Was good.
This book takes you in depth with working with sea magic. Not completely a beginner's book. It has great reference sections and it has step by step instructions for several meditations and shamanic journeying. It also has journal entry prompts which are always helpful when you're learning. It also explains how you can use this type of magic even if you are not living near an ocean/beach which is extremely helpful to the majority of us. This book can literally be used by anyone. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in the subject.
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What an adventure!
Harry, Ron and Hermione are back in this second edition to the Harry Potter series. But this time something evil is lurking within the castle walls. Something that even scares the spiders away! And worse, students are being petrified left and right it seems. Can the trio find out the secret and save their friends? And themselves? I have to say this is not as good as the first book but it definitely was a good book in and of itself. The adventure is not lacking and neither is the mystery. The one thing that I kind of disliked in this book was the fact that the solving of the mystery only took part in the very last portion of the book. There was a lot of build-up in this one. By the time you reached the ending the plot had built up so much into the climax that you could not put the book down however. So I guess that works in the reader's favor. I also have to say on a side note that I dislike Lockhart even more now after having read the book instead of having just seen the film. He is one of the most annoying characters I have ever read LMAO 😂. All in all it was a great sequel and I'm looking forward to the third installment. Perfect little guide.
The Practical Pendulum Book takes you through step-by-step on working with (and successfully scrying with) a pendulum. It goes over in detail what materials to use, how to hold the pendulum and includes a whole bunch of awesome charts that you can use while scrying with your pendulum. This is a great guy that I think everybody who is thinking of working with a pendulum should pick up and read. At the very least you should have it at the ready for a quick reference. Dafaq???? 😵
So this traveler is wandering around from town to town warning people about the impending storm which brings not only a barrage of rain and thunder.... it brings motherfucking sharks!!! 🦈 I will try as hard as I can to write this review without giving too much away. Okay so if this book were a movie it would be the equivalent of Snakes on a Plane. I say this because Samuel L. Jackson would have to be in it given the title and the language used and because the book has just about as much storyline as that film did. Let's face it, Deep Blue Sea had a lot more going for it. 😋 What makes this book even more fascinating to me is that it is set in rural country and as far as I can tell it is the old west as they talk about horse thieving and hanging people and the sheriff's building. No, the answer to your question is it is not set anywhere near an ocean or body of water at all. Then how can there be sharks you ask me? I will answer it the way it does so eloquently in the book.... fucking magic! The writing is definitely told in an old western style as if you were sitting playing cards and drinking with somebody in an old saloon and they were telling you the story. The author also takes time out to talk to the reader from time to time. I feel that if this was an audiobook it should be narrated by Sam Elliott. Was it good? Was it bad? It was certainly ugly. Lots of gore and sex for such a small book. Not that those things are really ugly to the horror fan, but still. I have to say, I have been on an MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000) binge this past week and I would very much have enjoyed watching this with Tom Servo, Jona and Crooow. I think this made into movie form would have definitely fit the bill for this show. So would I recommend this book? That's a hard question to answer. I think this is one of those books that you just have to take a motherfucking chance and read it for yourself. 😁 Simple review here:
1. Boring story 2. Unbelievable characters 3. Outrageous writing style The story is utterly boring and completely inconceivable at times. Especially the whole leech episode... disgusting!!! The characters are annoying at best and completely unbelievable in a real life circumstance. Not to mention unrelatable. but the one thing that I couldn't get passed in this novel was the writing style. Lauren Groff writes this book in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet only written badly. I'm sorry but I did not find it beautiful in any way and in fact found it extremely difficult for the reader to follow. If you're going to write a poem that is one thing if you are going to write a novel that is a completely different thing. In this case I think the author should have considered her audience a bit more. That's all I've got for you on this one guys. Just, bad! This one got lots of eye rolls 🙄
"The Left Hand is both a grimoire that breaks down the rites and spells of many commonly sought after foci for those who come to the mystic path as it also details working with Demons and Spirits, accounts the exile of the Blighted Lords, exposes the truth of the Judeo-Chrisitian-Islamic hypocrisy, heresy, mass murder, and control beside the governmental tyranny and religious profiling that is plaguing walkers of the Old Ways. This tome has some of Somnus Dreadwood’s personal philosophies about the political/social/religious state of the world and with the loss of freedoms how our sect of the spiritual spectrum will soon be targeted by another new Inquisition. This tome also details his communications between Cernobog, Satan, Asmodeus, and Zazazel. Herein given is the component formula and vampiric ritual that he used to save his father's life. At the end, we have the rites of self-initiation into the Nigrum Ecclesia Gehennae; a universal body of Disciples of the Left Hand Path who are joining across the planes to fight the corruption and blight that is the JCI in Etheris and which takes other forms in other planes. There is also given the details of invoking the powers of many ancient Demons, the methods of spiritual assassination, walking through unseen and guarded paths, and reaching apotheosis via magickal mastery and immortal invocation." OMG this book... I can see why it hasn't gotten many ratings and reviews. This is not due to the context of the book but rather the content of it. First off, I understand that this book is supposed to teach you the beginnings of darker magic (aka the left hand path) but the cover of the book is so dark in color that you cannot read the writing on it. Simply terrible design. Second, the author's writing comes off as pretentious. He writes as if he knows everything and you have come to him as a lost sheep who has wandered away from the fold seeking truth and enlightenment from him. 🙄 Third, while there are many cheesy, corny and some downright ridiculous books out there in the new age section of the book stores, I feel that the author has absolutely no right to bashwitchcraft traditions that are anything other than his own. Witchcraft and spirituality and religion in general are becoming more and more individualistic in our country and what doesn't work for some might work for others. It is ridiculous to think that only one magickal path is the right magickal path. How very Christian fanatical of him 🙄 The author also speaks of things that we have no idea what he's talking about. an example of this would be in the beginning of the book when he starts talking about the different towers in the introduction. at this point in the reading the reader has no idea what those towers are or what they stand for. His ideas in points are not very well-thought-out and not very well executed in book form. With the exception of bashing other religions of course. 🙄 Another thing that really bothered me was the fact that he keeps referring to his book as a "tome" when in actuality this is a very light read and I was able to knock it out in a couple of hours. It is a tome by no means. Just a simple little book (135 pages). As for the grimoire itself, the concepts are very interesting and the spells, tinctures, and potions seem like a fascinating thing to try. However like the rest of this book, the spell portion is not well laid out. And is sadly short-lived before we get into another religion bashing portion of the book. The spells themselves are laid out in a ceremonial style and include magickal phrases and seals that are extremely difficult for anyone to replicate. 🙄 To make matters worse there is a portion of this book that talks about Adolf Hitler. It explains very simply that lies were told about Hitler by the victors of the war. let's just leave it at that and say that it is very disheartening and disgusting. As a scholar of history myself (especially WWII), I find the section appalling. I have read many a grimoire in my time in my 20+ years of study of the magickal arts. And I have to say this one is probably the worst I have ever read. Oiy vey! 🙄
"Rumors of a deadly book have been floating around the dark corners of the deep web. A disturbing tale about a mysterious figure who preys on those who read the book and subjects them to a world of personalized terror. Jesse Wheeler--former guitarist of the heavy metal group The Rising Dead--was quick to discount the ominous folklore associated with the book. It takes more than some urban legend to frighten him. Hell, reality is scary enough. Seven years ago his greatest responsibility was the nightly guitar solo. Then one night when Jesse was blackout drunk, he accidentally injured his son, leaving him permanently disabled. Dreams of being a rock star died when he destroyed his son's future. Now he cuts radio jingles and fights to stay clean. But Jesse is wrong. The legend is real--and tonight he will become the protagonist in an elaborate scheme specifically tailored to prey on his fears and resurrect the ghosts from his past. Jesse is not the only one in danger, however." I was very excited to read this book at first. It seemed like a really creepy book and the storyline seemed really good. However the first page had me frowning when it gives the reader a warning to not read the book. It is very reminiscent of Clive Barker's "Mister B. Gone". That was the first eye roll. The beginning of the book starts off well. A band is coming together for a reunion show. The beginning of the book I would not say is well written but is written to the point where it's easy to follow. Then after the accident things go downhill... fast. The writing turns choppy and the author doesn't seem to like full sentences. I read a review that suggested its likeness to "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski, and I would have to concur. It is very much like that type of writing. It's like. The sentences. They just aren't. Written in full. I'm not joking there are actually sentences like that in this book! 🙄 Although this book had a good story in the beginning I have to say that the writing was very poorly executed throughout the rest of the book. I'm sure that the author is trying to convey some sort of feeling of creepiness or possibly urgency with this type of writing. and that may work on some but unfortunately it did the absolute opposite for me. On top of all that after the accident portion of the book the story becomes so complex that it's literally chaos. There is just so much going on and it is extremely hard to follow. I'm sure there is an audience for this book somewhere but I have to say that I would not recommend this book to anyone I know. I'm going to go lay down now, my head hurts from rolling my eyes. 🙄 Well that was unfortunate. 😕
Robert Langdon is an American professor of Symbology who finds himself suddenly thrust into a dangerous plot involving two separate Church organizations revolving around the Roman Catholic Church. Tensions and steaks both rise as Robert Langdon works hard to not only escape but to find out the truth. Okay I say that this is unfortunate because I have, very unfortunately, made a grave mistake with this book. That is that I have seen the film first before reading the book. Let me explain... Although this book is very well written and obviously extensively researched, I find that because I have already watched the film and there really aren't any surprises for me in all the back stories of things and characters mentioned in the book that it is more daunting to read then it is fascinating as probably was the original intention. I also feel like having watched the film first and enjoying such a fast-paced story that the book just seems long to read. I know what's coming even with the settle differences between the book and the film and I guess I am wanting more of that fast-paced that I get in the film when unfortunately I don't feel like I'm getting it from the book. Dan Brown writes his chapters to be very short and I believe that he does this in order to add to the thrill and the pace of the book but unfortunately it did not work on me. I really just think that watching the film first has ruined the book for me which is very very unfortunate because this is obviously a very good book that a lot of people have enjoyed but because the movie is so dear to my heart I feel like the book just doesn't stack up to it. And I have to say it like that because the movie came first for me. The DaVinci Code is one of my all-time favorite films and perhaps that was my first mistake when picking this book up. So I say as a warning to anyone that has yet to get into the Dan Brown series, please read the books first and then watch the films. Otherwise you may suffer my unfortunate fate as well. Even with my forlorn position on this book, I would still recommend it to just about everyone. Especially those who like mystery, thriller and espionage books. Such a sad but beautiful story.
Snow Flower and Lily are laotong. They are "old sames". Joined forever in a bond of sisterhood that runs deeper than blood since the time of their foot binding (7 years old). But life's hardships has no mercy for these two young women. and as women in China their life holds no value. Can their laotong bond withstand the tragedies that life throws at them? This book was a glimpse into the lives of women in China before the 19th century. It was very interesting in many respects. The book had obviously been very well-researched before written down. I have to say the one chapter that I absolutely did not like was the chapter where they explain in great detail the horror of the process of foot binding for young women in China. This chapter was so detailed and written in such a way that it became so real that it made me physically ill. Like I seriously wanted to throw up! With all of the sorrow and pain that these two women endure there is lots in this book about the happiness and joy that life brings them as well. These were my favorite chapters. I especially loved the chapter that ended right before their first children were to be born. This was probably the peak of happiness in this book and was very well written. It is more than sad what women had to endure in this time. To grow up believing that you are worthless unless you bear a son which you have no control over. And even then to be categorized as lower than a dog in the household... just disgusting. But it is a harsh reality that we all have to face in the fact that that is the way it was. We cannot erase history but rather we can learn from it as we move forward. I have said it before and I will say it again, this book is very well written. The storyline as well thought-out, well-researched and very easy to follow. The characters are more than identifiable even with their (now) alien way of living to someone who lives in the western world. And as a woman reading this book I found myself wanting deep down to have a laotong of my very own 💞. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone but especially to women in order to get better perspective on their life and to enjoy a good story about the bonds of sisterhood. |
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