Find a New Hobby!

Been interested in learning a new hobby? The library is the perfect place to pick up a book before committing to something, so the books and how-to guides and supplies don’t gather dust in the corner when you realize macramé isn’t *really* your thing. But if you want it to be your thing, there’s a book for that!  

I’ve compiled a list of a few different hobby books to peruse while trying to keep boredom at bay, whether you want to learn a new skill or just occupy your brain for a little while. 

Why not try your hand at hand embroidery?  

Doodle-Stitching: Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners by Aimee Ray 
Complete Guide to Embroidery Stitches: Photographs, Diagrams, and Instructions for Over 260 Stitches by Jennifer Campbell 

Finally beat your overly competitive family member at chess. 

Devious Chess: How to Bend the Rules and Win by Amatzia Avni 
Discovering Chess Openings: Building Opening Skills from Basic Principles by John Emms 

Impress your friends with all the cool card tricks you learned. 

Dazzling Card Tricks by Norm Barnhart 
Simple Sleight-of-Hand: Card and Coin Tricks for the Beginning Magician by Paul Zenon

Or try some brain teasers and puzzles to keep your brain sharp during television commercials.  

The Scotland Yard Puzzle Book: Test Your Inner Detective by Solving Some of the World’s Most Difficult Cases by Sinclair McKay 
Are You as Smart as You Think?: 150 Original Mathematical, Logical, and Spatial-Visual Puzzles for All Levels of Puzzle Solvers by Terry Stickels 

Have fun! 

(And here’s that macramé book I promised!) 

-Linnea

Greg’s Top Reads of 2018

The Elements of Spellcrafting : 21 Keys to Successful Sorcery
by Jason Miller

A great read for any practitioner or follower of any path. Gives some very practical tips for spellwork and working with spirits.

The Chaos Protocols:Magical Techniques for Navigating the New Economic Reality
by Gordon White

A practical guide that is based in chaos magic but has some great tips for all. Looking about how one can use your individual spiritual/occult practice to deal with the practical concerns of life.

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The Invisibles
by Grant Morrison

Though this comic has been out for decades, it was only this year that I got to it. An absorbing graphic novel that explores themes of oppression, control, and the various prices of bucking the status quo.

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The Ballad of Black Tom
by Victor D. LaValle

A great example of not only building on top of but expanding the source material. This book starts with the framework of Lovecraft and addresses historical and contemporary issues.

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Sheila Hicks : Lifelines
edited by Michel Gauthier

A wonderful visual retrospective of the artist’s work, this volume explores every stage of the artist’s career. Hick’s is a master of color and form and her work is carefully reproduced here.

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Promethea
by Alan Moore

Again another graphic novel that had been on my radar but I hadn’t gotten to. Promethea is a story that not only explores mythology and the the last 100 years of occultism but seem to reflect many of the author’s own beliefs.

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The Power
by Naomi Alderman

Alderman’s work explores the dynamics of power and gender and how old patterns can reemerge when the world is made new again.

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The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror
by Daniel Mallory Ortberg

A collection of stories about stories, archetypes, and culturally created gender. These tales are filled with horror or uncanniness as Ortberg picks apart the very idea of a fairy tale and our own “norms”.

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Book one, The Crucible
by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Read the graphic novel that the Netflix show is based on. There are many differences from the show and this source material and it guaranteed to help tide fans over as they wait for season two.


Clive Barker’s next testament. Volume On
by Clive Barker

A truly terrifying look at what it would be like if our creator came back. An engrossing story, but Barker definitely maintains his horror aesthetic throughout.