Cuyahoga County's hot summer read: "The Odyssey"
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Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of the "The Odyssey" is driving high demand for the ancient Greek epic at the Cuyahoga County Public Library.
What we're hearing: Requests for Homer's roughly 500-page poem have soared this summer, a library system spokesperson tells Axios.
By the numbers: As of Thursday, there were 389 holds for the system's 57 e-book copies of various editions, and 322 holds for 87 audiobook copies.
- All 14 copies of Emily Wilson's 2018 translation — the version that inspired Nolan's film adaptation — are currently checked out, with 80 holds.
What they're saying: CCPL's Kate McCreary tells Axios the library has also seen an uptick in inter-library loan (ILL) requests, where patrons can check books out from other library systems through CCPL.
Plus: Virtually all copies of earlier translations and adaptations for young readers are currently checked out, McCreary says.
- Book club novels with Odyssey-adjacent characters — "Circe" from 2018 and "The Song of Achilles" from 2011 — have been popular this summer as well.
The intrigue: Wilson's viral, scathing review said the film deserves credit for generating interest in the humanities in an era of streaming and declining literacy.
- "Perhaps the film will persuade a few college administrators not to cut their literature, language and history departments," she wrote.
- "Nolan, who studied English at University College London — where students still study "The Odyssey" as a first year 'foundational text' — is doing his best to get the general public reading again, and I am grateful."