UnTextbook Reading Choices

Well to start off, when I decided to take this course, I was expecting Folklore and Mythology to cover the basics of classical Roman and Greek mythology and maybe some interesting folklore from Oklahoma or surrounding areas. But man was I pleasantly surprised at the multitude of options that we ourselves get to choose! With that said, here a few that intrigued me.

The first Unit to stick out was Aesop's Fables, either by Winter or Jacobs ( I haven't decided which). The main reason this stuck out was because I distinctly remember reading Aesop's Fables way back in elementary school. Every reading time we had, I'd go straight toward that book and read all the short stories, and my favorite parts were always the morals of the stories. So I'm interested to see firstly, if I remember any of the stories in these Units, and secondly, if I can apply any of the morals in my own life or if I've already learned them the hard way. I cannot wait to start reading them again!

Next, Dante's Inferno definitely stuck out to me. I've been wanting to read Dante's Divine Comedy ever since we briefly studied it in high school English. The fact that it is such a classic and well-known work presses me to read it, and the heavily Christian aspects in it also stick out to me. I really look forward to reading about how the different punishments in each circle correspond to the sin that the soul committed. My biggest worries about reading Dante's Inferno include the length of the work and whether or not I'll have enough time to read all of it.

(Inferno, from the Divine Comedy by Dante by Bartolomeo Di Fruosino; A painting depicting the many circles of Hell that Dante goes through; Source: from UnTextbook and Wikipedia)

Thirdly, I was intrigued by the Saints and Animals Unit, especially because I'm Catholic and really enjoy reading about saints and their holy lives. Even though I know some saint stories can be greatly exaggerated, I still find them very interesting and even inspiring sometimes.

What also caught my attention was the unit on the Grimm Brothers, but I haven't quite decided which version to use. The reason I want to read these units is because I'm familiar with many of their stories, but I would really love to read their actual stories, not just adaptations. 

It may take me some time, but I know that the stories are very entertaining, so I'm really looking forward to reading them!