The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Pierre Grimal

The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology  is an invaluable source of reference if you have an interest in the legends and deities of ancient Greece and Rome.

The dictionary has 480 pages of entries and genealogical tables. The entries include famous figures, as well as important places and battles. To give you an idea of the format, here's a random excerpt:-

Leimone (Λειμώνη) A daughter of Hippomenes, an Anthenian noble. When her father realized that she had had an afair before she was married, he shut her up with a horse in a lonely house and gave them no food or water. The horse grew mad with hunger and ate the young woman.

I can imagine this dictionary will be useful for students, in my English Lit degree poets and authors were always making some obscure reference to Greek or Roman mythology, so this would have been a handy guide. Personally, I'm going to take it with me when I visit historical properties, often these houses have a mural or a painting that depicts ancient legends and it will be useful to get a brief synopsis from this book.

I'm still after a novel that retells the mythology as a narrative, rather than in dictionary form, I'm tempted by The Penguin Book of Classical Myths, Jenny March.

For an excellent re-imagined story of Achilles and Patroclus, see my review of Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles 

useful resources for writers

Having a stroll around the internet I came across a few really useful websites for writers, I've saved them for my own reference, but thought I should share.

1. One Look Reverse Dictionary. You describe an idea and this dictionary supplies the appropriate word that encompasses that concept.

2. Tip of My Tongue.  Inputting partial words and meanings, this handy search engine helps you find the word you can't quite remember.

picture source

3. (just for fun) Test your Vocab. Using three quick and easy tests this site calculates the size of your vocabulary and can be used by both children and adults.

The average for adult native English speaker is between 20,000 and 35,000 words. My score was 30,900 and I was a little disappointed- I'm going to try and make the effort to look up words I don't know when I'm reading.

Another surprising fact I learnt after taking the vocab quiz, is that, on average, adults learn one new word a day, until middle-age when vocabulary growth basically stops.

English Literature Degree: Reading List

So you've started Uni, and you're in the middle of freshers week- no doubt you've drank way too many jagerbombs, already had an argument with one of your new housemates over the washing up and blown most of your student loan.

No worries, the next three years of doing your English Literature degree are going to be awesome- here's a list of books that might just help get you through: 

1. Compact Oxford English Dictionary for Students (ISBN: 9780199296255):  Trust me, you're not going to know half the words your lecturer says, but that's ok with a good dictionary you can soon swot up and get developing that pretentious self-conscious English Lit student vocabulary. 

There are a ton of of dictionaries out there, but I favour this one as it tells you how to phonetically pronounce the words. I know some people thing dictionaries are obsolete because of spell checker etc. but dictionaries do give a lot better definitions.    

The downside of dictionaries, is of course, that they're bloody enormous. You might want to consider investing in an electronic dictionary. They can be rather expensive, I have a Franklin Collins Paperback Dictionary/Thesaurus, which retails for around £48.00, although I got mine for free through my Disabled Student Allowance. The best thing about this electronic dictionary is its phonetic spell-correction, an absolute god send if you're dyslexic. 

2. The Adventure of English, Melvyn Bragg  (ISBN: 9780340829936): The English language is constantly evolving, just last week 'twerk' and 'selfie' were added to the dictionary. This highly enjoyable and accessible book takes you through the origins and developments of language. My favourite chapter is about dialect, as I speak with a pretty strong (and often mocked) regional accent.