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Book Review: The Craft – A Witch’s Book Of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison

By Books & Authors, Paganism, ReviewsNo Comments
the-craft-dorothy-morrison-book-cover The Craft – A Witch’s Book Of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison is a brilliant book about The Craft.

I’ve been pagan for a long time, but it’s always good to go back over the basics. This book covers: working with power sources, magical boosters, tools (including Wand, Cup, Athame, Pentacle & other tools), casting a circle and pagan festivals.

Morrison has a warm, engaging and humorous writing style. Reading The Craft is like having an intimate and meaningful conversation with Morrison herself. She writes in a way that informs, ultimately inspires and without a single word wasted.

The Craft is bursting with little gems of knowledge and wisdom such as:

All are direct quotes from The Craft – A Witch’s Book Of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison:

1. “When all elements are used in equal combination, they form static electricity.” (p. 20)
2. “successful magic relies heavily upon emotion rather than logic.” (p. 33)
3. “Magic usually works in twenty-one days, or not at all.” (p. 29)
4. “Part of basic witchery is learning to work with what you have and substitute if need be.” (p. 41)
5. “Not only must we engage our brains when performing magic, we must use them effectively. We have to be able to think, concentrate and focus. We must reply on the creative flow.” (p. 97-98)
6. “When we take our place in the center of the Circle and take our place as Akasha, we provide a perfectly balanced arena from which magic flows…” (p. 112)

I learned some new things and gained an even deeper understanding of somethings by reading The Craft. No matter who you are or what experiences in The Craft you have, undertake all activities and exercises in the book. I undertook all activities and exercises and they all benefited me. Each of the activities are designed to encourage personal growth and learning.

The only thing The Craft missed out is any reference or explanation of what a Book of Shadows is.

The Craft – A Witch’s Book Of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison is a must have for any Witch. It is an excellent reference book for moon phases, sun phases, days of the week, times of day, pagan festivals, plants, herbs, trees, magical tools, dream symbols, stones, deities and the Book of Law.

The Craft – A Witch’s Book Of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison has made it on to my top shelf where my all-time favourite books are kept. It is one that I will read again and reference regularly.

Review soon,

Antony



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Thursday 18 August 2016

Book Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
the-graveyard-book-neil-gaiman-cover In The Graveyard Book, Nobody Owens (also known as Bod) is saved from murder by Ghosts. As a toddler, Bod, crawls out of his cot and walks up the hill to The Graveyard in the dead of night. Meanwhile his family are being murdered in their sleep by a man named Jack.

Jack tracks Bod up to The Graveyard. The ghosts save Bod’s life after Mrs Owens makes a promise to the Spector that is Bod’s mother. The ghosts agree to raise Bod and grant him the Freedom of The Graveyard.

Bod is to be raised by ghost surrogate parents Mr & Mrs Owens, with Silas who belongs to neither the world of the living or the world of the dead acting as Bod’s Guardian.

This is the start of a truly remarkable adventure story. Bod is taken through a gravestone that leads to a desert and city of the ghouls, he develops a friendship with a dead Witch and a living girl, he is taught how to fade, he goes to an ordinary school and uses

fear and dreamwalking to deal with bullies, he learns the ways of The Sleer and finally learns the truth of why his living family was murdered, why the man Jack is still after him and has to fight off The Jack’s order.

The Graveyard Book is the most wonderfully imaginative story that I’ve read in a long time. As the plot unravels the reader is captivated throughout and ponders on the mystery of why the man Jack murdered Bod’s family and why he continues to search for Bod to finish the job of wiping out his family.

The characters are superbly surrounded in mystery with hidden talents that make each character brilliant.

The Graveyard Book has made it on to my top shelf – where I keep my favourite books and there is no doubt in my mind that it is a book I will read again and again. It was a book that I honestly didn’t want to ever end.

At the end of the book, in an acknowledgments section Gaiman writes that this book was inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, that Gaiman read as a child, and also inspired by his own children at a certain age. This inspiration shines through as I found myself thinking that The Graveyard Book reminded me of the story of The Jungle Book, way before getting to the end acknowledgements section.

I would highly recommend that anyone and everyone reads The Graveyard Book, which is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Saturday 16 July 2016

Book Review: A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled by Ruby Wax

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
frazzled-ruby-wax-book-cover I was fortunate to go and see Wax perform her mental health show Sane New World. I found Wax to be inspirational, funny and informative. So I bought her book with the same title, which I found to be easily the best book I’ve ever read on the topic of mental health. Then I read Wax’s autobiography How Do You Want Me?

When I heard that Wax was releasing a new book entitled Frazzled, I immediately pre-ordered it.

A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled is split into sections, which include: an introduction to Mindfulness, Neuroscience and How Our Brains Work, a six-week Mindfulness Course, Mindfulness for Parents, Babies & Children, Mindfulness for Older Kids & Teenagers and Mindfulness & Wax.

Wax’s story sections spattered throughout Frazzled were fascinating to read. Wax’s occasional drawings and photos throughout the book were also enjoyable.

It was interesting to see the two MRI brain scans on Wax in Frazzled. One was taken before a weeklong silence mindfulness meditative retreat and one afterwards.

The format and structure of Frazzled is pleasing, although Wax could have added a section on Mindfulness for OAPs (Old Aged Pensioners). The six-week Mindfulness Course pages are grey-edged, which makes it easy for the reader to find the course. The exercises in the course did feel repetitive to read and it felt like whole sections from Week 1 had been copy/pasted into the other weeks of the course.

Frazzled shouldn’t be compared with Sane New World, but it’s difficult not to compare the two books. Frazzled is just as informative as Sane New World but not as funny. Frazzled reads like a self-help instructional book on Mindfulness.

Overall Sane New World is a good book, just not as good as Sane New World. Frazzled failed to captivate this reader throughout and failed to inspire this reader to practice mindfulness.

The only section that was not read in this book was Mindfulness for Parents, Babies and Children.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 19 June 2016

Book Review: You’re The One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher

By Books & Authors, Love & Relationships, ReviewsNo Comments
the-one-that-i-want-book-cover-giovanna-fletcher

You’re The One That I want by Giovanna Fletcher is the beautiful love triangle story of three childhood best friends.

Maddy has been best friends with Rob and Ben ever since her family moved to Peaswood when she was nine years old. Together they were an inseparable trio, calling themselves the tripod. That was until puberty hit.

You’re The One That I want starts on Maddy’s wedding day. Waiting for her at the altar is Rob, but it could have just as easily been best man Ben.

This is the dilemma: Rob and Ben both love her and Maddy loves them both back. Is Maddy marrying the right man? As butterflies flutter around in her stomach, Fletcher goes back to the start of their story and tells it tenderly.

You’re The One That I want is filled with charm and seeping in romance.

Fletcher writes in first person perspectives of Maddy, Rob & Ben and switches perspectives brilliantly. The use of first person perspectives is the best way to tell this sort of story. The first few chapters felt fictional because characters were describing meeting one another (at nine years old) and going into far more detail than most people would remember from when they were that age.

Maddy, Rob & Ben are good, likeable characters, that are well-rounded and have flaws. Through use of first person perspective and good characters Fletcher achieves an emotionally resonant connection between the characters and the reader.

The level of detail in description is perfect and Fletcher cleverly uses descriptive references that will take readers in their late twenties to early thirties back to their own childhood’s.

The plot is comfortably predictable and enjoyable. It centres around Ben’s secret love for Maddy. The relationship dilemma and love triangle will split readers, with readers finding themselves taking a side. Some readers will be Team Rob and others will be Team Ben. Personally, I was a Team Ben.

Overall You’re The One That I want is a wonderful book that will have you hooked from the first page to the last. Fletcher should be highly commended on this warm, engaging and delightful read.

Review soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Friday 6 May 2016
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