Myths to Live By (Print and Electronic)

This is a forum to discuss specific questions, thoughts and issues raised in the books (paper and electronic) that are part of The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell.

Moderator: David_Kudler

David_Kudler
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Post by David_Kudler »

jonsjourney and CarmelaBear -- Both interesting points of view. Obviously, I'm creating something of a false dichotomy, but the discussion is still an in interesting one, I hope!

AIOberlhouser--Well, there IS a print version of this out--the Penguin edition! We hope to bring out a Collected Works edition some day, but have no interest in violatiing the terms of the license Campbell signed. Not good business practice, you know. ;)

As for an "official" reader... Heh. There's an idea! Brand our own software...

I do understand what you're asking; there are so many parameters that factor into what software/hardware you should read it on that I can't really offer a recommendation. For desktop computers, I've had good lick with Calibre. Stanza is great--but won't display the images.

For a mobile device... Well, I designed the book with Apple's iBooks app in mind; load the file into iTunes, sync with your iOS device, and you should be all set. Kindle is likewise easy, if you purchased the .mobi version of the file.

And IbisReader is one of a couple of universal services that allows you to upload the file and read it through your web browser.

Ercan2121
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Post by Ercan2121 »

Let me add my Android report;

FBReader is a good choice among
several others one can find at
Android market for reading in
ePub -that's a free software.

It's true that Droid fonts are
limited for the time being but
I found no problem except for
some Sanskrit transliterations.
Thanks

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

David,
Thanks for the response. I'm using Adobe Digital Editions on my home pc, and (thanks for the suggestion) iBooks on my iPhone.

I was asking about the actual tablets - I thought you might endorse one :wink: We have been looking, and the Bookeen Orizon (which is popular in Europe, I guess) looks like it might be the one.

I will say, shuffling through the book, it is great to see Campbell's work in this new medium!

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Post by David_Kudler »

Thank you both.

I took your input, added some of the other information that I'd gathered, and updated the ebook FAQ section.

Ercan2121
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Post by Ercan2121 »

Hello again,
Direct links at the end of
each chapter leading to
related forum discussions
is a novelty :-)

David_Kudler
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Post by David_Kudler »

Ercan2121 wrote:Hello again,
Direct links at the end of
each chapter leading to
related forum discussions
is a novelty :-)
I was waiting for someone to mention those. :-D

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Post by Neoplato »

I have a question for those of you who've read the book. I was having a conversation the other day with JCF President Bob Walter about Myths to Live By and we realized that we saw the book differently. For him, it was a collection of linked but separate essays. For me, it was more of a unified whole. What do you think?-David
IMHO, it isn't too fluid as some books are. I can definitely detect a process for the order of the book, but the thoughts aren't "linked". In other words, there are no segways into the next topic; however, the 'jumps' appear to be in a "thought process".
Infinite moment, grants freedom of winter death, allows life to dawn.

Ercan2121
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Post by Ercan2121 »

Hello again everyone,

I think that Myths to Live By is one of those books written 'with an
audience' . That's the best part of it and I don't think that special effort was
made when choosing some lectures in proper order except for providing some
good answers to big city folk wanting to know all at once !:-) Thanks

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Post by Bjorn »

David_Kudler wrote:For a mobile device... Well, I designed the book with Apple's iBooks app in mind; load the file into iTunes, sync with your iOS device, and you should be all set.
I just bought the ePub version and loaded it in iTunes and synced it to my iPhone: it worked great and it looks really beautiful! I didn't much like the layout when I first opened the file in Calibre on my Mac, but on the iPhone it's smashing.

Well done, David! No more boring subway journeys from here on.

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Post by Nermin »

ALOberhoulser wrote:I got the download - now, we just need a JCF "official" reader... Any suggestions??

We also got a Cafe Press book bag - it is very nice!!
Honestly, don't like softwares that know too much; some readers
start downloading dictionaries and so on -without even asking permission.
A JCF official reader is a bright idea :)

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Re: One work, or a collection?

Post by MarDan1492 »

David_Kudler wrote: ... we saw the book differently. For him, it was a collection of linked but separate essays. For me, it was more of a unified whole. What do you think?
There seems to be a reasonable fit in the transition between Chapters I and II. In fact, The Impact of Science on Myth seems to me to be a valuable introduction, a strong foundation upon which to build The Emergence Of Mankind. I've not yet gotten further, I seem to be spending a lot of time thinking.

One thing that bothers me right off the bat is Campbell doesn't see beyond the rising importance of the individual in modern centers of cultural creativity (p. 22). That's perhaps as far as he could take it at the time, but we've blown past that, I think. Modern media outlets provide us with centrally designed prototypical identities to which to attach our conciousness, makes these prototypes abundantly available to us, and celebrates their characteristics. It appears to me to be a step beyond, yet in the same direction as that in which Campbell took it.

We now have a divide wider and deeper, a divide between the hip, developing personality in the modern world to which Campbell refers, and the personalities developing in societies that still celbrate the dogmatic traditions and myths.

Comments?

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Post by MarDan1492 »

David_Kudler wrote:
Ercan2121 wrote:Hello again,
Direct links at the end of
each chapter leading to
related forum discussions
is a novelty :-)
I was waiting for someone to mention those. :-D
It's more than a novelty, it's a downright useful tool.

ALOberhoulser
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Post by ALOberhoulser »

Well, I had this on my iPhone and in Itunes - updated the phone & Itunes software & it's gone...We bought a new Kindle Touch & was going to try to load it there, but no file found on my pc - I still have some files from the download, but no ebook.

Do I have to buy it again?

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Post by bodhibliss »

Well that is passing strange! Email me at stephen.gerringer@jcf.org and I'll get back to you with a fix tomorrow.

ALOberhoulser
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Post by ALOberhoulser »

I sent the email, but haven't heard from you - hope you got it...

Thanks!!

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