My Tentative Reading List for 2020

 I'm not sure if Novel Knight is running a "Beat the Backlist" reading challenge in 2020, but regardless I find them helpful, so I'm planning to do something like it again, even if only on my own. It's also just over two months before next year, so my reading list isn't solidified yet. For one thing, so far, I've changed it more than I planned to each year, but for another, I'm hopeful that by the time 2020 begins I will have already finished reading at least some of the books on this list. But I want to prepare as much as possible in advance, and I'm also spending more mental resources than I'd like thinking about it without having it written down. So without further ado:

Books I began reading in 2019 or before:

*Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey *finished*

*The Path of Paganism by John Beckett *finished*

*The Poetic Edda (I may restart this from the beginning)

*Unf*ck Your Habitat by Rachel Hoffman *finished*

*A Pine Barrens Odyssey by Howard P. Boyd (I may restart this from the beginning)

*The Healing Terrain by Jesse Hardin, Kiva Rose, and others (I'll probably restart this from the beginning)

*The War of Art by Steven Pressfield *finished*

*The Right to Write by Julia Cameron

*The Mindfulness Solution for Intense Emotions by Cedar R. Koons *finished*

*Surviving a Borderline Parent by Kimberlee Roth and Freda B. Friedman

*Hard to Love by Joseph Nowinski

*Calling to Our Ancestors edited by Sarenth Odinsson (I may restart this, and I only have it as an ebook and would like to have a physical copy)


Books Coming Out in 2020:

*Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire (publication date 1/7/2020) *own and finished*

*Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs (possibly -- I like the series, but I disliked the last book enough to stop reading it) (publication date 3/17/20)

*Pagan Portals Loki: Trickster and Transformer by Dagulf Loptson (publication date 6/1/2020)

*Building a Life Worth Living by Marsha Linehan (publication date 1/7/20)

Books I Already Own:

*The Prose Edda by Snori Sturluson *finished*

*Greenmantle by Charles de Lint (I may have to replace my copy with a different one -- the I ordered was falling apart when it came) *finished*

*Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey *finished*

*Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey *finished*

*Naamah's Blessing by Jacqueline Carey *quit*

*Uprooted by Naomi Novik *quit*

*The Joy of Less by Francine Jay (I think this is the minimalism book I already own)

Books I Don't Own Yet:

*Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire *own and finished*

*In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire *own and finished*

*Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

*The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

*Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith *ow*

*The Complex PTSD Workbook by Arielle Schwartz

*Circe's Cauldron edited by Rebecca Buchanan (maybe)

*Her Hidden Children by Chas S. Clifton

*Triumph of the Moon 2nd edition by Ronald Hutton

*Blood and Mistletoe by Ronald Hutton (maybe)

*The Witch by Ronald Hutton (maybe)

*The Sentimental Person's Guide to Decluttering by Claire Middleton

*A Witch's Book of Silence by Karina Blackheart *own*

*Elements of Magic by Jane Meredith and Gede Parma

*Magic of the Iron Pentacle by Jane Meredith and Gede Parma

*All Acts of Love and Pleasure: Inclusive Wicca by Yvonne Aburrow

*The Jotunbok by Raven Kaldera *own ebook copy*

*Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen

*Tarot Elements by Melissa Cynova

*They Walk With US by John T. Mainer

*Stranger Skies by Katje Van Loon

*The Fairy Queen of Spencer's Butte and Other Tales by Jolene Dawe

*By Earth by T. Thorn Coyle *own ebook copy*

*A World Full of Gods by John Michael Greer *forgot I own ebook copy*

*Evolutionary Witchcraft by T. Thorn Coyle

*Sacred Gifts: Reciprocity and the Gods by Kirk S. Thomas (maybe) *forgot I own ebook copy*

*Living Between Two Worlds: Challenges of the Modern Witch by Chas. S. Clifton

*Weave the Liminal by Laura Tempest Zakroff

*Sigil Witchery: A Witch's Guide to Crafting Magick Symbols by Laura Tempest Zakroff

*Circle of Eight: Creating Magic for Your Place on Earth by Jane Meredith

*Be Thou My Hearth and Shield edited by Elizabeth Vongvisith

*The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual by Alexei Kondratiev

*Horns of Honor by Fredrick Thomas Elworthy

*Feeding the Flame edited by Galina Krasskova

*Honoring Your Ancestors: A Guide to Ancestral Veneration by Mallorie Vaudoise *own audiobook copy*

*Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing by Daniel Foor

*It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle by Mark Wolynn

*Queer Magic: Power Beyond Boundaries edited by Lee Harrington and Tai Fenix Kulystin

*Queer Magic: LGBT+ Spirituality and Culture from Around the World by by Tomás Prower

*Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook by Raven Kaldera (own an ebook copy, partially read before)

*Outside the Charmed Circle by Misha Magdalene and Michelle Belanger

*Magical Power For Beginners by Deborah Lipp

 

*The Elements of Ritual by Deborah Lipp

*Casting Sacred Space by Ivo Dominguez Jr.

*Sacred Smoke by Amy Blackthorn

*The Witch's Eight Paths of Power by Lady Sable Aradia

*Witchcraft Activism by David Salisbury

 

*Crafting a Daily Practice by T. Thorn Coyle *own and finished*

 

*NeoPagan Rites by Isaac Bonewits

 

*Real Magic by Isaac and Phaedra Bonewits

*The Un-Spell Book: Energy Essentials for Mastering Magick by Mya Om

 

*Write Your Own Magic: The Hidden Power in Your Words by Richard Webster

 

*Spiritual Cleansing: A Handbook of Psychic Protection by Draja Mickaharic

*Protection and Reversal Magick by Jason Miller

*The Sorcerer's Secrets by Jason Miller

*Elements of Spellcrafting by Jason Miller

 

*Sigil Magic: for Writers, Artists, and Other Creatives by T. Thorn Coyle

*Crafting Magick with Pen and Ink by Susan Pesznecker

 

*Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in Your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions by Robert McDowell

*The Ritual of Writing: Writing as Spiritual Practice by Andrew Anderson

*How to Come Alive Again: A Guide to Killing Your Monsters by Beth McColl

*Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier

*Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Busy World by Cal Newport

*The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight For A Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff

*How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell

*Normal Sucks: How to Live, Learn, and Thrive Outside the Lines by Jonathan Mooney

*The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World that Values Sameness by Todd Rose

Realistically, this list is probably way too long and will need to be whittled down. Additionally, I probably can't afford to buy all the books on it that I don't own yet over the course of a single year, but I'll probably want to keep most of them -- and many libraries are unlikely to have them, anyway. I also might be forgetting some books, and I might decide not to read others. Also, other than the books I listed, I mostly want to try to focus my fantasy reading for a while on books with fictional depictions of Paganisms, pollytheisms, animism, and/or ancestor veneration in them. 


Finally, there is a very small list of authors whose stories I like enough, or have enough of a sentimental attachment to that, when they publish a new book, I'll usually try to buy it and read it as soon as possible. The authors in that category I can think of are: Tamora Pierce, Charles de Lint, Terry Windling, Holly Black, and Billy Martin (Poppy Z. Brite). That said, I'm not always successful in those desires, and I don't expect Billy Martin or Terry Windling to publish any new books any time soon. I'm also way behind on Holly Black books and would like to catch up first, which I probably won't focus on too much next year. And there are still books by almost all of those authors I haven't read -- all if you include books that Windling edited and had short stories in.

I'd like to possibly add a few books on chronic illness, disability, and BPD to this list, too, but not right now.