Recs if you like The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves to Sand Worms, the Words Behind World-Building...

Language is so much more than words. It’s our culture, our identity, and our history rolled into one. These books show how the way we speak shapes, and is shaped by, who we are.

Fantasy nonfiction, or books about the nature of the fantastic (and the lives of some of its most ardent devotees) for those of us who'd like to leave the comfort of our Hobbit holes and brave the literary wilderness.

Non-fiction books about linguistics and fiction which relates to linguistics in some way (disclaimer: some connections are looser than others and I have not read all of these books)

A personal study in gothic lit, fantasy, mythology, and the writing of it.

A research-backed reading list on fictional invented languages, their construction, their grammar, culture, symbolism and real-world linguistic roots

Have you ever wanted a PhD in English Lit? Do you think fantasy is a legitimate field of literary criticism? Would you like a glimpse into the psyche of someone who does?

These are the books included (or excerpted from) on my comprehensive exams list for a dissertation on fantasy. It is not even a remotely comprehensive list of fantasy texts and criticism (yes, I see the irony).