Best Literary History & Criticism Reference Books

Here you will get Best Literary History & Criticism Reference Books For you.This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.

1. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, Revised Edition

Author: by Thomas C Foster
0062301675
Harper Perennial

English

View on Amazon

A thoroughly revised and updated edition of Thomas C. Foster’s classic guidea lively and entertaining introduction to literature and literary basics, including symbols, themes and contexts, that shows you how to make your everyday reading experience more rewarding and enjoyable.

While many books can be enjoyed for their basic stories, there are often deeper literary meanings interwoven in these texts. How to Read Literature Like a Professor helps us to discover those hidden truths by looking at literature with the eyesand the literary codes-of the ultimate professional reader, the college professor.

What does it mean when a literary hero is traveling along a dusty road? When he hands a drink to his companion? When he’s drenched in a sudden rain shower? Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices and form, Thomas C.

Foster provides us with a broad overview of literaturea world where a road leads to a quest, a shared meal may signify a communion, and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just a shower-and shows us how to make our reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun.


2. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, 75th Anniversary Illustrated Edition (BLACK DOG & LEV)

Author: by Edith Hamilton
0316438529
Black Dog & Leventhal
English

View on Amazon

This 75th anniversary edition of a classic bestseller is stunningly illustrated and designed to enchant fans of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology at all ages. Since its original publication by Little, Brown and Company in 1942, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology has sold millions of copies throughout the world and established itself as a perennial bestseller.

For more than seven decades readers have chosen this book above all others to discover the enchanting world of mythology – from Odysseus’s adventure-filled journey to the Norse god Odin’s effort to postpone the final day of doom. This deluxe, hardcover edition is fully-illustrated throughout with all-new, specially commissioned art, making it a true collector’s item.


3. DC Comics Encyclopedia All-New Edition: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe

Author: by Matthew K. Manning
DK
English
368 pages

View on Amazon

Revamped, redesigned, and fully updated to include the New 52 and Rebirth storylines, this is the definitive and indispensable guide to the characters and worlds of the DC Comics Universe. Created in full collaboration with DC Comics, this comprehensive reference book has The Washington Post saying, “The DC Comics Encyclopedia is a must.” Formatted in an easy-to use A-to-Z layout, this guide is packed with information and thrilling comic book art and features more than 1,100 characters including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, and much more.

The DC Comics Encyclopedia All-New Edition brings everything up to date, providing an accessible, compelling, and lavishly illustrated guide to the dynamics of the DC Comics Universe. All DC characters and elements & DC Comics.(s17)


4. The Norton Introduction to Literature

Author: by Kelly J. Mays
English
1216 pages
0393420469

View on Amazon

Develop close readers and confident writersat an affordable price. This diverse and affordable collection offers the trusted writing guidance students need, along with the exciting mix of stories, poems, and plays instructors want. The Thirteenth Edition adds more contemporary works to engage today’s students and new pedagogical tools to help foster close reading and careful writing, making this book the best choice for helping students appreciate, analyze, and write.


5. The Outlandish Companion (Revised and Updated): Companion to Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn

Author: by Diana Gabaldon
Delacorte Press
English
608 pages

View on Amazon

Perfect for readers of the bestselling Outlander novelsand don’t miss The Outlandish Companion Volume Two! #1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon has captivated millions of readers with her critically acclaimed Outlander novels, the inspiration for the Starz original series.

From the moment Claire Randall stepped through a standing stone circle and was thrown back in time to the year 1743and into a world that threatens life, limb, loyalty, heart, soul, and everything else Claire hasreaders have been hungry to know everything about this world and its inhabitants, particularly a Scottish soldier named Jamie Fraser.

In this beautifully illustrated compendium of all things Outlandish, Gabaldon covers the first four novels of the main series, including: full synopses of Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, and Drums of Autumn a complete listing of the characters (fictional and historical) in the first four novels in the series, as well as family trees and genealogical notes a comprehensive glossary and pronunciation guide to Gaelic terms and usage The Gabaldon Theory of Time Travel, explained frequently asked questions to the author and her (sometimes surprising) answers an annotated bibliography essays about medicine and magic in the eighteenth century, researching historical fiction, creating characters, and more professionally cast horoscopes for Jamie and Claire the making of the TV series: how we got there from here, and what happened next (including My Brief Career as a TV Actor) behind-the-scenes photos from the Outlander TV series set For anyone who wants to spend more time with the Outlander characters and the world they inhabit, Diana Gabaldon here opens a door through the standing stones and offers a guided tour of what lies within.


6. The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition)

Author: by Karen Wynn Fonstad
Houghton Mifflin
English
224 pages

View on Amazon

Karen Wynn Fonstad’s THE ATLAS OF MIDDLE-EARTH is an essential volume that will enchant all Tolkien fans. Here is the definitive guide to the geography of Middle-earth, from its founding in the Elder Days through the Third Age, including the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring.

Authentic and updated – nearly one third of the maps are new, and the text is fully revised – the atlas illuminates the enchanted world created in THE SILMARILLION, THE HOBBIT, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Hundreds of two-color maps and diagrams survey the journeys of the principal characters day by day – including all the battles and key locations of the First, Second, and Third Ages.

Plans and descriptions of castles, buildings, and distinctive landforms are given, along with thematic maps describing the climate, vegetation, languages, and population distribution of Middle-earth throughout its history. An extensive appendix and an index help readers correlate the maps with Tolkien’s novels.


7. The Outlandish Companion Volume Two: The Companion to The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander)

Author: by Diana Gabaldon
Delacorte Press
English
656 pages

View on Amazon

Perfect readers of the bestselling Outlander novelsand don’t miss the revised and updated first volume of The Outlandish Companion! More than a decade ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon delighted her legions of fans with The Outlandish Companion, an indispensable guide to all the Outlander books at the time.

But that edition was just a taste of things to come. Since that publication, there have been four more Outlander novels, a side series, assorted novellas, and one smash-hit Starz original television series. Now Gabaldon serves up The Outlandish Companion, Volume Two, an all-new guide to the latest books in the series.

Written with Gabaldon’s signature wit and intelligence, this compendium is bursting with generous commentary and juicy insider details, including a complete chronology of the series thus far full synopses of The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart’s Blood recaps of the Lord John Grey novels: Lord John and the Private Matter, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, Lord John and the Hand of Devils, and The Scottish Prisoner a who’s who of the cast of Outlander characters, cross-referenced by book detailed maps and floor plans a bibliographic guide to research sources essays on subjects as wide ranging as Outlandish controversies regarding sex and violence, the unique responsibilities of a writer of historical fiction, and Gabaldon’s writing process a guided tour of the clothes, food, and music of the eighteenth century a Scottish glossary and pronunciation guide personal photos from the author taken on the set of the Starz Outlander series As entertaining, sweeping, and addictive as the series itself, this second volume of The Outlandish Companion is a one (or two)-of-a-kind gift from an incomparable author.


8. How to Read the Constitution–and Why

Author: by Kim Wehle
English
352 pages
006289630X

View on Amazon

“A must-read for this era. Jake Tapper, CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent An insightful, urgent, and perennially relevant handbook that lays out in common sense language how the United States Constitution works, and how its protections are eroding before our eyesessential reading for anyone who wants to understand and parse the constantly breaking news about the backbone of American government.

The Constitution is the most significant document in America. But do you fully understand what this valuable document means to you? In How to Read the Constitution-and Why, legal expert and educator Kimberly Wehle spells out in clear, simple, and common sense terms what is in the Constitution, and most importantly, what it means.

In compelling terms and including text from the United States Constitution, she describes how the Constitution’s protections are erodingnot only in express terms but by virtue of the many legal and social norms that no longer shore up its legitimacyand why every American needs to heed to this red flag moment in our democracy.


9. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms

Author: by Eavan Boland
English
400 pages
0393321789

View on Amazon

“Concise, learned, revisionary… Should enrich the passionate conversation about poetic forms for years to come.” Edward Hirsch, author of How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry Two of our foremost poets provide here a lucid, straightforward primer that “looks squarely at some of the headaches and mysteries of poetic form”: a book for readers who have always felt that an understanding of form (sonnet, ballad, villanelle, sestina, among others) would enhance their appreciation of poetry.

Tracing “the exuberant history of forms,” they devote one chapter to each form, offering explanation, close reading, and a rich selection of examplars that amply demonstrate the power and possibility of that form.

10. The Wheel of Time Companion: The People, Places, and History of the Bestselling Series

Author: by Robert Jordan
Tor Books
English
816 pages

View on Amazon

The definitive encyclopedia of The Wheel of Time series, the companion sheds light on some of the most intriguing aspects of the world, including biographies and motivations of many characters that never made it into the books, but helped bring Jordan’s world to life.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. Over the course of fifteen books and millions of words, the world that Jordan created grew in depth and complexity.

However, only a fraction of what Jordan imagined ended up on the page, the rest going into his personal files. Included in the volume in an A-to-Z format are:An entry for each named characterAn inclusive dictionary of the Old TongueNew maps of the Last BattleNew portraits of many charactersHistories and customs of the nations of the worldThe strength level of many channelersDescriptions of the flora and fauna unique to the worldAnd much more!

11. The Norton Introduction to Literature

Author: by Kelly J. Mays
English
2112 pages
039366452X

View on Amazon

Develop close readers and confident writersThis unparalleled collection offers the trusted writing guidance students need, along with the exciting mix of the stories, poems, and plays instructors want. The Thirteenth High School Edition adds more contemporary and diverse works to engage today’s students, and new pedagogical toolsin print and onlinehelp foster close reading and careful writing, making this book the best choice for helping students appreciate, analyze, and write about literature.

AP is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

12. 777 And Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley: Including Gematria & Sepher Sephiroth

Author: by Aleister Crowley
Weiser Books
English
336 pages

View on Amazon

896 pages
0393265099

View on Amazon

View on Amazon

A Pocket Guide to Writing in History is the concise, trusted, and easy-to-use guide for the writing and research skills needed in undergraduate history courses. Thoroughly updated to include strategies for making useful outlines and organizing a paper, the tenth edition ensures that students have the most up-to-date advice and ample instruction for writing a research paper for their history class.

15. The Complete Tolkien Companion

Author: by J. E. A. Tyler
1250023556
St. Martin's Griffin
English

View on Amazon

For all those who journey to Middle Earth, here is the complete guide to its lands, legends, histories, languages, and people. The Complete Tolkien Companion explains, translates, and links every single referencenames, dates, places, facts, famous weapons, even food and drinkto be found in J.R.R.

Tolkien’s world, which includes not only The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but also The Simarillion and many other posthumously published works. A detailed explanation of the various Elvish writing systems, together with maps, charts, and genealogical tables, bring the remarkable genius of Tolkien and the unforgettable world and wonder of Middle Earth to life with focus and accuracy.

First published in 1976, this is an indispensable accompaniment for anyone who embarks on the reading journey of a lifetime.

16. Preparing Literature Reviews: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

Author: by M Ling Pan
Routledge
English
200 pages

View on Amazon

Illustrates all the steps in preparing qualitative and quantitative literature reviews. Emphasizes topic selection, locating literature, and avoiding major pitfalls in evaluating and synthesizing literature. Shows how to improve literature reviews through the judicious inclusion of statistical results found in the literature.

Provides easy-to-follow advice on how to avoid misrepresenting the results of published research in literature reviews. The numerous examples throughout the text and the nine model literature reviews clarify the process of following the guidelines for writing solid, state-of-the-art literature reviews.

Shows students how to blend qualitative and quantitative approaches to preparing literature reviews without being overly mathematical. Two chapters present clear explanations of how to conduct meta-analyses. All examples have been updated to ensure consistency with the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the fourth edition of the American Sociological Association’s Style Guide.