#literary witches: a celebration of magical women writers

[augment-techs]

Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers

As Writing Prompts~

wife, sister, virgin, whore

an incantation, a naming, a blessing, a curse

weavers, potters, cooks, and healers

flip to any page; follow your wyrd

conjurer of hurricanes, zombies, and tall tales

with each story, the basket gains an apple

alchymist of monsters, children, the living and the dead

a terrible baby, their very arrival a murder

even the freshest thing is mixed with rot

a painful tale about the creation of life and what happens to shunned, abandoned children

shaman of dew, hummingbirds, and mushroom language

could not read or write and lived in poverty on the mountains

healer and oral poet

hermit of hospitals, belonging, and lost souls

"You think you're the only one who doesn't belong?"

at least some creatures can find a home

receiving two hundred electroshock treatments and narrowly escaping a lobotomy

grand dame of trickery, murder, and teatime

"Most unpleasant."

a consolatory apricot biscuit

sibyl of masks, extraterrestrial eggs, and twisted fantasies

smashes the crystal ball on the ground

what remains--glass shards and a black, sticky substance

the room is clean and the crystal ball intact

madame of roses, geometry, and repetition

grow feathers, slink into worms, shrink into dragonflies--anything to get out

undine of introspection, opulent dreams, and voyages

some collect seashells, others chart the sun's movement

some keep house, make lace, pursue lovers

dakini of holy ecstasy, the dark one, and ankle bells

poison becomes ashamed

miraculously escaped their poisoning attempts twice

fantasma of silence, death, and lilacs

a bird of blue bones drops a piece of paper

the paper unfolds into a palace

step in through the door

the music hollows

cursed to hear it forever

give in, eat the bird whole

storyteller of rattlesnakes, turquoise, and the sacred desert

the drought has gone on too long

spider's silk holding all things together shines with the light

high priestess of scholars, volcanoes, and eros

a grim jewel of astronomical price

fondles their muscles over coffee and toast

sorceress of islands, venom, and histories

the soup boils down to a thick black sludge

soothsayer of utopias, creeping women, and evil wallpaper

the unseen fairy

the people must realize the changes for themselves

the disastrous, sexist "rest cure" prescribed for postpartum depression

sorceress of names, houses, and solitude

sometimes the mango is perfectly juicy, sometimes underripe, sometimes too sweet, or bruised

cigar in hand, walk into the jacaranda trees, hanging black bras off the branches

'Use this to climb out,' read the notes tied on with ribbon

guardian of the waters, the porcelain, and the lexicon

they love these puddles

they will not survive this one

wolf child fight their way to the bank of the river; they survive

after a lifelong struggle with mental illness

fairy godparent of bloody tales, the circus, and mirror

"Not another one."

doll in a red riding habit

and a bleeding wolf escapes from under the cloth

dark drops of blood sink into the soil and the roses bloom a deeper, more delicious red

sumptuous tapestries depicting sexual, violent scenes

ornamented with symbols and adjectives

warrior witch of otherness, bodies electric, and sisterhood

the sword is for slaying ghosts and demons along the way

lava filling their wounds

the coroner writes

populated with mothers, children, sisters, anger, cancer, the erotic, unicorns, snails eating dead snakes, witches, fire, and the importance of refusing silence

specter of windows, flies, and the unexpected

travels freely between the afterworld and this world

a white dress kneeling in the flowerbeds

rebel of sensual love, green gardens, and perfume

they never speak of it, but each man is haunted by his vision

withered leaves, wilted geraniums and lilacs

write explicitly about sexuality

siren of the lyre, honey, and ruins

the rest of the words are illegible

how seriously each child puts those wings on in the mirror

seer of peacocks, weird country people, and glass eyes

pray to see humanity clearly

the doors creak open

cosmic traveler of crows, horses, and survival

joy lies down in a field

the music is a spell

courageously survived an oppressive childhood, teenage pregnancy, and domestic abuse

koldunya of winter, endurance, and willows

the sodden papers become bandages for the wounded

rations of potatoes, cabbage, and milk

queen of miracles, generations, and memory

fury of motherhood, marriage, and the moon

dismembers mannequins with ferocious, precise claws

terrified into the thrill of living

enchantress of bitter love, treachery, and jewels

summons a moonbeam into a locked room

climb down to find an underground chamber

"I am the ruler of this prison."

locked up in the bedroom for six months

witch of villages, domestic horrors, and omens

rabid cats, poisoned beetles, blood-tipped needles

the ice cream section of the twenty-four-hour grocery store at three a.m.

doesn't need help finding anything

marries the ordinary with the supernatural

sower of strange seeds, species, and the future

mutating with violent need for food, power, and sex

covertly tosses seeds kept in pockets into the neighbors' yards

watcher of the moors, fantasy, and cruel romance

brushed the carpets and took walks in the hills

death of tuberculosis at thirty

[aficionliteraria]

Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers Por Taisia Kitaiskaia y Katy Horan (2017)

Sinopsis

Celebre a las escritoras más brujas con bellas ilustraciones y viñetas imaginativas. Literary Witches establece una conexión entre las brujas y las escritoras visionarias: ambas son figuras de formidable creatividad, empoderamiento y rudeza en general. A través de retratos poéticos, Taisia ​​​​Kitaiskaia y Katy Horan honran las cualidades de brujas de autores conocidos y oscuros por igual, incluidos Virginia Woolf, Mira Bai, Toni Morrison, Emily Dickinson, Octavia E. Butler, Sandra Cisneros y muchos más. Perfecta tanto para los amantes de los libros como para los miembros del aquelarre, Literary Witches es un tesoro y una fuente de inspiración. Kitaiskaia y Horan aportan nuevas ideas sobre sus autores más queridos, sugieren encantadores nuevos escritores y lo invitan a redescubrir la magia de la literatura.

Comentario

El libro celebra a muchas escritoras de forma poética, visualmente llamatica y desde una perspectiva "witchy". Se refiere a las autoras como brujas pero entiendo que se refiere a que poseen las características que se asocian con estas.

Las biografías son algo cortas pero al menos están acompañadas de ilustraciones de cada una... y esto hace una gran diferencia.

Literary Witches me parece una opción genial para quien esté interesado en literatura y en conocer nuevas autoras.

Por otro lado, si eres bruja o te interesan esos temas... quizás te interese saber que la ilustradora de Literary Witches (Katy Horan) creo un oráculo con el arte y es maravilloso.

[drawdownbooks]

Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers

An inventive guidebook that pairs imaginative vignettes with whimsical, folkloric illustrations

Literary Witches reimagines visionary writers as witches: both are figures of formidable creativity, empowerment, and general badassery. Through a series of thirty lyrical portraits, Taisia Kitaiskaia and Katy Horan honor the witchy qualities of well-known and obscure authors alike, including Virginia Woolf, Mira Bai, Toni Morrison, Emily Dickinson, Octavia E. Butler, Sandra Cisneros, and many more.

Perfect for both book lovers and coven members, Literary Witches is a treasure trove of creative and courageous women who aren't afraid to be alone in the woods of their imagination. Kitaiskaia and Horan conjure evocative, highly stylized depictions of history's most beloved female authors, introduce enchanting new writers, and invite you to rediscover the magic of literature.

Published by Seal Press, 2017

Hardcover, 128 pages, 6.3 x 8.1 inches

ISBN: 978-1-58-005673-1 Available at Draw Down

[leer-reading-lire]

Anaïs Nin (1903–1977). Art by Katy Horan from Literary Witches.

[berattelse]

Mary is a terrible baby, her very arrival a murder. Frankenstein's Creature is a terrible baby, a torment to his creator. Mary's babies die terribly young. Latest finding from Mary's laboratory: even the freshest thing is mixed with rot.

Kitaiskaia, Taisia. Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers. Illustrated by Katy Horan. Seal Press, 2017.

[baked96]

Author Taisia Kitaiskaia and artist Katy Horan honor in Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers (zlib copy) — a lovely compendium of impressionistic sketches, fusing biographical facts with flights of the invocational imagination to celebrate the enchantresses of literature. Starting top, left to right: Anaïs Nin, Mary Shelley, Sappho, Octavia Butler, Virginia Woolf

[carelessgraces]

my wrist is a little fucked up bc of the weather so i can only tolerate so much typing but i’m Thinking abt romance novelist astoria —

her literary career begins with a “serious” novel — about cycles of infidelity, tracing three generations of women whose marriages collapse and the fourth who finds a way to make things work. in later years, astoria refers to her debut novel as an experiment, and says that while she’s happy she wrote it, it’s not something she’s likely to try to replicate. 

it’s the novel most widely celebrated by male reviewers. she brings that up too, because it’s her only novel that isn’t in the romance genre ( though she covers many of the same themes in other romance novels ). 

she jumps right into paranormal romance. vampires prove to be a staple in almost all of her works. when asked why, astoria responds, “because vampires are sexy, and i don’t need more of a reason than that.” she’s one of the few paranormal romance writers who bases absolutely nothing in ireland, or england. most of her books are set in italy. 

there are a lot of fast-paced vatican heists and secret vampire priests and ancient magical artifacts buried in roman ruins. her most popular series centers around a vampire violinist named allegra caine. they’re very fun and spectacularly raunchy.

she has a spinoff series about a werewolf and a witch who fall in love; those are much longer, with a lot more research, and she’ll typically put out two allegra caine books while she’s finishing up the next book in this series. 

with the rising popularity of her books, astoria forms a few partnerships, all centered around sex positivity: she runs a once-a-week erotic advice column for a popular magazine ( something like cosmo, but with less terrible advice ); she partners with a lingerie company to put out a line affiliated with the allegra caine series ( lingerie which she typically helps model — and because she’s not an idiot and she knows that it would be a massive money-maker, she insists that the line cater to a wide range of bodies, and she’s absolutely right that people snatch up the plus-size lingerie bc it’s so rare to find decent plus-size lingerie that’s remotely affordable ); and she partners with a sexual wellness brand to do education on safe bdsm practices. 

she curates a very careful online presence: she has a blog, where she posts updates on her writing process, and the advice column, but she doesn’t have a public twitter or instagram. her private instagram is exclusively pictures of her cats.

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Alex Recommends: April Books

I have been so incredibly busy this month and I'm only just getting a chance to sit down to write this. I have been getting a lot of work recently and a lot of it is taking up a lot of time and mental energy. However, I have also been in a great reading mood, so I've read a lot too!

The Women's Prize shortlist was announced last week and I've been slowly making my way through the longlist. This has been such great fun and I'm delighted that I still actually have three of the shortlist to read. Two of my recommendations this month come from the longlist and one of them made the shortlist, so I can certainly say that it's a fantastic selection this year. Check it out here if you haven't been following the announcements. 

I don't know whether it's because I've been working so much or because I've had a few disappointments this month but my mental health hasn't been great. I've had a few nights recently where I've just cried and been overwhelmed with hopelessness when I think about the future. Mark has been amazing at keeping me grounded through it all and it's certainly not my personal or romantic life that I'm worried about. 

Recently, I've been harboring some serious desires to get back into publishing but it's even harder than it has ever been now. It often feels like the hard work that I've been putting in for years just doesn't really count for much anymore and there are few things that are more disappointing than that realisation. I guess it's that age-old adage that when one area of ​​your life is finally sorted, another area will start to fall apart or be severely lacking. 

Anyway, that was a rather lengthy, not particularly uplifting intro, so I think it's about time I gave you some reading recommendations! Hope you're all keeping well. -Love, Alex x

FICTION: Because Of You by Dawn French.

As the new millennium rings in, two families are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their babies in a London hospital. One mother goes home with a healthy baby girl while the other suffers the ultimate tragedy. 17 years later, Minnie is about to become a mother, which forces a terrible secret from years ago to surface with devastating results. This heartbreaking novel explores motherhood and the idea of ​​what family really is. As it's written by the wonderfully funny Dawn French, there is some comedy in there too but it's mostly a book about love in its many guises and the power of forgiveness. Don't go into it expecting a laugh a minute just because of who the author is. You'll be sobbing your heart out!

LITERARY FICTION: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.

Gifty is a neuroscience student at Stanford University, studying reward-seeking behaviour in mice. Her brother Nana died of a heroin overdose years before and now her suicidal mother has moved in with her and struggles to get out of bed. Gifty is desperate to make sense of the relentless suffering that has haunted her young life and while her research is helping, it's the faith of her childhood and her Ghanaian culture that she finds herself leaning towards. This beautifully written book is a heart-wrenching story of family, identity and a desperate search for answers to life's big questions. With themes of everlasting love and agonising grief, this stunning novel is incredibly powerful and thought-provoking.

MIDDLE-GRADE: The Unbelievable Biscuit Factory by James Harris.

In Haddie's hometown of Normalton, there is a biscuit factory that definitely isn't a front for a top secret science lab. The orange fluffy monsters that have started appearing out of thin air certainly aren't there and there is definitely nothing weird going on in Normalton. Haddie and her friends absolutely do not have to save the world armed with nothing but an electric guitar. This hilarious madcap adventure is nothing short of completely bizarre. As well as a celebration of imperfection and friendship, The Unbelievable Biscuit Factory is a horrifically accurate depiction of how humans choose to ignore the rapidly imploding reality around us. Completely ridiculous but fantastic fun!

FANTASY: Malice by Heather Walter.

Alyce is half Vila, which means that she is a much-feared, very powerful being in the kingdom of Briar. To keep her under control, she is dubbed the Dark Grace and allowed to use her blood magic to create elixirs for those who wish to do dark deeds. When the cursed Princess Aurora seems to take an interest in Alyce, suspicions arise. But Alyce may be about to unravel the secrets of her past and her truth will come to light. This clever amalgamation of fairytales has elements of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty. The romance between Alyce and Aurora is very slow burning with a very satisfying culmination. There is a dark, sultry essence to the whole book which ultimately champions outcasts and threatens revenge on their oppressors. I haven't been in the mood to read fantasy for a while but I devoured this one!

THRILLER: Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone.

During their isolated, traumatic childhood in an ominous Gothic Edinburgh house, twins El and Cat created a dark imaginary world called Mirrorland where they'd have adventures with pirates, witches and clowns. As adults, the twins have drifted apart. Cat is living as a struggling writer in LA while El married Ross, the boy who lived next door to their childhood home, where El and Ross still live. But now El has gone missing and Cat is called back to Scotland to confront the past and follow the clues as to where El could have gone. Mirrorland is definitely one of the darkest, most twisted thrillers I've read in a long time. I really wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't, which added to the mindfuckery of it. It's an intense exploration of the uniqueness of twinship where the twists just keep coming. Ice-cold and very clever, I have a feeling that this book will have a good year!

[wolveswithoutteeth]

any book recs? ✨

of course! my goodreads has more recommendations and i’ve created shelves for certain themes/time periods/genres but here are some favorites:

fiction:

the secret history by donna tartt

the goldfinch by donna tartt

red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston

the song of achilles by madeline miller

the hours by michael cunningham

tipping the velvet by sarah waters

deathless by catherynne m valente

the round house by louise erdrich

ghost wall by sarah moss

on earth we’re briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong

if we were villains by m.l. rio

normal people by sally rooney (the tv adaptation is now available on hulu!)

conversations with friends by sally rooney

lie with me by philippe benson

girl with a pearl earring by tracy chevalier

homegoing by yaa gyasi

trumpet by jackie kay

tin man by sarah winman

little fires everywhere by celeste ng

everything i never told you by celeste ng

burial rites by hannah kent  

the remains of the day by kazuo ishiguro

the underground railroad by colson whitehead

americanah by chimamanda ngozi adichie

young adult:

we are okay by nina lacour

everything leads to you by nina lacour

the grisha trilogy by leigh bardugo

six of crows by leigh bardugo 

the winternight trilogy by katherine arden

shatter me series by tahereh mafi 

i’ll give you the sun by jandy nelson

19th and 20th century american lit:

moby dick by herman melville

little women by louisa may alcott

behind a mask (and other stories) by louisa may alcott

cecil dreeme by theodore winthrop

the awakening by kate chopin

the house of mirth by edith wharton

ethan frome and other stories by edith wharton

giovanni’s room by james baldwin

all of toni morrison’s books! (i recommend reading her work in publication order if you can but my favorites are beloved and the song of solomon)

victorian:

the moonstone by wilkie collins

lady audley’s secret by mary elizabeth braddon

jane eyre by charlotte bronte

villette by charlotte bronte

wuthering heights by emily bronte

the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde

middlemarch by george eliot

bleak house by charles dickens

british modernism:

wide sargasso sea by jean rhys

good morning, midnight by jean rhys

voyage in the dark by jean rhys

mrs dalloway by virginia woolf

maurice by e.m. forster

the return of the soldier by rebecca west

collected stories by katherine mansfield

rebecca by daphne du murier

poetry:

devotions by mary oliver

crush by richard siken

war of the foxes by richard siken

collected poems by edna st. vincent millay

collected poems by christina rossetti

selected poems by edith wharton

undercurrent by rita wong

the wild iris by louise gluck

useless magic: lyrics and poetry by florence welch (if you’re a fan of florence + the machine, this hardcover book is beautifully published and includes poems, lyrics, illustrations, photography, etc.)

graphic novels:

all of isabel greenberg’s books!

through the woods by emily carroll (very spooky! and the art is beautiful!)

and the ocean was our sky by patrick ness 

short story collections:

the bloody chamber and other stories by angela carter

how to breathe underwater by julie orringer

by light we knew our names by anne valente

st lucy’s home for girls raised by wolves by karen russell

kissing the witch: old tales in new skins by emma donoghue

interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri

the thing around your neck by chimamanda ngozi adichie

the last animal by abby geni

nonfiction/theory:

upstream: selected essays by mary oliver

into the wild by jon krakauer

hunger by roxane gay

braiding sweetgrass: indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants by robin wall kimmerer

playing in the dark: whiteness and the literary imagination by toni morrison

in the wake: on blackness and being by christina sharpe

forms by caroline levine

touching feeling by eve kosofsky sedgwick

TBR books i’m excited to read as soon as this semester is over:

the starless sea by erin morgenstern

frankissstein by jeanette winterson

glass town by isabel greenberg

supper club by lara williams

the night watchman by louise erdrich

writers & lovers by lily king

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado

the library book by susan orlean

my life in middlemarch by rebecca mead

my year of rest and relaxation by ottessa moshfegh

the lonely city by olivia laing

the women’s prize postponed their winner announcement to september so i’ll be reading from the longlist this summer (and some previous winners/longlisters to celebrate the prize’s 25th anniversary this year!) this year’s list is really strong but a few books i’m most excited about:

hamnet by maggie o’farrell

girl, woman, other by bernadine evaristo

a thousand ships by natalie haynes

weather by jenny offill

red at the bone by jacqueline woodson

lastly, support independent book stores (if you can!) i ordered two books last month that i’m excited to read:

crude by olivia laing

a little book on form by robert haas

[witchyfashion]

The Literary Witches Oracle: A 70-Card Deck and Guidebook 

From the team that brought the inventive book Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers to life comes a 70-card oracle deck--featuring female icons and otherworldly symbols--that aims to add spiritual insight and feminist guidance to your personal divination practice. If you seek wisdom from strong, creative women, this oracle deck--which features 30 prominent female writers from literary history--will give you what you seek. The female visionaries in this deck will inform answers to questions about your creative life and spiritual journey. In addition to the portraits of literary heroes, such as Virginia Woolf and Toni Morrison, and lesser-known trailblazers, such as Yumiko Kurahashi and Mirabai, the deck features 40 symbol cards bearing illustrations of potent spiritual icons to enhance your reading. A small guidebook will act as an interpreter, helping you find meaning in the cards based on your specific intentions, the writers' dominant traits, and the spiritual symbols at play.

https://amzn.to/2Z9xErc

[lornaslibrary]

Witches, Werewolves, and Vampires

Last week I asked you to recommend books on the subject of witches, werewolves, and vampires. Here are all of the books that were recommended!!

Bold = the books I’ve read * = the books I personally would recommend + = want to read/on my TBR

Witches

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1), by Tomi Adeyemi +

Undead Girl Gang, by Lily Anderson

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill

Chime, by Franny Billingsley

The Witch’s Daughter (The Witch’s Daughter #1), by Paula Brackston

The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, by Libba Bray

The Lost Coast, by Amy Rose Capetta +

The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1), by Rin Chupeco +

The Binding, by Bridget Collins

Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas #1), by Zoraida Córdova +

Witches of Lychford (Lychford #1), by Paul Cornell  

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1), by Cassandra Clare

The Witches, by Peter Curtis

The Witches, by Roald Dahl

Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1), by Susan Dennard

The Wicked Deep, by Shea Ernshaw +

Bitter Greens, by Kate Forsyth

Wise Child (Doran #1), by Monica Furlong

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman +

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman +

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman +

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1), by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery, by Christopher Golden

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1), by Deborah Harkness

Chocolat (Chocolat #1), by Joanne Harris

Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman

Born At Midnight (Shadow Falls #1), by CC Hunter

Sanctuary,  by V.V. James

Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle #1), by Dianne Wynne Jones

Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers, by Taisia Kitaiskaia  

Summer of Salt, by Katrina Leno

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (Necromancer #1), by Lish McBride

When the Moon Was Ours, by Anna-Marie McLemore *

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

Circe, by Madelline Miller

Witch Hunt, by Syd Moore

A Secret History of Witches, by Louisa Morgan

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern +

The Worst Witch (Worst Witch #1), by Jill Murphy

Akata Witch (Akata Witch #1), by Nnedi Okorafor

Wyrd Sisters (Discworld #6, Witches #2), by Terry Pratchett

The Wee Free Men (Discworld #30, Tiffany Aching #1), by Terry Pratchett

Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms #1), by Morgan Rhodes

The Witching Hour (Lives of the Mayfair Witches #1), by Anne Rice

Carry On (Simon Snow #1), by Rainbow Rowell

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter #1), by J.K. Rowling *

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1), by V.E. Schwab *

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft, by Tess Sharpe

Secret Vampire (Night World #1), by LJ Smith

A Curse of Ash and Embers (Tales of the Blackbone Witches #1), by Jo Spurrier

These Witches Don’t Burn (These Witches Don’t Burn #1), by Isabel Sterling +

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1), by Maggie Stiefvater

When My Heart Was Wicked, by Tricia Stirling

Cirkeln (Engelsfors #1), by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren

Book of Shadows (Sweep #1), by Cate Tiernan

The Price Guide to the Occult, by Leslye Walton

The Babysitters Coven, by Kate Williams

Sorcery & Cecelia: or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Castle Hangnail, by Ursula Vernon

Werewolves

Bitten (Otherworld #1), by Kelley Armstrong

Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate #1), by Gail Carriger +

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1), by Cassandra Clare

Silver in the Blood, by Jessica Day George

Fateful, by Claudia Gray

The Silvered, by Tanya Huff

Born At Midnight (Shadow Falls #1), by CC Hunter

Cycle of the Werewolf, by Stephen King *

Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause

Hemlock (Hemlock #1), by Kathleen Peacock

Red Moon, by Benjamin Percy

The Fifth Elephant (Discworld #24), by Terry Pratchett

Secret Vampire (Night World #1), by LJ Smith

Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls #1), by Maggie Stiefvater

Vampires

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, by Holly Black *

Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod #1), by Heather Brewer

Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate #1), by Gail Carriger +

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1), by Cassandra Clare

The Passage (The Passage #1), by Justin Cronin *

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman +

Evernight (Evernight #1), by Claudia Gray

The Radleys, by Matt Haig

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1), by Deborah Harkness

My Blood Approves (My Blood Approves #1), by Amanda Hocking

RoseBlood, by A.G. Howard

Bunnicula (Bunnicula #1), by Deborah and James Howe

Blood Price (Vicki Nelson #1), by Tanya Huff

Born At Midnight (Shadow Falls #1), by CC Hunter

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1), by Julie Kagawa

‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King *

The Silver Kiss, by Annette Curtis Klause

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova

Let the Right One In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1), by Richelle Mead

Sunshine, by Robin McKinley

Anno Dracula (Anno Dracula #1), byKim Newman

Carpe Jugulum (Discworld #23), by Terry Pratchett

Interview with a Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles #1), by Anne Rice +

Night Owls (Night Owls #1), by Lauren M. Roy

Strange Practice ( Dr.Greta Helsing #1), by Vivian Shaw

Tantalize (Tantalize #1), by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Secret Vampire (Night World #1), by LJ Smith

Dracula, by Bram Stoker *

Dracul, by Dacre Stoker and J.D Barker *

If you recommended books but don’t see your recommendations here, feel free to message me to let me know I missed your response

Other Chain Recs Masterposts

[feralseraph]

Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers is a collaboration between Taisia Kitaiskaia and artist Katy Horan.

The book reimagines 30 female authors as true witches: not hook-nosed creatures riding on brooms, but figures of radical creativity, originality, and empowerment. Each witch is celebrated with a surreal vignette by Taisia Kitaiskaia and a full-color portrait by artist Katy Horan. Brief biographies and recommended reading lists round out each entry. (source)

Katy is fond of her illustration for Octavia Butler:

“She was new to me and this project led me to some of her short stories, one of which (“Bloodchild”) was about an alien species subjugating humans and the complicated relationship between the two. So rather than filling her portrait with the type of imagery that many of the others had (flowers, water, animals, etc…), I got to dream up humanoid figures, paint some tentacles and ponder how to portray the domination of one species over another. It was a really satisfying challenge and I am so happy with how it turned out.” (source)

[leer-reading-lire]

LITERARY WITCHES: A CELEBRATION OF MAGICAL WOMEN WRITERS is a collaboration between Taisia Kitaiskaia and artist Katy Horan.

The book offers new ways to think about celebrated literary figures, from Toni Morrison (Queen of Miracles, Generations, and Memory) to Emily Dickinson (Specter of Windows, Flies, and the Unexpected) and Agatha Christie (Grand Dame of Trickery, Murder, and Teatime). Lesser-known authors are included too, such as Janet Frame, a writer from New Zealand who spent most of her twenties in psychiatric wards; Yumiko Kurahashi, a Japanese writer of bizarre, twisted fairy tales; and Maria Sabina, an indigenous healer from Mexico who improvised poetry during ceremonies. Taken together, the profiles are a tribute to the very real magic of literature and those who create it.

[x]

[berattelse]

A bird of blue bones drops a piece of paper into your hand. The paper unfolds into a palace. You step in through the door. A cold wind blows through the hall, and you hear faint music. Each chord sounds a different note of silence. You keep going. At the end of the hall, you see a paper woman playing a paper harp. Alejandra's eyes are faintly drawn circles, nothing in them. She looks so lonely as her fingers run over the strings. The music hollows. You realize that if you don't leave now, you, too, will turn into a paper doll. You escape through the paper door. But there's something in your hand. It's the bird, blue bones turned to paper, singing Alejandra's song. You're cursed to hear it forever. You give in, eat the bird whole. Every once in a while, that lilac song of absence plays across your own ribs.

Kitaiskaia, Taisia. Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers. Illustrated by Katy Horan. Seal Press, 2017.

[ninsiana0]

The 82 Books I Read in 2018

(EDIT: I read three male authors. Two of those were men of color. One was queer.

I read 50 different female authors, one trans author, one nonbinary author, 17 women of color).

La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1) by Philip Pullman

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie

Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2) by Victoria Schwab

Night Broken (Mercy Thompson, #8) by Patricia Briggs

The Black Tides of Heaven(Tensorate, #1) by J.Y. Yang

Binti (Binti, #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson

A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson

Chimes at Midnight (October Daye, #7) by Seanan McGuire

Empire Ascendant (Worldbreaker Saga, #2) by Kameron Hurley

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy

Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota, #1) by Ada Palmer

Akata Witch (Akata Witch, #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

Home (Binti, #2) by Nnedi Okorafor

Made for Love by Alissa Nutting

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson, #9) by Patricia Briggs

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1) by Seanan McGuire

No Quarter (Quarters #3) by Tanya Huff

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4) by Sarah J. Maas

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5) by Sarah J. Maas

Seven Surrenders (Terra Ignota, #2) by Ada Palmer

You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day

The Will to Battle (Terra Ignota, #3) by Ada Palmer

The Night Masquerade (Binti, #3) by Nnedi Okorafor

Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children, #2) by Seanan McGuire

A Closed and Common Orbit( Wayfarers, #2) by Becky Chambers

The Belles (The Belles #1) by Dhonielle Clayton

The Winter Long (October Daye, #8) by Seanan McGuire

Pegasus by Robin Mckinley

Castle in the Air (Howl's Moving Castle, #2) by Diana Wynne Jones

River of Teeth (River of Teeth, #1) by Sarah Gailey

Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson, #10) by Patricia Briggs

Jade City (The Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Beneath the Sugar Sky(Wayward Children, #3) by Seanan McGuire

Sleep Like a Baby (Aurora Teagarden, #10) by Charlaine Harris

The End of the Day by Claire North

A Red-Rose Chain (October Daye, #9) by Seanan McGuire

The Reader (Sea of Ink and Gold, #1) by Traci Chee

Heroine Complex (Heroine Complex, #1) by Sarah Kuhn

Dreadnought (Nemesis, #1) by April Daniels

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1) by Tomi Adeyemi

Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers by Taisia Kitaiskaia

Taste of Marrow (River of Teeth, #2) by Sarah Gailey

My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies, #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

O Fallen Angel by Kate Zambreno

Circe by Madeline Miller

The Killing Moon (Dreamblood, #1) by N.K. Jemisin

Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life by Yiyun Li

The Story of the Lost Child (The Neapolitan Novels, #4) by Elena Ferrante

Dread Nation (Dread Nation, #1) by Justina Ireland

The Shadowed Sun (Dreamblood, #2) by N.K. Jemisin

Once Broken Faith (October Daye, #10) by Seanan McGuire

Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers, #3) by Becky Chambers

Wicked After Midnight (Blud, #3) by Delilah S. Dawson

Autumn by Ali Smith

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

Blood Vow (Black Dagger Legacy, #2) by J.R. Ward

Blood Fury (Black Dagger Legacy, #3) by J.R. Ward

The Thief (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #16) by J.R. Ward

The Brightest Fell (October Daye, #11) by Seanan McGuire

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

Touch by Claire North

Murder of Crows (The Others, #2) by Anne Bishop

Vision in Silver (The Others, #3) by Anne Bishop

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Vicious (Villains, #1) by V.E. Schwab

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There (Fairyland, #2) by Catherynne M. Valente

Akata Warrior (Akata Witch, #2) by Nnedi Okorafor

Shadows Cast By Stars by Catherine Knutsson

Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas, #2) by Zoraida Cordova

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #1) by Jenny Han

Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2) by Martha Wells

Night and Silence (October Daye #12) by Seanan McGuire

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2) by Jenny Han

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1) by Charlaine Harris

Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

Wicked Ever After (Blud, #4) by Delilah S. Dawson

Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3) by Martha Wells

[universitybookstore]

New from Seal Press, Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers, by Taisia Kitaiskaia, with glorious illustrations by Katy Horan.