Hi, I really like your podcast, do you have any book-recommendations for someone who wants to move on from introductory 101 whichcraft books?
Unfortunately I really don't.
Like beginner stuff is easy to recommend because in the solitary practice driven world of the modern witchcraft movement it's the main way 90% of us get started. Reading for your first few years becomes a necessity, and for a lot of folks that's where they find out what a lot of the options are.
And so those books sell. Those books get published.
One problem is, after that, you get into more specialized things. There is no general intermediate version of Witchcraft. People branch off and get into way more specific things. It's like how when you're a kid there's just "science class" but in college it splits off into so many disciplines. If you tried to write one book to cover all of it, it would be massive and unmanageable (or just not end up giving you enough information to be worth it and just be another beginner book).
The other problem is that these books are harder to sell for publishers because the audience is smaller. You always sell more beginner books for any topic (because there will always be folks who want basic understanding but not more -- be the subject carpentry or witchcraft), plus those that specialize will fraction off to what they want to do next.
So yeah. That means there are way fewer "intermediate" books out there.
And book availability aside, the main reason I can't recommend any... is that I haven't read a lot of them. Y'all, I love doing witchcraft -- I've spent the last twenty five years of my life being a witch -- but I don't actually enjoy reading witchcraft books like some of y'all. I mean, don't get me wrong, I research the hell out of stuff I do, but I'm pretty set in my practice. I learned a lot of stuff by trying and doing within the frameworks I've developed. I also learned stuff from working and discussing with other witches. I stopped actively reading witchcraft books for fun a couple of decades ago.
Folks ask me "what do you think of [author who first published five years ago]," and my response is either "I don't know their stuff" or "Ah fuck, you're going to make me read something aren't you just to find out whether something is terrible or not." Or I ask one of my friends if the author is terrible. Most of the time it's that third thing.
I'm like the opposite of @asksecularwitch in so many ways.
Like so many of my witch friends just spend so much time reading witch books, and that's great. I'm glad they're enjoying it, but I'm not that person. I've always been much more one for direct conversations with other witches -- and then when I do research something spending more time with non-witchcraft sources to make sure I'm getting the cultural, historical, and scientific sides right.
That's why I don't have any good recs for you.
Uh, anyone else wanna chime in?