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Enchanting to Wicked: 36 New Witch Books to Read Now
According to most scholars, the first witch to appear in Western literature is probably Circe, best known for her appearance in Homer’s Odyssey, written sometime in the 8th century BCE. Legend holds that Circe was the daughter of Hecate, goddess of magic, the moon, and, um, cattle tending. She had a large portfolio.
Since then, witches have been popping up in books and stories with remarkable regularity, from Morgan Le Fay to Elphaba. With Halloween on the horizon, we’ve gathered here several recent specimens: 36 new books from 2023 featuring witches or witchy themes. This collection cuts across all genres, including some investigative nonfiction.
A few quick highlights: The Weaver and the Witch Queen, from author Genevieve Gornichec, is earning great reviews for its combination of fantasy and carefully researched Viking-age historical fiction. On the romance shelf, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland introduces a new kind of love story with her buzzy new novel, Witch of Wild Things.
Meanwhile, author Melinda Taub provides a magical reimagining of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice with her new novel, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch. For something a little more visceral, consider Penny Moonz’s intriguing Slasher Witch at the Waterpark. The title conjures some compelling mental images, doesn’t it?
Scroll over the book covers to learn more about each title, and add anything that floats your cauldron to your Want to Read shelf.
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Do you love reading about witches? Share which witch books you recommend in the comments below!
Comments Showing 1-48 of 48 (48 new)
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message 1:
by
Natasha Johnson
(new)
Sep 21, 2023 07:28AM
I want to share this list but finding the link is impossible. I don't want to post it to Facebook, can you please make a share button with just the link?
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The Very Secret Society of Irregular WitchesWolf Gone Wild (this whole series)
The League of Gentlewomen Witches
A Discovery of Witches
Circe
The Ex Hex
YA:
Kingdom of the Wicked
Serpent & Dove
Carry On
The Black Witch
Non-Fiction:
In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial
Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire career. That is not the type of author women want to see represented on lists of books about witches.
Natasha Johnson wrote: "I want to share this list but finding the link is impossible. I don't want to post it to Facebook, can you please make a share button with just the link?"I have a share button just above the comments section already.
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
agreed!!
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is fantastic.
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
I came here to say this exact thing. The audacity of this.
Kirby wrote: "The Very Secret Society of Irregular WitchesWolf Gone Wild (this whole series)
The League of Gentlewomen Witches
[book:A Discovery of Witches|866784..."
Your list is better than the one above haha
Tina wrote: "Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist ..."
Thirded! It's tone deaf and makes it look like the list author was just searching for books with "witch" in the title.
I love a good witchy book any time of year, but I crave them in October! Good list! :)
The Witching Tide is one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
Yes! So disappointing to see him on any list, but especially this one.
Natasha Johnson wrote: "I want to share this list but finding the link is impossible. I don't want to post it to Facebook, can you please make a share button with just the link?"https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
Here's another comment agreeing with Brittany. Do better, goodreads.
message 16:
by
The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
(new)
The place you gave to Billo the Clown could and should have gone to a far more deserving BIPoC author. Speaking of which, does ANYONE working for Goodreads follow BIPoC book blogs because there are plenty witch-themed books by authors of color.Then again, it's not as if GR lists haven't been disappointing like this before.
The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears wrote: "The place you gave to Billo the Clown could and should have gone to a far more deserving BIPoC author. Speaking of which, does ANYONE working for Goodreads follow BIPoC book blogs because there are..."agree
Kirby wrote: "The Very Secret Society of Irregular WitchesWolf Gone Wild (this whole series)
The League of Gentlewomen Witches
[book:A Discovery of Witches|866784..."
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.
Wow its amazing how news can be distorted. Bill O'Reilly made an unfortunate comment to a subordinate: he told a black woman she's "hot chocolate". Its inappropriate but hardly misogynistic.
O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
"VenCo" by Cherie Dimaline came out this year. I describe it as a cozy version of Anne Rice's "The Witching Hour" with less sex and more humour.
Putting accused SA (er) and dethroned misogynist talk show host, O’Reilly instead of much better titles out there is criminal.
I want to read a book where witchcraft is nasty and evil (think The Witch) but also empowering... basically I just want to read The Witch as a book. Any recommendations?
Self plug here, but I also recommend A Tall Dark Trouble for a fun witchy read! Cuban-American Practical Magic ✨️
message 24:
by
The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
(last edited Sep 27, 2023 01:12PM)
(new)
Diane wrote: Wow its amazing how news can be distorted. Bill O'Reilly made an unfortunate comment to a subordinate: he told a black woman she's "hot chocolate". Its inappropriate but hardly misogynistic."Wow, this is such a terrible take and I hope you understand why.
His comment was inappropriate AND misogynist. Black women are victims of sexism as well as racism.
Does Anita Hill ring a bell?
The term" misogynoir" exists for a reason. Professor Kimberle Crenshaw coined the term "intersectionality" for a reason. As a Black woman, being called "hot chocolate" is cringey and inappropriate.
And he STILL doesn't belong on this list.
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
Indeed. It was the one book I didn't click on.
Witch cozies have been my jam all summer. I'm currently working my way through Jane Hinchey's Battle of the Hexes, Kody Boye's The Witching Hour, Samantha Silver's Cursing Up a Storm, Kirsten Weiss' Pressed to Death (the heroine technically isn't a witch, but G.D. is definitely a witchy familiar), and an anthology of short books called All Too Familiar: A Collection of Paranormal Cozy Mysteries. Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Return of the Sorceress and H.Y. Hanna's Bewitched by Chocolate series are also great fun. And while they are technically witch-adjacent, Seressia Glass' Shadowchasers series, Edward M. Erdelech's Merkabah Rider series, and F.C. Yee's The Epic Crush of Genie Lo series are both fun and diverse.
Mandy wrote: "The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is fantastic."YES!
Mandy wrote: "The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is fantastic."GENUINELY I picked it up just the other day and I'm already having to force myself to put it down so that I can work on classwork TuT
message 29:
by
The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
(last edited Sep 28, 2023 01:54PM)
(new)
and
are witch-themed romances set in a small town and featuring Black leads.Say thank you, Goodreads.
Really? O'Reilly? There are so many other books about the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe post one by someone who wouldn't have been leading the charge.
The Black Witch, The Casquette Girls
I'm sorry I'm not a witch because I would definitely hex Bill O'Reilly.
I'm curious about the "inappropriate but hardly misogynistic" take. What's inappropriate about the reported behavior if not the misogyny and racism?
I think Women Who Run With the Wolves is witchy enough for this list. I've read it a few times over the years and love it for different reasons each time. Hey, it could replace O'Reilly's book!
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
Fully agree.
The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears wrote: "Diane wrote: Wow its amazing how news can be distorted. Bill O'Reilly made an unfortunate comment to a subordinate: he told a black woman she's "hot chocolate". Its inappropriate but hardly misogyn..."All of this.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow should be up there; bonus points if you read it on audio. Putting Bill O'Reilly's book up there is....a choice.
The League of Gentlemen Witches should be on this list too! 🧹
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
AGREED!!!
Nyssa wrote: "Really? O'Reilly? There are so many other books about the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe post one by someone who wouldn't have been leading the charge."Yes!!! So true!!!!
Glad to see that so many other people here are hexing BO. This list was almost certainly generated by some AI algorithm but you'd think a human would look it over and find the one thing that's not like the others before posting it. SMH
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
thanks for the heads up! I had no idea and yeah, real bad choice to put him here...
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
Yeah, I physically recoiled when I saw he was included on a list for witchy novels, which by design are books about intelligent, quirky, strong women--his worst nightmare.
Natasha Johnson wrote: "I want to share this list but finding the link is impossible. I don't want to post it to Facebook, can you please make a share button with just the link?"top of the post?
Lia wrote: "I'm curious about the "inappropriate but hardly misogynistic" take. What's inappropriate about the reported behavior if not the misogyny and racism?"When the misogyny is internal, it's hard to see the external. Addressing a person of color as "hot chocolate" reeks of fetishism along with racism.
Brittany wrote: "Putting Bill O'Reilly on a list about witches was quite a choice.O'Reilly has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct for years and has also openly been a misogynist for his entire ca..."
My thoughts exactly!
