Book cover of The Book of Witching

Book description

A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick

'Chilling and beautifully written ... C.J. Cooke's finest novel yet' Emilia Hart

'A spellbinding thriller' Scots Magazine

Four hundred years separate them.

One book binds them.

Glasgow 2024: Clem waits by her daughter's hospital bed. Erin was found on an idyllic beach in…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Book of Witching as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This story felt like a heavy conversation with long-dead relatives because it captures how ancestral memory is both a gift and a haunting.

I connected with the idea that our blood carries stories we didn’t ask for but are forced to finish. It reminded me that the "magic" we inherit is never simple because it demands we look at the parts of our history that others would rather keep buried in the smoke.

I loved how it treated magic as something visceral and ancient, a bond reaching through time to guard the present when everyone else has turned their backs.

Oooo, I love me a good witchy book, don’t you? While not specifically about Celtic folklore, this book does take place in the Orkney Islands and does involve magic. So yeah. I’m gonna count it. I loved the witchy magic, dark vibes, female empowerment, and dual timelines in this book.

It was both historically believable while also playing up that “what if” magical realism factor I love so much. It also dabbled in the complexities of several mother/daughter relationships, which I thought added some unexpected depth and emotion to the story. Overall, I would absolutely read more by this author…

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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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