“The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal: Abductions, Apparitions, ESP, Synchronicity, and More Unexplained Phenomena from Other Realms” by Judith Joyce

"Stranded motorists on a lonesome road are rescued by angels. The phone rings with a call from beyond the grave. A bloodsucking predator is sighted again in the south of Texas. The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal is your gateway into the world beyond the known. Covering topics from cryptids to psychics, telekinesis to telepathy, this concise handbook will guide you through the eerie, the undeniable, and the strange world of the paranormal. Once upon a time, events like ghost sightings were commonplace. Parlors were redecorated to accommodate seance rituals, and ghost stories poured from the culture. Psychic occurrences and abilities might have been feared and disliked, but they were accepted as a normal...>>

“The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam” by Bernard Lewis

"The history of an extremist Islamic sect in the 11th-12th centuries whose terrorist methods gave the English language a new word: assassin. The word 'Assassin' was brought back from Syria by the Crusaders, and in time acquired the meaning of murderer. Originally it was applied to the members of a Muslim religious sect - a branch of the Ismailis, and the followers of a leader known as the Old Man of the Mountain. Their beliefs and their methods made them a by-word for both fanaticism and terrorism in Syria and Persia in the 11th and 12th centuries, and the subject of a luxuriant growth of myth and legend. In this book, Bernard Lewis begins by tracing...>>

“The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft: A Modern-Day Guide to Making Magick” by Anjou Kiernan

"Written by Anjou Kiernan—named “One of the Magical Women You Should be Following on Instagram,” by Refinery 29—The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft is a beginner’s guide to the practice of witchcraft, providing a complete toolkit for cultivating your own practice. Magic is not for the select few. We all have the ability to connect to the power of the natural and supernatural worlds to support our intentions. Blending ancient practices with modern context, this guide gives aspiring witches a practical, easy-to-follow path through the study of natural witchcraft and ritual. Whether you are looking to commune with spirits across the veil, need an amulet for protection, wish to build your magical apothecary, create a grimoire, or...>>

“Medieval Badges: Their Wearers and Their Worlds” by Ann Marie Rasmussen

"Mass-produced of tin-lead alloys and cheap to make and purchase, medieval badges were brooch-like objects displaying familiar images. Circulating widely throughout Europe in the High and late Middle Ages, badges were usually small, around four-by-four centimeters, though examples as tiny as two centimeters and a few as large as ten centimeters have been found. About 75 percent of surviving badges are closely associated with specific charismatic or holy sites, and when sewn or pinned onto clothing or a hat, they would have marked their wearers as having successfully completed a pilgrimage. Many others, however, were artifacts of secular life; some were political devices—a swan, a stag, a rose—that would have denoted membership in a...>>

“The Wisdom of the Tao: Ancient Stories that Delight, Inform, and Inspire” by Deng Ming-Dao

"Taoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy that emphasizes living in harmony with the universe. It is a tradition that has become widely popular in Europe and North America over the past fifty years—largely through its core text, the Tao Te Ching. The Wisdom of the Tao is filled with over 140 ancient stories express great truth by fusing anecdotes with philosophy. The stories are frequently humorous, ribald, irreverent, or sarcastic—but they always speak to great and universal truths. Here are stories that lead people to: Flow with life Live from the heart Develop an openness to possibilities Live in balance Drop...>>