Spotlight: 5 Witchy Reads I Loved During the Pandemic
I know I’m not alone in my obsession with everything witchy, but I officially hit overdrive during COVID. I’ve read a whopping 22 books about witches since 2020. Here are 5 of my favourites.
THE WITCHES OF NEW YORK
Ami McKay (2017)
Let’s kick things off with my top witchy read of 2022. Despite being an international bestseller, The Witches of New York is woefully absent from many of the internet’s “best books about witches” lists. But I loved this so much.
The 1880s New York setting is impeccable. The writing is gorgeous but never overwrought, and the short sections made flying through this 560-page novel a breeze. To my mind, this is truly the perfect combination of cozy charm and plot (though to be fair, I’m not a big plot reader).
Reading this brought back all the excitement I felt when I found a new favourite book as a kid, and I desperately wanted to read more when I turned the final page. It’s already on my reread list.
PRACTICAL MAGIC
Alice Hoffman (1995)
No surprises here. If you google witchy books, Alice Hoffman’s cult classic Practical Magic will come up every time. Still, as a longtime lover of the 1998 film, I was surprised by just how literary this novel’s sensibilities are; the writing is so decadently folkloric.
Some people vastly prefer the movie, even going so far as to say that they hate the book, but I’m Team Book all the way on this one! I loved the multigeneration approach this novel took, something that never really hit home in the movie (which I still love).
Reading this in 2020 spurred my witch-lit craze and set me off on a huge Alice Hoffman kick. I can’t wait to read more from the Practical Magic series in the coming months.
ROSEMARY’S BABY
Ira Levin (1967)
Rosemary’s Baby was my introduction to cult classic horror, and I could not put it down. I loved the way that the Bramford—an ”elephantine” building of “high-ceilinged apartments prized for their fireplaces and Victorian detail”—was centred from the opening paragraph (I’m a sucker for an eerie building).
While the rest of this list favours the perspective of the witch, this is not the case with Levin’s classic—witches are solidly the antagonists of this novel, which deals so beautifully with psychological and body horror.
I’d recommend this book to anyone looking to add a classic horror to their TBR (this is perfect for Spooky Season). And if you haven’t seen the 1968 film, it makes an excellent follow-up to the novel.
BECOMING DANGEROUS
Katie West & Jasmine Elliott (2018)
I love feminist nonfiction told through the lens of witchcraft, but it often isn’t entirely satisfying (Wait, has this history been properly fact-checked? Hold up, this isn’t about witches anymore…).
Compiling the work of 21 diverse writers, this essay collection centres the rituals that empower witchy femmes, queer conjurers, and magical rebels in their day-to-day lives. Will every essay speak to you? Of course not. That’s the nature of an anthology.
I recommend checking this out if you’re looking for witchy nonfiction that prioritizes the present day, rather than trying to shape the past to our current political discourses around feminism, race theory, and the patriarchy.
IN THE COMPANY OF WITCHES
Auralee Wallace (2021)
Little known fact about me: I rampaged through cozy mystery’s witchy subgenre this winter, and this was by far the best of the bunch.
In the Company of Witches is quite the tonal shift from my other selections, but it deserves its place on this list nonetheless. It’s cozy. It’s witchy. It’s everything that the marketing copy and gorgeous cover illustration promise.
Is it a little cheesy? Sure, but it never pushed me over the edge into irritability while I was reading (which is saying something—I’m horribly jaded when it comes to literary cheese).
Bonus: If you love this one, the second book, When the Crow’s Away, is already available.
Craving even more witch-lit? Stay tuned for the 5 Witchy Reads I Loved in 2023.
PLEASE NOTE: I do not include trigger warnings in my content. If you like to know what to expect when you pick up a new book, take care of yourself and look up the relevant warnings.