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Author Topic: Books/Authors to avoid?  (Read 2946 times)

CrimsonSong

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Books/Authors to avoid?
« on: December 30, 2016, 11:25:08 pm »
There's always a lot of 'what books should I read' type things but I'd really like to know what books or authors I should definitely avoid and why?
Harken to the night sky, to the great epiphany / To that moment shared between kindred spirits / Two separate souls desperate to emerge as one whole / The light and dark are always in balance / Always struggling for supremacy / Yet one needs the other to survive. * landseasky.deviantart.com

NiDara

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Re: Books/Authors to avoid?
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2016, 11:37:21 pm »
Quote from: CrimsonSong;200644
There's always a lot of 'what books should I read' type things but I'd really like to know what books or authors I should definitely avoid and why?

 
The main ones I've always heard to avoid are DJ Conway and Silver Ravenwolf. Bad history and Christian-bashing are a couple reasons why I've heard negative opinions  about their books. There's probably others that I'm not thinking of, but any other responses will likely list them.

I think a bigger question is: what are you looking for? Are you looking for something Neo-Wiccan based or something with a more polytheist and/or Reconstructionist bent? Are you mainly interested in witchcraft? Since Paganism is an umbrella term, there's numerous paths and traditions. Take your time and research various paths online before rushing into buying books.

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Re: Books/Authors to avoid?
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2016, 11:51:14 pm »
Quote from: CrimsonSong;200644
There's always a lot of 'what books should I read' type things but I'd really like to know what books or authors I should definitely avoid and why?

 
We do have an older thread on this topic, but I think this is a case where starting a fresh one is a good idea, so, thanks, CrimsonSong. (I've moved it to 'Books and Other Resources', which is also a beginner-friendly area.)

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Re: Books/Authors to avoid?
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2016, 10:33:50 am »
Quote from: CrimsonSong;200644
There's always a lot of 'what books should I read' type things but I'd really like to know what books or authors I should definitely avoid and why?

 
In general, I recommend that people avoid books that restrict their options later on, (or rather, only read them thoughtfully, with critical analysis firmly attached, and that usually means these books are not a good choice for early reading about a topic.)

What books limit your options later?

Bad history

The stuff that was common in the 70s-90s, and which has now been thoroughly disproved, especially bad history being used as a driving point for ritual, group, or other practices, or used as a method of control and manipulation.

It's possible to relearn the history, but it takes time and energy, and it's a lot easier all round if you start with better sources, and then can go back and read the older not-so-great stuff without having to constantly ask "Wait, is that what happened?"

Stuff that tries to shame you if you do something that the book doesn't approve of.

It's one thing to say "This is a bad idea because X and Y can happen." or "You may want to consider Z because .... " that explains the issues and gives you the choice, but some books out there (and a number of Ravenwolf's earlier books do this) are derogatory about things people make legitimately different choices about in their lives, such as moderate use of alcohol, sexual expression, etc. without any more explanation than "Nice people don't do that."

(And, well, nice is not the point of many witchcraft traditions, and that's another sort of issue... One of my favourite phrases, from a HP who was a longtime poster here, Brock, is "We are the craft of the wise, not the craft of the nice." Look for the stuff that makes you wiser and bigger and more useful, not the stuff that makes you smaller and more limited.)

Books with bad or just plain unreliable health and safety information.

Especially about herbs or other practices that may have risks. There are better books out there, and they deserve your time and attention. You can usually do some quick checks on a couple of commonly referenced herbs and see what they say.

In general, books that tell you what you should be doing, but not why or how the practices fit together.

Again, there are better books out there, and you deserve better. You're an intelligent person who wants to make good decisions about your practices and approaches. Read the books that give you the information to do that, by explaining why they suggest a particular thing, or give you a couple of alternatives, as opposed to those that say "do this thing" without explanation.

As a general rule, good books will either give you an explanation why, and a couple of alternative approaches, or they'll say "This is the way you do X" but it'll be in a very specific context (i.e. "I am saying you should do X this way, because it ties into later practices Y and Z" or "I am saying do X this way, because Z has more risks" or "My experience with [extensive testing] says X works most reliably for the most people.")

Don't settle for "Do X because that's what I say." or "Do X because I've never thought about alternatives." (not that authors will come out and say that one, but you can usually spot it if you're looking.)

Specific books and authors
I have a recommended list (with specific reasons why I recommend them) on my website here, and I have notes on why I don't recommend starting with a bunch of the classic books in the field here (I think they're worth reading, but that they are much better choices once you have more background and experience.)

I think there's a ton of better books out there than the Ravenwolf / Conway / etc. crowd (who became widely known in the late 90s and early 2000s).

These days there's a ton of ebooks from people who oversimplify, leave things out, and who are poorly edited (and while ability to write and ability to be an effective witch are not the same thing at all, I think it's good practice to be dubious about following directions about anything from a poorly edited work. If the regular text that someone's had plenty of chances to edit and refine is iffy, the ritual and magical directions and info stand a decent chance of also being iffy.)
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CrimsonSong

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Re: Books/Authors to avoid?
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2016, 11:07:39 pm »
Quote from: Nic an Dair;200645
The main ones I've always heard to avoid are DJ Conway and Silver Ravenwolf. Bad history and Christian-bashing are a couple reasons why I've heard negative opinions  about their books. There's probably others that I'm not thinking of, but any other responses will likely list them.

I think a bigger question is: what are you looking for? Are you looking for something Neo-Wiccan based or something with a more polytheist and/or Reconstructionist bent? Are you mainly interested in witchcraft? Since Paganism is an umbrella term, there's numerous paths and traditions. Take your time and research various paths online before rushing into buying books.

 
Sort of polytheist neo Wicca basically. I did another post today about what's going on in my life, basically I've been Pagan for fifteen years but never but the work in if that makes sense and now I'm doing so to actually have a real spiritual practice.
Harken to the night sky, to the great epiphany / To that moment shared between kindred spirits / Two separate souls desperate to emerge as one whole / The light and dark are always in balance / Always struggling for supremacy / Yet one needs the other to survive. * landseasky.deviantart.com

Blu3Wanderer

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Re: Books/Authors to avoid?
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2017, 11:32:48 am »
Quote from: Nic an Dair;200645
The main ones I've always heard to avoid are DJ Conway and Silver Ravenwolf. Bad history and Christian-bashing are a couple reasons why I've heard negative opinions  about their books.

 
Newbie here!
I can agree that Conway bashes Christianity quite often. One of my first books was his book "Wicca, The Complete Craft." While it was nice to have a broad number of subjects in one read, it felt ill-organized and vague at times. In his defense, I believe most of his historical facts on Christianity that I researched on were correct.

I got my altar set up and the bare bones of a practice  started from reading it, but online sources did a much better job and I won't be buying something from him again.

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Re: Books/Authors to avoid?
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2017, 01:12:53 pm »
Quote from: Blu3Wanderer;201194
Newbie here!
I can agree that Conway bashes Christianity quite often. One of my first books was his book "Wicca, The Complete Craft." While it was nice to have a broad number of subjects in one read, it felt ill-organized and vague at times. In his defense, I believe most of his historical facts on Christianity that I researched on were correct.

I got my altar set up and the bare bones of a practice  started from reading it, but online sources did a much better job and I won't be buying something from him again.

 
Just a note: Deanna "D. J." Conway is definitely not a him.
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Re: Books/Authors to avoid?
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2017, 07:44:28 pm »
Quote from: CrimsonSong;200644
There's always a lot of 'what books should I read' type things but I'd really like to know what books or authors I should definitely avoid and why?
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