BOOK TOUR STOP x RANDOM THINGS TOURS: How to Kill a Witch by Zoe Venditozzi & Claire Mitchell

How to Kill a Witch is not a “good” book.

It didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy or anything. It’s powerful, intense, moving and important.

And I absolutely loved it. Delving into the Scottish Witch Trials, this is a book that encapsulates the demonisation and persecution of women throughout history, exploring how women who dared to think, who had connections with nature, who asked big questions were accused of witchcraft and murdered. They used the word executed, as though it the slightly legal charge of execution softens the blow - but they were murdered, for no other crime that being a woman who dared to be seen.

It uses an eclectic, vibrant collection of storytelling methods, from digging up old accounts and transcripts, to recreations of events based on research, and the writers own thoughts, told in a slightly sarcastic guide on how to catch and kill your own witch - a style not for everyone but worked for me mostly. It’s well segmented, focusing on specific events or people at a time to make a really easy reading experience. The authors clearly had impeccable research, a clear driving force of passion and imagery for you to reference too.

A searing, necessary book - angry, beautiful and a must-read for everyone.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the team at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in this tour, I received a reviewers copy of this title.

Comments

REVIEW: This Could Be Us by Clare McGowan

Genre: Fiction | Literary Fiction Release Date: Expected 1st June 2023 Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group | Corsair Kate has done the unthinkable. She'd worked hard to build a perfect life for herself, while ignoring her growing unhappiness. But when her second child was born profoundly disabled, reality hit. Unable to cope, Kate left - disappearing without a trace. She ends up in LA, with a glittering career and a new family of sorts, but the guilt is still suffocating. Husband Andrew was left to pick up the pieces and care for their disabled daughter and angry, confused son. Bereft and broken, he leaned on Olivia, Kate's best friend. She's been by his side ever since, ignoring her own needs to meet his. Years later, Andrew has written a memoir about his daughter learning to communicate against all odds. But when Kate's new producer husband decides he wants to make a film of it, their worlds collide once again. Now, Kate must return to the life she abandoned and reck...

REVIEW: Live, Laugh, Lesbian by Helen Scott

Genre: Non-Fiction | Memoir | LGTBQ+ Release Date: 19th October 2023 Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Part memoir, part guide, part conversation and all queer joy — Live, Laugh, Lesbian is a brilliantly warm and friendly journey into the queer experience, not only from the author but from plenty of other lesbian, queer, bisexual and pansexual contributors who bring a unique viewpoint and voice and also show a beautiful diverse, intersectional scope of the queer spectrum and welcomes in queer people and allies of any kind to come feel the love. The book is very conversational, talking to the reader in a fun, friendly way — at times I rolled my eyes as the use of “famalam” but as a previous patron of Colours and Chicagos I’m not in a position to judge the Essex-isms. It’s full of anecdotes and observations that were witty and relatable as well as talking is through the more difficult side of queerness like dealing with workplace discrimination, religious trauma and coming out to family...

BOOK TOUR STOP x RANDOM THINGS TOURS: Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen

" This town has secrets that are best left alone." Author Hannah is a success, on paper at least. She's receiving critical acclaim and praise worldwide and her work is regarded as some of the best. She writes literature, not just books. But the reality is, outside of the literary circles nobody actually reads her work. But when she finally snaps at a book event and publicly criticises the genre fiction books that outsell hers, claiming they're easy and mindless she's challenged to write her own crime fiction novel in just thirty days by an author she loathes. Desperate not to lose to him, her editor arranges for her to spend a month in a quiet, cold village in Iceland hoping that the solitude will spark inspiration. But instead of writing a murder story - she's in one . Just before she arrives, the body of a young man is pulled from the icy waters and her search for ideas soon becomes a search for a killer. And if she's not careful, she might end up the...

On Bee's Bookshelf

Search This Blog