Non-fiction: witchcraft, history, and memoir
Sigil Witchery by Laura Tempest Zakroff
Good fun and easy to get into. It’s a fun way to play with sigils and I think it’s probably accessible to non-artists. I will be doodling with more intentionality sometimes now. In addition to how to make them, it also includes quite a lot of creative ways to use them. I like that she encourages people to put aside the childhood bagage about not being able to draw and just try. It really does just take practice.
Saturday is for Funerals by Unity Dow & Max Essex (Botswana)
A valuable collection of reminiscences from Botswana shortly after the height of the AIDS crisis when ARVs were widely available but the stigma was still hard to overcome. The memories from Unity Dow are a good way to put faces on complicated and emotional problems and they’re supplemented by political and scientific commentary by Max Essex that can provide context and help you understand people’s situations and decisions.
Finding my Way by Malala Yousafzai
It was good to read her perspective of growing up and becoming an adult separate from all the media and social media circuses. Sometimes I think too many people expect too much from one person, and not just about Malala, as though one person can solve all the world’s problems while absolving others from responsibility. That said, I do love her work around girls’ education and I’m heartbroken and horrified for the Afghan girls who can’t go to school or live free in any way anymore. And I’m glad she’s gotten to go back to Pakistan sometimes despite all the death threats.
