I read several books per month, and these are the ones that top my list. Watch this section grow each month with a new selection. The last 6 months are documented here, but...

Don't forget to check out the Archives!:

2001 | 2002

Book Of The Month: January 2003

The Well-Read Witch by Carl McColman.

A book that's essentially a bibliography...what a concept!

The first time I saw this book, I put it back because I thought it was silly to buy a book that just tells you to buy more books. (As if I needed any more new books before I've finished my old ones!) I saw it again, and decided to go for it...I figured that if I want to learn about a new topic, but didn't know where to begin or what books were good, at least The Well-Read Witch would give me a few clues.

More than anything, it's a good reference to have on your shelf when you're looking into subjects you are unfamilar with. Take a highlighter, go through the book to mark off the books you've read. Take another pen and put a mark beside the books you own but have not finished. Then realize that there's so much more that you can learn, so when you eventually finish all the books you have on your shelf that you've at least started, you know where to go.

That's what my plan is, anyway...I might just wind up buying the books first, and getting around to reading them sooner or later....

Book Of The Month: December 2002

Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

Another Gaiman book on the list? Well, I am a bit of a fan, soooo....

Actually, K'Tok gave me this book for Yule, and I read it in a day. It is a fiction story written for the young adult level, but there are elements that even adults in need of an Alice In Wonderland fix will enjoy. It's delightfully spooky, can be the stuff of nightmares, and is so very very Gaiman.

Coraline is a story about a girl who finds a life on the other side of a doorway that almost exactly matches her own...but it's better. Does she decide to stay with her Other Mother and Other Father? What about the children she finds trapped there?

To find out, you have to read the book!

Book Of The Month: November 2002

Applied Magic by Dion Fortune.

This book was for a change of pace. Applied Magic is a collection of articles that Dion Fortune wrote for her Inner Light Magazine. I found it absolutely fascinating to see what she had to say about the magickal comunity during this period of time...and you think we have it bad now!

Some of the articles require some knowledge as to what groups were practicing during the late 1920's to early 1940's. What you don't know is pretty much supplied by Gareth Knight in his introduction in the book.

More than anything, this book gives an interesting insight as to where she saw the Occult world going during her time. Her ruminations about Crowley, SL MacGregor Mathers, the Golden Dawn, the Qabalah, etc. along with her esoteric glossary at the end makes it worthwhile.

Book Of The Month: October 2002

Wicca for Couples by AJ Drew.

AJ Drew is an upstart author, and I love it. He almost gets into biting the hand that feeds him by criticizing the publishers and many other Pagan authors...however, he's really good at explaining exactly why he is critical and what needs to be done.

First of all, Wicca is a religion of peace and love, correct? One of his arguments is that Wicca is becoming sterile...what good is a fertility religion when you take out the fertility? Where's the love when you tell people that your coven becomes a new family so go ahead and shun your blood relations if they disagree with you?

This book emphasizes family, love, and connecting to Deity through those people you love. Considering how so many books now focus on either Solitary or Coven work, this is a great book for couples (no matter what orientation you may be) to emphasize their bond.

I bought this book in August when K'Tok and I moved in together...we were looking to practice our religion together, and this book has some wonderful ideas. Good author, new information, guts to speak out...that's why I chose this as the Book of the Month for October.

Book Of The Month: September 2002

The Magician's Companion by Bill Whitcomb.

I was in the process of moving during the month of August, which is why there is no Book of the Month for that month. For a good portion of the time, my books were all still in crates and boxes, waiting to be put on my shelves.

I actually began reading this book in July, but it is the September BOTM because I finished it during this month. It normally would not take me so long to finish a book, but I liked the way it was divided into sections and then further broken down into "Models" based on certain magickal numbers.

These models served a great purpose...I would read one, and only one, per night just before bedtime, and then meditate or even merely think about the information contained within the model. It was difficult to not rush ahead and read more, but this way I was really able to mull around some ideas and get a brief introduction into other systems of magick and religion.

This works like the "Physician's Desk Reference"...don't expect to learn everything there is to know about each subject. There are also some small errors in the text (it could be even better with some thorough editing and being re-printed as a second edition), but they're easy to find and figure out what was *meant* to be said. If you're looking for a good introduction to various belief systems, plus a handy reference later on, this is an excellent book to pick up.

Book Of The Month: July 2002

When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone.

Again, I needed a scholarly book. This time, I had been to a bookstore and was so disgusted with the number of cheapie spell books on the shelves that I was about to give up hope. So I went to the local witchnook instead. When we were ready to leave, I knew there was something in the store that I had to get...I couldn't place my finger on it, but knew it was there. We wandered the rooms of the store again, and When God Was a Woman positively jumped out at me. There wasn't some bright light that washed over me...more like a feeling of, "Hello!...Rhaevyn's brain! Of course!" I knew I had been wanting to read this book for a long time, and I simply kept forgetting about it. I'm glad I finally found it!

The premise of the book is a trace of the various Goddess religions and the cultures that followed them...and how they were eventually overcome by cultures with masculine deities. I didn't feel that Stone candy-coated the various Goddess religions by making them all seem like hearts and flowers, nor did she demonize the male-based religions by making them seem like they were nothing but barbarous aggressors. And as a good author should, she backs up her research with referenced quotes. It always makes me happy to see that. I really enjoyed reading about religious history from a different perspective. Yes, I always take things with a grain of salt when I read, but that's because I tend to be a skeptic... But anyway, this is definitely a worthwhile read, if for anything, to see how gender issues and politics can transform with the governing religion.

One thing that I was happy to see this book did *NOT* do was try to "prove" how all Goddess worship stems from one culture that had a three-fold goddess in the Maiden, Mother, Crone archetype. But that's been done in another book... *grin*