I live in a mythic world.
I don’t have a religion – I have a mythology.
And in both cases, I also have special mentions.
That’s right – I don’t just have a top ten mythology books, or my usual twenty special mentions. I have further special mentions by subject – essentially the mythologies or mythological subjects in my top ten mythologies or special mentions. Alternatively, you can look at it as my list of books for further – or classic – reading indexed by mythology or mythological subject.
My usual rule is twenty special mentions for each top ten, if the subject is prolific enough. Here, ironically, it was so prolific I had to condense it to only twenty special mentions, given that I had my top ten mythologies and their twenty special mentions with which to work. Of course, as I usually observe, that would make each top ten a top thirty if you want to look at it that way – or top fifty here as I have two sets of twenty special mentions, one by book and one by subject.
Just to remind you, these were my Top 10 Mythology Books (as at 2025):
S-TIER (GOD-TIER – OR IS THAT GODDESS TIER?)
(1) BIBLE
(2) HOMER – ILIAD & ODYSSEY
(3) BARBARA WALKER – ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYTHS & SECRETS
A-TIER (TOP TIER)
(4) KATHERINE BRIGGS – DICTIONARY OF FAIRIES
(5) PETER DICKINSON – THE FLIGHT OF DRAGONS
(6) PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS
(7) WESTON LA BARRE – THE GHOST DANCE
B-TIER (HIGH TIER)
(8) RONALD HUTTON – THE TRIUMPH OF THE MOON
(9) NATALIE HAYNES – DIVINE MIGHT: GODDESSES IN GREEK MYTH
X-TIER (WILD TIER – BEST MYTHOLOGY BOOK OF 2024)
(10) NATALIE LAWRENCE – ENCHANTED CREATURES: OUR MONSTERS & THEIR MEANINGS