Start with high-confidence fairy tale & myth criticism books, then narrow by subgenre or adjacent topics.
Pandora's Jar
Natalie Haynes
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
Gianni Guadalupi
A Matter of Fate
Dalya Cohen-Mor
The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend
Alan Lupack
The Tale of Bluebeard in German Literature
Mererid Puw Davies
The Great Fairy Tale Tradition
Jack David Zipes, Jack D. Zipes
Fantasy
Richard Mathews
The Road to Middle-earth
Tom Shippey
The Lord of the Rings: a Reader's Companion
Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull
Marvellous Thieves
Paulo Lemos Horta, HORTA
Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance
Jane Harrington
The Tower and the Ruin
Michael D. C. Drout
Individuation in Fairy Tales
Marie-Louise von Franz
Bulfinch's Mythology
Thomas Bulfinch, Stephanie Lynn Budin PhD
Ring Legends of Tolkien Deluxe Edition
David Day
African Myths & Legends
J.K. Jackson, Sola Owonibi
On the Hero's Journey
Joseph Campbell
