Books I've Read So Far This Year

[nekosensei]

1. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
2. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
3. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
4. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
5. (audiobook) Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
6. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories
7. The Colony by John Tayman
8. On Writing by Stephen King
9. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
10. Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund
11. World War Z by Max Brooks
12. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
13. Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon
14. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
15. (audiobook) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
16. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
17. Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin
18. The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
19. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
20. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
21. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
22. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

23. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell -- I've been meaning to read this book for a long time. Campbell combs through the mythology and religions of many different cultures-- both eastern and western-- and finds the tropes that all hero quests have in common: setting out to prove themselves, getting supernatural aid in their quest, reconciling with the father, return to civilization, etc. He also brings in psychology and how the human mind is still in need of the symbols seen in mythology, even after we have abandoned the old stories in favor of science. Campbell also talks about how, in the modern era, these symbols sometimes reappear in our dreams. (He brings up Jung in a number of places). It's a very "thinky" book as it can get quite esoteric in places, but it's definitely worthwhile.

Comments

[white-rabbit-1.livejournal.com]

I read that in undergrad. I really liked it. I really should pick it up and read it again.