Review: Canongate Myth Series, Books #1 - #3

Note: I'm not reviewing the content of any of The Myths today, just the external packaging.

The Myths is a long-term global publishing project where some of the world's most respected authors re-tell myths in a manner of their own choosing.

I was very excited when I first heard about this project from Scottish publishing house Canongate. Classic myths being retold in a contemporary way. Easily recognisable stories being handed to some of the best authors out there, so they can polish the meaning, breath new life into these ancient archtypes and make them accessible to modern audiences.

Awesome. And epic. This series only just started and it's planning to get to a century.

So of course I bought the hardcover box set, featured below. This set has the first three books; A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, Weight by Jeanette Winterson and also a small inclusion by Philip Pullman A Word or Two About Myth.

A Short History of Myth is more of an overview of myth in general, and what the myths we know today meant to different periods of our human history.

The Penelopiad Homer's Odyssey told from his wife's perspective

Weight The overlapping story of Atlas and Heracles, and a poignant take on the way Heracles tricked Atlas into taking back the world

The Myths!

So first we have the box, which is patterned with cave drawings, appropriately enough. There's also gold writing on the back, detailing the books, and the little Canongate Myths Symbol also in gold.
The box itself is made of thick board - not flimsy at all, I could probably rest my monitor on it.

The hardcovers each have decorative jackets. They look all the same inside the jackets.

I'm not sure if you can see the text, but the chapters are printed in a deep red. Some of the words in the foreward are also printed in the same deep red and the contents pages have the same theme... very pretty.



I bought the boxset and I'm more than pleased with it. The editions are of a high quality, some of the best editions i've seen in a while.


Just one last note: these books are more novellas, they do not take long to read, but they are worth it! Really recommend these, pick your favourite author up to see how they teach old dogs to play pianos.



Find out more about the myths series here:
http://www.themyths.co.uk/

Review: The Divine Comedy, Dante (Barnes and Noble Leatherbound Edition)

Note: I'm not reviewing the content of Dante's Divine Comedy today, just the external packaging.

Barnes and Noble have been releasing leather bound (bonded-leather bound) editions of particular classics. THese can include singular books, like Dracula or the Picture of Dorian Gray or collections, like Chronicles of Narnia or Grimm's Fairy Tales. I picked up the Dante edition in a nice red bonded leather. I believe "bonded leather" is actually particles of leather and other materials mixed together, but the effect (at least on my copy) is quite classic-looking.

Pictures below...

This is a fair representation of the colour of the cover.The black designs don't stand out as much as they do in the flash here, but are very visible (and pretty). The title, "Dante" and some design are completed in shiny gold-look.

I love the look, and even the gold edging on the pages - even though I doubt it will last long with the rate it is flicking off on my fingers. The pages are quite stuck together though, so I had to flick back and forth to seperate them all.

The only think I don't love is the design right in the centre. It doesn't keep in with the rest of the "look", which is a classic gold, red and black motif. The design - which I think is a sticker - is too colourful for the book. Even inside the book is very classically designed so Im not sure why they thought sticking a colourful sticker in the centre of the cover was a good idea.
I don't hate the cover, I quite like it still, but I think the centre inlay was a bad idea.

Continuing with the cover, this is the back. The design on the back is beautiful, depicting a swirl up from inferno to a gold topped paradiso. I don't know why they didnt try for something similar on the front cover.

This is the inner cover.

This is a sample of one of the pages. Barnes and Noble went with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's translation, which I don't mind. I think I originally read John Ciardi's in early high school, but I can't be sure! I don't have a copy of John Ciardi's though. I have Mark Musa's translations in a penguin classic, but I don't particularly like any of them over the other. Perhaps if I read them one after the other...

Now the main reason I wanted this copy is that it has Gustave Dore's illustrations inside! I'm not sure how many illustrations are inside the edition, but they are plentiful, and make the edition worthy of buying themselves! (click to enlarge)




All in all, the edition is a great addition to your bookshelf, the only real downside being the central sticker-thingy on the front cover (and if you dislike HWL)

I would definitely like to get more of these editions. They are not rare, but they are a definite book-lovers indulgence.