traditions icelanders anglo-saxon celebrations

books:

12 reviews
Anonymous

Penguin Classics, 2002

Don't dismiss Cook's translation out of hand...
I recently became interested in Norse mythology, and after acquiring a number of books on the subject my interest spilled over into Norse, particularly Icelandic, sagas. I bought the hefty Penguin "The Sagas of Icelanders", and since all the reviewers for it lamented the exclusion (understandably, for space reasons) of Njal's Saga, I bought that separately, and I've just finished reading it. ...

The Norse Myths (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)

34 reviews
Kevin Crossley-Holland

Pantheon, 1981

There's only one thing you need to know when looking for an introduction to Norse myths...
...and that this is the book Neil Gaiman recommends on the subject.

D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths

21 reviews
Ingri D'Aulaire, Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

New York Review of Books, 2005

norse myths
my children enjoyed this book very much. they were interested as they had heard that Tolkien had based Lord of the Rings on Norse myths and they wanted to read them. My teenagers and preteens were the age that enjoyed these stories.

The Saga of the Volsungs (Penguin Classics)

22 reviews
Anonymous

Penguin Classics, 2000

A Great Translation
Jesse Byock's translation of the Völsungasaga manages to be both faithful and readable (not as common a combination as you might think), and it strikes a nice balance in its use of only the most important footnotes (a little more than 100 over the course of the saga). These are usually etymological / onomastic in nature, which was very much to my liking. I would have preferred them to be actual ...

The Sagas of Icelanders: Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition (World of the Sagas)

33 reviews

Penguin (Non-Classics), 2001

Icelandic Sagas
I guess any attempt to provide a selection of anything will meet with some disgruntlement, in terms both of what is included and what is omitted. Based on some of the comments, this volume is apparently no exception. Although at 780+ pages, the editors didn't exactly skimp in terms of what they decided to include. First, to state what this book is not: it is not a collection which includes the ...

Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs

6 reviews
John Lindow

Oxford University Press, USA, 2002

Ian Myles Slater on: Another Fine Reference
John Lindow's "Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs" is one of three important reference works on the subject currently or recently available, following Rudolf Simek's heavily linguistic "Dictionary of Northern Mythology" (German edition 1984, translated by Angela Hall, 1993) and Andy Orchard's "Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend" (and slightly variant ...

The Land of the Silver Apples

10 reviews
Nancy Farmer

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007

Great literature with an unusual message
A beautifully written novel with a unique combination of high adventure, 8th century history, and fantasy that children will love. Note that it carries an unusual message for a children's book, embedded in its plot and summarized on page 476: "Christianity is only one leaf" among "many branches on the Great Tree" of life.

The Strongbow Saga, Book Three: The Road to Vengeance (The Strongbow Saga)

5 reviews
Judson Roberts

HarperTeen, 2008

The Compulsive Reader's Reviews
The vivid Strongbow Saga continues in The Road to Vengeance, as Halfdan brings home his prisoner, the lady Genevieve. Protecting her long enough to retrieve her ransom from her wealthy father proves harder than he originally thought, and as the Northmen continue their aggressive assault on Frankia, Halfdan finds himself growing weary of war. But soon he is caught up between two oaths he made to ...

American Gods

693 reviews
Neil Gaiman

HarperTorch, 2002

One of the best books i have picked up !
I picked up this book after eying it twice. It was a large book so it was prefect for work( btw i sit at work for 11 hours straight, so i read....alot) I am so glad I picked up this book. It's not the style of books I normal go for, but i couldn't put this book down. This is a great book, I think everyone should read this!

The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology (Penguin Classics)

9 reviews
Snorri Sturluson

Penguin Classics, 2006

An Essential Read
Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) was a famous Icelandic author, statesman, and one of Iceland's wealthiest men. During Snorri's time Iceland was increasingly dominated by Norway and Norwegian culture. Snorri's Prose Edda was written in response to these new trends as a handbook for those "aspiring Icelandic skalds [poets] who wanted to master the traditional forms of verse and the older stories ...

The Poetic Edda: The Mythological Poems (Dover Value Editions)

4 reviews

Dover Publications, 2004

Impressive, enjoyable, and informative
A Dover reprint of the Mythological section (The Lays of the Gods) from the poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse poems compiled in the 1200s from older oral traditions. First published by the American-Scandinavian Foundation in 1923. It's a slow read, primarily because almost every page is crammed with footnotes. The translation seems pretty good - it attempts to imitate the form of the Old ...

The Sea of Trolls

93 reviews
Nancy Farmer

Simon Pulse, 2006

I couldn't put the thing down!!!
Goods: The beggining wasn't that good but then when jack gets captured it went uphill from there. And when I went camping i'm usually bored what with this around I never got bored. Seriously i couldn't put it down. Plus I love how it wss historically correct with the vikings and all. Bads: I would have made it first-person (I think it's called) because I think that it just sounds better. ...

The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America (Penguin Classics)

14 reviews
Anonymous

Penguin Classics, 1965

Excellent Intro, Readable Text
This small book is a delightful combination of an excellent introduction that provides tons of background to the sagas themselves with saga text that's very easy to read and follow. When reading texts that have their origins so very long ago, I find it quite helpful to get a thorough and easy to understand background on what I'm about to read. The LONG introduction to these texts does just ...

Runemarks

13 reviews
Joanne Harris

Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2008

Pleasing for this bookseller!
My partner at the bookstore is much more well-read in Norse mythology than I am, but I like Joanne Harris, and I like young adult fantasy, so when I saw "Runemarks" listed as a BookSense pick a couple months back, I decided I'd like to try it. Wow!!!! I am so glad I did!!! Not only was it clever and enjoyable, I'd have to say it's the best book I've read in at least six months, and that's saying ...

One Bite Stand (MacKenzie Vampires, Book 4)

15 reviews
Nina Bangs

Leisure, 2008

What a trip!
Bangs takes us back to the Woo Woo Inn in this great rump. Daria is a Harpie. Her and her twin, Kal, have a terrible time fitting in. You see, Daria and Kal are the result of a one night stand their mother had with their father, Apollo (yes, Apollo....he was drunk). Whereas harpies are known for their disgusting looks, Daria and Kal are, well, good-looking. With a little bit of illusionary ...

Mythology

79 reviews
Edith Hamilton, Aphrodite Trust, ...

Little, Brown and Company, 1942

the gold standard
Hamilton is definitely the gold standard for retelling these glorious, ancient myths. Her style is engaging and the structure of the book makes it very easy to keep track of such ridiculously branched family trees. This is much more than just a reference book...it's more like a giant Greek fairytale book.

East

76 reviews
Edith Pattou

Magic Carpet Books, 2005

I Couldn't Put It Down!
I am a huge fan of fantasy books but I had never read a book like this one. But I gave it a try anyway adn I loved it! I stayed up almost all night reading this book, I loved how real the story seemed and it was very exciting, full of adventure, and just all around good book. It was kind of like beauty and the beast and it kind of seemed like a chornicles of narnia thing too. But it was a very ...

Our Troth: History and Lore

13 reviews
Kveldulf Gundarsson

BookSurge Publishing, 2006

Our Troth 1
This is a great book for anyone interested in Heathenry,it covers SO MUCH and I was very impressed with how everything is sourced and the scholorly work that was put into making the book. I was also happy to be able to get exposed to so many different excellent heathen author's, as this book contains many. I just received Volume 2 in the mail today and I look forward to reading it.

Exploring The Northern Tradition: A Guide To The Gods, Lore, Rites And Celebrations From The Norse, German ...

31 reviews
Galina Krasskova

New Page Books, 2005

Fantastic Faith based Material.
I am a reader. obviously. i love reading, studying and learning everything i can. and when i became an Asatruar, i grabbed up everything i could on the faith both online and in local bookstores. When i came across this book, i was perusing through a barnes and noble, i believe; in California. from the instant i stuck my nose in the book, i was enthralled. The information within was ...

The Poetic Edda (Oxford World's Classics)

11 reviews

Oxford University Press, USA, 1999

THE NORDIC ILIAD
The Edda is for the Nordic European countries, what the Iliad meant for the old Greek. It is THE TREASURY - in a poetical form - of their MYTHOLOGY and of lots of their heroic stories and the wisdom of their proverbs. This book embodies the ethics and the cultural life during the transition period from paganism to christianity (about 8th until 13th century). A world opens of gods, supernatural ...

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