SwankiVY's Book Collection!

New Age/Paganism
Adler, Margot Drawing Down the Moon You don't have a Pagan library if you don't have this book. One of the three most recommended introductory books on the Craft, has LOADS of great information about Paganism's history and its current diverse body.
Blair, Nancy Goddesses for Every Season Mysteriously found in my sister P's library. I filched it, and occasionally used it as an inspiration for meditation. I'm wondering if it actually belongs to my sister's high school friend Carrie, because it has pictures of her tucked inside.
Blum, Ralph The Book of RuneCards My mom picked this up for me at a secondhand store because "It looked interesting." Indeed, it does.
Buckland, Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft Got this just 'cause it's kind of a classic. Found it used. Haven't read it, but plan to someday, since Buck is a pillar of the community.
Buckland, Raymond Practical Candleburning Rituals Got this early, bought new, just 'cause it looked interesting and I'd heard the name "Buckland." Grrr. Overall, not much help because it's so specific to each exact situation, but weirdly, it has a Pagan and a Christian layout for every spell.
Budapest, Zsuzsanna E. The Grandmother of Time Happily snatched up from a used store, this book makes me excited to read it. I read the intro and it struck a chord with me, which tells me I need to find a non-hectic time to give this thing some attention. Good luck, me.
Cabot, Laurie Celebrate the Earth Birthday gift from Mike, 2012.
Cabot, Laurie, and Mills, Jean The Witch in Every Woman My friend Kim wanted me to read this, and left a copy with me.
Caldwell, Royal How to Read Palms & Fingerprints Got this because I have a character in my books who reads palms, and I wanted to be able to occasionally have him make sense. (It's a supermarket Globe Mini-Mag, so it cost $1.19.)
Campanelli, Pauline Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life Received as a gift from Ronni for my 38th birthday!
Carr-Gomm, Philip Druidcraft: The Magic of Wicca and Druidry I bought this not because I'm particularly interested in Druidry but because it was $1.97 on my bargain table at work and that's a nice price for anything in the Pagan arena.
Conway, D.J. Celtic Magic Believe I found this in sister P's closet. I prefer a more Western tradition in my Craft studies, but I always like to learn about such things; someday I'll read this.
Craven, Amanda e-m@gic Sent to me by my friend Reeny--it's about spellcasting via e-mail and text message. Hehehahaha.
Cuhulain, Kerr The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca Ordered used through my bookstore; it was recommended by a lot of people when I was doing a surge of book-buying, and even though it was far too introductory for something to be useful to me, I figured maybe it could shed some light as something I could lend when I'm teaching people. It's kind of a guide for police officers so they know there's a difference between Wicca and Satanism.
Cunningham, Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs Fabulous herb reference, the best I've ever seen. The only way it could be better is if there were color photos of the herbs instead of just drawings.
Cunningham, Scott Earth Power A nice natural magick guide, wonderful as all his books generally are.
Cunningham, Scott Living Wicca This is a great sequel to Wicca. It's nice to see he picked up where he left off, more or less.
Cunningham, Scott; Harrington, David The Magical Household I like decorating and baking and living with the elements' and seasons' influence apparent in my household, so I thought this one was worthy of buying new. It was kind of disappointing in some areas, but satisfactory in others.
Cunningham, Scott The Truth about Witchcraft Today Cunningham's "what's it all about?" book. I bought it early on; I was already practicing, but I wanted to know how he explained it to the curious, since I was in that situation once in a while.
Cunningham, Scott Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner One of my first books on the Craft and one of the three most recommended; found it at Books Inc., used, and promptly found out that, contrary to some stuff I'd read on the 'Net, you do NOT have to have someone else's permission to practice. :)
Dunwich, Gerina Candlelight Spells Haven't read this, but her spellbooks, when they're not useful, are entertaining, because of their authenticity from older times.
Dunwich, Gerina The Pagan Book of Halloween The first book I bought that specifically targeted one holiday. Though Ms. Dunwich has a refreshingly old school approach and doesn't shelter the reader from our sometimes-gruesome past, I read this and thought, "Dear God, did the people in the past have nothing better to do with their time than look for indications in omens of who they were going to marry??"
Dunwich, Gerina The Wicca Spellbook It's indeed an old school spellbook, so much so that occasionally it has impractical, evil-sounding, or dangerous substances in it. Randomly found in my sister P's bookshelf, though she's not Pagan.
Faraday, Ann Dream Power I have no earthly idea why I have this. It has a sale sticker on it but I don't think I bought it. Must've ganked it from someone's collection.
Farrar, Janet and Stewart A Witches' Bible Bought by Phil for my birthday once. Though I have no interest in becoming a coven-belonging Alexandrian Witch, their rituals--and how they compare to Gardnerian ones--are very eye-opening and informative, and there are wonderful scripted rituals and histories in here.
Fitch, Ed A Grimoire of Shadows I borrowed this from work (as we are allowed to do), but found that after a month of having it around, it just had too much cool information for me to copy down all the cool parts for use in my BoS. So I bought it.
Franklin, Anna; Mason, Paul Lammas: Celebrating the Fruits of the First Harvest I decided I wanted one book for each Sabbat that focused only on that Sabbat. Turned out Llewellyn had anticipated such a need and was busily putting out books on the Sabbats by many different authors. I got this one when I ordered it ahead of time, and bought it new upon its publication. Great stuff for Lughnasadh.
Franklin, Anna Midsummer: Magical Celebrations of the Summer Solstice Fairly good guide to Litha merriment, from the Llewellyn series that I bought new.
Froud, Brian; Macbeth, Jessica The Faeries' Oracle Set of oracle cards featuring Brian Froud's faerie art, given to me by Victor for holiday 2008.
Gamache, Henri The Master Book of Candle Burning: How to Burn Candles for Every Purpose Goofy little pamphlet-esque book that's just interesting to have around.
González-Wippler, Migene Dreams and What They Mean to You Snuck out of sister P's closet to collect dust on my shelf too!
Green, Marian The Gentle Arts of Aquarian Magic Years ago, when I first decided to look into Paganism, this book happened to be the first I was able to get my hands on. It wasn't a very good introduction (it assumes you already know a lot and is in no way an intro to any particular belief system), but the author is very wise and the book is good.
Green, Marian A Witch Alone This was recommended when I went on a book-buying binge, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
Grimassi, Raven Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore & Celebration A May Day book from the Llewellyn series on the Sabbats. Very informative. I bought this new at Media Play; our store didn't have it for some reason.
Harary, Keith, Ph.D.; Weintraub, Pamela Have an Out of Body Experience in 30 Days: The Free Flight Program Got this on a whim at Merlin's Books. Thought it sounded interesting, then promptly took it home and forgot I had it.
Holzer, Hans The Psychic Side of Dreams I think my sister P went on a dream evaluation quest, because all these cool books on dreams were found in her closet.
Hugin the Bard A Bard's Book of Pagan Songs Gift from Mike P.--He bought it from my bookstore when I was the cashier, then told me not to bother putting it in a bag since it was for me. As excited as I was to have it, I never did learn any songs from it, not yet anyway; just happy to have it.
Hunter, Jennifer 21st Century Wicca A used book I acquired at Omni; looks interesting but I haven't read it yet. Title makes me giggle, though.
K, Amber & Azrael Arynn Candlemas: Feast of Flames Dare I say I like an Amber K book? Truthfully, this is the best individual Sabbat book I've read, I think because of the care given to the Brigit myths and how they integrated with the Christian saint. From the Llewellyn series; bought new.
Keith, William H. Science of the Craft, The This sounded interesting when I ran into it at a used book store, so I bought a copy.
Kynes, Sandra A Year of Ritual I love books about holidays and rituals, so when I saw this for sale at the used book store, I bought it sight unseen.
Lady Sabrina Celebrating Wiccan Spirituality Sort of a calendar of events for Pagans for everyday use. I bought it 'cause it was a buck ninety-seven on the bargain table.
Lipp, Deborah The Way of Four Great book about the elements--has a nifty quiz that I love.
Luhrmann, T. M. Persuasions of the Witch's Craft It was on a recommended list, so when I went on a book-buying spree I added this to the cart.
Madden, Kristin Mabon: Celebrating the Autumn Equinox Llewellyn is at it again: Here's their book on Mabon, which I gobbled up to complete my collection of Sabbat books.
McColman, Carl The Well-Read Witch A nice book about other books! Tells you what to read in the New Age scene.
McCoy, Edain Advanced Witchcraft Since I like this author, I decided to purchase her take on what happens beyond the basics. There aren't enough books like this out there.
McCoy, Edain Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring Wonderful explanation of Ostara, from the Llewellyn series. Bought new.
McCoy, Edain The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways This book has singlehandedly been the best reference on the Sabbats that I've had, and that includes all the books I've bought that were specific to each Sabbat. She gives such a great overview of everything and recommends crafts, food, and--well, all the things I like best about holidays. Even though I've never even used the second half of the book (rituals for groups), I adore this book! I bought it new at BAM.
Miller, Gustavus Hindman A Dictionary of Dreams Huge hardcover dream book I got for A DOLLAR at work. Haha!
Morgan, Keith Wicca Awakens Sort of pamphlet-like book that claims to be good for beginners but mostly looks pretty archaic and just odd, full of symbols and whatnot. (Also it seems badly edited.) The first edition was made in 1987, though.
Morrison, Dorothy Everyday Magic Its back cover synopsis sounded interesting, so I bought it new. It's actually one of the most useful magick references I've ever bought.
Morrison, Dorothy Yule: A Celebration of Light & Warmth Ms. Morrison's book on the winter solstice is told in that same truthfully modern way as the book above. It's chock full of information. From the Llewellyn series on the Sabbats, bought new.
Moura, Ann Green Witchcraft This just looked cool 'cause it deals with herb crafts somewhat, so I got it new from my bookstore.
Novak, John How to Meditate I had some return credit at a bookstore as a teen, and I bought this on a whim. It was THE most influential book on meditation I've read to this day, and at that point in my life it switched my brain on.
O'Gaea, Ashleen Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Beltane to Mabon Bought this at Borders; all about four particular holidays on the Pagan calendar.
O'Gaea, Ashleen Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara Gift from Mikey; all about four particular holidays on the Pagan calendar.
Orion, Loretta Never Again the Burning Times: Paganism Revived In a spurt of "must have!" when I decided to flesh out my Pagan library somewhat, I bought this because it appeared on a credible person's "recommended" list.
Polson, Willow Witch Crafts When I found out this book existed I had to have it, so I ordered it new. It's a handbook for all kinds of cool craft ideas that have Pagan themes.
Rauls, Venecia The Second Circle Subtitled "Tools for the Advancing Pagan," it's one of the few and far between books aimed at people who don't need the basics laid down again and again.
RavenWolf, Silver Halloween I'm not a big fan of the author because of her strange approach in catering to teens (not that that market itself is "wrong," but I just think she does it too "hip"). Anyway, I only bought this because the book on Samhain I already had, by Ms. Dunwich, didn't give me a lot of modern suggestions. This one did do that, even though I also had to endure a cutesy "broom ride" through the history of Halloween to get to it.
RavenWolf, Silver To Ride a Silver Broomstick Despite the fact that I had a preconceived dislike of the author, I ended up buying this used because it was nevertheless on some well-respected people's recommended lists. (I haven't read it, but bought it mostly so that I can see what it is about her that I might like or dislike, and so that I can lend it to beginners; having a varied Pagan library is important for those of us who occasionally teach the arts.)
Redfield, James The Celestine Prophecy It's a well-known frame story with some spiritual principles outlined. I found a cheap copy at the library book sale.
Rider, Carl How to Improve Your Psychic Power I have only gone about halfway through this book that I randomly picked up in a burst of Pagan-esque book-buying enthusiasm. I did a bunch of the exercises and I have to say my brain started doing certain things more often.
Ryall, Rhiannon West Country Wicca After hearing of it a few times, I saw it slightly discounted at Merlin's. This is one of the most quaint and informative books on the Old Religion I've ever read, it was eye-opening and very useful.
Starhawk The Pagan Book of Living and Dying Recommended by far too many people for me not to get it.
Starhawk The Spiral Dance Classic book by a classic author. One of the three most recommended introductory books on the Craft, I got it early on in my Craft study and still have the receipt in it as a bookmark--dated 10/6/99 from BAM before I worked there. Tons of exercises and wonderful things.
Stein, Diane The Goddess Book of Days Haven't read this, but references to it pop up now and then, so I picked up a copy, probably at Wild Iris.
Telesco, Patricia Advanced Wicca I bought this new (receipt still in the book as a bookmark, dated 4/24/01), wanting something that was not the same beginner's stuff over and over. Decent book, but some of it was a little bit too "hip."
Telesco, Patricia Gardening with the Goddess I thought the subject sounded too interesting to pass it up when it was on the bargain table for $1.97.
Telesco, Patricia The Kitchen Witch Companion Gift from Mikey, a book to supplement A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook.
Telesco, Patricia A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook Lovely cookbook (bought new) that has all kinds of kitchen witch recipes.
Telesco, Patricia The Magick of Folk Wisdom I found this on the sale rack at my bookstore and bought it for 10 bucks, though if I'd seen it in paperback for seven, I probably wouldn't have wanted it. Weird how knowing something is on sale makes you want it. Weirdly enough, inside the book it calls itself The Magic of Folk Wisdom, "magic" with no k. Wonder whose idea it was to put it on the cover?
Williams, Jude C., M.H. Jude's Herbal Home Remedies Bought for me for my birthday by Meg. Nice reference on herbal medicines, every kitchen witch needs something like this. :)