Last year was a lot and unfortunately, I was 2 books shy of my goal for 2022. In addition, I can’t even remember if I posted once. One of these days, posting will be second nature. In 2023, here’s hoping I can do better. 🙂
Hexing the Patriarchy by Ariel Gore
The first word that comes to mind is “meh,” with a heavy dose of shoulder shrug. It wasn’t horrible. It was a fast read if you have a couple hours and had some interesting exercises. I do not personally hex people, but to each their own.
There were multiple things that tipped my opinion to the neutral scale though. Some of Gore’s childhood anecdotes felt disjointed with the chapter narratives. Connections were difficult to ascertain, and I’m not a fan of reading filler text. However, I feel like that may have been more of an editing issue than the fault of the author. In addition, (not surprising given the title), the extreme prejudice against men was almost too much. Feminism isn’t about giving men the same treatment women have been given throughout history. It’s about striving to be more, not equal to or the same. Inspiring women to hex men they have problems with does not solve issues. It makes women a different problem.
That being said, it was worth a read if you find the premise interesting. I really enjoyed the author collaborations as each brought their voice to the narrative. Gore for her part has a smooth and engaging writing style. The narrative was humorous and entertaining. If you need something quirky and out of the box, it’s a decent way to spend an afternoon in your favorite chair.
Magical Herbalism by Scott Cunningham
I am a fan of Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, and I find myself frequently grabbing it from my bookshelf. For me, Magical Herbalism, is more of a companion book rather than a standalone. It provides the ritual piece behind harvesting and utilizing the herbs in your own practice.
As Cunningham’s repertoire goes, this was an easy read. In true Cunningham fashion however, he continues to be incredibly specific about ritual requirements and processes. I find him rigid in this aspect, and personally just adapted his rituals to something that felt more authentic to my practice.
While Cunningham does encourage his readers to use modern medicine as well as herbs, he puts a lot of faith and emphasis on herbs first. Cunningham doesn’t have has many of his usual disclaimers in this book. While he goes into great detail about the folklore of each plant, I think it would be more helpful if he included botanical drawings for wildcrafting and the medicinal qualities. If that is the information you are looking for, I would suggest different reading material.
The Witching Herbs by Harold Roth
If you are looking to start small, this is a great book to grab. Roth really weaves and explores the magical workings for these 13 herbs: poppy, clary sage, yarrow, rue, hyssop, vervain, mugwort, wormwood, datura, wild tobacco, henbane, belladonna, and mandrake. While I do not use all of these herbs in my own daily practice, the book is great for beginner practitioners and aspiring herbalists.
I do think it would have been beneficial to include more magical associations and correspondences in the narrative. In addition, some color photos would be useful for beginning practitioners learning to identify the herbs in the wild. Especially given that most of them are not commonly grown in every region. However, it is clear that Roth did his research, mixing the science and metaphysical aspects of each herb. He also provided a bit of myth and history mixed in, which provided more interest into the narrative.
However, I would strongly recommend using this book in conjunction with other materials/research. It provides a base foundation, but other works on plant correspondence and gardening would be highly beneficial for a new broom.
Well, there you go readers! I managed the first post for 2023. I’d love to tell you what is on the review list next, but I’ll need to consult the piles of books I still need to go through. Wishing you a pile of “to be read” books for the coming season!
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey
The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman
Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas by Laura Sook Duncombe
This novel has four stars on Goodreads, and has been positively reviewed by my own friends. An event which I am still struggling to understand. The bottom line, I couldn’t finish it. I wish I could say I made it half way through, but the truth is I gave up at about the 1/3 mark.
I have been reading Laurenston’s shifter series for years. For the most part, I have had positive experiences with her work, and I enjoy reading them from an escapist standpoint. They require absolutely no forethought and provide an easy, stress-free read.
As I’m sure readers know by now, I’m a sucker for Sherlock Holmes everything. I thoroughly enjoyed the other adventures of Warlock Holmes written by G.S. Denning. The same witticism is present in this volume, and I freely admit to laughing out loud during numerous parts. It is also made clearer in this volume how the relationship between Watson and Holmes continues to grow, even with magical events cropping up. I also continue to enjoy the character developments of secondary characters like Lestrade and Grogson.
We have our vision board in three categories: “What’s Going Well,” “What Needs Work,” and “Things To Focus On.” Here are a couple examples from our list for March:
) and cleaning out the bedroom closet. (But I’m sure you get the idea).
Remember when opening your windows, you want to do so with purpose. You are inviting positive energies in your home, providing clarity to your space which in turn will help you find more positive emotions to practice. Air has many associations, and these can change depending on which sect/tradition you utilize in your practice. Some of the active associations with air include inspiration, imagination, diligence or joy. But remember – air also has a dark side so balance and thoughtfulness are important when working with any element.
I would love to write something positive about this particular book, but I was completely unimpressed by the author’s take on the subject. The premise of the book is what caught my eye in the first place, and I should have stopped there. Gaudet claims to be providing a historical study of how writing impacted the growth/evolution of Western culture. While the historical context he provides isn’t uninteresting, his writing style is monotonous and barely scratches the depth of research available. It wasn’t so much a “rise” of civilization as a “guide to how papyrus was cultivated.” Again, might be interesting, except upon learning that the author basically wrote the same book twice. He has another non-fiction work studying papyrus and its impact on culture in Papyrus: The Plant That Changed the World.” Insert epic sigh of disappointment here.
I did check out the TV show first, and only learned it was a book after the fact. If you are pursuing the novel based on your interest in the show itself, you should that the amount of similarities are minimal, at least in my opinion. While most readers have come to expect a little fiction license when it comes to Hollywood translations of books, I’d say this one was extreme.
There were two relatively minor issues I had with the first of Remy Chandler’s adventures. The first was that A LOT of characters were introduced in a short amount of time. Many of them were flat, one-dimensional introductions. While most of the characters popped up time and again in the novel, it wasn’t super impressive and some of the connections were low on depth. The second issue was the introduction of Remy’s personal history into the narrative. The constant back and forth between explaining Remy’s supernatural history and his mystery-solving dialogue was a little much. I freely admit, I at times skipped a page or two of narrative…
In a way, this series was very Gilmore Girls meets Charmed. A mother and daughter team full of sarcasms and witticisms, who both find out after moving to new town that they are in fact supernaturally inclined. I immensely enjoyed the dialogue of the book, especially between the mother/daughter duo. It showed a healthy relationship between a single mom and her teenage daughter, but didn’t sugar-coat the negatives either. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of a mother/daughter duo learning their powers together, and navigating the differences in how they learn. It would have been highly disappointing if both the mother/daughter just naturally jumped into a supernatural existence without any bumps in the road.
After reading Cursed Child, I’ll admit I still have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was ecstatic to jump back into the Wizarding World once again. On the other, most of the time scripts leave me with a disjointed feeling as much of the visual nature of the narrative is missing. I thought the story had massive amounts of potential, and I’ve heard many wonderful things about the play itself, but the “novel” left me feeling slightly incomplete.
of which are descriptions straight from the book jacket. All are misleading.
I really enjoyed Soulless. The main character, Alexia, is written in a fantastic witty style. The characters that surround her, from the gruff werewolf to the narcissistic mother to the air-headed best friend, all were dynamic interesting personalities. Carriger did a great job world building, providing just enough detail to make everything cohesive but not going overboard. (Some paranormal novels are just ridiculous). The story had a great pace and I didn’t feel bored or lost during the narrative.
I picked up this book as it was recommended to me both by friends and by my Goodreads book list. To be perfectly honest, while I finished the book, not a fan. The plot had so much potential and really didn’t work out.
I was hoping based on the summary of this book that I would be getting a semi-current account of current research into dinosaur DNA. (Well, at least as current as 2009 when the book was published). The book is interesting, showcasing how Paleontology has become an interdisciplinary subject. It meticulously describes early research and the breakthroughs (such as Genetics) that made discovering blood vessels, feathers and even DNA strands in animal/plant fossils possible.
I’m literally not even going to bother with any sort of lengthy review. It was horrendous! The characters were annoying, selfish and vain. The narrative was unbelievably atrocious and I skipped more than half of this novel and its prequel The Rules of Magic. I’d highly recommend running in the other direction.
Mabon is another holiday where personal reflection comes into focus. With day/night starting to even out, balance becomes paramount both in our personal and professional lives. People always talk about “spring cleaning,” but the Autumn Equinox is a great time to clear away that extra clutter!
In this way, I highly recommend creating a box with fun activities that you can do during the cold and often dreary days. Create sections like “outside,””alone time,””recipes to try,” to give yourself options. Fill the jar with ideas like board game or movie nights with your friends. Include indulgences like “at home spa days” or “date night” ideas when you just don’t want to stay in.
Toil & Tomes 