(Part 2) Best literary history & criticism books according to redditors
We found 48 Reddit comments discussing the best literary history & criticism books. We ranked the 26 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
What about a rare edition of a dictionary of symbols? I personally love these two books:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0631192654?
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Symbols-Reflections-Archetypal-Images/dp/3836514486/ref=pd_sbs_14_1
http://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Dictionary-Phrase-Fable-16e/dp/006019653X. I love this book. It doesn't have a thesaurus function that I am aware of, but it does explain the origins and etymology of many popular phrases and sayings. I finally learned where "break a leg" came from.
Of the ones mentioned I have only read the D&D stuff and Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy, both of which are good times but of course are concerned with creatures that have already been developed by various authors, which you might not be as excited about if you're looking for original inspiration. The D&D books are the better for that.
Another couple of books: A Wizard's Bestiary, which is similar to the Carol Rose books in that it is chock full of short entries on a wide range of critters. Potential downside: it is very New Agey at times. Interesting twist: the author has a thing for trying to find real-world explanations for various monsters, which is alternately interesting and ridiculous. Also, he once bred a one-horned goat and exhibited it as a unicorn.
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Which is more of a general reference for folklore, tradition, sayings and other weird things than a bestiary but is basically an idea-generator. I just flipped through a copy and learned of the gyrtrash, a spectral dog or donkey that waylays travellers on lonely English roads.
I linked to one of the modern editions, which are fine books, but I also have a lot of affection for the older ones, before the mid-Nineties or so. They had this very charming Victorian sensibility that added flavour to many of the descriptions, though the whole thing is of course pretty Eurocentric. If you have the cash I'd say grab a new one and check the local used bookstores for a classic edition (and if you see something called the Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable it is actually a reprint of the 1970 edition of Brewer's).
https://www.amazon.com/Norton-Introduction-Literature-Portable-Eleventh/dp/0393923398#
ISBN: 9780393923391
http://books.wwnorton.com/books/webad.aspx?id=4294990316
http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Introduction-Literature-Shorter-Twelfth/dp/0393938921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453933165&sr=8-1&keywords=norton+introduction+to+literature+12th+edition
Yes it has.
Norton Critical Editions have footnotes and critical essays, as well as lengthy bibliographies, so that might be worth looking into. John Riquelme's essay in Joyce's Cambridge Companion would likely help, but that cost for one essay might be a bit steep (it is a great overall source though). The 'Further Reading' section pointed me to this, which I can't vouch for but I'm sure it will be helpful if you can find a decent/affordable copy. The Portrait has generated sadly little secondary material compared to Ulysses, so studies and companions can be a bit harder to come by, unfortunately.