Dear, Sweet, Wicked Blog,

I have been very neglectful – leaving you unchaperoned for months while I romped with new Facebook pages, played with Pintrest, and toiled at countless less-rewarding tasks. But you have never been far from my thoughts. I remember when I used to post on your pages every day (or nearly) and updated your links with tender attention. Those were wonderful times, and I hope that we can get them back.

Of course, I know better. Things change. People grow up and grow apart. Lives become more complicated and less leisurely.  Most of us, even the most devoted word mavens, barely have time to read. This is particularly troublesome for those who love complex, esoteric fiction and non-fiction. We want to read more, learn more, discover new ways of experiencing and thinking about the world, but who has the time?

I will confess that I was a reluctant convert to digital books (nothing, nothing replaces the smell and feel of bound printed pages), however, having received an e-reading device as a gift, I yielded to the push toward pixelation. And was surprised. Pleasantly surprised. Not just by how seamless the reading process was (not pixels – nay! e-Ink! a revelation!) but by how many reading options existed. Shorts, singles, excerpts, anthologies – all texts that satisfy the urge to read without taxing time that is already stretched too thin, or assaulting the wallet with expensive (and hard to carry) compendiums. A world of quick, satisfying occult and esoteric reads is, quite literally, at one’s fingertips.

One of my favorite developments over the past few months is the collection of digital titles that Weiser has put together, with the help of some famous and fabulous curators. These are books, stories, and historical oddities rescued from dusty shelves and moldering boxes by folks like Varla Ventura, Clint Marsh, and most recently, the amazing Lon Milo DuQuette. Lon’s contribution is an assortment of strange titles grouped into what he calls “The Magical Antiquarian Curiosity Shoppe.”  Intriguing, yes?

Here are a few titles that the erudite Lon Milo DuQuette has curated, introduced, and/or written for us:

• The Astral World, by William Walker Atkinson (aka Swami Panchadasi)
• The Hindu Yogi Science of Breath, by William Walker Atkinson (aka Yogi Ramacharaka)
• The Repairer of Reputations, by Robert W. Chambers
• The Sons of Osiris: A Side Degree, by Lon Milo DuQuette (!)
• The Book of Jasher: Part One, by Lon Milo DuQuette
• The Book of Jasher: Part Two, by Lon Milo DuQuette
• The Mask, by Robert W. Chambers
• Light on the Path, by Mabel Collons, Original Intro. A.E. Waite
• The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary, by Karl con Eckartshausen, transl. by Isabel de Steige, Original Intro. by A.E. Waite
• Sister Masons: A Burlesque in One Act, by Lon Milo DuQuette

Cheaper than a coffee and much, much more stimulating -you can buy these tasty, terrifying titles for very little coin and read them instantly on your Kindle or Nook.  They won’t magically make the days longer or your work load lighten, but they will let you slip in a little reading on your lunch break, on the train, or in those five minutes between falling into bed and thrashing into sleep.

And they helped me to blog more! Fabulous!

So I promise you, my poor lonely blog, to pay more attention to your needs from here on in. Just as soon as I’m finished with  “Sister Masons”…..

Much love,

Ankhie