Steve Macnallen gave a talk at Folkish Summer Hallowing in Milford, Pennsylvania in 2011, and one of the most memorable statements that he made (and I am paraphrasing from memory here) was about the early days of modern Asatru. I believe around the time of the "Viking Brotherhood," the pre-cursor to the Asatru Free Assembly, which would be around 1972, there were 4 editions of the Poetic Edda translated to English, and all were out of print for about 50 years. Today, there are numerous editions in numerous languages available to us, including free ones available on the Internet. We are fortunate at the amount of ancient lore available to us today, as well as the work done by an elder generation of Heathens, many of whom are still with us and writing and teaching today.
Unfortunately, Heathenry does have one serious flaw. It draws people with strong personalities. Because of this, there is a disproportionate number of people who attempt to lead, in many cases without enough knowledge or experience. Being a practicing Heathen for a year or two, and deciding to start and lead kindred of your own is foolishness. I have seen far more kindreds fail than withstand the test of time not only because of poor leadership, but also because of too many leaders. So how does this relate to our topic of recommended reading? Very often, I have seen these wanna-be leaders self publish to give themselves legitimacy. Don't get me wrong, as there is much quality work out there that has been self-published, and when my books are done, I plan to take that route myself. The problem is that there is no Asa-Pope or other overseeing person or committee, that establishes what is acceptable Heathen practice or beliefs and what is not. This is in part due to the wide variety of local traditions, but much of the rest is due to questionable materials being published by questionable individuals.
So, having said that, here are some of the materials that I recommend!
Poetic Edda and Prose Edda -- Also called the Elder and Younger Edda, respectively, these two works, above all others, are a must for any Heathen! These works are the stories of the Gods and Hero's of Heathenry, written during a time when the ancient's still practiced their old faith, and some may have even been written by hands that believed in the ancient ways.
The Poetic Edda is a work with lots of English translations available both in print and electronically. My personal favorite is by Henry Adams Bellows. My recommendation for reading the Poetic Edda is to have more than one translation on hand. Some translations emphasize the original meaning, others attempt to translate the poetic art itself. The best way to cut through to the original meaning is to learn to read the original language. The second best, and my recommendation, is to compare multiple copies, especially in a study group environment where each person can read the same stanza from a different edition. You may be surprised at just how different some are!
The Prose Edda was written by Snorri Sturlson around 1200. Some people believe he was a Christian. Others, myself included, believe he may have been an ancient Heathen writing to preserve the lore in a manner that protected himself from persecution.
Our Troth -- A highly academic collaboration by numerous prominent members of the community. This is not the kind of book that one sits down and reads cover to cover, but if you wish to look up a specific god or holiday, this book can tell you virtually everything about it, including etymology of terms and many obscure facts. The original edition is a single volume. The second edition expanded this work to about double it's original side, and now comes in two volumes.
We Are Our Deeds -- This book is about ethics, and aside from the occasional copy turning up on Amazon, it is pretty much exclusively available through their web page. This book is a modern Heathen classic that was out of print for years and has recently made a re-emergence. This is a wonderfully written, thorough book that I highly recommend!
The Asatru Folk Assembly also has numerous works available through their website's store. I really wanted to recommend one, but I simply couldn't! Many of these works are highly specialized, like a book for our military men, or the Book of Blotar, which is a book of blots and rituals for use as is or as a basis for customization. There are also pamphlet-like books that explain Asatru to people who have never heard of Asatru before. Be sure to check this page out, but I would avoid any by the author Eoghan Odinsson, as they are poorly written and don't give any real insight that can't be found in places like Wikipedia. An equivalent alternative to his books would be Diana Paxton's "Essential Asatru," which has at least withstood the test of time at this point.
These books named above would give anyone new to Heathenry a fairly strong foundation from which to start their journey into the Heathen faith and culture. Aside from these works, my advice is join an on-line discussion group, contact the AFA or the Troth (Whichever floats your boat!) and ask what is happening locally. Get out there in the community and talk with people! Make friends and contacts! But maybe most importantly, DON'T JOIN ANY KINDREDS!!! At least, not until after you spend some time really getting to know one. I've seen too many people regret jumping into a kindred early in their studies.
I really hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it, and if anyone has any other reading suggestions, feel free to comment below! I hope to be adding my own work to these recommendations in the next few months!
Go in Frith! :)