Reddit mentions: The best literary genre history & criticism books

Disclaimer:

I enjoy thinking about these kinds of things as well, so I will offer some answers and ask some of my own questions. /r/Philosophy might be a better place to start a conversation if you are looking for discussion rather than debate. I don’t see any blatant fallacies in your original post... it would take a more formally structured argument for them to become apparent. If you want to give that a shot, I am more than willing, but it is a bit more relaxing to engage in this conversational style. A lot of what we have been talking about ultimately comes down to what we mean by ‘truth’, which is a fairly deep question, and is worthy of approaching from a variety of different angles.

An answer to your original post:

In my view, art, poetry, lit., music, and even religious teachings all do have some truth to offer, but it is typically truth about US rather than the rest of the universe. I would recommend the book: The Power of Myth - by Joseph Campbell to further suss out how this works in the case of religion.

For example, when a myth personifies the Sun as a deity, we need not assume that this is a literal truth, but that instead it tangentially tells us something deep about human nature, and how we all seek answers, and how our imagination fills in the gaps in the absence of understanding, and how we project ourselves onto the rest of the universe (by personifying non-human nature).

Regarding your last reply:

My answers may come across as a bit reductionistic/deflationary, so feel free to reject that which does not resonate with you.

When an author uses a particular word (like ‘love’, ‘hope’, or even ‘tree’), it carries the weight of all of their previous experiences with it. Since we haven’t had the same experiences as the author, there will be some disconnect between them and us. We usually do seek to communicate as much as possible from ourselves to another through this process, but there is always some loss of information. Even the original author, when they go back and reread what they have written, may not know exactly what they meant at the time, especially if some time has passed, and their views have changed.

The idea of ‘meaning’ itself requires subjects and is therefore subjective. We all generate meaning quite naturally, it is integral to our humanity. Text doesn’t mean anything on it’s own, but it can mean something to the author, and to the reader.

Those especially moving moments of epiphany that we have all experienced when reading a great piece of literature tend to speak to universal statements about human nature - posed in such a way as to elevate the effect. Sometimes these same truths can be stated outright in a sentence or two, but seems small and trivial without context.

Depending on the medium, this effect falls on a continuum from concrete to elusive/vague. In music for example, the effect cannot always be put into words, as the medium itself is wordless. The messages and truths have to do with our shared experiences as emotional beings, who love patterns, consistency, novelty, and pure sensation (among other things). In this sense, a sonata may not be ‘about’ anything, or ‘mean’ anything, but instead it transmits a feeling or emotion. I would still see this as a kind of ‘truth’, but these are very different than truths about the nature of matter, planets, or galaxies.

Before I go on to describe the differences (of truths), I should mention the similarities. I am reminded of a quote:

-----

All truth is one.

In this light, may science and religion endeavor together for the steady evolution of Mankind:

From darkness to light,

From narrowness to broadmindedness,

From prejudice to tolerance,

It is the voice of life that calls us

To come and learn.

• Anonymous
  
  -----
  
  That being said, it would still be a mistake to use music to try to understand truths about the structure of an atom. Yes, both methods do tell us something about reality, and our relationship to reality, but they have different applications and different domains.
  
  
  Perhaps I have gone on long enough for now. If there is a particular point you would like to pursue further, let me know. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about something near and dear to my heart. : )

I agree with most of these points and have a few suggestions for a slightly different style.

Number 2. Alternatively, use an existing campaign setting or shamelessly rip off locations from the Dictionary of Imaginary Places. I've just started running a 5E version of the Planescape setting and it is a blast! And there is SO MUCH CONTENT ready for me to use and expand on. Before this, I had only ever ran games in home-brew settings. It's been nice to spend my time adding depth to content, rather that starting from the ground up. If you are like I was and thought you'd never enjoy using an existing setting, give it a try sometime.

Number 3. NPC lists are so helpful. I have just recently started using the NPC List, NPC Builder, and NPC Cards made by R-N-W.net as a convenient, aesthetically pleasing way to keep track of NPCs. Really I love all of their World-Building Kit items.

• To add on to this one, I also recommend keeping a list of potential NPC names. No matter how well you prepare, your players will always find an NPC that you didn't plan on. Whenever my husband runs a game I always remind him to make a list, because unlike me, he is not a hyper-prepared DM. If he doesn't make a list, we'll end up with multiple Bobs, Jeffs, Freds, and so on.
  
  Number 4. Did you ever play 4th edition? Puzzles can be a great place to use skill challenges, which were one of the best ideas in 4E. Here's a link about using them in 5E.
  
  Number 5. I just say I need a moment to check my notes, and I either flip through my printed pages or scroll for a moment on my laptop.
  
  Number 6. I somewhat disagree with you on this one, more based on my personal style. One thing I've done to keep the story well-paced (and less random) is have the players choose, in general, where they are going to go next at the end of each session. This way I can prepare fully and keep the story beats (and therefore important encounters) on some rails while still allowing for a wide range of choice when it comes to the details of the plot.
  
  I add in quest hooks and clues for them to be interested in a few more specific areas/directions, so it organically feels more story driven than sandbox driven. It also helps create specific end points for each session. Instead of "Well, that's all I have prepared" it's "For next session, where would you like to go?". I add labels to any location they have learned about on the map so they can clearly see distance, general environment, and anything else that might impact their decision that their characters know.
  
  An over-world map really helps with this. It's especially fun when the PCs are in a completely new country/world/plane because they end up picking up on interesting locations the same way humans used to pre-information age: word of mouth, in-game maps, written notices, sign-posts, direct instructions, etc.
  
  This works best for DMs that like to be hyper-prepared and groups that get super into interwoven backstories. If you are more seat-of-your-pants improv style, then this probably isn't for you.
  
  A side effect of running games like this is that I do end up creating a fair amount of content that doesn't get used in a session. Usually means I can recycle it for another though.
  
  Number 7. Absolutely! The stories my players most often tell from my games are either tragedies or overcoming tragedies. Just gotta twist the knife a little bit, even better if it ties into the backstory.
  
  Bonus. Regarding using backstories. I like to go a step further and dedicate entire sessions (or most of a session) to further developing individual backstories. Works best when the campaign is more established and the characters really do care about each other. They're effectively Bioware companion quests.
  
  An Important Addition: FOOD! Always have a plan for food before the day of your session. My players rotate which items they bring. It helps keep the game going instead of having to stop and ask what everyone wants to eat (and saves money).

It's up to you to decide. This guy's exaggerating this case. JKR has always been fully supportive of fan art and fan fictions and fan sites, and people generally exploring her world with each other. Here's an overview of the trial, though I'm linking it more so you can click this site's sources at the bottom of the page.

The long and short of it is, the HP Lexicon was a huge fan encyclopedic site that I and everyone I know used for reference. The site owners wanted to publish it as a book for-profit. Rowling herself wanted to publish an encyclopedia. This was not the first encyclopedia or similar book JKR prevented, it's just the most publicized, she also stopped Mugglenet from publishing a for-profit encyclopedia.

I think the most important thing to remember is JKR/WB had been through a strange phase where ultimately they decided they were fine with original fan works for-profit. For more info, I'd read Harry, A History, by Melissa Anelli (if I had it in front of me, I'd find quotes, but I'm at work). She explains that when the internet was still fairly new, tons of kids with HP fansites were getting cease and desist letters. WB just didn't realize the consequences of what they were doing and did a 180, apologized and allowed the sites (if I'm not mistaken, this was known as Potter Wars, but I forget). A few years after that was the issue of Wizard Rock bands (you read that right). The pioneers of this genre were Harry and the Potters in 2002. They were also told to stop performing and selling merchandise, but eventually after a relatively undramatic battle, WB decided they were okay. So for years, JKR/WB had experienced their fair share of fan works for-profit. I'm not in JKR's head, but she seemed to love and support all of it.

What makes the HP Lexicon book different is that it was not original work, it was "just" a re-organization of JKR's work, and perhaps more importantly, had the exact same purpose of what JKR was planning on publishing. The reason I use the quotes is because it's obviously a ton of work to organize that information into an encyclopedia. Also, it looks like RDR (the publishing company that was sued) acted a bit shady and probably didn't help their case, but I'm not a lawyer and can't really judge their actions as one, this is just the impression I get reading the links I sent you.

Also, the HP Lexicon book was still published, meeting the guidelines of the suit, but after all that, is exactly like an encyclopedia anyway. ??

Personally, I wish they hadn't sued. I would have known the difference and still bought both, but I guess less massive fans might have been confused which one to buy, which was the main point of the suit in the first place.

As a huge huge fan of Rowling, if there's anything I've learned admiring a human like a god (which I can now see I did with Rowling) is that she isn't a god. There's things she's done or said (not to mention plays she put her name on) that I wish she hadn't, but she's human. She also started her own charity, Lumos, to bring light to the mis-used funds for third world orphanages that have poor conditions for the kids, most of which are not even orphans and have families that want them. She pays all her taxes to her country because she appreciates what they did when she needed them. She is an advocate for equal rights, and ultimately does a lot of good. Nobody is completely embodied in their wiki pages, and nobody is perfect either.

Thanks, you state this all very well. I guess we're coming from the same place.

The problem is that these dualisms are inherent in the Western model of thought or consciousness. Daniel Quinn's cartoon "The Fence" is a humorous but profound illustration of this:

https://aftermathblog.wordpress.com/2006/01/18/the-fence/

"The Fence" is not just literal or physical, but ontological. These divisions between inside and outside are "baked in" to the way everything shows up for us. The werewolf, the dragon, the vampire can all guide us in our quest to reveal this way.

But also, the way werewolves, dragons and vampires are still evolving in popular culture, or in the stories we ourselves write, is actually something quite important. It can be very telling what aspects of this evolution say about "The Fence" and other fundamental issues.

Sure, it's commonly assumed that our world is disenchanted and that the scientific (or more accurately, scientistic) paradigm has completely taken over. This is the famous "disenchantment" thesis of sociologist Max Weber.

And yet (and even already in Weber's time), enchantment is everywhere you look in popular culture: fantasy novels, video and role playing games, fandoms and so on.

It's just a different mode of enchantment, the mode of the secondary world or "as if". This is a peculiarly modern mode that only emerged in the late 19th century. Enchantment didn't disappear, it merely transformed its basic mode of appearance.

A book by Michael Saler, As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary Prehistory of Virtual Reality: https://www.amazon.com/As-If-Enchantment-Literary-PreHistory/dp/0195343174 explores precisely this thesis. I'd highly recommend it.

Also recently published in affordable paperback, is Egil Asprem's book The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900-1939 https://www.amazon.com/Problem-Disenchantment-Scientific-Naturalism-Traditions-dp-1438469926/dp/1438469926/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid= I have not yet read this book but it's on my list for this year.

Basically the discourses surrounding werewolves, dragons, vampires etc. are being revived and transformed right before our very eyes. These discourses, far from being diversions or escapes, or pure "entertainments" without value, carry profound meaning in how they help us negotiate fundamental issues, for instance the global environmental and political crises, the role of AI in the total platformization of the human, the collapse of linear history or any positive conception of the future, and so on. We shouldn't dismiss any of this as insignificant simply because these issues are being negotiated in popular culture, or in the mode of "as if".

My path through all this is a weird one. I have a technology background and yet most everything that interests me these days are in the areas of philosophy and history of religion, the history of Western esotericism, and the intersection of these areas with popular culture. Ultimately, I'm interested how popular culture becomes a space in which so-called "esoteric" discourses are revived, transformed and function as ways to think about fundamental social, cultural and historical issues. I am secondarily interested in this space as ontological "set and setting" for practical methods of consciousness expansion (or what I'd simply call "consciousness recovery"; e.g. lucid dreaming, incubation, trance meditation, psychedelics, qigong, etc.) I follow the Expanding Mind and Weird Studies podcasts and am now just catching up with the SHWEP (Secret History of Western Esotericism) podcast. I follow some crazy blogs like S.C.Hickman's Southern Nights (formerly Social Ecologies).

Once you get just a little bit of interest in this it becomes a huge rabbit hole, especially for those of us outside academia but who are primarily interested in an academic approach and yet who recognize that most of the issues are actually being negotiated in the realm of popular culture or other areas that academia for the most part ignores. We live in the curse of "interesting times", that's for sure...

I'll answer as best I can. If you decide to use any of my answers, my name's Tabitha Hastie.

In your own words, what is steampunk? What isn't steampunk? Feel free to give examples.

The idea of a past society that uses steam as their main source of power, as well as things like clockwork and maybe electricity. Usually set in Victorian Britain, specifically London, but the basic idea can extend to other cultures. A key theme is industry and how this affects a rapidly changing society (as seen during the industrial revolution). As for what isn't steampunk, I guess anything that doesn't fall into that category.

What made you come to these conclusions/definitions?

Because that's pretty much every definition of steampunk I've ever seen.

What is the purpose of steampunk?

Maybe some people would have some deep answers for this, I'd just say it's for fun.

Why did you get into steampunk? Do you like alternate history, writing fiction, do you enjoy making costumes, or something else?

I'd vaguely known of the genre for a while, then I saw a woman in a steampunk outfit at a convention and fell in love. I was already into cosplay so loved the idea of making my own outfit.

What do you like and dislike about steampunk and/or the people who participate in the subculture?

I wouldn't say there's much I dislike about the genre itself, and most of the people within it are great. But it is annoying that /r/steampunk seems to have a deep hatred of glueing gears on things and will link to the song at any opportunity, when the song is about glueing gears on something completely unrelated then calling it steampunk because of those gears; not glueing gears on something already clearly steampunk as decoration. I've even seen someone complain about something and use that song as an argument, when the song commended exactly what they were arguing against.

How do you think steampunk handles issues of identity, gender roles, nationality, etiquette, religion, morality, racism, class systems, or other topics? Which topic is most important or relevant to you and why?

I've never really seen any issues like this come up. I wouldn't really say any of them are particularly important or relevant to me as I've never had any problems like that.

Why do you think so many people are nostalgic about the Victorian period, or other genres that have -punk followings for that matter?

I guess there's a sort of nostalgia about it; when people look back they tend to forget about all the bad things of an era and romanticise it. Personally, I love the look of the Victorians. They put so much more effort into how they looked and wore amazing outfits - beautiful dresses, suits, top hats - now it's all jeans and t-shirts.

We live in a very digital age. Is there something about this that deters people from digital-looking art, items and clothing, and makes people yearn for these aesthetics from the past (even if they are from an alternate past like a steampunk/Victorian age)?

I don't really get the question. I don't think so, I don't think people generally have anything against digital stuff. Sorry I don't really know how to answer this.

Is steampunk "just a trend" that will eventually die out? Why or why not? Is it becoming too mainstream? Is that a bad thing?

I'm sure it will eventually die out just as anything will eventually die out, but I think it'll be around for a while. I wouldn't say it was just a trend, it's existed since the 80s under the term steampunk (I think it was the 80s, anyway), and has technically existed since Victorian times, even if not under that name. I once saw someone compare it to goth, saying that years ago goth was relatively unknown and was very similar to steampunk, then it gradually became more mainstream until it became what it is now. I could see this happening to steampunk, it's certainly way more mainstream now than it was when I first got into it. There are steampunk clothes and accessories in high-street stores, musicians are doing steampunk music videos (such as Justin Bieber...), and it continues to get more and more popular. I think it's kind of sad in a way since part of what makes steampunk steampunk is the idea of making your own outfits and gadgets, coming up with your own ideas, and if it becomes too mass-produced then everyone's outfits will start looking the same. Plus, manufacturers put the steampunk label on anything and everything. But with it becoming more mainstream also brings more people to the genre. So there are pros and cons, really.

Have you seen steampunk art exhibited in a gallery, museum, or other public venue? Was it intended by the artist to be steampunk, or did it just fall into your categorization of what steampunk is to you?

I was in Oxford in 2010 and saw a steampunk exhibit at a museum. A class from the local school did a project on steampunk, and all their creations were in the museum. That was definitely intended to be steampunk. Other than that, not particularly. The closest I can think would be steampunk art/merchandise being sold at places like Camden Market in London.

Are you a steampunk artist? Have you exhibited any work in galleries or other places? Can you explain and describe some of your pieces? Can you provide links to the exhibit or gallery review articles?

I do make my own steampunk stuff, but certainly haven't had it exhibited anywhere! You can see what I've made here: http://demorafairy.deviantart.com/gallery/24638457

Are there any books, scholarly articles, or videos you found that could answer and elaborate on any of the above questions?

The Steampunk Bible has a lot of interesting reading.

I think that's just about the longest comment I've ever written. Hope this helps!

I strongly suggest you disregard advice to buy ANY book by David Day. They are not accurate, and are full of stuff he just makes up. Day is the laughingstock of the fandom; he's even been banned by the Tolkien Society from attending their future events.

But don't worry, there's lots of good-quality stuff out there for your husband to treasure!

If he has read only The Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy, look for an attractive edition of The Silmarillion (there are many). This is the great backstory to Lord of the Rings, the legendary past that constantly gets referred to in LOTR. If he hasn't read it yet, that's the Next Big Step for a Tolkien fan.

If he's already read the Silmarillion, Check his shelf to see whether he already has a copy of Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-earth. If not, that's definitely a great gift for him or any Tolkien fan. "A book of maps" doesn't do it justice -- it's not just geography, but changes over time, populations, heroic journeys, and famous battles, all laid out in a way that keeps you turning the page in a way you wouldn't with a real-life atlas. The way the maps are presented also helps the reader visuallize the progression of the Ages of the World, even though there's not a dedicated timeline.

If he has both of these, go for a copy of Unfinished Tales, which contains extra material that didn't make it into the published LOTR and Silmarillion. He'll love the extras about the Palantiri and what Gandalf got up to while Bilbo and the Dwarves were making do without him.

If he has all that, you have choices to make. If he's graphic's oriented, he may like the John Howe decorative map set or the Alan Lee sketchbook or half a dozen options from artists who've tackled Tolkien. If he's a calendar guy, you can pick from at least that many popular options every year.

If he's a hardcore reader who has made it through the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales and still wants more, he may want to take the deep dive into the 12-volume History of Middle-earth, which is very affordable now that it's in good-quality paperback. But you probably want to check with him on that before buying them all; some volumes are, well, pretty hardcore in their density, and some are best read sequentially. One that would be fine as a standalone is Vol. 12, The Peoples of Middle-earth. Lots of good lore and interesting things in that one.

My first piece of advice is to get off of Biblaridion. He's an okay resource, but sometimes get's his facts wrong and has the tendency to make his opinions sound like universal consensus. As for other resources, I would highly recommend picking up some books (which are better than YT videos in every way) such as David J. Peterson's The Art of Language Invention. I'd also encourage you to find an intro to linguistics textbook and also find some good language grammars (you can find a lot online for free), as these can give you infinite ideas for your conlangs.

As for what you've shared... I'll be entirely honest, there's nothing very interesting to me about this grammar. Your vowels are pretty neat, though, and I like the idea of lengthening a vowel to indicate distant past. Your verbs seem fairly cookie-cutter - not that it's unnaturalistic, just not interesting. Also, if your goal is naturalism, I would strongly encourage introducing some irregularity to your verbal and nominal morphology, as well as your syntax. E.g., is your word order always VSO? Or are there instances where it switches to SVO or OSV?

I also strongly encourage taking a few days to think about what all these things mean. For example, what does the "simple" verb do? How do the speakers use it? It what contexts would it be appropriate or inappropriate? Same with the future tense - does it only apply to actions the speaker is sure will happen, or can it be applied if the speaker is unsure? What's the difference between habitual and continuous?

Also, check out your parts of speech as well. How are adjectives and adverbs formed? Are they derived from other words? Should they even exist (because some languages don't have one or the other or either.)? What prepositions are there and how are they used (essentially no two languages are alike with preposition usage.)? How do you mark possessor and/or possessee, if at all?

I'm bombarding you with questions here, but there's no pressure to answer them all right away. Just some things to make you think. The big takeaways here is to expand your pool of resources beyond Biblaridion and to ask yourself what each element of your language really is and how it's used by the speakers of the language.

Obviously, reading the entire series several times isn't a practical idea. And, there's far too much breadth and depth to the world to give you a useful crash course in a reddit comment or two. So, here are a few suggestions:

• Ask your friend about the characters they want to play, when relative to the main story, and what part(s) of the world they're most interested in exploring. This will give you some areas to focus on in more detail.
  
• Consider reading a couple of the books if you can make the time. The natural place to start would be The Eye of the World which is full of detail and world-building. However, the plot is very tightly focused and you might not get enough of the big picture to construct a good campaign experience.
  
  • Another option would be to jump ahead to books 3, 4, and 5 (The Dragon Reborn, Shadow Rising, and The Fires of Heaven). The scope is substantially wider and you'll see a lot more of the world, cultures, and different regions. Crucially, you'll get some time in the White Tower, which is the single most important political institution. These earlier books are more accessible, Jordan does more recapping in the narration, and there are fewer minor POV characters than later in the series. Plus, reading some of these will give you a much more nuanced feel for the world than reading synopses and Wiki entries.
    
  • I would also consider reading the New Spring novella. It's considerably shorter than any of the other works and gives you a unique view on the world outside of the context of the main story line. If any of the players is playing an Aes Sedai or a character connected to the White Tower (a warder, expelled novice, etc.) this book is a must read for you.
    
• The audiobooks are truly EXCELLENT. Getting all 15 (induing New Spring) could be somewhat costly, but if you can find some at local libraries and pick up others on audible, it would be a good way to immerse yourself in the world. If I were in your shoes, I would listen to them frequently as you run the campaign, dipping in and out of different books after you finish the series on the first go.
  
  Some other resources for you to consider:
  
  
• The Wiki is OK. It's somewhat mixed in its detail and seems to be more detailed on the individual characters, which is likely less useful for your needs.
  
• Leigh Butler's ReRead of the series on Tor.com is good. She does a brief chapter-by-chapter synopsis of each book, so you'll get all the main plot and character points, although you'll of course miss out on the details of the world building and texture. Plus, it's written for someone who's read the series. Nonetheless, it might be worth checking out for you.
  
• The two published reference books might also be worth getting your hands on.
  
  • I highly recommend reading The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time (aka the White Book or the big book of bad art). It's organized thematically and will cover a lot of background detail of the world: Nations, history, some politics, etc. Unfortunately, it's not comprehensive as it was written part way through the series.
    
  • The Wheel of Time Companion was published after the series was finished. It's organized alphabetically and draws from Jordan's notes as well as the published works. You might well find it a good reference for different places, ideas, and items, but for learning about the world overall, I think you'll be better served by starting with the white book.
    
    Hope this helps!
    

I was maybe a sort-of atheist for a bit. I basically just realized that the only reason I was a Christian was because I was born into that religion, and that if I was to pick the "right" religion, there would have to be another way, like using logic or reason, to figure out which religion was right. I honestly thought that after a class in logic, I'd know how everything works. Naive, certainly, but I've moved past that now.

And as to why I'm not an atheist, I wouldn't say there's really a reason; I simply don't feel compelled to believe it. I'm still largely an agnostic, but I lean in the theistic direction, or the belief that there's something out there. One of my profs was telling us once of a lecture he heard where the man talked about how people all over the world throughout history feel compelled to some sort of religious belief, some sort of spiritual lifestyle that addressed spiritual questions. And the person considered this to be a good argument against atheism. While most atheists are quick to say religion must prove itself correct, this person said that atheism must prove itself, because it seems that the baseline for humanity is a religious mode of life. The in's and out's of this can be debated, but I think it's worth considering.

And beyond that, I'd say I'm still an agnostic; I'm not really a taoist in any strict sense although I do like taoism for the reason I gave you; it recognizes that it's only an attempt to describe something indescribable, be it God, truth, heaven or whatever else you want to call it. This was Campbell's major theme; all the religions and mythologies we have had are attempts to describe God, but they are not intended to be taken literally. I'd recommend The Power of Muth if this interests you. It's honestly one of the best books I've ever read, and completely changed my outlook on life in a way I don't think any other book has. Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any more questions.

There's a few resources out there, none perfect.

This is a short little bit by Gaiman on how to read Wolfe. Not specific to Book of the New Sun, and a little joking, but it's completely accurate. Approach Wolfe in that manner and you may get more from the books.

This is a dictionary/glossary that can be useful to link different parts of the series to eachother, and provides a lot of context as to the real world origins of words he uses. Wolfe invents a lot less words that it seems at first glance, almost every unfamiliar word is either just a really rare/archaic word, or is invented, but pulled from a real life reference. Sadly, it's a book and not freely available, but what can you do.

This is a wiki about Wolfe's works, kind of hit or miss, but the list of obscure words is useful, and some of the analysis/discussion is good.

This is the best regarded in-depth literary analysis of the series, but it's super dense and not a straightforward explanation by any means.

There's also a super long running mailing list about gene wolfe's work, but good luck digging anything useful out of it, it's just way too much with no organization.

I don't necessarily disagree that this would be a copyright violation of the official maps (I haven't seen them, and don't know how much OP lifted); but just to add some thoughts re: fan-fic works: just because a work is licensed doesn't mean it needs to be, and they are certainly not always licensed. The trademark ("Star Wars") most certainly would need to be licensed, but fan spin-offs wouldn't necessarily need to be licensed unless they centered around, e.g. a character with a developed personality from the original. So, say, a fan fiction about young Ned Stark would probably need to be licensed (Salinger v Colting), but a fan fiction of an unrelated family from Mole's Town (that doesn't otherwise infringe the trademarks of GoT) would probably not be. A recent Star Trek universe case that might have put some finer bounds on this was settled this year; the defendants didn't survive summary judgment (meaning it wasn't clearly fair use) and they would have had to go through a lengthy trial to determine whether the accumulation of copied elements constituted infringement. Not fun.

Also looking at the official map alone doesn't make it a copy- if he did all the individual city artwork himself, picked and chose what cities to include, took artistic liberties with shading, borders, the compass rose, etc., then it's a pretty gray area whether he infringed the copyright of the original maps. I see that his map does have "A Song of Ice and Fire" at the top, which he would obviously have to scrub to sell.

On the other hand, methinks if the fine borders of the map, which obviously can't be derived from the stories independently of other copyrighted maps, were copied from those maps, that would weigh pretty heavily against OP. But then, see The Lexicon, whose authors all but won a suit against J.K. Rowling (she "won" but they were allowed to publish their book with some directly copied passages removed).

I'm a pretty well-confirmed athiest at this point. I tend to view the current manifestations of religion as following in a long tradition of mythmaking by human cultures.

With that in mind, you might look into some psychology in addition to your religious research. I'm a writer, which is how I came by Jung and Campbell and Booker -- but I think the idea of underlying patterns of thought that guide our own mythmaking is of broader use than simply helping me understand storytelling better.

I've read the following, and suggest you do as well!

Jung

The Basic Writings of CG Jung

Man and His Symbols

The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

Psychology and Religion

Campbell

The Hero With A Thousand Faces

The Masks of God (Vols. 1 - 3)

Myths to Live By

Booker

The Seven Basic Plots

There are a lot more, but those are the ones I'd start with. As an undergrad, I majored in English and Rhetoric, and minored in both Religion and Poetry -- this cultural storytelling stuff is important to me.

As a library science graduate student, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that you can get all of these books from your local library -- and can enlist the aid of the reference desk in finding more material for your research. Believe me, there's nothing a reference worker likes more than an interesting topic -- i.e. something that doesn't involve directing people to the bathroom, or helping people find books on filing their taxes. We're trained to help with real research! Use us!

You might want to use Karen Wynn Fonstad's [Atlas of Middle Earth] (https://www.amazon.ca/Atlas-Middle-earth-Karen-Wynn-Fonstad/dp/0618126996/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510527162&sr=1-1&dpID=51OtLVeyEmL&preST=_SX198_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) to do your research. Maps of the earlier Ages and of regions outside the Western portions of the continent are sketchier than that of the Third Age, but there is still some good information to be gathered and that book is a major reference in that field. Wish you good luck in your endeavour. Your map is truly gorgeous!

Oh, those are great posters. I visited the Bodelian years ago but didn't even think to check and see if they had a gift shop!

My gift recommendation would be The Atlas of Middle Earth, by Karen Wynn Fonstad. It's comprehensive, covering all of the books (I found the Silmarillion maps particularly helpful), and it is large, physically, probably at least 10"x14" so the maps are pretty easy to read. I received it as a gift myself, and it has become the non-Tolkien work I reference most when reading him.

I haven't read that one, but I did pick up "Harry Potter and History" which was actually quite a good read. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Kind of went through history and talked about how this or that may have influenced these characters, or inspired JKR etc. So if it's from the same series, it could be good!

Now looking at the one I got, it doesn't seem to be the same series. But still: http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-History-Culture-Series/dp/0470574720

Lately, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain...I'm sure on this forum it's well known, and I wrote about it on How did you discover MBTI?

I knew I was an introvert, but I didn't know that that meant, like how we process information, how we verbalize, that we NEED our alone time. So I began to embrace all these things, and better understood how to communicate with extroverts, which is really helpful. I think just this bit of self knowledge has sent me on a reading frenzy.

Currently, I'm reading The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell which discusses all the archetypal myths from different cultures and religions, and how they play a part for the individual and society. These stories/myths, which many of us discredit because they are not based in fact, actual serve the purpose of being example of how to live. Campbell argues that the loss of these myths in western society is an explanation for the misguided youth. People are seeking how to live their lives, but don't know where to find the answers...therefor it's taking much longer to learn how to grow up. Very fascinating. We no longer have strong adulthood rituals or rites of passage, so fundamentally, young adults still act like kids.
It also talks about some meaning of life stuff which is changing a lot of perspective for me and too deep to summarize here. I highly recommend it.

>But Tolkien's most important contribution by far, and what is at the heart of the real revolution he effected in literature, was his construction of a systematic secondary world. There had been plenty of invented worlds in fantasy before, but they were vague and ad hoc, defined moment to moment by the needs of the story. Tolkien reversed that. He started with the world, plotted it obsessively, delineating its history, geography and mythology before writing the stories. He introduced an extraordinary element of rigour to the genre.

>This type of project is often mocked by those critical of fantasy. However, it allows for a unique and - at least potentially - uniquely engaged kind of reading. Readers can inhabit these worlds, and become collaborators in the process of constantly creating them, suspending their disbelief.

I'm glad that Mieville, a former Dungeons & Dragons nerd who's talked about his love of reading role-playing guidebooks like the Monster Manual, thought to focus on this as Tolkien's biggest innovation. I'd also recommend the book As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary PreHistory of Virtual Reality to anyone interested in the history of how "world building" caught on in genre fiction, it focuses on the trio of Tolkien, Lovecraft and Arthur Conan Doyle (and their early fandom).

There's not really one consolidated spot for all of that. Some things will become clear as you continue reading. Wolfe's puzzles often have many pieces though, and it's not even clear how many mysteries are in this book.

As far as figuring out major mysteries that aren't revealed by reading the book through once, there's a "sequel" called Urth of the New Sun. Apparently Gene thought he was sufficiently clear, but his editor disagreed and pushed him to write out events that he only implied in the main four books. I continue to reread BotNS, but I only read UotNS once to get those extra threads tied up.

Another helpful resource is Lexicon Urthus, a dictionary/encyclopedia for the books which gives you the context for major mysteries, theories, and events.

And then finally, just come back and read all the cool conversations people have on here. Once you've read all the material, there's a lot of awesome theories you can wrestle with. I've had some of my biggest epiphanies years after finishing the books. People point out a subtle allusion or reference, propose an elegant theory, and it completely changes some part of my understanding of the books.

See, this is why I love this shit. It's so rewarding.

Paul's description of "the third heaven": C.S. Lewis (in The Discarded Image) and Michael Ward (in Planet Narnia) deal a lot with ancient and medieval cosmology - very interesting stuff. Nutshell version: there were seven layers of the heavenly realm, each ruled by a "planet" - beginning with the first heaven ruled by the moon, the second heaven ruled by Mars and the third heaven ruled by Venus. Here's where it gets interesting...


...ancient Jewish cosmology says that the realm ruled by Venus is where God removed the Garden of Eden to, after the Fall. So, when Paul says he knew a man (himself?) who was "caught up to the third heaven...to paradise..." he is speaking in the framework of the then-current cosmology. Fascinating reading for those interested.

Asdfjsdhj omg you two are sooo cute. What an adorable contest ;_;

Hope I'm not too late to enter!

Morthy demands:

• Item which would most make you seem like an old posh Englishman: Nothing says old posh Englishman then old world steampunk accessories and an airship. I guarentee there's a monocle in there.
  
  
• Most phallic looking item: Ahahaha now that I'm actually looking, holy fuck these are disturbingly phallic, the have balls and everything. Someone was highly amused when they designed the first pair of scissors o_O
  
  Akeleie demands:
  
  
• Most geeky item: Combining geek and chic :)
  
  
• Item which would most help you achieve a goal: This sewing machine guidebook would be the most helpful thing on my wishlist. Almost everything on my wishlist is actually for my project called Stich N Ditch, where I'm in the process of making 1000 plushies to "craft bomb" a poor innercity neighborhood with cute plushies. The most important thing to me is actually speeding up my process, so learning to use my sewing machine better would truly be the most helpful thing in achieving my goal. Akeleie's demands are suspiciously more helpful then Morthy's. Hmm.
  
  
• Best item to bring to a deserted island: Thread. You can create so many things! The possibilities are endless. I'd never want to leave the island if I had this much thread to work with :D

I'll start with an author whose work in comparative mythology is exceptional and deeply spiritual in a way that's very conscious of the difference between organized religion and spirituality. He's got a lot of books, some more scholarly and others much more approachable. Two examples here:

"Since lies are what the world lives on...those who can face the challenge of a truth and build their lives to accord are finally not many, but the very few"
--Joseph Campbell, [Myths to live By] (http://www.amazon.com/Myths-Live-Joseph-Campbell/dp/0140194614/)

“Half the people in the world think that the metaphors of their religious traditions, for example, are facts. And the other half contends that they are not facts at all. As a result we have people who consider themselves believers because they accept metaphors as facts, and we have others who classify themselves as atheists because they think religious metaphors are lies.”
― Joseph Campbell, Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor

Next, if you really want to stretch there's a remarkable series of books created from first-hand accounts from hundreds of individuals under hypnosis to map out the nature of what might be termed our spiritual home or "life between lives" - I find this to be more credibly presented and much more consistent with the many well-documented near-death experiences that are continuously being studied by groups like NDERF and IANDS and Dr. Newton's methodology makes these books a compelling read:

Michael Newton, Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives

Michael Newton, Destiny of Souls: More Case Studies of Life Between Lives

These aren't for everyone, and the idea that there is a proper place for spirituality can be hard to swallow for those who feel scarred by organized religion, but they've been helpful in my own personal journey to stay grounded while I escape a church that's obsessed with sexuality, the pursuit of money for itself above even the welfare of its members, and even the smallest perceived deviation from its accepted belief system and practices.

SO MANY!

["Lies my Teacher Told Me"] (http://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Teacher-Told-Everything/dp/0743296281) by James Loewen. This is about how the world really works, basically. It's all about history and politics and economics and how world powers interact with each other and their own population. It's incredibly eye-opening and will make you understand why everything is the way it is today! It's also ridiculously fun to read :D

["The Quantum and the Lotus by"] (http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Lotus-Journey-Frontiers-Buddhism/dp/1400080797/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383171898&sr=1-1&keywords=the+quantum+and+the+lotus) by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan. This is a super fascinating read! It's actually a transcribed conversation between a Buddhist who became a quantum physicist and a physicist who left science and became a Buddhist! It's this AMAZING look into complicated science and it's explained in such simple terms anyone can understand it. But beyond that, it's this really fascinating glimpse into a world where science and spirituality can co-exist. It's like science explaining spirituality, or spirituality giving a wholesome quality to science. It's just so unique and amazing!

["The Power of Myth"] (http://www.amazon.com/Power-Myth-Joseph-Campbell/dp/0385418868/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383172215&sr=1-3&keywords=joseph+campbell) by Joseph Campbell. If you can, read EVERYTHING by this guy that you can get your hands on! This book is especially poignant because it's addressing all of the aspects of our modern day society, from religion to gangs to marriage, even education. It is incredibly powerful and eye-opening and explains so much about the way we work as humans and the way the individual interacts with society. Plus, you'll learn a shit ton about mythology that you never knew before! And you'll be looking at mythology from a ridiculously profound perspective that I've never seen anyone else address before.

I can give you more if you tell me what you're interested in learning more about :)

EDIT: Typos.

Awesome. I hope you enjoy it.

When you take the plunge, consider picking up a copy of Lexicon Urthus, it is an encyclopedia of words, characters and terms used in the Urth Cycle.

Most of what you encounter is easy to find with a simple google search but the reference book collects it all in one place and puts things in context for you. It can be a little spoilery if you look-up characters and read the full entry but if you stick to looking-up words I think it will be a great help.

The Urth List is a valuable resource as well. When you're done (or while reading) if you have theories or questions -- as you undoubtedly will -- you can search there and find a lot of old discussions and thoughts.


Still, now that I've written all of that I am not sure...looking back some of my enjoyment was not knowing what the hell was going on half the time.

Yes, more or less. It's actually a kind of fiddly matter sometimes. There are some English sounds that just aren't perfectly represented in either the Quenya or Sindarin modes of pronunciation for the Tengwar.

If you look at the title page of LotR, you can actually see an example of the Cirth (a runic alphabet similar in appearance to the Furthork) across the top and Tengwar across the bottom which collectively spell out an English phrase. These give some good hints at Tolkien's preferred mode for English, but there are still some omissions. (I have a copy that I worked on way back in high school. Please excuse the quality of the images. The bit that is left undone on the one page was from the Silmarillion, I believe.)

A good example of something that looks a bit off to most English speakers when just directly transliterated based on the consonant values given in Ruth S. Noel's book The Langauges of Tolkien's Middle Earth, the word "the" is represented just as "dh", because "dh" is commonly used to represent the voiced dental fricative (as opposed to the voiceless dental fricative, such as in the word "thing" or "thin"). So it's still the right sound patterns, just not represented in latin letters the way we're used to it. (At least according to the equivalents she gives.)

There are some other writing samples, too, as well as a multitude of posts on the internet proposing best-fit solutions for an English mode of writing for Tengwar based on evidence and some interpolation and guesswork.

More information can be found by reading the excellent book I mentioned (and linked) above or by reading Appendix E of Lord of the Rings.

TL;DR: YES

The Encyclopedia of Arda is fairly decent - in my experience, accurate, but pretty thin on the content/details. This is probably because it's not a wiki and put together by one person. Tolkien Gateway is another one - it's a wiki so it's much more fleshed out than Encyclopedia of Arda. If you're open to non-web works, my favorite resource is Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-Earth. It's a pretty cheap and comprehensive encyclopedia-style work, and I like it being a book because I often write notes in it and add post-its and whatnot.

Joseph Campbell.


One key thing to remember: Campbell's work is descriptive, not prescriptive. What I mean is that he was describing and interpreting the trends that he found in mostly ancient folklore, myths, and legends. He had no intention of creating a formula for storytellers to refer to, although this is now common practice.


Also, "Star Wars closely follows the monomyth" is really not a topic. You need to answer the "So what?" question. Why did Lucas do that? Where does he deviate from the monomyth? How does he use these common trends to tell a unique story? How does it reflect the time in which it was produced? You don't have to answer all of these questions, but you do need to address something beyond simply plugging in Star Wars characters and situations where appropriate.


You should probably seek out the Joseph Campbell-Bill Moyers collaboration The Power of Myth*. Lots of libraries have a copy. It is much, much easier to digest than Campbell's original work, unless you are already familiar with a great number of myths and extensive academic terminology. The tv series by the same name is pretty good, as well. For a book that uses Campbell's monomyth but updates it with examples from modern media (and a prescriptive purpose), pick this up.


Source: Wrote master's thesis using Campbell scholarship as a resource.

What you're talking about is more or less in line with a psychoanalytic / Jungian interpretation. There's a lot of history and some disagreement^1, but generally the idea is that religion was instituted to codify morality into an easy-to-digest way (ie, making up stories that teach us how to behave morally) and to give a general model of human behavior and interaction, a sort of primitive social science.

I'm coming mostly from Carl Jung (Text 1 / Text 2 / Wiki), Jacques Lacan (Text / Wiki), Joseph Campbell (Text / Wiki), and Erich Fromm (Text / Wiki), but these anthologies give a decent scope of study: Ways of Being Religious and Religion, Society and Psychoanalysis.

There's also an entire sub-genre of what amount to self-help books based on mythology, interpreting myths to teach you how to be a better person: Myths to Live By, Iron John.


^1 One of the big disagreements between Freud and Jung was the role of religion in the mind of a subject. Freud believed it was a fantasy we use to bolster our own sense of importance and impart some sense of order onto the world that isn't there. Jung believed, while that may be true of fundamentalists or the neurotic/pathological, generally speaking it was a positive thing, that it created or strengthened social bonds, that it taught us things about ourselves and humanity.

I can't recomend or say this enough.

You need to read three books:

1. Save The Cat. This book will give you the basics of how to write a script, and what points to follow.
   
   
2. Here With A Thousand Faces. This is the same information you would get in Save The Cat, however, it's way more involved. This book isn't about screenwriting, it's about story/myth and how we tell them. READ THIS BOOK!
   
   
3. The Power of Myth. Another book by Joseph Cambell, which explains why we tell stories the way we do, and why you should write your stories using the 'Hero's Journey' (see Hero With A Thousand Faces).
   
   It is important to learn these basics, as you need to learn to walk, before you can fly a fighter jet.
   
   Happy to answer any and all questions for you!!! But these books are a must!!! I read them all, and still have Hero & Power of Myth on my desk.

I just subscribed to this sub, and I'm so sad you didn't get any answers here. I came here after reading a few books that deal with the actual science behind the physics of time travel.

Here are a few to get you started.

How to Build a Time Machine

Time Travel and Warp Drives

I really recommend From Eternity to Here, it's just raw science on time, though there is an interesting chapter that really explains what it would take for travelling through time backwards. Overall, a very important read if you want to know what time actually is, compared to how we perceive it.

Also, I'll recommend the first book I started with, which I got into because I was writing a short story for a college class that involved time travel. It explains time travel and how to use it in fiction, so it's much less technical but gives a solid understanding as to how we would typically perceive the effects of them. it deals with getting paradoxes right etc. Here it is.

EDIT: Just realized all my links were to Canadian amazon, I'm sure they'll be on the US amazon if that's where you happen to live. Have fun!

(I realize this post is a little bit of a non-sequitur, kinda, but wanted to respond anyway)

You may find a lot of fun and interest in The Power of Myth. It sounds like you'd really enjoy it considering you have such an open mind, so-to-speak.

My friend got me The Art of Language Invention by the guy that invented Dothraki. It's all about inventing constructed languages. It's written for nonlinguists so some parts are boring to me, but I still really like it.

Would she be interested in a more kitschy gift? I've always liked loose lips make bilabial trills in whatever item she might need. Maybe a crocheted wug?

You’re most welcome. 😀 Like you, I have an interest in writing science fiction and, years and years ago, I discovered that book, which is part of a series of books for writers. There’s one on time travel as well, written by Paul Nahin, that’s also very good:

Time Travel: A Writer's Guide to the Real Science of Plausible Time Travel

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Travel-Writers-Science-Plausible/dp/1421400820/

Edit: oh, and one on alien civilisations. Let me find a reference.

Here:

Aliens and Alien Societies

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B2B8FOO/

This one focuses on biology and how to create believable aliens from a physiological point of view.

Start off reading about linguistics and some things which interest you in language.

Learn the international phonetic alphabet ^optional ^but ^it ^makes ^things ^much ^easier

Super useful videos for learning it

In that playlist there are also videos on how to actually start your language, DON'T DO THEM YET.

First you need to decide what your language will be for

Now use either the artifexian video in the earlier playlist or this video which is a bit more in depth to start making a phonetic inventory for your language.

The next things you need develop are:

• Phonotactic rules
  
• A writing system
  
• A grammar system
  
• A vocabulary
  
  You can find resources for those yourself
  
  I would highly recommend getting a book like the art of language invention or the language construction kit. I can't speak for the latter but the former was an excellent guide for me through parts of linguistics which I was totally unaware of and how to use them in a language ^the ^author's ^youtube ^channel ^is ^not ^a ^substitute ^for ^the ^book ^more ^an ^expansion
  
  I hope that helps

This should keep you busy a while....personally I would start with newer stuff and not really worry about reading Asimov, Stapledon, etc. Current authors have built on the work of others, plus they're writing for the current times we're in, so I think some newer stories might have more meaning and relevance.

That's not to say these old stories aren't good, Ted Sturgeon is awesome. There are so many great authors, Gregory Benford, M. John Harrison, Fritz Leiber, Ted Sturgeon. You'll just have to start reading and see what you like.

https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/bookshop/?bauthor=STURGEON,%20THEODORE

• Novels Reading List (Summer and Fall 2018)
  
  
• Library of America: Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror
  
  
• A Basic Science Fiction Library
  
  
• Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels (1949-1984)
  
  
• SF Masterworks
  
  
• Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985 – 2010

A few thoughts:

At one point Lewis and Tolkien were going to write companion novels about space and time. You can see echoes of this in the last chapter of Out of the Silent Planet, the first book in CSL's Space Trilogy when he mentions that space has been cut off from human travel and now any future voyages would be through time. There's also echoes of what might have been in JRRT's Notion Club Papers, which has a time-travel element, but was never published.

In addition, JRRT did not care for the Narnia series because he felt it lacked a coherent theme. However, in the controversial Planet Narnia, Michael Ward posits that CSL actually did have a theme: the medieval view of the planets (The Seven Heavens). There are definitely intriguing arguments made in the book, especially as he combines information from Narnia and the Space Trilogy into his thesis. I wouldn't say it's iron-clad, but if I was still in education, or had the luxury to write papers, this is an area I'd love to explore in depth - specifically the influence of Charles Williams on the evolution of CSL's thought.

If you're interested in aspects of their backgrounds that influenced their worldviews, I would recommend The Discarded Image from CSL (on medieval literature - my favorite CSL book) and The Road to Middle-Earth by Tom Shippey (on the philological undergirding of Middle-Earth). The Humprey Carpenter books are also good (JRRT Letters, Tolkien bio, Inklings bio) as are CSL's letters.

> impressive

Aw shucks, I don't know about that.

I'd been thinking a lot about Greek afterlife recently (because I've been thinking about the temple a lot and there are some really, really compelling parallels there).

I liked mythology when I was a kid. And when I was an undergrad I went back and read the 'classics' because I wanted to understand those myths - which gave me a great list of questions because beyond those myths and the popular culture I'd absorbed I had zero context for understanding the language and culture. So when I go back over a concept in Mormonism (or Judaism or Christianity or Islam) that doesn't make a lot of sense I look at the etymology of the words involved, read about it on Wikipedia, and ask questions.

Also here are some people who's work undergirds my own understanding

• Jospeh Campbell
  
  
• Carol Pearson
  
  
• E.A. Wallis Budge
  
  
• and Hugh Nibley (right?)

There's a book my my shelf that my grandfather got me many years ago called The Dictionary of Imaginary Places. If you don't already have it, I think you'd love it. 😊😊


https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156008726/

Not in medical school so I suppose I'm "normal".
My best advise would be to skip the Ainulindalë and Valaquenta, the first part of the book. This is the section that reads like The Bible, and move onto The Quenta Silmarillion. After the Quenta Silmarillion, you may find Ainulindalë and Valaquenta easier to follow. As well as the encyclopedia that coolaswhitebread recommended, I found The Atlas of Middle-Earth to be both fascinating and essential to understanding where everything was taking place.

You could use awkwords.

Though if you want to do it well, I'd recommend, as others have, visiting r/conlangs. Also, check out the work of seasoned conlangers, like the Language Construction Kit, or David J. Peterson's The Art of Language Invention. I used David's book mostly, and found it really helpful. He's also super responsive to emails and has a supplementary video series on his youtube.

Kindle typography and interior art is incredibly insufficient to render the full experience of a physical book.

Two very recent examples:

The Steampunk Bible

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (edit: OK, I checked out the Kindle sample for this one, and it actually does a pretty good job on Kindle for PC.)

These are art/photo/fiction/etc. books and while yes, the Kindle version can capture the fiction, a full 2-page spread color photo doesn't exactly come alive on the Kindle.

edit: though I don't have any e-book readers (other than my PC and iPhone, the latter of which I do not find suitable at all for more than short website reading, Facebook, etc.) I am starting to be sold on the idea that for pure text, Kindle/Nook can be sufficient containers. It's still not nearly as easy to bookmark/flip through e-books as it is in a physical book, skip ahead and back particularly in anthologies and collections, etc. If it's a simple, art-free novel, e-books are becoming more and more attractive to me. As DRM problems (its existence, to start with) and re-gifting "used" e-books gets sorted out, I'll be much more interested.

There's a way, sort of, J.R.R.Tolkien has left all his linguistic writings on the Elvish Languages in 7 big boxes, (thousands of pages per box) and Christopher Tolkien has later referred to them naming as Quenya A, B, up to Quenya G, for they can be specifically identified. Yes, not a couple of boxes, but even 7, my mellyn (PE: 22, p. 141).

Be aware, though, that if you do not have a particular background, these pages will be likely not understandable, sadly...

Regarding what you can hear/read online:

In real life it is simple. If you do not follow the rules of English grammar you are not writing or speaking in English. If you don't follow Tolkien's rules you are not writing his elf! Anyone who visits the websites dedicated to Elvish languages (Eldalie, Quenya.101, Ardalambion, etc.) or reads the books dedicated to them (those of David Salo, Ruth S. Noel, Pesch, Comastri, etc.) trying to learn Quenya or Sindarin, will be baffled by the array of many different and conflicting grammar rules. These sites and books never agree with each other. Why?

Because every author has invented his own rules.

We read from many writers (Drout, Pesch) and on the net that there are many “neo-elvish” languages: the neo-quenya and neo-sindarin. But it is not correct, neo-elvish languages do not exist or rather are not languages. Writing: Something wure mi expectatione [sic] does not mean that whoever wrote it is the creator of a neo-english language, the same with: Alaghioru saranno alboro dormirenene [sic] won’t make you the creator of a new neo-italian language. To create a neo-language one must first of all be a linguist, know the rules of a Tolkien elven language well and from there build a new elven language. What a job! Those who build what they call neo-Sindarin and neo-quenya only rarely mention Tolkien's grammars and almost never explain what they do (for example, I change this thing written by Tolkien, because I invented a certain new rule). What they build are not languages. They distort the little of what they understand about Tolkien's logopoeia at will.

I happen to like Lexicon Urthus, which helps organize the material. I happen to hate the Solar Labyrinth, which I think is a lot of silly imagining of things that aren't there.

The truth is that there aren't a lot of straight-forward answers with Gene Wolfe. We want there to be; we want Dr. Talos's play to make perfect sense, if only we had the answer key. But Wolfe's work thrives in ambiguity, and while there are some clues hidden, I think there are far fewer clues, and far fewer real answers, than most people do. The point isn't to understand in a conventional sense; I think it's to experience a kind of wonder.

As for your spoiler question: [Spoiler](/s "The woman wasn't actually ever harmed during the festival, and there's no evidence she was a robot. Actually, this is one of the rare places where Wolfe leaves some pretty credible clues: there's good evidence that that lady is Severian's mother.")

It depends on your goals with the project. It is okay to do literally nothing for creating a fictional language, beyond saying that some people in your world speak it; or you can go all out and design a language according to linguistic principles. There is a real art to this. This book is a pretty cool entry point into the art of conlangs (constructed languages).

If it's something you're interested in, definitely do some more reading on conlangs, but recognize that it is a huge time commitment to do it well. For most stories, you can get away with a superficial gloss of constructed languages. But once you have signaled to your reader that you are taking it seriously, they will expect you to do it well.

From the perspective of overall story execution, this is an issue of managing reader expectations. Readers will not expect writers to craft full functional languages with their own linguistic rules and etymological history. But if you promise them that you are going to--by presenting your book in such a way that gives rise to this expectation--then you either deliver or you disappoint.

Not exactly a Novel, but The Steampunk Bible is my go to book for inspiration. A truly amazing book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Steampunk-Bible-Illustrated-Scientists/dp/0810989581

From what I have seen, there are many dictionaries out there you can use. I would recommend going here and checking out the resources. Pretty useful.

Here's another, I find, useful resource for sale on Amazon.

I hope this helped!

Well "From The Two Rivers" is half of the Young Adult version of "the Eye of the World" that included "Ravens," a short Egwene story. Most printings of this book do not include the original tEotW prologue at all, but instead start with "Ravens" as the only prologue. It also had the font size increased and was split into two volumes.

I'm not certain, but the second half should have similar artwork. Just be aware that those releases were geared at the YA audience. Pretty sure this version came out recently, so it may be that they don't have many of the others yet printed. Although, I really can't see anyone trying to pass off Dumai's Wells as suited for a YA reader, so who knows how far past book three they will even go.

That artwork was also featured on the original release of the Companion.

Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-Earth is a great companion read to the Silmarillion. It covers much of the history as well and is a great read for anyone who loves maps.

https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Revised-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0618126996

I missed the whole two souls thing on my first read through as well. Slayer was a very confusing character.

As for a “history” there is the Wheel of Time Companion book which has a loooot of really cool info. It’s basically an encyclopedia but it has stuff like all the old tongue words translated and it mentions the power levels of every Aes Sedai.

There’s also the World of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time which might be closer to what you’re looking for. It doesn’t include as much info, and it came out before the series was finished I think. But it gives a really good overview of Randland and the past. It breaks down the different nations, factions, age of legends, etc. i highly recommend both if you love WoT (though the artwork in the latter book is... questionable. I do like some of it, but some is horrendous imo).

Edit: I have both btw so feel free to ask any questions or if you want a little sneak peak I can pm you some pics of them.

I can't speak to hardcover editions of LotR as I still haven't committed to those myself, but I would recommend that whatever version you get, get an ebook version too - being able to search the text is absolutely wonderful, particularly if you also have a copy of The Complete Guide To Middle Earth by Robert Foster.

As an aside, this version of the Silmarillion is very nice.

!!! MAPS !!!

I have lots of maps and took pictures. I saw this post earlier but just got home and had time to dig everything up. Note that I'm not an expert and haven't looked at some of this stuff in a while, and haven't actually read much of the 12 books of The History of Middle Earth (yet...).

Here's a picture of Beleriand from The Maps of Tolkien's Middle-Earth.

--> Beleriand

This is pretty much the map in the back of The Silmarillion. You can see there's basically a big desert at the top. To the north of that is the Iron Mountains behind which are Angband and Utumno. Middle Earth is to the south (or kinda south east I think) of this whole thing, and as others have said this was all destroyed long before the events in LOTR. If you look at any map of Middle Earth, eg. the one at the back of FOTR, you'll see some mountains, Ered Luin, at the top left. These are visible at the bottom right of the above map of Beleriand, so you can see where Beleriand and Middle Earth used to connect.

Here's a picture from The Shaping of Middle Earth which is the 4th volume in the 12 volume The History of Middle Earth.

--> Beleriand north showing Angband

This is a draft by Tolkien and is similar to the above map from the Silmarillion but it extends farther north, and you can see the Iron Mountains (called Mts. of Iron in red print near the top), above which is Angband.

This last one is from the same book but is poor quality but I found a better version online. It's from the Ambarkanta section. It was also by Tolkien and I think is even more preliminary than the above map.

--> Ambarkanta map IV showing Utumno

To get you oriented, Valinor is on the left over the sea (the liney/squiggly bits are water). The middle section is Middle Earth (a rough draft of it anyways). At the very top is the Iron Mountains and above that is Utunmo, though it's hard to read. This may not match perfectly what's in the text as Tolkien may have changed in his head where things are in relation to each other without redrawing maps. There is some text in the book that says Tolkien's original idea was that Melkor rebuilt his fortress of Angband on the same site as Utumno which is why the sites seem so close in the 2nd two maps above. It says that Tolkien later revised this idea so that Angband was at a separate location, which I think is why the 2nd map above (Beleriand north) which is more complete than the Ambarkanta map shows Angband near the Iron Mountains but not Utumno.

A lot of The History of Middle Earth contain a lot of this type of stuff that describes how Tolkien's ideas about Middle Earth and such changed over time.

And lastly, just because, here's the map I have on my living room wall. It's a Middle Earth foil map that I got at a campus poster sale about 7 years ago then got framed and put behind glass (which cost significantly more than the map itself, but was so worth it :) ).

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell.

It changed my intellectual landscape at a young age. It's about comparative mythology, but it will open your world to the intellectual curiosities of art, religion, sociology, anthropology, mysticism, metaphysics and much more. A beautiful, eye-opening read.

I just got into LOTR LCG, picked up the core set in January and at first I thought "this will be a cute little game". Shortly after things escalated quickly and I fell in love, it was my own. I begun to reread LOTR, I bought the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle but that wasn't enough precious! So I went to the amazon and got Dwarrowdelf and Against the Shadow cycles at the same time, we needs it.

After that came the deckbuilding and they wanted to touch the cards! With their filthy fat hobbitses hands, we must protect it!

So having suddenly 1500+ cards to sleeve I needed to go cheap. So I went to mordor and bought a few pack's the quality is quite good BUT some packs happen to be 2mm longer wich is annoying but easily fixed with a metal ruler and x acto knife.

Also I made a my own custom playmat and cause I am crazy like that I bought this book it's epic!

TLDR;
I sleeve..

David Peterson, who makes the conlangs for Game of Thrones and a number of other movies and TV shows, just published a really great book called The Art of Language Invention – it's really entertaining, and a great introduction to how to start making a conlang. Also, he has a tumblr.

i purchased this book and find it a very accessible and rewarding process of reading and learning :-)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1473683491/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile
it comes with recommendations on how to best approach the texts etc :)

It's a little dry but you might check out The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. It covers a lot of ground, talks about the common themes in all of the worlds religions. Very enlightening stuff.

There's also a video version out there somewhere which covers most of the major stuff. We got to watch it in HS & it's pretty cool.

>I meant collecting things with a similar suit outside the most popular books is simply impossible because publishing is not uniform across Tolkien's work.

Ah, yes that's true, new material is being published every so often, and old material is sometimes reprinted, but no there isn't a uniform style, format, binding (or even publisher in some cases), but I suppose it does make the collectors market more interesting...

>While I would not pass the chance to get it if I found it at an affordable price...

...I think the cheapest I've seen a purported copy offered for sale at, was $30,000...

>Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Atlas_of_Middle-earth -> According to that wikipedia link, a final revision came out in 2001!

I don't have my copy to hand so I can't check the copyright/publication dates, but I have this edition:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0618126996/

if 2002 is correct then yes looks like it is a 3rd edition.

I think it is getting re-released again later this year anyway...

It's from Karen Wynn Fonstad's wonderful The Atlas of Middle-earth. Highly recommended! It's not strictly canon, but very faithful and almost entirely free of conjecture.

John Howe's maps of Middle-earth (available in a big box set) are pretty good, and his map of Middle-earth is definitive as far as I'm concerned.

Jonathan Roberts created a set of maps for A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones called The Lands of Ice and Fire which are excellent. I have the big map of the entire world on my wall.

Terry Pratchett has a whole set of maps for his Discworld books, including the entire Discworld itself and the city of Ankh-Morpork (both twice, in fact, in The Streets of Ankh-Morpork, The Compleat Ankh-Morpork, The Discworld Mapp and The Compleat Discworld Atlas).

You can buy a map of Roshar from Brandon Sanderson's website and one of Temerant from the Worldbuilders Store.

Wolfe claims that he only uses obscure English words, but his definition of the English language is very broad. I love language and word play and really liked leafing through Lexicon Urthus, which is a dictionary that was specifically made for The Book of the New Sun. My library happened to have a copy, so I used it, but it was by no means necessary.

ISBN: 978-0-470-57472-0, the editor is Nancy R. Reagin (it has many authors as it is a collection of essays). If you're looking in a book store, my friend found it in the 'History' section at a Barns and Noble. Here is the Amazon link for anyone looking to order it online: Harry Potter and History. It was a really good read paralleling the magical world of Harry Potter with actual events, people, places, and things.

*Edit: it looks like it is also available on Kindle. So there is a digital copy out there too for anyone who is reading on a kindle, nook, or something else.

I don't think it's a question of whether or not you can think deeply.

When seeing layers of meaning in something, like a book, it usually helps if someone has a lot of the foundational information that the author draws upon in order to craft his/her stories.

Books don't form in a vacuum. They are derived from a lot of influences in the writer's life. Those influences, in turn, are affected by the history of the culture in which the person is living as well as current happenings.

Have you ever read any Joseph Campbell?

http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php

Many of his works on the Archtypes found in story telling and history can really help you understand the intellectual and emotional underpinnings of most human art.


http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Myth-Joseph-Campbell/dp/0385418868

David Peterson, who develops conlangs for TV shows like Game of Thrones, has a youtube series that I find really interesting and helpful. It's made as a companion to his book. I haven't read the book yet, but if it's anything like the video series, I'm sure it's worth a buy.

Be sure to check out some of the volumes (yes volumes) of literary review written about A Book of the New Sun.

I recommend Lexicon Urthus and Solar Labyrinth.

The essays therein really helped me reach a new appreciation for Wolfe's work and let me enjoy them on a new level.

Once my interest was piqued I read this book and found it a great starting point. Also look for steampunk meetups and groups in your area. Most of all, have fun!

If you're interested in an in-depth analysis of this phenomenon and the role of mythology in the development of Judeo-Christian faiths, I recommend you look into reading anything and everything you can ever get your hands on by Joseph Campbell. I specifically recommend The Power of Myth and The Masks of God series.

Joseph Campbell was himself very spiritual and has a very unique and insightful way of thinking about religion.

There are Tolkien encyclopedias which I find helpful whenever I forget who certain characters are. Here's the best one in my opinion. It is also useful for lord of the rings, and when you just want to check up on some facts about the world of tolkien.

The Silmarillion Primer is an excellent blog that summarizes each chapter in a humorous way and puts everything in context with what you learned in other chapters.

The Atlas of Middle-Earth has great maps that show the movement of characters.

This one and this atlas are really good. The atlas would easily be worth it as a read on its own. The guide is kind of an encyclopedia with pretty much every name or place you could want to look up.

This is probably the best-Robert Foster's guide was even approved by Tolkien:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0345449762?pc_redir=1413709814&robot_redir=1

Also this is probably the second best by J.E.A. Tyler:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0312339127?pc_redir=1413174325&robot_redir=1

Hope this helps

/r/conlangs !!!

Here's a good podcast.

Book from the guy that created Dothraki (he's also on the podcast every now and then) about constructing languages

The language construction kit. Gives you a general overview of how languages do things and how you construct languages

Second part of the LCK. Highly optional

After you're done with either the podcast or the fist LCK, you might as well get into the grammar of other languages instead of using language construction things.

Don't do auxlangs, though.

Edit: There's also a planet construction kit in case you want to get straight into world building as well

As I play, I like to look up every name I come acress to see if it is canonical. Or, at least find out what it means. For example, there's a Malledhrim by the name of Goldagnir (http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Goldagnir). The word "dagnir" means bane, so, this person is the bane of Gol. Which makes me start thinking about who Gol is, or what it pertains to.

Just yesterday I was playing through the Enedwaith quests, and came across "The Huntsmen". He spoke of his Lord from the uttermost West, which is clearly Orome. Which makes this particular entity a Maiar, or at least that was my assumption. The game can't say that, since SSG doesn't have the rights to the Silmarillion, but they can certainly allude to the fact. The lotRo wiki agrees with me, as they have the race listed as Maia: https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/The_Huntsman_(NPC)

I also follow along with the Tolkien Companion (https://smile.amazon.com/Complete-Tolkien-Companion-J-Tyler/dp/1250023556/) and the Atlas of Middle Earth (https://smile.amazon.com/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Revised-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0618126996/). Lots of interesting information from those source that makes me see things in the game world I might otherwise disregard.

I'm a big fan of Short Stories in Russian for Beginners too. The title is quite missleading, I think that it is more aimed at the pre-intermediate/intermediate crowd.

Also, there is a series from CTC called Как я стал русским. You can watch it on YouTube for free. It is a little difficult, but seems like a fun show.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Steampunk-Bible-Illustrated-Scientists/dp/0810989581/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1FABDSFSGERJM&coliid=I3B53H3ZWY5H6Z

That is what you should get yourself. Cause I mean steampunk and you seem like an artist so this would be prefect and if it wasn't higher than 10 it'd be my item too (though it's now on my wishlist as well). For me the closest thing that I could find was this:

http://www.amazon.com/Kikkerland-Casino-Cubes-Cube-Trays/dp/B004RBJR9I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3R8RM38IHOWPY&coliid=I57H78GSLQGQ9

I know playing cards and those sorts of things have a lot to do with steampunk so I feel like they'd fit well together. Either that or my batman knife that I want.....hmmm. Yeah I know it's not very funny......but I tried right?

There is an updated companion book coming this year. Personally, I think you should definitely wait until after you read Path of Daggers (for all the reasons given by others in this thread) but also consider waiting until after the new companion book is out. It could contain a lot of the same information, and maybe ^^(gasp) better art!

Oh, while I'm thinking of it: That link is to the Amazon Smile page for The Wheel of Time Companion, and it is currently spoiler-free. That could change at any time, so buyer beware.

I don't think The Hobbit won't help a whole lot with that. You could read The Silmarillion but that's even harder to read than The Lord of the Rings. If you really want to read The Lord of the Rings a companion book like this might be more helpful so you can lookup stuff as it's mentioned.

Or just don't worry about understanding everything. A lot of the stuff that gets mentioned isn't that important.

There are a few good books about on specific subjects. I'd recommend the Atlas of Middle Earth, I found it an excellent geographical companion a longside the Silmarillion, Hobbit and LotR.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0618126996

Enjoyment will be increased by having a copy of the Lexicon Urthus to hand.

(http://www.amazon.com/Lexicon-Urthus-Dictionary-Urth-Cycle/dp/0964279517)

My suggestion for WoT gifts is to either hand create something, go to Etsy, or go to Ta'veren Tees. http://www.taverentees.com/
I've read the whole series and thoroughly enjoy seeing the merch up on Ta'veren Tees. But if you really wanted to get him something, you could always either get him the book he's on (if he hasn't finished) or possibly the Wheel of Time Companion. https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Companion-History-Bestselling/dp/0765314614

Unfinished Tales.

Also, I really recommend Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-Earth. It's nice to have as a supplemental resource. It's essentially a handy encyclopedia of LotR/Hobbit/Silmarillion. Very easy to pick up and read a section here or there if you come across a name or place you can't quite recall

It used to be ridiculously expensive, I agree (for decent reasons, though). A year or so ago, however, Andre-Driussi was able to re-publish pretty reasonably. You can buy it on Amazon for a very reasonable $13.47. There's a bit less to it than one might hope, but it's still a fabulous resource. HTH.

Book.
https://smile.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Companion-History-Bestselling/dp/0765314622/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TISOVRPQVWMO&keywords=the+wheel+of+time+companion&qid=1570485976&s=books&sprefix=the+wheel+of+time+companion%2Caps%2C308&sr=1-1
The paperback is the large size, not the small mass market pprbk. And if you're a fan of Daniel Greene's you tube channel, he has it in his Amazon store and will help support his channel.

Congratulations! Check out The Wheel of Time Companion, The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, and the canonical (and non-canonical) short stories! And if you haven't already, peruse http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/ - it has good chapter synopses and links between parts of the story.

Have you tried The Dictionary of Imaginary Places? That's fun.

Technically reference, I suppose, but amazing.

Those are common suffixes and prefixes. Nothing in that rule saying there aren't other suffixes or prefixes, or that some common suffixes can be uncommon prefixes and vice versa. Don't read too much into this.

Unless you have a desire to be super strict about naming conventions, just do something that sounds about right. My Rohirrim Cappie has the name of "Eorsplittr Addldottr". If, on the other hand, you wish to be absolutely faithful to the lore, grab a copy of Ruth Noel's "The Languages of Middle-Earth". (Crazy prices for new copies, but cheap for used).

https://www.amazon.com/Languages-Tolkiens-Middle-Earth-Complete-Fourteen/dp/0395291305

Classical Myth by Barry Powell is what my favorite classics teacher taught out of. It is a very readable book that is probably 1/3 primary sources -- which I like.

http://www.amazon.com/Classical-Myth-7th-Barry-Powell/dp/0205176070/

And then these two classics on mythology from Joseph Campbell also come to mind as very accessible and packed with information from a guy who definitely knows what he is talking about:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Myth-Joseph-Campbell/dp/0385418868/

http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936/

There's a book about it The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-Earth. It's an interesting read and it includes a pretty cool dicitonary and stuff.

It should be noted that the laguages spoken in the movies are modernized attempts at a complete laguage with proper grammar and everything, seeing as Tolkien never got around to fully fleshing out his languages.

This book Is quite good and covers several of Tolkens languages, it's not a comprehensive guide but is a brilliant starting point.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_J._Peterson

The dude made High Valerian for GoT, as well as a bunch of languages for Syfy's Defiance, the 100, and a whole heap others. If you enjoy conlanging i highly recommend his book The art of language invention

I just bought this - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143126466/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The art of language invention

It's super good

If you're interested enough to shell out some dough for it, I reccomend getting this book and this book (the second is a bit more of an interesting read imo because David J Peterson has actual relevant anecdotes about conlanging professionally to tell.) Neither one will answer all the questions you'll have, but they will help show you different things to consider you may not have thought of.

>i wanna make one based on Finnish, Hungarian and ice/Greenlandic with Slavic influences


Greenlandic and Icelandic are very very different, Icelandic is a north germanic language which is more closely related to Slavic languages than it is baltic or Inuit languages. You're looking at merging three language families.

also, you'd best learn a tonne about conlanging before making a conlang, I recommend this book:
https://www.amazon.ca/Art-Language-Invention-Horse-Lords-World-Building/dp/0143126466


and/or these youtube channels:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Artifexian

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgJSf-fmdfUsSlcr7A92-aA

also, check out the resources on the side bar.

For the sake of some differentiation on the list:

The Languages of Middle-Earth" for the Scifi leaning people or vaguely interested folks who enjoyed the movies. Tolkien was a language fiend and created some extensive lexicons, syntactic systems, and phonology for every language in his universe.

"In the Land of Invented Languages" All on manufactured languages and the weird people who make them. Klingon, Elvish, Esperanto, etc.

William S Burroughs "Electronic Revolution" (a bit occult, though) on the power of language as a transmittable virus

Take a look at the book's Introduction on Amazon where actually it states this!


-

I found a few on my first go through—the most famous is 'Bela' which is deliberate!(it was kind of a tongue in cheek joke for the fans)—but I did not bother to make a list of them.

-

Though it is very far from the thoroughness of the extravagant 'Tolkien's World from A to Z: The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth', as a lot of stuff is left out—Aiel 'bridal wreath' for example—of tWoT's version, while Tolkien's includes—everything—including the kitchen sink.

-

I say that it is still worth getting. But, like pointed out, some entries need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Are the underlined th and sh meant to be vocalized, like dh and zh?

edit: Also, if you don't already own it, I recommend this book. It looks like something you might enjoy.

I got this book for Christmas (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1473683491/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile) which I’ve been working my way through. I’ve found it really useful !
It’s meant for CEFR A2/B1, but even for complete beginners it should give a good reference for how grammar is used

If you are really intrigued, there is always, Lexicon Urthus and The Solar Labyrinth both of which explain many of the terms used and have a great deal of in depth analysis. Both are available as ebooks as well.

Take it in small steps and re-read if you have the time. I'm someone who always comprehends better when I re-read things. Also having some maps handy is always a good thing. Plenty of maps available online but I also recommend getting The Atlas of Middle Earth.

The maps included here are pretty good.

Thankfully many have taken up the cause. Proudly we carry the banner of house Fonstad. Often I go to link my maps post only to see another has already done so (or I get messages from across reddit saying someone has mentioned me and linked that post).

But on a more serious note, the main problem I think is that this map is one of the first images that comes up on google. So people see it and assume it must be a good one.

https://www.amazon.com/Languages-Tolkiens-Middle-Earth-Complete-Fourteen/dp/0395291305

I had this book years ago and it's really good! Very comprehensive.

Emerson's Self Reliance and On Intelligence (for starters)

Joseph Campbell's Power of Myth

John Bridges' How To Be A Gentleman

If you're going into business: Sun Tzu's The Art of War

Jean Jacque Rousseau's The Social Contract

These are all non-fiction reads that are meant to build character. Most fiction is meant to engender culture in their readers or inspire philosophical reflection. Non-Fiction is typically more instructional.

If you ever decide to read Tolkien's Silmarillion, I'd heartily recommend getting The Atlas of Middle Earth to accompany it. A well-researched and comprehensive, it really helps to visualize the places Tolkien describes so eloquently. The Atlas is rather plain and straightforward, and tends to understate the mythic grandeur that Tolkien describes, but for me it renders the geography concrete and in a fairly realistic manner.

They are as accurate as you want them to be. Personally, I like having this book by Karen Wynn Fonstad inform my headcanon.

The mysteries of Tolkien's universe are what make it so special. For example, I don't want to know where the Blue Wizards went. But I like to speculate that Oromë sent them to Middle Earth to find the Elves that remained at Cuivienen.

Suggestions: Find yourself a map of Beleriand (Fonstad's "Atlas of Middle-Earth is the best thing ever), also consult the family tree of Finwë when needed.

Awesome, thanks for the info and props for including the Tolkien! I'm ashamed I didn't recognize it, I actually spent a few years learning Elvish from this book when I was a kid.

Do you have The Atlas of Middle-Earth? It's a great book, full of maps from all four ages.

I think as far as maps go the Atlas of Middle-Earth is a good reference.
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Karen-Wynn-Fonstad/dp/0618126996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372237375&sr=8-1&keywords=the+atlas+of+middle+earth

Even the "well known" part of middle earth doesn't look right on this map.

This will help a lot.

Here's a book of theories. Some are probably crazy, but some of the stuff in here is surely correct, such as how to tell if a character is human, robot, or alien from their names.

​

Just some basic suggestions, you can do with it what you will :)

https://www.amazon.com/Mythic-Bestiary-Illustrated-Fantastical-Creatures/dp/1844834840

https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Imaginary-Places-Updated-Expanded/dp/0156008726/ref=pd_sim_14_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=518h-D4AR8L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR123%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=8C817F7QAQJ2BTBRMV4H

https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Mythical-Creatures/dp/B006QS5XAC

https://www.amazon.com/Giants-Monsters-Dragons-Encyclopedia-Folklore/dp/0393322114/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51mZJ7gzjvL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR122%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=8C817F7QAQJ2BTBRMV4H

https://www.amazon.com/Monsterology-Complete-Book-Monstrous-Beasts/dp/0763639400/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=61GBdkOSy3L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR136%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=8C817F7QAQJ2BTBRMV4H

https://www.amazon.com/Spirits-Fairies-Leprechauns-Goblins-Encyclopedia/dp/0393317927/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=61H%2BqteBZML&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR123%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=8C817F7QAQJ2BTBRMV4H

Short Stories in Russian for... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1473683491?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I have been enjoying that book, as well as the penguin course.

I also got ABBYY Lingvo (Android, paid), it's a great dictionary that has verb conjugations, noun declensions, and includes word stress.

But the most important thing is to practice. I'm a beginner, but I'd be up for practising (I'm on the US West coast if it matters).

You might look for a copy of this or of this. The Fonstad book is very good. The "Composite Pathways" map on pg 172-173 is exactly what you want.

I'm partial to Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth.

I believe many of these graphics are from the Atlas of Middle Earth. It is a great book if you want to geek out on maps.

I am open to the idea that something created the universe, but that something is most likely beyond our ability to fully comprehend. We may see wisps of It in each of us (quite frankly, every human is a walking miracle), but with all the flavors of God out there...

Relatively recently, people have begun suggested that The Chronicles of Narnia also take a lot of inspiration from medieval cosmology.

Atlas of Middle Earth

Unfinished Tales - Extra info on Gondor, Arnor, Rohan, Numenorean history, the Wizards, the Nazgul, Galadriel and Celeborn, etc. NB - This is actual Tolkien writing, not some amateur summary.

The Silmarillion - The complete history of setting, from the Creation, to the 'gods', Morgoth (Sauron's boss), the origins of the Elves, Humans and Dwarves. Has a great chapter called "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, which is basically the major points of the 3000 years leading up to LotR. NB - Actual Tolkien writing, but edited by Christopher Tolkien.

and of course:

The Lord of the Rings ! - Check out the appendices at the back of RotK for a bunch of extra lore material.

As others have said recommended I'd start with Silmarillion first, though I'd also recommend picking up The Atlas of Middle-Earth to have close by so you can reference as needed when reading.

My first instinct was a volume of This Histories of Middle Earth (I think one is even pink), but it could also be something like The Complete Guide to Middle Earth or The Atlas of Middle Earth.

Abrams pretty much copied this cover exactly for their recent "Steampunk Bible"

http://www.amazon.com/The-Steampunk-Bible-Illustrated-Scientists/dp/0810989581/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377714519&sr=8-1&keywords=steampunk+bible

It was deep enough that it inspired others to write their own. That does not happen too often.

I got The Languages of Tolkein's Middle Earth for Christmas a few years ago. Its not a teaching book per se, but it has all the vocabulary and grammatical rules that can be found or determined from context for Elvish, plus some stuff on Khudzul and a bunch of other languages.

I found Sibley's The Maps of Tolkien's Middle-Earth to be quite helpful. Poster sized maps of Beleriand, the Hobbit area, and the LOTR area.

We world-building fans are hoping for another one at the end of the second series.

Thought of some other things you might enjoy. Not strictly appendices, but they are world-building addenda I think.

Wheel of Time Companion.

World of Ice and Fire

There's an entire book dedicated to the words in The Book of the New Sun.

http://www.amazon.com/Lexicon-Urthus-Dictionary-Urth-Cycle/dp/0964279517

Have this at hand whenever you're reading it and you'll be much better off.

Ahem. Maybe this one is good.

Nice, I have
this one.

If you like this, you'll love this. Even more maps!

You could read his book if you're actually interested in conlanging. There's also /r/conlangs

You may be interested in this Atlas of Middle-Earth

There are actually a couple of books that try to piece together what actually happened in The New Sun: Solar Labyrinth: Exploring Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" and Lexicon Urthus: A Dictionary for the Urth Cycle. The latter is a dictionary, but a lot of entries have observations about plot developments, as well as etymology that sheds light on the intended (hidden) meaning. For example, did you know that the character of Baldanders is borrowed from Germany myth via Jorge Luius Borges' The Book of Imaginary Beings? The dictionary also has a plot summary. Solar Labyrinth is an in-depth analysis, which among other things posits that Nessus is a future version of Buenos Aires, and that [Spoiler](/s "Father Inire is Severian's father") (if I recall correctly). Of course, you already figured out the stuff about [Spoiler](/s "Dorcas (the 'dead' girl from the lake) being Severian's grandmother").

If anyone is looking for an author that is very, very, very knowledgeable on mythological matters and the historical relations and importance of it all, take a look and read anything by Joseph Campbell.

Check out the Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad! It's Tolkien Estate-approved and is absolutely fantastic. Besides maps, there's routes of journeys, battle formations, thematic maps and demographic information. It's one of my favourite book investments of all time.

I would work really hard on contextualizing the different perspectives.

Get a grasp on the purposes of myths within a religious belief system before trying to relate it at all to physics.

In contemporary societies, religious myth is designed to teach spiritual concepts (humility, gratitude, respect, etc.), not physical ones.

Some fundamentalists/superstitious types have a hard time dealing with scientific reasoning, but that doesn't mean that people who hold religious beliefs do not also accept scientific understanding.

You may want to narrow down "religion" to "indigenous mythology" - just to keep the scope of your project within reason.

David Day has a bad reputation for just making things up without any basis in Tolkien's work. I tend to not recommend them.

If you want an atlas the gold standard is The Atlas of Middle-earth by Karen-Anne Fonstad


If you want to enhance his reading of LotR, Hammond and Scull's LotR Reader's Companion is the way to go.

If you want an encyclopedia style book, Forster's Complete Guide to Middle-earth is best.

Thought I'd provide some Amazon links to these fine suggestions, along with a few of my own.

J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0008214549/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Jc.DCb1A3J8V6

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Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/000755690X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Qe.DCbHG7HWXM

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Art of the Lord of the Rings US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544636341/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_3f.DCbB8Y2ZNZ

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Art of the Hobbit US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0547928254/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ng.DCbCX2CT65

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Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1851244859/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Vg.DCbSEH99RE

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Rateliff's History of the Hobbit US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CF6AZWK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Dj.DCbGWY7970

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Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-Earth US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618126996/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Kk.DCbC2XF6NT

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Letters of JRR Tolkien US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618056998/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ml.DCbREBRZH4

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Carpenter's Tolkien: A Biography US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618057021/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_xm.DCbY976PAE

I’d recommend buying Karen Wynn Fonstad’s Atlas of Middle-Earth

It's called The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad (Revised Edition). [See here] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618126996/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=026110277X&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1BFD9T9QP2679T2QKX4Q) looking inside should give you a taste. Thank you again though as I realized I should be using mine in my Fellowship of the Ring read.

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Companion-History-Bestselling/dp/0765314622

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Something like this?

Highly recommended and one of the most accurate atlas's out there!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Atlas-Middle-Earth-Revised-Edition/dp/0618126996?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

Any one who is a fan of the LOTR maps should check out The Atlas of Middle-Earth.

Here's one possibility: https://www.amazon.com/Maps-Tolkiens-Middle-earth-Brian-Sibley/dp/061839110X

It sounds like each of the four poster maps included is 28"x28", and is folded in the box; you'd need to get your own frame. I'm not aware of any other options, for better or worse.

In addition to what /u/Willie9 said, I highly recommend Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-Earth. It's got all of the maps in that post as well as many others detailing various battles, journeys, and other historical events in Tolkien.

The books should include Tolkien's maps.

This is also a good book.

As for the characters it probably won't be as complicated as you think for The Hobbit and LotR. Both stories are travelling narratives so the relevant characters kinda come and go, such that when they're not around, you don't need to worry about them.

For maps and characters both it's really only The Silmarillion that's very complex. The others are novels, but the Sil is a history book.

I mean, Element Encyclopedia has books on everything for that. Not my particular favorite brand (mostly because I am a huge mythology nerd and have better books on monsters) but their selection should work for you.

But my two personal recomendations for any fantasy are

[Giants, Monsters and Dragons] (https://www.amazon.com/Giants-Monsters-Dragons-Encyclopedia-Folklore/dp/0393322114)

and

The Dictionary of Imaginary Places

http://www.amazon.com/Languages-Tolkiens-Middle-earth-Ruth-Noel/dp/0395291305
This is the one she highly recommended. I have yet to look it over.

I use this and it works pretty well for that purpose. No maps, but that's what Fonstad's atlas is for. http://www.amazon.com/Tolkiens-World-Complete-Guide-Middle-Earth/dp/0345449762

The easiest way: read the language construction kit, or this book. It will give you the basics.

Other than that, lurk on this sub and read some wikipedia.

Here, just use my Christmas list:

NIV Zondervan Study Bible

The Goldsworthy Trilogy

Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

Perspectives on Israel and the Church: 4 Views

Tough Topics

Tough Topics 2

God's Design for Man and Woman

Planet Narnia

Paul and the Law

Covenantal Apologetics

The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism

There's plenty more I'd recommend (like anything from John Piper), but that's a decent start.

Yes, this is the immensely researched (and Tolkien estate-approved) Karen Fonstad map from the Atlas of Middle Earth. The other map of Arda that sal30 linked to is actually derived from J.R.R. Tolkien's own early conception sketches, but Karen's maps can be consided the most up-to-date 'canon' representations.

Here's a book resource for you:

Amazon link: The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building by David J. Peterson

Christopher Tolkien actually drew the map based on his father's map, so there are at least two versions, the father's and the son's. And then there's this version from Tolkien-approved illustrator Pauline Baynes, which is essentially Christopher's with little illustrations added by Baynes. Karen Wynn Fonstad also published The Atlas if Middle-Earth, in which she created close-up maps of places like Helm's Deep or Minas Tirith, as well as maps of the entirety of Arda. I disagree with some of her maps, but she had to make choices based on incomplete and sometimes contradictory information from Tolkien. Finally, in Unfinished Tales Christopher Tolkien published a revised map of Middle-earth in the Third Age, correcting some of the errors in the original. I believe that replaced the original map in subsequent editions of The Lord of the Rings.

According to The Wheel of Time Companion she actually survived the Last Battle.

There's actually a dedicated lexicon published to define the words used in that series. It's a worthwhile purchase because it also gives insight on the plot, but for that reason it can also occasionally reveal some spoiler elements.

This book along with careful readings of the book and watching of scenes in Elvish is how I learned. With a few other sites that I cannot remember the names of at the moment >.<