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Book Recommendation Libromancer's Choice

Seeking or giving recommendations for books.

fuzz

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Hi I'm new here. I mentioned in my introduction that I'm a bookseller and @IllusiveOwl asked for some of my favorite books that I've come across in my career. My reply got a little out of hand, so I thought I would bring it over here. If you're interested in purchasing any of these books, I would strongly dissuade you from ordering on Amazon. Instead I encourage you to order from Bookshop.org. They're an Amazon alternative that gives 30% of your sale to an affiliated bookstore of your choice. I'm not going to link any bookstores, as I am following community guidelines, but it would not sit right with me if I recommended a book and your first move was to buy it on Amazon. There are a million reasons to not shop on Amazon, and a million more in favor of supporting you local bookshops. Amazon must not be the default way we buy books or there will be nowhere else to buy them in the near future. Thank you.

Books that have made a lasting impact on my approach to magic:

Stolen Lighting: The Social Theory of Magic by Daniel Lawrence O'Keefe
Ordered Universes: Approaches to the Anthropology of Religion by Morton Klass -- I'm really grateful I stumbled upon this book early on. It helped contextualize writers like James Frazer and Mircea Eliade
Music and Trance: A Theory on the Relations Between Music and Possession by Gilbert Rouget
Through Music to the Self by Peter Michael Hamel
The Conscious Interlude by Ralph M. Lewis -- This one is a long gone AMORC Rosicrucian text on human consciousness and immortality. One of my grail gems for sure.
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

Favorite reads this year:

The Flowering Wand: Rewilding the Sacred Masculine by Sophie Strand
Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative by Mark Fisher

Currently reading:

Celtic Sacred Landscapes by Nigel Pennick -- I needed some drawing inspiration. Something about reading about standing stones and ancient wells makes me want to sketch in the park. A well written, accessible read.
City Magick: Spells, Symbols, and Rituals for the Urban Witch by Christopher Penczak -- I'm really choosy about the pop magic books I read and I still can't tell if I'm going to finish this one.

Books I want to read this year:

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg -- I've had this on my shelf for years! I need to kick my writing back into gear and I think this beat-zen approach will resonate with me, as I've already had ecstatic writing experiences. The cover illustration was done by Joe Brainard, who was the first beat writer I ever read when I was 14.
Music From Elsewhere: Haunting Tunes From Mythical Beings, Hidden Worlds, and Other Curious Sources by Doug Skinner
Naming the Witch: Magic, Ideology, and Stereotype in the Ancient World by Kimberly Stratton
Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation by Silvia Frederici


Shout out:

When I want lighter reading, I read poetry and essays. My favorite writers who don't write social theory or magic are Elisa Gabbert and Christina Tudor Sideri
 
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