\u201cIs this book any good?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nThis question\u2014so casual, so seemingly innocuous\u2014is my pet peeve. People ask me this at the witch shop all the time. Friends who should know better ask me this (I love you guys, but seriously). \u00a0All. The. Time.<\/p>\n
More than college seniors who still write \u201calot\u201d or my pretentious American professors who use \u201ccheers\u201d as an e-mail closing, I have a visceral reaction to the above. It\u2019s just kind of a terrible question.<\/p>\n
Usually, I probe with:<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, what are you interested in learning about?\u201d or \u201cWhat are you trying to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
And then I end up finding out that the inquirer wants guidance on invoking demons into a magic triangle and bidding them to destroy his boss, and I explain, yeah, maybe Thea Sabin\u2019s Wicca for Beginners<\/em> isn\u2019t a good book for that.<\/p>\n\u201cGood\u201d just isn\u2019t very descriptive.<\/p>\n
Usually, what people really mean to ask is, \u201cIs this book worth the small amount of expendable cash I have, or is there a better option for learning about [x]?\u201d or \u201cI want to learn how to do [x]; will this book be useful for that?\u201d<\/p>\n
And those are completely different questions from, \u201cIs this book any good?\u201d<\/p>\n
It used to be that books on witchcraft, magic, and the occult were challenging to come by. Things have changed dramatically from even when I first started (I had to turn to eBay\u2014new and exciting Internets!\u2014for copies Meaning of Witchcraft<\/em> and Witchcraft Today<\/em>, which weren\u2019t popularly reprinted and available at the time). Now there are countless titles available, from major publishers and independent specialty presses. You can go to any chain bookstore and have dozens to choose from. You can turn to the Internet and have thousands. You can drop hundreds of dollars on leather editions at Three Hands Press, or you can turn to Lulu.com to buy self-published works from your favorite blogger (or just some magical dude in a basement somewhere).<\/p>\nFinding \u201cgood\u201d books can be overwhelming, no matter what \u201cgood\u201d means for you.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot to be said for just stumbling into something that looks interesting, but if you\u2019re conducting more serious exploration or focused research, you have to narrow things down. What are you actually interested in getting out of a book? Because, odds are, if you\u2019re shopping in the occult section you\u2019re not just looking for something to soothe you before falling asleep at night.<\/p>\n
Because there\u2019s such a glut of books on the market now, it\u2019s worthwhile to take a shot in the dark and be as focused as possible (asking for \u201csomething about whether or not I can practice witchcraft as a Christian\u201d versus \u201cmore about witchcraft\u201d).<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re interested in putting spells on your husband, shapeshifting, or making flying ointment, ask whether or not the title in question might be useful or enjoyable in light of those things. Don\u2019t just hold up a book and ask, \u201cIs this good?\u201d<\/p>\n
Better questions are:<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this book well-researched?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this book good for a beginner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes this book contain a lot of the same information as [author\u2019s] other books?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill this book help me learn about [awesome thing]?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I really need to drop $25 on this book, or can I get similar information online?\u201d<\/p>\n
Narrow your questions and your local book dealer won\u2019t make that sound at you next time. You\u2019ll also stand a better shot at finding those \u201cgood\u201d books you want.<\/p>\n
Everything is kind of mediocre.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe other, related issue (actually, all three of these issues are related) is that most books just aren\u2019t great, in any sense of the word.<\/p>\n
Sorry.<\/p>\n
Pagan and witch writers tend to rehash things, cite the same sources, and approach things relatively uncritically. Collectively we\u2019ve come a long way\u2014and there are certainly some gems out there\u2014but most books just aren\u2019t going to blow your doors off the way you want them to. That\u2019s not to say they\u2019re bad, but average is average for a reason.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve read enough books about witchcraft that it really takes a lot to surprise me, offend me, or elicit any strong emotions at all. I always take notes while I read, and increasingly they include bullets like, \u201cthe usual stuff about killing toads\u201d or \u201cmagic grandma blah blah blah\u201d or other code phrases that indicate familiar tropes. Nothing new under the sun and all that.<\/p>\n
So why keep reading?<\/p>\n
Well, partially it\u2019s because there\u2019s always, at the very least, something to learn about the private practice of the individual author. I\u2019m constantly looking for wider trends across <\/em>books rather than just within one, because that says just as much about contemporary Craft as anything. I don\u2019t really care what Michael Howard (or whoever) thinks happened amongst 19th<\/sup> century Welsh witches according to some anonymous informant I\u2019ll never be able to verify. But I do<\/em> care if that same information starts circulating amongst other writers, showing up on Tumblr in weird ways, impacting the rituals I see at public events, and subsequently becoming witch \u201ccanon\u201d amongst people who don\u2019t even know who Michael Howard is<\/em>.<\/p>\nI think that sort of thing is fascinating<\/em>, both as a witch and as a scholar. That\u2019s how folklore develops and traditions are built, and there are few things as magical. Books don\u2019t arise in a vacuum. They\u2019re produced by people who exist in particular contexts. The contexts themselves<\/em> are worth considering, not just the books they inspire. You\u2019re never just reading a book; you\u2019re learning about an individual person and the time in which they\u2019re writing.<\/p>\nMore simply, there\u2019s usually something<\/em> worth considering in any given book. If you\u2019re creative and diligent (and being a solid note taker helps), over time those tiny nuggets of usefulness can represent real changes in your own practice or thinking.<\/p>\n\u201cThere aren\u2019t any advanced books!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nPagans and witches are always collectively complaining that there aren\u2019t enough books for advanced practitioners (even now), but this concern is just completely groundless.<\/p>\n
There is a ton<\/em> to read. Gobs<\/em>. There is so much to read that you could never possibly read all of it. Even if I were to just stick to works that related to witchcraft or assorted kinds of paganism directly<\/em>, I will never have the time to get to all of them, and this fills me simultaneously with joy and despair.<\/p>\nThe problem is not that advanced books don\u2019t exist; the problem is recognizing them and then acquiring them.<\/p>\n
The unabridged version of the bolded exclamation is actually, \u201cThere aren\u2019t any advanced books in the New Age section at Barnes & Noble<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\nHint: the advanced books aren\u2019t in the magic section. They\u2019re in the mythology, folklore, anthropology, and history sections. I can almost (almost) promise that they don\u2019t have \u201cWicca\u201d or \u201cPagan\u201d in the title, either.<\/p>\n
Many of them aren\u2019t in the store at all. Academic texts and specialty occult books (like grimoires or highly-focused, niche titles) appeal to very small, specialized audiences, and most retailers don\u2019t (or can\u2019t) carry them. That\u2019s true whether we\u2019re talking Barnes & Noble or a witch bookshop.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, these kinds of books tend to be very expensive, particularly if you also have to pay shipping. Some of them\u2014like those produced by Three Hands Press or Troy Books\u2014are designed to appeal to collectors, and are printed in limited runs, which drives up the market value (my working partner refers to these as \u201cthe Beanie Babies of occult books\u201d). Academic books are also printed in small runs, and often don\u2019t make it to paperback, given the limited audience. That ivory tower exists in Craft, too, and the best thing to do is often to keep an eye out for used copies, second runs, or (in the case of academic books) take advantage of interlibrary loan.<\/p>\n
But they\u2019re out there.<\/p>\n
One strategy for finding them is what I think of as \u201creading backwards\u201d: you pick a book you enjoyed, turn to the bibliography, and start reading the books the author cited. If there isn\u2019t a bibliography (and this is usually the case for books by Llewellyn, Weiser, or other popular presses), it\u2019s likely that the author mentioned someone who influenced them at some point in the text. I read Sybil Leek because Silver RavenWolf mentioned her in the introduction to Teen Witch<\/em>. From there, it was a short leap to Gerald Gardner, Aleister Crowley, and Charles Leland. And you can keep moving backwards, from Gardner to Margaret Murray, then to James Frazer, and on and on. It never ends<\/em>. And all from Teen Witch<\/em><\/a>, of all books.<\/p>\nStop only looking for books on how to be a Heathen and start reading the sagas.<\/p>\n
Stop buying books about animal omens and actually read something about whatever animal you\u2019re interested in.<\/p>\n
Stop buying books on Wicca, hoping for something advanced, and start reading about the traditions and people that inspired and developed Wicca.<\/p>\n
Locating advanced books isn\u2019t an intuitive process. Research is an acquired skill (which is why we learn about bibliographies and citation practices in school) that needs to be practiced. Start by being as specific as possible in your searches (getting broader as you need to), and use the \u201cbackwards\u201d method. That\u2019s a good way to go until you get the feel for where to look.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are thousands to choose from, so how do you go about finding the good ones?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2241,"featured_media":255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,18],"tags":[9,6,7],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-practical-stuff","tag-books-2","tag-wicca-2","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n