My Norton Anthology Collection | Library Tour

In which I start my bookshelf tour by going through each of the Norton Anthology books I own and why you should consider owning them too.
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To Support the Channel (Thank You): ko-fi.com/toreadersitmayconcern
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Chapters:
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00:00 Why read Norton Anthologies...
02:17 of World Literature
07:45 of American Literature
09:59 of English Literature
12:22 of Modern & Contemporary Poetry
16:04 of Postmodern American Poetry
17:52 of Postmodern American Fiction
19:48 of Shakespeare
22:11 of Theory & Criticism
25:31 of World Religions
28:40 Outro
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Books Featured (With Amazon Links):
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The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 2nd Edition: amzn.to/3xmkM6o
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 6th Edition: amzn.to/43GaEkZ
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th Edition: amzn.to/49gMzCB
The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, 3rd Edition: amzn.to/4cKRtL5
The Norton Anthology of Postmodern American Poetry, 2nd Edition: amzn.to/3TLTZaW
The Norton Anthology of Postmodern American Fiction, 1st Edition: amzn.to/3vExAEB
The Norton Shakespeare, 3rd Edition: amzn.to/3vC9XMU
The Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticism, 2nd Edition: amzn.to/43HytsK
The Norton Anthology of World Religions, 1st Edition: amzn.to/3U3aEHx
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I can create these links for any books I choose, so this does not affect my choice of what books to cover for this channel.

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

I'm sure things have changed since I was in high school and college, but one of the things I always regretted about the Norton World Literature was that it largely overlooked nearly all of Africa, eastern Asia, and large parts of eastern Europe. You might get the very occasional mention of someone who has been popular for decades (like Ngugi wa Thiong'o or Naguib Mahfouz), but it seems like you almost never encountered an author who hadn't gained fame outside of Europe or the U.S. As you said, the idea of the canon is ever-changing.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

That's an apt point, and one that applies to various world histories, too. I'm looking at my 2nd edition of World Lit. and see a few sections on Chinese, Indian, Islamic, Japanese, Native American, Ottoman, and one section on African literature. It's a set of volumes I jump in and out of in a scattered fashion, so I don't yet have a sense of the significance of all those sections. Certainly something to consider when browsing each of the editions of these anthologies.

[@margarethaines9310]

You're speaking my language! Lots of books have entered and exited my book shelves over the years, but the Norton Editions endure. You have encouraged me to dust off my 6th Edition of American Literature (Volume D: 1914-1945, Between the Wars). I have always been keen to read more of T.S. Eliot; the high school students I teach are required to read Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Hurston. (Even though there is a 10th edition of this volume in print, I'll stick with the 6th 🙂). I love being able to open a Norton for a specific text and then finding so many other "neighbor" texts within the volume - like a scavenger hunt where the treasured items are surprises! Thank you for your thoughts and your channel format ~

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Yes, a fellow lover of Norton! You describe perfectly the value of these hefty anthologies: all those "neighbor" texts waving hello as we peruse on by, inviting us in for conversation, their voices not forgotten. Thank you for watching and for caring about such precious scholarly classics!

[@boatofcar3273]

Your channel is quickly becoming my favorite on KZbin.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

That's wonderful to hear, thank you!

[@erinseverson8013]

I see your copy of Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy on your shelf!!! What a strange and marvelous read 🖤

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

"Strange and marvelous" is a wonderful way to describe it. Like slipping into the dreamy meanderings of a mind obsessed, only to discover a sense to the dissonance and a delicacy to the passion, and now all the world beyond is where the discordance lies.

[@endurorider44]

I forgot about those books! From someone who loves to dip into encyclopedias on Christianity, Saskatchewan, American business etc. I will probably get a lot of enjoyment from having the Norton's near my desk for an occasional adventure into a new subject, author or genre. Thanks!

[@Kristenaann]

Norton Anthologies are great! I just started reading literature and Poetry a year ago, so I’m newer to it. So far I have only three: Norton Anthology of Poetry, Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, and Norton Anthology of Contemporary Poetry. For Shakespeare I have the Riverside Shakespeare, and the Arden Shakespeare. Then for Literature I’ve just been getting Penguins mostly or whatever translation I like best for a particular book. Loved the video, gave me some anthologies to consider in the future. I’ll check out your other videos.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Sounds like you're building a great collection so far! Thanks for your kind words and for sharing!

[@ashleykieninger2756]

I still have my Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, and it is definitely an odd but richly rewarding collection to have. All of these differing philosophies of reading, writing, and engaging with literary works. This anthology has always provided great food for thought in my own reading life, and I go back to it often. I've only just recently found out about the Norton Anthology of World Religions, which I'm pretty stoked about, and I see each religion comes also in its own dedicated paperback. It will be a good day if I ever find this collection in a used bookstore! Also, great video! More nerdy topics, please!

[@brenboothjones]

I love this. I also have the full range of Norton anthologies (10th edition I think). It’s so good that they have extended them to include a wider range of cultures and voices. I do also think the very notion of the canon deserves serious scrutiny! I love booktube videos that evince a true and deep commitment to reading deeply and ranging far and wide in one’s interests! You exemplify this! Looking forward to part two!

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Those anthologies are gifts that keep on giving! Thanks for being here!

[@davidhall8656]

In this vein, love the old Viking Portable series. While most volumes are dedicated to a single author, say Maupassant or Melville or Nietzsche, a handful are "readers", anthologies dedicated to a particular era or region. E.g., the Medieval Reader, the Russian Reader, the Greek Historians, etc. They are brilliantly edited collections and I find the old 60s-70s mass market paperbacks to be beautiful editions.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Thank you for the reminder that these exist!

[@CriticalDispatches]

Great stuff. I have a bunch of the Norton English Literature Anthologies from my degree and have just ordered the American po-mo poetry and fiction anthologies after watching this vid. I'm very impressed by your Vollmann collection. I live in the most rural part of the West of Ireland and so it's next to impossible to find any of this stuff beyond the online retailers - though, on a recent trip to London I was able to pick-up the abridged version of Rising Up and Rising Down. With postage, the paperback I got of Europe Central cost around €50 (which is a lot to cough-up for a paperback). Anyway, keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing what you have to say about literature.

[@JakeVeliz]

I’m new to your channel and really enjoying it. Keep up the great work!

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Thanks and welcome!

[@owendavis4154]

Thanks for the great video! Post modernist literature and poetry are the ones that really jumped out at me. Added them to my wishlist, maybe followed up by literary criticism, as you rightly point out a lot of modern thinking came out of those movements. I recently read A.C Grayling's Intro to Western Philosophy and found it very readable and a great primer for further reading I hope to do in that area. Thanks again.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Oh, I'm glad those stood out to you (postmodernist literature is some of my favorite)! Some other collections of experimental literature you may appreciate are The Penguin Book of Oulipo and Conceptualisms (edited by Steve Tomasula). Those two are bound to direct you in all sorts of wonderful directions toward authors you'll love. (I'm also likely to do a follow-up to my 'hard books' list that'll include more avant-garde works.) I was planning to do a video that covers some of this, but here are some more resources for understanding what's been going on of late with literary criticism. There's A History of Literary Criticism and Theory by M.A.R. Habib (easier to read but just as comprehensive as the Norton Anthology, since it is summarizing the broad movements and ideas) and a slim book called Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations by Steven Best and Douglas Kellner. That last book will feel like a direct continuation from where A.C. Grayling leaves off, as it similarly covers the major figures and their ideas in mostly chronological order (I read that same A.C. Grayling book a couple years ago). Not to inundate you too much, but there's also a great collection of essays that criticizes postmodernist views of science called A House Built on Sand, edited by Noretta Koertge. And if you want an even better understanding of recent philosophy in more detail than A.C. Grayling offers, check out Thinking It Through: An Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy by Kwame Anthony Appiah. He's such a clear writer in spite of the complexity of what he writes about. Hope all this aids your future reading!

[@owendavis4154]

@@ToReadersItMayConcern Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply and suggestions, I appreciate them greatly.

[@englishwithparsa8014]

Didn't know Norton anthology of world religions exist!😮🤩🤩

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Oh, I'm glad to have helped you discover it then! It's excellent!

[@englishwithparsa8014]

@@ToReadersItMayConcernBeing my first day on your channel,I really love it🤩🤩🤩 I'm pursuing my B.A in English literature at Kharazmi university in Karaj,Iran🤩 Just finished my freshman year a week ago😀

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

That's fantastic! I congratulate you on getting through your first year. This is such an important time in one's life. Keep learning and growing and cherish this as much as you can!

[@englishwithparsa8014]

@@ToReadersItMayConcern Thank you!😊❤

[@felixibanez3845]

I take it that you know the great collection of Oxford Book of (this and that), covering the wide field of every academic discipline. Cambridge University has its own collection as well, but I'd say that the Oxford University Press collection is more ample. Thanks for your videos.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Oh, yes, I love the Oxford Handbook series. I'll almost certainly do a video on my collection of them (I own about fourteen).

[@dante.nathanael]

I've recently fallen in love with Norton. At the moment I've only got 6ish books from them (Critical Editions of Moby Dick, Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist..., Paradise Lost, and both the New and Old Testament), but I've checked out online those anthologies and instantly wanted them. It's a shame to live in a country where even English isn't the mother language, so it's nigh impossible to find editions like these used. I'll definitely pick them up when money is available.

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Maybe that would make taking a trip to the U.S. worthwhile, just to find great used books across the wealth of bookstores throughout the states.

[@NZAnimeManga]

Out of interest, noticing the Du Bois volume in the intro reel, how many Library of America editions do you have? Would you consider making a video on them (the publisher and/or whatever volumes you've got on your bookshelf)?

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

Yeah, sure! I have about six of them, though there are a few more I definitely want. Once I get a couple other ones I'll make a short video on the series and why I chose the ones I chose. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@Solitaire_Guy]

I love these books. Have about a thousand books

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

It's wonderful having a full library! I'm glad you get to bask in that like me as well.