/lit/ - Literature

>>15276916
The Kevin Crossley-Holland book is better than Gaiman at retelling the Norse myths, it also has a pretty good introduction, notes, and a glossary provide mythological and historical backgrounds and suggest parallels with myths in other parts of the world.

Also should mention that Jackson Crawford’s English translation of Old Norse myths are excellent, so far he's done The Poetic Edda, The Saga of the Volsungs and The Wanderer's Havamal.

The John Lindow one is more of a scholarly take on understanding the whole of Norse mythology history and an encyclopedia of concepts and deities. The book begins with an Introduction that helps put Scandinavian mythology in place in history, followed by a chapter that explains the meaning of mythic time, and a third section that presents in-depth explanations of each mythological term.

The Philip Freeman book is probably the best concise introduction to Celtic mythology you are going to get, eventually you should read The Mabinogion on its own.

>>14560999
>Saga of the Volsungs
This and The Poetic Edda are must reads.

These are poems about the Norse gods. It includes prophecies and sayings by the Norse gods as well as stories about them. It also includes some poems about Norse heroes and their adventures.

It's probably not the best choice if you're looking to learn about vikings but is fantastic if you're interested in Norse mythology.