The books listed on the following pages I have read from beginning to end. I want to share my thoughts so that they can be of use to anyone trying to find a specific book. I write my reviews keeping a Wiccan perspective in mind. Therefore, there may be other perspectives that would agree or disagree with my reviews. Do not entirely discount a book if my review is negative. Likewise, don't necessarily trust that a book is the greatest just because I believe it is. If you are not walking a Wiccan path, or even just studying one, these reviews may be misleading for you. These reviews are written to provide information to the Wiccan community specifically.
The book reviews are separated into five pages for easier reading. The books are listed in order by author's last name.
Page 1: A-B
Page 2: C
Page 3: D-H
Page 4: I-R
Page 5: S-Z
Currently Reading:
In the Shadow of 13 Moons
Kimberly Sherman-Cook
As with The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, I intend to take this one slowly as suggested. As such, expect a review at the end of 2012 or very early 2013.
While I have read To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Silver Ravenwolf, I will not list it, or any other books by her here. If you would like to understand why, these Wiccans have captured exactly how I feel in the articles "Why We Despise Silver Ravenwolf", "Tarnished Silver: Why I Don't Recommend Silver Ravenwolf", and "The Problem with Silver Ravenwolf". They explain exactly what is wrong with her books and why there are so many in the Wiccan community who dislike her. I mean no offense to her fans. I simply wish to help those on the Wiccan path to avoid bad sources of information.
Books I won't be finishing:
The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets
Barbara J. Walker
I bought this book for a couple dollars at a yard sale years before I had a chance to pick it up. When I finally did, it was to try to find some information I had meant to read up on. Well, it didn't say much about what I was looking for, but I was excited to see all else it had in there. I started reading a couple entries and something just didn't seem right. So I checked reviews for the book, particularly of the negative variety. Naturally, anyone with scholarly or heavy mythology interests say that this book is nothing more than "feminist" BS. (Note: This book is not feminist. Feminism calls for the equality of men and women. This book is pure sexist. Favors females in all instances.) One review invited the reader to pick a subject they are very well versed in (better yet if you're an expert) and see what happens. Sure enough, every topic I looked up (and I tried to stick to things that I've seen it all, including bad resources). Sure enough, there's information that is total BS, or at least, she's the only person in all the world in all of history to have this information. That doesn't make it a good resource. That makes it personal BS. Now, granted, there were hints of truth here and there, but it was usually mixed with things that can't be found predating this book. It is total garbage. If you don't believe me, take the challenge yourself. (If you don't know anything in the book enough to decide for yourself, research her cited resources and you'll find a totally different story.)
The Wiccaning
Sister Moon
Keep in mind I only got through the first two chapters, and I must say it hurt to do so. The history is, well, crap at best. Maybe it was written too vaguely that what it appears to imply is all wrong. Either way, the little hints of truth are exaggerated and I can't help but wonder where the "facts" come from. The author claims a hereditary path, yet I can't seem to wonder where all this information is coming from. Bits and pieces sound to be the right stuff, but little things here and there are thrown in that I haven't heard since I stopped using movies and fiction as an informational resource on the topic of witchcraft. While the author does seem to have some things right in regards to the teaching of harming none, her explanations for her examples seem to miss the point entirely. I can't say I've ever met anyone from a hereditary path that talks the way this author does. The second chapter goes into different values that we hold as witches. At first, I was looking forward to this chapter as her list sounded fantastic. Unfortunately, the author never goes in-depth on the actual definitions of those words and the examples she uses, while they may be great, by themselves and without explanation will leave most readers wondering what exactly she means. Without any substance to go with, the examples might as well miss the point. As I said, though, this is based solely on the first two chapters.
Witches: True Encounters with Wicca, Wizards, Covens, Cults and Magick
Hans Holzer
I can almost guarantee that I will never finish this book. I'm not even a fourth of the way through this giant of a book, and I can easily say that it is a waste of time. Based on this book, Holzer is one of those people who has been looking around for so long he considers himself an expert, but just doesn't get any of it. The book is obviously written nearly completely in the 70's though it wasn't published until the past couple years. It presents theories and information that was discredited more than twenty years ago as pure fact. While I enjoy reading about different people and their experiences with Pagan and/or "occult" issues, many of the stories are unrelated to the topic at hand in the chapter and are misleading. This book has actually put me to sleep a number of times. It is easily not worth the time and effort it would take to finish the thing.
