What's on your bookshelf?

[Liadine (dragonflyeyes)]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

[Yei]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

 
I have... an awful lot of books on Mesoamerica. Like, 60. And I have more I want to get. Most of them are history books though. Mind you most of them also look at Mesoamerican spirituality anyway. I guess the pride of my collection would be the Florentine Codex. But I also like the Codex Borgia and the Popol Vuh.

[HedgeWanderer]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

 

Fewer and fewer all the time.
I am slowly in the process of getting rid of much of my stuff.
A few books that Definitely won't part with how ever are the sister-books 'encyclopedia of 5000 spells' and 'encyclopedia of witchcraft' Both by Judika Illes

I also have two that look specifically at the wheel of the year in New Zealand, what is actually happening, what what the native people were doing at these times- written by a local writer.

Otherwise I am generally happy to bounce around the internet, or ask other witchy friends if I get stuck on anything. Also the library.

Note: I have other books relating to spiritual things, but they are mostly kind of buddhist- or if the are witchy, I did not mention them as I could get alone fine without them.

[PlaceboArtist]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

 
My bookshelf is the central and most important part of my room - I would rather sleep on the floor than have my books taken. On my Pagan shelf I have:

• The Bible
• The Prose Edda
• The Poetic Edda
• Beowulf
• The Sagas of the Icelanders
• Prehistoric Belief: Shamans, Trance and the Afterlife
• Mythology of the British Isles
• The Oxford Treasury of Classic Poems
• Various notebooks, journals and Books of Shadows that I'm aiming to collate into one at some point.

Going upstairs to check my shelf, I have remembered that my friend still has my copy of The Origin of God *makes mental note to snark at friend*. I have the Bible because I was raised going to church, so it has an impact on my life whether I like it or not. And as for the poems, although they're not Pagan or to do with religions in any sense, I connect with some of the poems in a way I can only describe as spiritual.

There are various other mythological and historical texts I would like to buy, including the Apocrypha, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Vedas and some Roman texts. My current selection is very Germanic-heavy and I want to expand into other areas.

I also have a few fiction books that I would hate to lose. Some of them include Pagan themes, others don't. They're largely children's/teens' books, because they're books I've read since I was fairly young. They are:

• Wild Dogs (Helen Humphreys)
• Frozen Fire (Tim Bowler)
• Apache (Tanya Landman)
• The Foretelling (Alice Hoffman)

And then of course there's my playtexts. Being an actor, these are also important to me. I won't bore you with yet another list, but I will say that my favourite is Alan Bennett's The History Boys.

Not sure how much of that answers your question, I had trouble stopping once I'd got started talking about my beloved books.

[Liadine (dragonflyeyes)]

I have the Bible because I was raised going to church, so it has an impact on my life whether I like it or not. And as for the poems, although they're not Pagan or to do with religions in any sense, I connect with some of the poems in a way I can only describe as spiritual.

This is one of the things I love learning about by snooping through personal libraries - it's fascinating to see what people group together, and why. I also have the Bible on my religion shelf (or I did until I had to make room for it, I really need to figure out a new shelving system). And I understand about the poetry; if I didn't have a poetry shelf where all the books fit just right, I'd have some of the books on my religion shelf as well.

Not sure how much of that answers your question, I had trouble stopping once I'd got started talking about my beloved books.

 
No, that's exactly what I was interested in, thank you! I'd reply to more (and the other answers) right now, but apparently it's time for me to sleep, words are staring to swim a bit.

[Vale]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Far far many to list here! I do periodically cull but I am fighting a losing battle.

If you want a peek at the esoteric/witchy/pagan stuff  it is mostly on librarything ( and yes I have read nearly of it) but unfortunately with the trad witchcraft books, unless you get them immediately, then they sell out and then the secondhand prices make them unaffordable  so I do have a bit of a backlog on the Cultus Sabbati authors.


http://www.librarything.com/catalog/AmanitaMuscaria

[Celtag]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

For one, I have way to many books on the Celts. Probably 10 books on history alone. I have about 4 books on Celtic Myths. And another few books on Celtic Religion. I have a few books on Magick & Witchcraft. My library just keeps growing and growing, I tend to probably buy a new book, about every month or so. My wife thanks I'm addicted to reading, and need help. lol

[Ainne]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

 
To many to name! Many books by Scott Cunningham & Ann Moura. Drawing down the moon, witchcrafting, Gospel of Aradia; many books by the Fararrs, Ellen Dugan, Buckland.

[fallenangel]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

*The Bible
*Current Year of the Farmers Almanac
*Army Field Manuel (NOT joking...you would be surprised at how many ways this comes in handy)
*My Great-Aunts journal of "Kitchen Witchery"....basically various herbal concoctions, home remedies, etc...a few cleverly disguised "spells". Very interesting because of the insight on family members whom I never knew or heard stories about.
*Various gardening books
*Harry Potter series...there are numerous lessons to be learned in there about humanity in general.

[Sobekemiti]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

 
My collection isn't as big as I'd like it to be. I've spent a long time not really building my library very actively, so I'm somewhat behind even though I've been Pagan for around 12 years now. There are many books on Egypt and Rome I'd really love to get my hands on, as well as other assorted Pagan books, but they have to be bought online and they're not cheap (assuming I can find them), so what I do have is a more generalised Pagan collection. I make do with what I've got while I save up.

I've got books on Wicca, magic and witchcraft, the Sabbats, astrology and astronomy, books on British, Egyptian, Celtic and other mythologies, books on various Gods and Pantheons, the Principia Discordia, a couple of books on Hedge Witchcraft, etc. It's kind of broad right now. On my wishlist at the moment are pretty much anything that looks interesting. I actually picked up 'Mastering Witchcraft' by Paul Huson after seeing it rec'd here on TC.

[Maps]

I'm always interested in snooping around other people's libraries, so I'm curious: what books do you own that are related to your path/religion?

Are there any books that you keep around but never use? Do you feel like there are any glaring patches in your collection that you would like to fill? Do you have any books that you couldn't live without?

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

To get an idea of what I have vs. what I want... Here's my shelf cloud: http://www.goodreads.com/review/cloud/4792834-lo

The "have and have read" list is pitiful in comparison to what I want to get my grubby hands on in the future. Unfortunately, books are prohibitively expensive for me much of the time... which is really mind-numbingly frustrating since my pathforging requires I be as scholarly and historically literate as the hardest hard-lining recons out there. Building up my ideal library is going to be VERY slow going, and that's just with the books that have already been published. Who knows, there might be another renaissance when it comes to scholarly Mayanism post-2012 (and perhaps also when travelling through Central America isn't so dangerous) and I'll be adding another dozen books to my want list over the next 5 years.

tl;dr: y life so hard

[Juniperberry]

It would be interesting to see what books people rely on/recommend the most, and what books show up most often. I have a long list of books I hope to eventually get my hands on, but it's always great to have more ideas.

My physical library isn't very large (because books be expensive yo):

The Poetic Edda

Days in Midgard: A Thousand Years On- Modern Legends Based on Northern Myth

Gods and Myths of Northern Europe

Early Christian Heresies

Dictionary of Northern Mythology (Best book to get if interested in Norse/Germanic traditions.)

Myths of the Norsemen (First book I got but I don't really recommend it.)

Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs

The Road to Hel: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature

Grimm's Teutonic Mythology

The Saxon Savior: The Germanic Transformation of the Gospel in the Ninth-Century Heliand

The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity: A Sociohistorical Approach to Religious Transformation

The Sagas of the Icelanders

The Prophet (My favorite 'religious' book ever)

(And my next purchase will be Iron Age Myth and Materiality: An Archaeology of Scandinavia AD 400-1000. Apparently the author theorizes that the Norse elite in the literature and myths were actually the invading Huns and not Norse men at all. So...neat.)

My online library is a lot larger, with too many books and papers (and kindle loans) to list here and I also read the The RMN Newsletter, Saga Conferences , Odroerir Journal (of course), "Grimulfr's List", and various other online libraries and loose pdf's. Mark Stinson has a good library at Temple of Our Heathen Gods, as does the Northvegr site.

[Liadine (dragonflyeyes)]

Fewer and fewer all the time.
I am slowly in the process of getting rid of much of my stuff.
A few books that Definitely won't part with how ever are the sister-books 'encyclopedia of 5000 spells' and 'encyclopedia of witchcraft' Both by Judika Illes

I'm jealous of the ability to get rid of books. Normally I'm not a pack-rat, but I have endless trouble thinning out my book collection, even though I doubt I'll re-read some of them and don't have enough space on my shelves.

I've heard some neat things about those books, but the price has put me off and the stores that sell them have them cellophane-wrapped for some reason so I haven't had the chance to page through. It's good to hear another recommendation, maybe I'll see if I can get used copies online.

[Liadine (dragonflyeyes)]

If you want a peek at the esoteric/witchy/pagan stuff  it is mostly on librarything ( and yes I have read nearly of it) but unfortunately with the trad witchcraft books, unless you get them immediately, then they sell out and then the secondhand prices make them unaffordable  so I do have a bit of a backlog on the Cultus Sabbati authors.


http://www.librarything.com/catalog/AmanitaMuscaria

 
Wow, I'm jealous! And pleased, there are a lot of interesting books on there that I haven't heard of before (including some of the newer ones). This thread is going to be dangerous for my poor wishlist, I just know it.

[Vale]

. This thread is going to be dangerous for my poor wishlist, I just know it.

 

I am right with you on that one!

I am  on a couple of  lists with some of the current "big names" in UK paganism and witchcraft and get tipped off early when one of them has something interesting about to hit the press.   I've also been collecting them for many many years now and pick up a lot very cheaply secondhand ( not the Cultus Sabbati ones though unfortunately. I'm always hoping that I might just find Azoëtia  hiding unrecognised  in a charity shop)  

I do feel a little guilty but books are my main vice. I hate shopping, don't watch TV or go to the movies and my idea of a perfect night in is  a new book, a notebook and a glass of wine.  

If you haven't already got a kindle then I thoroughly recommend one. There are a lot of classic texts available on it absolutely free and there is usually a daily freebie from Avalonia of one of their current collection.

I have yet to actually  pay for a pagan/witchy ebook and only a fraction of the kindle collection is up on librarything. I grab the free ones when they are on offer and it is a simple matter to delete the dross.