What I'm Reading These Days

This is a section that I hope to update frequently. It provides a rather concise way of letting you know what I'm into, and might just help people find a neat book they would like to read. As they say, "hope this helps".

Last updated 2 May 1995

A History of Gnosticism, Giovanni Filoramo: Well, it's pretty much what the title says. I've been searching for histories like this for some time. They are rather difficult to find, since little is known of the Gnostics, and there are precious few primary sources, though the Nag Hammadi findings have changed the field dramatically. The book is pretty dry, but interesting if you like this sort of thing, which I do. Very heavily footnoted, big bibliography. Translated from the Italian. Keep your dictionary by your side.
Visual Magick, Jan Fries: This book is probably the best introduction I have read to what commonly gets called Chaos Magick. The author calls it freestyle shamanism, and the somewhat friendlier title is an accurate reflection of the friendlier text. Fries is a very practical thinker, and avoids the pretentious spookiness that other authors in the field tend to affect. The first chapters are an excellent summary of the working of sigil magick--this alone should be enough to get many people a long way. I'll write more on this and the previous book when I finish them.
Voodoo Dreams, Jewell Parker Rhodes: An interesting fictionalization of the life of Marie Laveau, the "Voodoo Queen" of New Orleans. It's fairly soapy, and occasionally it gets a bit preachy. I did enjoy its perspective on Vodoun, and overall it was quite a good read.