#japanese reading list

[katabay]

THE JETSET LIFE IS GONNA KILL YOU, ERIC CARTER!

my laptop charger uhhhhhh. met its end in a very permanent, very fire hazardy kind of way last week. while waiting for a replacement I decided to try and get some work done at the library and was asking around for some urban fantasy (extra points for a mystery plot of some kind) recommendations to check out while I was there

the eric carter series was mentioned a couple of times, AND had the added bonus of having a necromancer for a main character. I love necromancers. someday I'm gonna play one in a game instead of immediately defaulting to vampires.

Fire Season, Stephen Blackmoore

[onigiriforears]

Vocab pt. 1 | 「伝える力」が伸びる! 12歳までに知っておきたい語彙力図鑑

I've recently started reading 「伝える力」が伸びる! 12歳までに知っておきたい語彙力図鑑 (or what I only refer to as "Words You Ought to Know as a 12-year old") as a means to up my vocab game before the JLPT.

I'll probably post a review about the book once I actually finish it.

But in the meantime, here are some of the words that I learned just from reading the sections about how to use the book and all 5 of it's sections. I was quite pleased at the amount of words that I've already learned (and how many of them were N2 words).

語彙力 (ごいりょく)- (the extent of) one's vocabulary

図鑑 (ずかん)- field guide; illustrated reference book

目指す (めざす)- to aim at (for; to do; to become); to try for

各 (かく)- each, every, all [prefix]

繰り返す (くりかえす)- to repeat; to do over again

基礎 (きそ)- foundation; basis

言い換える (いいかえる)- to say in other words; to put another way; to rephrase

言い換え (いいかえ)- putting in other words; paraphrase; rephrasing; rewording

状況 (じょうきょう)- state of affairs; circumstances; situations; conditions

鍛える (きたえる)- to drill; to train; to discipline; to forge; to temper

変換 (へんかん)- change; transformation; conversion

観察眼 (かんさつがん)- observing eye

目の付け所 (めのつけどころ)- focus of one's attention; what one is looking for; viewpoint; point one is trying to make

文豪 (ぶんごう)- literary master

候補 (こうほ)- candidate; contender; prospect; pick; choice; list

まつわる- to be related; to concern; to be associated with

登場 (とうじょう)- entrance; appearance; arrival

表現 (ひょうげん)- expression; representation; description; representation (of a group)

解決 (かいけつ)- settlement; resolution; solution

ワンパターン - following a single pattern; conforming to the same pattern; repetitive; stereotyped; predictable [Wasei-eigo]

Hopefully, I'll be able to consistently post some of the vocab lists that I continue to compile for this. I'm in the Step 1 section of the book where it gives you synonyms and explains the connotations behind them/situations in which to use them. The first section I read was for やばい~

[demonslayedher]

I finished posting the unabashedly educational Sword Fic.

It includes a detailed (but hopefully beginner-friendly) explanation of all the steps of making a Nichirin blade from a sunny mountain like Mt. Youkou, a touch of swordsmith and metalworker folk lore (including demons), meta about what must make Kimetsu no Yaiba's swordsmithing methods different from real life methods, some character exploration for Haganezuka and his polishing method, vocabulary and additional resources in the chapter notes, and hopefully, an endearing, silly POV character to learn this all through.

[anime-academia]

四月 二日 2024年 火曜日

(しがつ ふつか 2024ねん かようび )

This week's kanji focus and today's kanji practice ft. the days of the week.

Also some books i plan on finishing/ reading this month.

Today felt long, but I managed to go through 2 more reference books and note down the important points. Progress is progress.

I will be spending the rest of the evening on Spanish and watching Sailor Moon🌙

[manicali]

I was looking for a reference photo for drawing Dazai and apparently there’s an author named Osamu Dazai, author of no longer human.

Guess who’s adding more books to my reading list

[scarefox]

btw. here is the LGBTq QL actor list I started on MDL

I try to keep it updated as far as I get information.

[figcatlists]

Horror and disturbing manga reading list

A chart of recommended horror manga, compiled from various online sources. Includes examples of a wide range of horror themes, from eerie psychological horror to graphic gore. See the full web version of this list for more titles and links to MyAnimeList, Goodreads, and Wikipedia.

[kaurwreck]

do you have a favorite literary ref in bsd or is that a cruel question to ask

This is so hard! I like lots and lots of them, for different reasons. If I had to choose only one, and if I were to be sincere, Gin might be my favorite literary reference. I really love how much her namesake short story reframes Akutagawa's character, especially when comparing his Beast iteration against the version of him in bsd's main timeline. O-Gin also just really neatly and cleanly encapsulates what I love about Akutagawa's Kirishitan mono, including his affection for the Holy Fool trope.

To be more silly, I really love when Atsushi tell Tanzō Tonan that he has to feed his chameleon to escape the conversation with Tonan upon realizing Tonan wasn't being forthright (just ahead of the Decay of Angels framing the Agency). There are two references here that I adore (1) the reference to Chamelon Diary, in which Nakajima Atsushi semi-autobiographically recounts receiving a chameleon from a student and also his epiphany on how to live absent objective existential meaning; and (2) the reference to Tonan-sensei, a short story by Nakajima Atsushi about his beloved uncle, whom I also adore.

Rather than attempt to write an essay on Tonan-sensei and his influence on Nakajima Atsushi, I'll simply include a roughly translated version of the short story's Wikipedia synopsis:

The story depicts the protagonist, who secretly harbors self-loathing resentment towards his uncle because he shares similar mental characteristics with himself, but through his interactions with his uncle as he faces death, he gradually sorts out his critical view of the coexistence of love and hate and comes to realize the deep love he has for his uncle that lies dormant within him.

I will also include below a snippet about Tonan (referred to also as "Tan") from Nakajima Atsushi: His Life and Work, a dissertation submitted to the University of Hawaii by Nobuko Miyama Ochner in May 1984 (the date is relevant, because Ochner-sensei was able to speak to some of Atsushi's then-living family and friends to piece together his biography):

[Nakajima Atsushi's grandfather's] second eldest son, Tan, was also a scholar of Chinese. A bright boy, he was able to read the Chinese classics at the age of six and compose poetry and prose in Chinese at thirteen, according to the Japanese system of reckoning age. He was a proud, uncompromising, and impatient man, who never married, and who seemed to be always pursuing the impossible. In a short piece entitled "Tonan Sensei" (Tonan was Tan's pen name), Atsushi describes his uncle as having the virgin's beautifully clear, pure eyes— "the eyes of a man who is always dreaming an impossible dream." Tan, who revered General Nogi Maresuke (1849-1912), was an "amalgam of fervent patriotism and the temperament of a traditional Confucian scholar." He was greatly concerned about the future of Japan and China, as well as of Asia in general, confronted with the onslaught of the Western colonial powers.

...

In his articles he laments the ignorance of Chinese culture and tradition on the part of the Japanese diplomats in China, and criticizes their excessive reliance upon Western sources of news information. He felt that the peoples of Japan and China must unite in their efforts to repel the outsiders from East Asia; he went to China at least two times to try to enlist Chinese support for his vision. One of the prominent men he met was the scholar Lo Chen-yii (1866-1940), who later wrote an introduction to the posthumously published collection of Tan's poetry and prose, Tonan sonko. Atsushi is said to resemble this uncle most.

[amarenacherriezzz]

My 2024 Reading List ✨️📜💗

Books I've read this year:

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Out by Kirino Natsuo

Sono hi no natsu by Kazuko Saegusa

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Currently reading:

August Blue by Deborah Levy

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevski

What I plan on reading this year:

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

The Guest by Emma Cline

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (maybe?)

Let me know your recs 😘

[rose-learns-japanese]

Today I read

暗黒デルタ Ch. 8 (For free!)

Source:

New to me Vocab:

工作活動 (こうさくかつどう) - work activity

物資 (ぶっし)- Goods and materials

浮く (うく) - To float (But in this context it means to feel out of place​)

お会計 ( おかいけい)- the bill (polite)

節約 (せつやく) - saving, frugalitry

工夫 (くふう) - Resourcefulness

恥さらし (はじさらし)- Disgraceful

くぐる - Pass through

[crocutacanidae]

making a (sort of) positive password post but i think orlando may be my favorite. tyson is a close second. both for the same reason. theyre both incredibly racist in construction and have their identity extremely fetishized and their most prominent vulnerabilities are absolutely fucking fumbled by canon. but i get them. i could treat them so right.

[daughterofhecata]

READING LIST 2024

Jonathan Kellerman: Bad Love. An Alex Delaware Novel. (reread)

James Oswald: The Hangman’s Song. An Inspector McLean Novel.

Dirk Oschmann: Der Osten: eine westdeutsche Erfindung

Arthur Schnitzler: Traumnovelle

André Minninger: Die Drei ??? Der Ruf der Krähen

André Marx: Die Drei ??? Spur ins Nichts

Franz Kafka: Brief an den Vater

Candas Jane Dorsey: Drag Cop [org. title: The Adventures of Isabel. A Postmodern Mystery, by the Numbers.]

G.H. Stone: Die Drei ??? Angriff der Computerviren [org. title: The Three Investigators – Fatal Error]

Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451

Chuck Palahnuik: Fight Club

Kari Erlhoff: Rocky Beach Crimes #4. Der blutrote Kondor.

Evelyn Boyd: Rocky Beach Crimes #2. Mord unter Palmen. (reread)

Robert Arthur: Die drei ??? und der seltsame Wecker [org. title: Afred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Screaming Clock] (reread)

Jo Nesbø: Macbeth. Blut wird mit Blut bezahlt. [org. title: Macbeth]

William Shakespeare: Macbeth (reread)

Hendrik Buchna: Die Drei ??? und der dreiTag. Der Fluch der Sheldon Street.

Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse-Five or the Children's Crusade. A Duty Dance with Death.

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin gegen Herlock Sholmes [org. title: Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès]

M.V. Carey: Die Drei ??? Savage Statue – Grausame Göttin [org. title: The Case of the Savage Statue]

William McCay: Die Drei ??? Shoot the Works – Im Visier [org. title: Shoot the Works]

Tim Wenderoth: Die Drei ??? und der dreiTag. Im Zeichen der Ritter.

Ivan Leon Menger, John Beckmann: Die Drei ??? und der dreiTag. Fremder Freund.

Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk: Die Übernahme. Wie Ostdeutschland Teil der Bundesrepublik wurde.

M.V. Carey: Die Drei ??? und die flammende Spur [org. title: Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators in The Mystery of The Flaming Footprints]

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1. The Bad Beginning.

William Arden: Die Drei ??? und der Automarder [org. title: The Three Investigators and the Mystery of the Smashing Glass]

Marco Sonnleitner: Die Drei ??? Schrecken aus der Tiefe

George Orwell: 1984

Guillaume Apollinaire: Liebesgedichte [herausgegeben von Ulla Hahn/Auswahl von Marc Föcking]

Jonathan Kellerman: The Ghost Orchid. An Alex Delaware Novel.

Michael Kühlen: Die Drei ??? Die weiße Anakonda

Christa Wolf: Nachdenken über Christa T.

Steffen Mau: Lütten Klein. Leben in der ostdeutschen Transformationsgesellschaft.

André Minninger: Die Drei ??? Die Spur der Toten

Kōtarō Isaka: Bullet Train [org. title: マリアビートル]

G.H. Stone: Die Drei ??? und die gefährlichen Fässer [org. title: Rough Stuff]

Ernst Jandl: lechts und rinks. gedichte statements peppermints.

Ben Nevis: Die Drei ??? Der dreiäugige Schakal

Kari Erlhoff: Die Drei ??? Im Schatten des Giganten

Bertolt Brecht: „Als ich nachher von dir ging“. Erotische Gedichte. [ausgewählt von Raimund Fellinger und Matthias Reiner]

James Oswald: Dead Men’s Bones. An Inspector McLean Novel.

André Marx: Die Drei ??? Meuterei auf hoher See

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #2. The Reptile Room.

G.H. Stone: Die Drei ??? und die Musikpiraten [org title: Reel Trouble]

Karel Čapek: Der Krieg mit den Molchen [org. title: Válka s mloky]

Ingeborg Bachmann: Die gestundete Zeit. Gedichte.

Ellen Kushner: Riverside #1. Swordspoint. (reread)

Countee Cullen: Color

Konstantin Wecker: Sage nein! Politische Lieder 1977-1992.

Philippe Besson: Venice Beach [org. title: Un Homme Accidentel]

Jonathan Kellerman: Obsession. An Alex Delaware Novel. (reread)

Cornelia Funke: Tintenwelt #2. Tintenblut. (reread)

Sara Berger: Experten der Vernichtung. Das T4-Reinhardt-Netzwerk in den Lagern Belzec, Sobibor und Treblinka.

Neil Gaiman: Coraline

Stephen King: Carrie

Astrid Vollenbruch: Die Drei ??? Geisterbucht

Plinio Bachmann, Rita Czapka, Knut Neumayer (Hrsg.): Kakanien. Neue Republik der Dichter.

Erich Fried: und Vietnam und. Einundvierzig Gedichte.

Georg Büchner: Woyzeck

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #3. The Wide Window.

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin. 813. Das Doppelleben des Arsène Lupin. [org. title: 813]

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #4. The Miserable Mill.

Georg Büchner: Leonce und Lena

Christoph Dittert, Kari Erlhoff, Hendrik Buchna: Die Drei ??? Schattenwelt

Juli Zeh: Nullzeit

Evelyn Boyd: Rocky Beach Crimes #3. Eiskalter Rausch. (reread)

André Marx: Die Drei ??? Die Spur des Raben

Jostein Gaarder: Sofies Welt [org. title: Sofies verden]

Paul Verlaine: Gedichte [herausgegeben von Stephan Hermlin]

Philippe Besson: Hör auf zu lügen [org. title: Arrête avec tes mensonges]

Cornelia Funke: Tintenwelt #3. Tintentod. (reread)

Wolf Schneider: Deutsch für junge Profis

Klaus Mann: Mephisto. Roman einer Karriere.

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games #1. The Hunger Games. (reread)

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #5. The Austere Academy.

Jonathan Kellerman: Todesfeuer. Ein Alex-Delaware-Roman. [org. title: Evidence. An Alex Delaware Novel.] (reread)

Peer Meter, Isabel Kreitz: Haarmann

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin. The Crystal Stopper. [org. title: Le bouchon de cristal]

James Wood: Die Kunst des Erzählens [org. title: How Fiction Works]

Michael Kraske: Der Riss. Wie die Radikalisierung im Osten unser Zusammenleben zerstört.

Kari Erlhoff: Die Drei ??? Tauchgang ins Ungewisse (reread?)

James Ellroy: Blutschatten [org. title: The Big Nowhere]

El Marto, Frederik Richter: Made in Germany: Ein Massaker im Kongo. Eine grafische Reise zwischen Afrika und Europa.

Juli Zeh: Leere Herzen

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin heiratet oder In Arsène Lupins Geheimnisse eingeweiht. Erzählungen. [org. title: Les Confidences d’Arsène Lupin]

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #6. The Ersatz Elevator.

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games #2. Catching Fire. (reread)

Ernest William Hornung: The Amateur Cracksman

Heda Margolius Kovály: Eine Jüdin in Prag. Unter dem Schatten von Hitler und Stalin [org. title: Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968]

Louise Glück: Averno

Richard Breitman: The Architect of Genocide. Himmler and the Final Solution.

Marco Sonnleitner: Die Drei ??? Die Nacht der Gewitter

James Oswald: Prayer for the Dead. An Inspector McLean Novel.

George Orwell: Warum ich schreibe. Die großen Essays. [texts taken from “Essays” and “Fascism and Democracy”]

Kari Erlhoff: Die Drei ??? und das Fantasmofon

Louise Glück: The Wild Iris

Hendrik Buchna: Die Drei ??? Im Bann des Barrakudas

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games #3. Mockingjay. (reread)

James Ellroy: White Jazz [org. title: White Jazz]

Andreas Ruch: Die Drei ??? und der schwarze Fluch

Akwaeke Emezi: You made a Fool of Death with your Beauty (reread)

Ernst Jandl: Laut und Luise

Ben Aaronovitch: Eine Nachtigall in New York. Eine Thomas-Nightingale-Story [org. title: The Masquerades of Spring]

Audre Lorde: Coal

Suzanne Collins: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. A Hunger Games Novel.

Jan Wagner: Die Eulenhasser in den Hallenhäusern. Drei Verborgene. Gedichte.

John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men

Christoph Hein: Verwirrnis

Audre Lorde: The Black Unicorn. Poems.

Megan Stine, H. William Stine: Die Drei ??? und der giftige Gockel [org. title: Murder to Go]

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin. Der Zahn des Tigers. Die drei Verbrechen des Arsène Lupin. [org. title: Les Dents du tigre]

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events #7. The Vile Village.

Elisabeth Steinkellner: Papierklavier

Jiří Weil: Moskau – Die Grenze [org. title: Moskva – hranice]

Philipp Ruch: Es ist 5 vor 1933. Was die AfD vorhat und wie wir sie stoppen.

Ben Aaronovitch: Die Füchse von Hampstead Heath. Eine Abigail-Kamara-Story. [org. title: What Abigail Did That Summer]

Octavia Butler: Fledgling

Historia von D. Johann Fausten [Verfasser unbekannt]

Ines Geipel: Umkämpfte Zone. Mein Bruder, der Osten und der Hass.

DNF:

Allan Ginsberg: Collected Poems 1947-1980

Eva Völler: Helle Tage, Dunkle Schuld

Natsuo Kirino: Real World [org. title: Riaru Wārudo]

[katabay]

Do you have specific fiction authors that you like to read? What aspects of a story make you want to really dig your fingers in it? Is it horror?

I’ve got a couple! Keigo Higashino for sure. anything Naoki Urasawa does: I will be reading it. Priest (Guardian and Mo Du are all time favorites). also KJ Charles and Andrew A Smith!

ngl I don’t really have a concrete list of favorite fiction writers, I spent several days thinking about this one: like, I have favorite books for sure, but I don’t often find myself considering an author to be a favorite just because their book blew my mind. I’ve only read three of Andrew A Smith’s works, but he’s here because he gave an interview years that changed my entire approach to storytelling, and I still revisit it whenever I start editing a story.

honestly the big thing is that I like character!! I like compelling characters (extremely varied definition of compelling, it doesn’t have to be much, but it does have to have something) I like it when something goes full throttle into whatever it wants to be. I’ll watch a slow paced slice of life romance with the same amount of enthusiasm that I had for Devil Judge, and the 1vs10 beat down in Ipman takes up just as much space in my brain as the ‘let’s not see each other from now on,’ breakup in the Heirs (but for extremely different reasons lmao)

however. if I have to pick something more thematically specific: I like seeing people in power get what they have coming to them, I like explorations and confrontations of political and social injustices. kingdom is one of my favorite shows, and the horror is great, but it was the political-class-power aspect of it that solidified it as a memorable watch to me. kamen rider build did something fundamental to the circuitry of my brain. etc.

[kaus-quietis]

A Circus Library - quick recommendations of short stories, poems, comics and novels I've recently read #1

Hello there! I'm the circus resident poltergeist, Eliott, managing this blog until Lav comes back. Today I offer you a slightly different formula of my super awesome super rare super bookclub post, as Lav would say!

Hello hello hello! Is this a bookclub?! Is this chaotic ramble?! Ding ding! You got it wrong!

Writing full on reviews is tiedous and long, and while I appreciate doing it, I'm myself not always in the mood to read a long post explaining why a book is genius. Do I love that from time to time? Yes! Do I have the attention span to write one now? Nope! However, I still wanted to share some titles I recently (re)discovered, and that I think are marvellous reads for anyone wanting to dive into something new.

Here you'll find a few recommendations with the shortest of words to tell you why they are great, or just scream about it.

short disclaimer before I begin because this is tumblr and while I forgot a lot about this website, I remember how the TW thing works lol, it's at your own discretion to search for the works beforehand if you have any trigger you don't want to encounter.

Jack Spicer - Billy the kid

The master of my fate, captain of my soul as Timothée Chalamet would say idk I barely know the guy. Classic and gold, Spicer is an amazing writer and this poem is phenomenal. It's quite short and perfect if you want to know more about the wonder that was US American poetry during the 20th century. Of course I'd encourage you to read all of his works, but Billy the Kid is perfect to start somewhere.

Ryunosuke Akutagawa - Hell Screen

Classic and iconic, I've recently pushed further than Rashomon and boy oh boy am I never turning back. Hell Screen is a phenomenal short story displaying all the elegance and cruelty Akutagawa can incorporate in his works. It's mesmerizing, it aches, it's everything I love. I read this story in Jay Rubin's translation (Penguin Classics), and even though I do not speak Japanese so I cannot compare, I dare say it's a very good one.

Lucie Bryon, Thieves

I never recommended comic books before but I wanted to for a change! I am a huge comic book lover, but most of the ones I usually read are not available in english language. This one is, though. Thieves is a beautiful comic about growth, falling in love and finding acceptance in others and in yourself. It's light and heartwarming, like eating candy.

Ottessa Moshfegh, Lapvona

Now, this book exploits one of my biggest plot weaknesses ever, and that is fucked up people in medieval settings. Lapvona tells the story of Marek, a sheperd's son, who'll be caught in a series of unfortunate events, political struggles, and secrets, all inside the town of Lapvona. It's dark and unsettling, the characters are scandalous and horrible, yet sickeningly human. Now, I said to check the TW yourselves, but be very careful with this one, if you can think of a TW, then it's certainly in this book.

Osamu Dazai, Early Light

In the Storybook ND series, this book contains three short stories : Early Light, Three Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, and Villon’s Wife. I'd recommend the three of them, as it's a fantastic dive into Dazai's shorter works. I think that reading his short stories is very important to understand his work and the width of the subjects and stories he wrote about. It helps that once again, in my opinion, the translation chosen by this publishing house is so good.

This is it for today! Here you have five of the works I read (or re-read) this summer, and that I'd warmly recommend. There are two short stories (Dazai, Akutagawa), a comic book (Bryon), a novel (Moshfegh) and a poem (Spicer). 'Till next time!

[gumihoe]

I'm about to set asian activism back 20 years but tbh I don't mind when white people are a little too into asian stuff. like those koreaboos that say "omo!" and "jinjja?" and their twitter DNs are like their english names written in hangul. idk I think they're funny and endearing in a certain stupid little way. it's when they're on the other end of the spectrum and refuse to acknowledge the korean-ness of the korean things they like that I get pissed off.

[mask131]

A fantasy read-list: A-2

Fantasy read-list

Part A: Ancient fantasy

2) Mythological fantasy (other mythologies)

Beyond the Greco-Roman mythology, which remained the main source and main influence over European literature for millenia, two other main groups of myths had a huge influence over the later “fantasy” genres.

# On one side, the mythology of Northern Europe (Nordic/Scandinavian, Germanic, but also other ones such as Finnish). When it comes to Norse mythology, two works are the first names that pop-up: the Eddas. Compilations of old legends and mythical poems, they form the main sources of Norse myths. The oldest of the two is the Poetic Edda, or Elder Edda, an ancient compilation of Norse myths and legends in verse. The second Edda is the Prose Edda, so called because it was written in prose by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson (alternate names being Snorri’s Edda or the Younger Edda). Sorri Sturluson also wrote numerous other works of great importance, such as Heimskringla (a historical saga depicting the dynasties of Norse kings, starting with tales intermingled with Norse mythology, before growing increasingly “historically-accurate”) or the Ynglinga saga - some also attributed to him the Egil’s Saga.

Other “tales of the North” include, of course, Beowulf, one of the oldest English poems of history, and the most famous version of the old Germanic legend of the hero Beowulf ; the Germanic Völsunga saga and Nibelungenlied ; as well as the Kalevala - which is a bit late, I’ll admit, it was compiled in the 19th century, so it is from a very different time than the other works listed here, but it is the most complete and influential attempt at recreating the old Finnish mythology. 

# On the other side, the Celtic mythologies. The two most famous are, of course, the Welsh and the Irish mythologies (the third main branch of Celtic religion, the Gaul mythology, was not recorded in texts). 

For Welsh mythology, there is one work to go: the Mabinogion. It is one of the most complete collections of Welsh folktales and legends, and the earliest surviving Welsh prose stories - though a late record feeling the influence of Christianization over the late. It is also one of the earliest appearances of the figure of King Arthur, making it part of the “Matter of Britain”, we’ll talk about later.

For Irish mythology, we have much, MUCH more texts, but hopefully they were already sorted in “series” forming the various “cycles” of Irish mythologies. In order we have: The Mythological Cycle, or Cycle of the Gods. The Book of Invasions, the Battle of Moytura, the Children of Lir and the Wooing of Etain. The Ulster Cycle, mostly told through the epic The Cattle-Raid of Cooley. The Fianna Cycle, or Fenian Cycle, whose most important work would be Tales of the Elders of Ireland. And finally the Kings’ Cycle, with the famous trilogy of The Madness of Suibhne, The Feast of Dun na nGed, and The Battle of Mag Rath. 

Another famous Irish tale not part of these old mythological cycles, but still defining the early/medieval Irish literature is The Voyage of Bran. 

# While the trio of Greco-Roman, Nordic (Norse/Germanic) and Celtic mythologies were the most influential over the “fantasy literature” as a we know it today, other mythologies should be talked about - due to them either having temporary influences over the history of “supernatural literature” (such as through specific “fashions”), having smaller influences over fantasy works, or being used today to renew the fantasy genre.

The Vedas form the oldest religious texts of Hinduism, and the oldest texts of Sanskrit literature. They are the four sacred books of the early Hinduist religion: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. What is very interesting is that the Vedas are tied to what is called the “Vedic Hinduism”, an ancient, old form of Hinduism, which was centered around a pantheon of deities not too dissimilar to the pantheons of the Greeks, Norse or Celts - the Vedas reflect the form of Hinduist religion and mythology that was still close to its “Indo-European” mythology roots, a “cousin religion” to those of European Antiquity. Afterward, there was a big change in Hinduism, leading to the rise of a new form of the religion (usually called Puranic if my memory serves me well), this time focused on the famous trinity of deities we know today: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

The classic epics and supernatural novels of China have been a source of inspiration for more Asian-influenced fantasy genres. Heavily influenced and shaped by the various mythologies and religions co-existing in China, they include: the Epic of Darkness, the Investiture of the Gods, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, or What the Master does not Speak of - as well as the most famous of them all, THE great epic of China, Journey to the West. If you want less fictionized, more ancient sources, of course the “Five Classics” of Confucianism should be talked about: Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, as well as Spring and Autumn Annals (though the Classic of Poetry and Book of Documents would be the more interesting one, as they contain more mythological texts and subtones - the Book of Changes is about a divination system, the Book of Rites about religious rites and courtly customs, and the Annals is a historical record). And, of course, let’s not forget to mention the “Four Great Folktales” of China: the Legend of the White Snake, the Butterfly Lovers, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, as well as Lady Meng Jiang.

# As for Japanese mythology, there are three main sources of information that form the main corpus of legends and stories of Japan. The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters), a chronicle in which numerous myths, legends and folktales are collected, and which is considered the oldest literary work of Japan ; the Nihon Shoki, which is one of the oldest chronicles of the history of Japan, and thus a mostly historical document, but which begins with the Japanese creation myths and several Japanese legends found or modified from the Kojiki ; and finally the Fudoki, which are a series of reports of the 8th century that collected the various oral traditions and local legends of each of the Japanese provinces.

# The Mesopotamian mythologies are another group not to be ignored, as they form the oldest piece of literature of history! The legends of Sumer, Akkadia and Babylon can be summed up in a handful of epics and sacred texts - the first of all epics!. You have the three “rival” creation myths: the Atra-Hasis epic for the Akkadians, the Eridu Genesis for the Sumerians and the Enuma Elish story for the Babylonians. And to these three creation myths you should had the two hero-epics of Mesopotamian literature: on one side the story of Adapa and the South Wind, on the other the one and only, most famous of all tales, the Epic of Gilgamesh. 

# And of course, this read-list must include... The Bible. Beyond the numerous mythologies of Antiquity with their polytheistic pantheons and complex set of legends, there is one book that is at the root of the European imagination and has influenced so deeply European culture it is intertwined with it... The Bible. European literary works are imbued with Judeo-Christianity, and as such fantasy works are also deeply reflective of Judeo-Christian themes, legends, motifs and characters. So you have on one side the Ancient Testament, the part of the Bible that the Christians have in common with the Jews (though in Judaism the Ancient Testament is called the “Torah”) - the most famous and influential parts of the Ancient Testament/Torah being the first two books, Genesis (the creation myth) and Exodus (the legend of Moses). And on the other side you have the exclusively Christian part of the Bible, the New Testament - with its two most influential parts being the Gospels (the four canonical records of the life of Jesus, the Christ) and The Book of Revelation (the one people tend to know by its flashier name... The Apocalypse).