Mythology/Legend Tales Recommendation/Help

[Heidi M Simone]

Merriam Webster defines these two terms as:

• Mythology: "an allegorical narrative" and "myths dealing with the gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular people"
  - Examples: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
• Legend: "a story coming down from the past, especially one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable"
  - Examples: Arthurian legends, Paul Bunyan, the Loch Ness Monster

I'm not very versed in myths/legends, so these are the ones that came to my mind:

• The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
• The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott
• The Odyssey by Homer
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Here are some Goodreads links that might be helpful:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/432 ... _Mythology
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/myths-and-legends

Do you have any suggestions/recommendations of what book(s) others should try for this month's genre discussion?

[Bianka Walter]

I've just read Circe and I must say - I thoroughly enjoyed it. For one of the lesser-known Greek gods, this book really has a lot of information about her. I would absolutely recommend!

One other recommendation:
Neil Gaiman's book Norse Mythology was amazing. I actually listened to the audiobook and it was narrated by him. It's a bunch of short stories about the Norse gods and their escapades. I loved it.
Neil Gaiman has actually written a bunch of books on various mythological gods. He's awesome.

[Heidi M Simone]

I've just read Circe and I must say - I thoroughly enjoyed it. For one of the lesser-known Greek gods, this book really has a lot of information about her. I would absolutely recommend!

One other recommendation:
Neil Gaiman's book Norse Mythology was amazing. I actually listened to the audiobook and it was narrated by him. It's a bunch of short stories about the Norse gods and their escapades. I loved it.
Neil Gaiman has actually written a bunch of books on various mythological gods. He's awesome.

Oh, cool! I'm glad you enjoyed Circe. I've been meaning to read it.

Ooo...I'll add Norse Mythology to the list! Thank you for the recommendations!

[M Zee]

I love mythological retellings (even the modern ones) so I've read more than my fair share.

The Goddess Summoning series - PC Cast (romance)
Nobody's Princess - Esther Friesner (YA)
Oh. My. Gods. - Tera Lynn Childs (YA)
Blooming Goddess trilogy - Tellulah Darling
Gods Behaving Badly - Marie Phillips (magical realism?)
American Gods - Neil Gaiman (urban fantasy)

There are a LOT of romance novels based on mythological retellings, too. Hades/Persephone is probably the most popular but there are a lot of others.

[M Zee]

In terms of non-fiction, I think everyone interested in story structure in general should read Joseph Campbell. He's a classic in terms of academic discussion on the way myths are and how stories are structured.

The Power of Myth and Hero with a Thousand Faces are probably the most read/referenced works.

[DakotaA]

I suppose the main point to discern in this thread is if you're looking for fiction or non-fiction mythology and legend related books. I wouldn't necessarily recommend Gaiman's Norse Mythology to somebody who loved American Gods, because one is an expansion on ancient legend and the other is a novel that uses mythology as a premise for the story. In other words, one is cultural and historical while the other is an inspired work of fiction. Personally, I love both, but that's probably because I spent so much time in my Primary School's library reading about Native American legends, Greek Mythology and Bigfoot. Anybody interested in stories such as those coming out of Gaiman's Norse Mythology should look for other collections of ancient tribal and cultural mythology/folklore- The Iliad and the Odyssey (Homer's epic poems) are wonderful examples of original myths that were recorded BC.

For anyone interested in the fictional adaptations of mythology and legend.. take your pick, there are loads! There are a plethora of choices across a myriad of genres (YA, romance, action, crime, etc.) that use these things as their inspiration! You pretty much can choose any culture's myths/legends, pick your genre, and then have a list of books to choose from. Since I've been mentioning Neil Gaiman so much, his novel's Anansi Boys and The Ocean At The End Of The Lane create beautiful stories that are braided with myth and legend.

[Heidi M Simone]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I'm actually not very versed in this genre, so it's good to know other booklovers that are!

[Jerlyn Alperto]

Thanks for the suggestions I'm gonna start reding now.