The best Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology Literary Criticism books: Reddit reviews

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Mythology by Edith Hamilton

If you do decide on Mythology by Edith Hamilton, be sure to buy the 75th Anniversary Edition. Beautiful book, worth it for the illustrations alone :)

https://www.amazon.com/Mythology-Timeless-Heroes-Anniversary-Illustrated/dp/0316438529/ref=sr_1_2?crid=16O9F64XXB4Z0&dchild=1&keywords=mythology+edith+hamilton&qid=1628000714&sprefix=mythology+ed%2Caps%2C288&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/Tolkien-Maker-Middle-earth-Catherine-McIlwaine/dp/1851244859

You can still get it on Amazon. It's a little pricey but definitely worth it since you can't take pictures of the exhibit. It's not just images, it's got a lot of good text.

Thanks so much! This is all uber useful. I know what I'll be reading this evening! So that's your personal blog, of sorts?

This is the copy of the Poetic Edda I was looking at. I'm not sure if that one is the "revised" edition.

Fire on the Velvet Horizon is not a typical monster manual (it has no stats) but it is certainly cool. In a more literary vein, I've always had a lot of success with stuff like the Book of Yokai or similar mythological works.

I have a book called “The Book of Yōkai” it’s only not old it’s been released in 2015, by Michael Dylan Foster with (new) illustrations by Shinonome Kijin. In the beginning it’s more of an explanation on how Yōkai could be made up and after that it’s an encyclopaedia of different Yōkai all divided into sections based on where they live. Some of them are accompanied by drawings but they are made for the book, so it might not be what you’re looking for, but I implore you to check it out regardless.

I also just barely canceled my 3rd book pre order. Instead I got Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton

I would like to point out for u/Halo6819 that your post will soon be incomplete and need updating:

>The Wheel of Time Companion This will most likely be the last WoT publication.

Origins of the Wheel of Time is coming out in Novemember.

https://www.openculture.com/2014/02/kurt-vonnegut-masters-thesis-rejected-by-u-chicago.html - Vonnegut wrote a thesis on narrative arcs.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Myth-Joseph-Campbell-ebook/dp/B004QZACH6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+power+of+myth&qid=1661365546&sr=8-1 - Joseph Campbell wrote about mythic arcs that inspired Star Wars as a mash up of Japanese samurai movies, Westerns, and reskinned early cinema scifi adventure films.

Lastly, > What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

• Some bronze age asshole

Humans used to record knowledge through oral tradition. The use of memes/tropes to embody and represent lengthy rules of thumb or narrative ideas to build larger stories predates any recorded history. Once you begin to understand how we recycle and reskin those tropes/memes to tell new narratives with modern meanings, then you naturally start to realize that we have always toyed with the same concepts.

The dichotomy of good and evil. The purpose of being. The seen world versus the unseen world. We've always had protagonists and antagonists, whether they were individuals, ideas, or things. We've always had conflicts and peace, tragedy and comedy, romance and heartbreak.

We're still the same people that set out from the end of an Ice Age and the failing jungles of Ethiopia to spread ourselves around the world. Our technology changed, but the way we think about the world is largely just an artifact of having built on and iterated our memetic ideas for generations.

The Book of Yokai for some mythology, and I suggest picking an era / topic for a history book, but I do enjoy A History of Japan: Revised Edition for an all around overview.

Could it be Edith Hamilton's Mythology? It's the first book that sprung to mind that's as comprehensive as you've described and would have been around in the 80s and 90s - a quick google search says that there have been green covers in the past, though maybe not matching your description entirely!

That is absolutely going to happen. The depth and nuance on this show. Soon, it’ll be listed here for great minds to ponder:

https://www.amazon.com/Popular-Culture-and-Philosophy-125-book-series/dp/B0897GS1YK

Thanks for the info, quick google search shows a pre-order for it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Origins-Wheel-Time-Mythologies-Inspired/dp/1250860520

This is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about, although I hope it has much more content than the BWB. I guess I know what'll be at the top of this year's Christmas list.

"Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth" is a book that, I believe, was created to accompany the exhibit that went around in London and NYC in the Before Times. I was lucky enough to see it in New York with his original artwork. Amazing stuff.

It is actually pretty cheap on Amazon right now!

Maybe this?

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1851244859/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1R72QDZ18B73HE87TY5Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

It was published to go along with the Tolkien collection exhibits at Bodleian and the Morgan Library.

it is worth bearing in mind that the havamal shouldnt be taken as a perfect piece or perfect rules to follow - a lot of it is (understandably) outdated and theres a considerable amount of awful things written about women in there. its best taken as helpful suggestions and not mandatory commandments you should unquestioningly live by. parts of it are definitely more helpful and applicable than others.

i have this copy of the poetic edda and its beautiful.

I fell in love with her writing the second I opened Shiver, so I make sure to buy all her books.

This is my mythology book:

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, 75th Anniversary Illustrated Edition https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0316438529/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_BY82WJS5GA31YE05QYPW

The illustrations are gorgeous 😊

If you are a newbie and a fan of stuff, there's a series called "Pop Culture and Philosophy" that starts with some pretty famous properties and discusses some ideas related to those.

http://www.amazon.com/Popular-Culture-and-Philosophy-125-book-series/dp/B0897GS1YK?ref=dbs_m_mng_awm_0000_ext

https://www.amazon.com/Mythology-Timeless-Heroes-Anniversary-Illustrated/dp/0316438529

this is the gold standard.

I also recommend "The Book of Yokai" by Michael Dylan Foster, tough I wasn't able to find a good pdf online.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Yokai-Mysterious-Creatures-Japanese/dp/0520271025

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, 75th Anniversary Illustrated Edition

Fabulous book !

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Yokai-Mysterious-Creatures-Japanese/dp/0520271025/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1544607016&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=yokai+book&dpPl=1&dpID=41aCQ5dxM8L&ref=plSrch

This book gives you the history, etymology and plenty of local references regarding Yokai (made up creatures to explain phenomena).

Get this, it’s a great book

https://www.amazon.com/Mythology-Timeless-Heroes-Anniversary-Illustrated/dp/0316438529/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534795752&sr=8-2&keywords=Mythology%3A+Timeless+Tales+of+Gods+and+Heroes This book has some seriously beautiful illustrations and the cover looks something magical for sure. And it might be a good way to introduce her some more 'serious' literature and bigger books. Oh, and btw, why not show her some games, like age of mythology? My team is developing a mythological game right now and it's all because we love Greek mythology and the AoM series since teenagers. =) (btw Persephone is my fav too haha)

The first century followers of Jesus described themselves as Nazarians, a Jewish sect that followed the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. So is the fact that Christianity being begat from Judaism make Christianity inferior to Judaism?

All narratives can find its way back to oral traditions and the first written stories are derived from those myths, so Star Wars is multiple generations away from the myth that it is derivative of, George Lucas did this on purpose with aid from Joseph Campbell. Read The Power of Myth or watch the PBS series about the topic of all narratives are derivative.

Or watch the South Park episode "Simpsons Did It" where they conclude that nothing is original.

While it's true that this movie provides highly suspect information without any sources, your searching in the right direction. You might consider reading books by Joseph Campbell as he does a very good job explaining the roots of religion using information you can readily verify.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Myth-Joseph-Campbell/dp/0385418868

I like Joseph Cambell's description of life in "Myths to Live By: http://www.amazon.com/Myths-Live-By-Joseph-Campbell/dp/0140194614

We are like lightbulbs. When the light burns out our energy returns to the source.

I honestly feel like I experience that "source" by meditating.

Our energy goes somewhere, that is our true self.

1- Myths To Live By - by Joseph Campbell 2- 10/10 3- Mythology; Anthropology 4- Provided the tools (using comparative mythology and reason) to place religious stories (and religion itself) in proper context, doing without the literal interpretation of the stories. 5- Amazon.com

Edit: How does one format to make sentences appear in separate lines?

I am open to the idea that something created the universe, but that something is most likely beyond our ability to fully comprehend. We may see wisps of It in each of us (quite frankly, every human is a walking miracle), but with all the flavors of God out there...