The Sword and Laser discussion
What Else Are You Reading?
>
A bit off topic, but could use some help with a shelving problem.
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Christopher
(new)
Oct 11, 2013 11:47PM
So in the pursuit of understanding people and cultures for my writing as well as personal growth, I find myself reading books on spirituality, mythology and religion quite often. I want to create a shelf for these books but I am not sure if certain books should qualify. The problem is I don't know if books like Oedipus or the Odyssey really count as mythology, or are instead just books written by people who believed in that mythology. I know this is somewhat subjective and I will likely make the call for myself but any advice or opinions would be helpful.
reply
|
flag
Hmm, I would probably have 2 shelves - "mythology fiction" and "mythology non-fiction."
Non-fiction would be for anything written in examination, critique, study, comparison, etc. of the other works.Anything written in story form would go in fiction.
Whereas the book is fiction or non fiction, the theme stays mythology, i'm a simple women, i would only make one shelf....
I would have two shelves to distinguish Primary Resources (what you are actually studying, in this case myths, religion, etc) from Secondary Resources (texts that are primarily a commentary on or critique of the things you're studying).
I might name them:
Mythology & Religion - Primary
Mythology & Religion - Secondary
Now when it comes to religion that line can become a little blurry as Sermons, commentary, critiques, etc on a religious text can often become absorbed as a canonical text of that religion. In the end it's all a judgement call.
I might even use a third category "Mythological Fiction" for fiction that deals with myths while not necessarily being a myth itself. Something like American Gods would probably be a good candidate for this shelf. That's if you want to track that kind of stuff too.
I might name them:
Mythology & Religion - Primary
Mythology & Religion - Secondary
Now when it comes to religion that line can become a little blurry as Sermons, commentary, critiques, etc on a religious text can often become absorbed as a canonical text of that religion. In the end it's all a judgement call.
I might even use a third category "Mythological Fiction" for fiction that deals with myths while not necessarily being a myth itself. Something like American Gods would probably be a good candidate for this shelf. That's if you want to track that kind of stuff too.
If you're feeling fancy, you could go with something like "mythopoesis" or mythopoeia" for books that repurpose or invent various mythologies (eg, American Gods, Sandman Series, Chthulu Mythos, LOTR, most RPGs).As far as your examples of Oedipus and the Odyssey goes, I've shelved those as "classical antiquity" because, well, they are. Those two, at least, are technically less about mythological themes than human ones. The fantastic elements aren't really the point of most literature of that period.
