, and break our hearts. They have inspired plays, operas, and paintings, and live on today in movies and video games. -- From back cover.
Create Your Own Midlife Crisis is a fun and humorous choose-your-own-path book on making risqué and bold choices in the prime of midlife, giving you the chance to try countless roads not yet taken. What's the worst that could happen? Are you on the far side of forty and wondering how you ended up here? Do you secretly wish you could set flame to everything and walk away in slow motion, leave your tedious responsibilities and boring routines behind, and start life over again? What if you could? In the classic choose-your-own-path style, gives you unlimited chances to try all the roads not taken: To quit your stupid job, turn to page 108. To buy a motorcycle, turn to page 74. To agree to a swingers' night, turn to page 82. To go clubbing with your mom, turn to page 68. Whether it's an affair with a younger man, trying ayahuasca, or just telling your boss to shove it, Create Your Own Midlife Crisis delivers over 150 exciting and hilarious ways to reinvent your life. With illustrations and endless possibilities, this fun and affordable book is the PERFECT GIRLFRIEND's GIFT! It will make a hilarious birthday, retirement, Galentine's, or girlfriend's gift for anyone in their midlife years. • What to gift a girlfriend going through a divorce? Divorce can be difficult and painful, but these days, women are also making it fun and empowering—as evidenced in The Huffington Post's piece, "Divorce Parties: Inside the Trend That Makes Ending a Marriage Look Fun." Create Your Own Midlife Crisis is the perfect gag gift for such an event. • A fun, easy escape from daily life: Whether you're looking for a fun way to pass the time on a 10-hour flight or just a quick 15-minute read before bed (because you are a busy Bosslady), this book is both easy to dip into and fun to get lost in. • Missing Choose-your-own-path books? Create Your Own Midlife Crisis will appeal to anyone who grew up reading choose-your-own-adventure books and loves the interactive experience of making reckless choices and discovering unexpected paths while reading.
For readers of Madeleine Miller and Claire Heywood comes the story of the most infamous monster of Greek mythology: Medusa. First, they loved her. Then, they abused her. Finally, they made her a villain. Gifted and burdened with stunning beauty, young Medusa seeks sanctuary with the Goddess Athena. But when she catches the eye of the lecherous but mighty Poseidon, she is beyond protection. Powerful men rarely answer for their actions, after all. Meanwhile, Perseus embarks on a seemingly impossible quest, equipped with only bravado and determination... Medusa and Perseus soon become pawns of spiteful and selfish gods. Faced with the repercussions of Athena's wrath, blamed for her assault, Medusa has no choice but to flee and hide. But can she do so without becoming the monster they say she is? Medusa's truth has long been lost. History tells of conquering heroes, of men with hearts of gold. Now it is time to hear the story of how history treats women who don't comply.
For decades, American popular media have instructed audiences about their roles and significance in the public sphere. In The Faithful Citizen, rhetorical critic Kristy Maddux argues that popular Christian media not only communicate avenues for civic engagement but do so in profoundly gendered terms. Her detailed interrogation of popular Christian movies, books, and television shows--the Left Behind series, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Amazing Grace, 7th Heaven, and the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code--exposes five competing models of how Christians should behave in the civic sphere as their gendered selves. What emerges is a typology that insightfully reveals how these varying faith-based models of engagement uniquely shape public discourse and influence the larger picture of contemporary politics.
