january 2020 – good to read

The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft

H.P.Lovecraft (Author), Leslie S. Klinger (Editor)
In this follow-up to the 2014 book by the same name, twenty-five more Lovecraft stories are re-presented as well as a number of never-before-seen revisions and collaborations with other authors. Included are “Rats in the Wall”, a post–First World War story about the terrors of the past and the newly contextualised “The Horror at Red Hook,” which has been adapted recently by Victor LaValle. Klinger reanimates Lovecraft with clarity and historical insight, offering a revelatory volume in which the author’s story-writing method is uncovered, his vivid dreams are recorded and first drafts of stories are seen in immaturity. In addition to his ground-breaking writing, we glimpse a personal side of Lovecraft: his favourite stories are highlighted and his vulnerability as a young writer is obvious.
W.W. Norton, October 2019

Spellwork for Self-Care – 40 Spells to Soothe the Spirit

Potter Gift
For those who want to infuse their self-care routine with a little magic, this guidebook provides readers with simple spells to enhance their daily lives. Topics range from relationships and emotional health to self-love, work, school, and more. This book of 40 spells combines witchy spiritual practices with our culture’s hunger for self-care, creating a compact resource for those seeking alternate paths to better mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical health. Self-care is about a lot more than bubble baths. Even when the action is as minor as taking half a day off for mental health, caring for yourself is a small, one-person, rebellion.
Penguin Random House, December 2019

The Banished Immortal – A Life of Li Bai (Li Po)

Ha Jin
In his own time (701–762), Li Bai’s poems – shaped by Daoist thought and characterised by their passion, romance, and lust for life – were never given their proper due by the official literary gatekeepers. Nonetheless, his lines rang out on the lips of court entertainers, tavern singers, soldiers, and writers throughout the Tang dynasty. Today, Bai’s verses are still taught to China’s schoolchildren and recited at parties and toasts; they remain an inextricable part of the Chinese language. Ha Jin draws on a wide range of historical and literary sources to weave the great poet’s life story. He follows Bai from his origins on the western frontier to his ramblings travels as a young man to the poet’s later years—in which he became swept up in a military rebellion that altered the course of China’s history—and the mysterious circumstances of his death, which are surrounded by legend.
Knopf Doubleday, December 2019

A Long Petal of the Sea: A Novel

Isabel Allende
In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them we find Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires. Along with two thousand other refugees, they embark on the SS Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda, to Chile. Destined to witness the battle between freedom and repression as it plays out across the world, Roser and Victor will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along.
Bloomsbury Publishing, January 2019

Intentional Tarot

Denise Hesselroth
This book shows you how to become an active participant in your tarot readings. It encourages you to engage with your life’s purpose and strengthen your sense of self. With this new approach, you’ll learn to get “off book” and add a proactive element to your practice. Divination is only the first step—once you have the information from your reading, what will you do with it? The author presents effective techniques and spreads from both traditional and intentional reading methods, making it easy to discover which ones work best for you. Designed with different learning styles in mind, Intentional Tarot provides everything you need to understand the cards, develop your personal style, and take action for a successful future.
Llewellyn, January 2020

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