Week 2 Reading Overview

Susanoo slaying the Yamata no Orochi, by Toyohara Chikanobu

I picked out an artwork containing a scene from Japanese mythology for the image of this blog since that was one of the units I picked, and I also love the style of old Japanese art.

My Reading Selections:

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4.

Week 3: Women Saints of the Golden Legend

Week 4: Saints and Animals

Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6.

Week 5: Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories

Week 6: The Voyages of Sindbad

Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.]

Week 7: Japanese Mythology

Week 9: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki)

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.

Week 10: Pacific Northwest 

Week 11: Sioux Legends

Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13.

Week 12: King Arthur 

Week 13: Welsh Fairy Book (Thomas)

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.

Week 14: Russian Folktales

Week 15: Dante's Inferno

The ones about saints I selected for weeks 3 and 4 caught my eye due to finding the concept of holy individuals fascinating, particularly since I have plans to write stories including individuals with blessings from gods. 

I picked up Ancient Egyptian myths for week 5 since I'm somewhat familiar with that mythology and find it quite interesting. And then Sindbad seemed kind of similar to one of my own characters, so I thought it might be fun to read up on his adventures to see how he stacks up to my character.

I picked up two of the Japanese ones for weeks 7 and 9 since I wanted to learn more about Japanese mythology, since I find Japan to be a really interesting place, and have used some pieces of Japanese mythology in my work before, so I may yet find more interesting pieces in those units.

For weeks 10 and 11, the Pacific Northwest one caught my eye due to it starring the Thunderbird, which is a creature I've brought into my own work, so I'm curious to see what new things I might learn about it. And then the Sioux's "Turtle on a warpath" seemed too intriguing to pass up. (Liking turtles definitely did not add some bias to that, none at all...)

I picked King Arthur and Welsh Fairy Book (Thomas) for week 12 because one of my close friends is big into Arthurian legend, and I think it would be cool to know more about it, since I could talk to him about anything I learn. And the concept of the Knights of the Round Table is one I find interesting and want to explore further.

I picked up Russian Folktales because of the strong undead focus, since I'm kind of a sucker for stuff to do with the undead. And Dante's Inferno seemed like a must-pick since I actually used the Nine Circles of Hell as an inspiration for the setting of one of my stories.

The Brothers Grimm stuff was a runner-up, but I've actually read a book containing many of the Brothers Grimm stories, so I decided I wanted to pick something new and different, since I knew many of the stories listed on the pages for the anthologies of Brothers Grimm, even some of the more obscure ones. 

Overall, I'm very much looking forward to a variety of these readings, and I honestly might do a few extra readings to pick up some of the ones I ultimately set aside. I was a bit sad to see that there wasn't anything about the Phoenix that I saw from a skim in the Native American units. I've always really liked the concept of the Phoenix, and have used it as inspiration several times for my stories.