Monday, October 30, 2017

Tuesday Favorites: My Top Twelve Novels Featuring Witches/Wizards

Happy Halloween!


What Mouse will be wearing when she goes trick-or-treating is anyone's guess--although you can be sure she will be Ninja Princess Sparkle (aka Ninja Glitter Sparkle when she takes her gown off) if anyone asks. It comes down to these two dresses: 

(Do you recognize these dresses?) 

One she will be wearing for her school Halloween parade and the other for her night out on the town--or rather, around our neighborhood. I got lucky again this year in that Mouse is happy to wear costumes we already have on hand. Whew. I know I won't always be so lucky.

Are you doing anything special to celebrate Halloween? 

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Broke and Bookish.

This week's  Top Ten Tuesday is Halloween Freebie! I love stories about witches, real and imagined, and thought today's prompt would be the perfect time to share some of my favorite witch or wizard novels. It's actually a quite varied list, from mysteries, contemporary to high fantasy. There's dark and light and funny and serious. I have a ton of books featuring witches on my TBR shelves still to read. Here is a list of some of my favorite books read in recent years involving witches (or wizards):



The Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt



The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker



Storm Front by Jim Butcher (& the rest of the Dresden Files)



Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke



Witchlanders by Lena Coakley



All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness



What's a Witch to Do? by Jennifer Harlow





Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison



Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman



Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire




Uprooted by Noami Novik




Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling


Have you read any of these? Are there any books featuring witches you would recommend? 


© 2017, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

55 comments:

  1. I've read Harry Potter, The All Souls Trilogy, Practical Magic and Wicked. Some books that I read that featured witches include The Sweep series and Balefire series both by Cate Tiernan and How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather. Also, The Rules of Magic just came out this month and that's a prequel to Practical Magic.

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    1. Nicole - Thank you for the recommendations! I haven't read any of those, although The Rules of Magic and How to Hang a Witch are on my wish list. Thanks for visiting!

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  2. I do like books about witches/wizards so I'll have to look at some of your recommendations. Harry Potter is definitely a firm favourite of mine.

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    1. Chrissi - I can't resist anything related to Harry Potter. :-) Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. A discovery of witches is in my tbr pile but I really dont want to read it. How did u find it?

    Heres my TTT Villains: https://bookishowlette.wordpress.com/2017/10/31/t-t-h-f/#more-4114
    Have a nice week!

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    1. Owlette - I really enjoyed A Discovery of Witches and the rest of the trilogy. I know it wasn't well liked by everyone though. If you do give it a try, I hope you like it.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Aww hope Princess Sparkle has fun! Both dresses are pretty.

    I've only read Dead Witch Walking. Love that series!

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    1. Christy - I have only read the one book in the series. It's so embarrassing. I loved the first book. I need to read the rest!

      Princess Sparkle will have a lot of fun, I think. :-) She's added Ninja to her name because she wants to be a Ninja Princess now. Her alterego is Ninja Glitter Sparkle evidently. :-) Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Replies
    1. Alexandra - Uprooted was really good. I loved the world building in that one. Thanks for visiting!

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  6. As a child, I loved Halloween and all the costumes. Of course, the chocolate is also nice, too.

    https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/10/my-favorite-spooky-stories.html

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    1. Deb - The chocolate is nice, I agree. :-) Thanks for visiting!

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  7. :) I've enjoyed Practical Magic, Uprooted, and A Discovery of Witches. I've also enjoyed Victoria Lamb's YA books Witchfall and Witchstruck, Ruth Warburton's Witchfall, and Mist Over Pendle by Robert Neil. Some of these were R.I.P. reads over the years.

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    1. Jenclair - R.I.P. is a great excuse for diving into books featuring witches. :-) I haven't read any of the ones that you mention, but I definitely will check them out. Thank you for the recommendations, Jenclair! Thanks for stopping by today.

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  8. What's a Witch to Do was such a good read. I really should read it's sequel. And Practical Magic - one of the few books where I loved it and the movie just as much. Awesome list and I hope your daughter has fun tonight!

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    1. Barb - It was a lot of fun. :-) I need to read the sequel too, now that you mention it. Oh, yes! The movie version of Practical Magic and the book were both really good. Thank you for visiting!

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  9. Nice list! I haven't read any of these, other than the Harry Potter series, which is of course wonderful. Here is my Top Ten Tuesday.

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  10. Dresses: the one on the right looks like rapunzel from tangled. The one on the left I don't recognize the character, but I really like it!

    I really enjoyed Jonathan strange and mr. Norrel. I also liked wicked. Haven't read any of these other books.

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    1. Jeane - Yes, it is! It's finally long enough that it doesn't drag (mostly) when she wears shoes. The other dress is the dress Harry Potter's Hermione wore to the ball. My sister-in-law bought that dress for her last year and it actually fits now!

      Both Wicked and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell are very good!

      Thanks for visiting, Jeane!

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    2. Yes, that's right! Of course I've seen the scene, but I totally forgot what hermione's dress looked like.

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  11. Those dresses are so cute. :)

    I've only read the Harry Potter books and Uprooted from your list. I love reading books about witches and the like so thanks for your list, Wendy.

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    1. Melody - I wish they were big enough for me to wear. LOL

      Thanks for visiting, Melody!

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  12. I've only read Harry Potter from your list, but Uprooted and The Witch Hunter are on my TBR.
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/31/top-ten-tuesday-131/

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    1. Jo - I hope you get a chance to read Uprooted and The Witch Hunter soon and enjoy them as much as I did. :-) Thanks for stopping by!

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  13. What are the dresses? The right is Tangled right, but the one on the left is driving me nuts!

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    1. Nicole - I am hoping most people refrain from asking if she's Rapunzel, as I know that will annoy her a bit. I wish sometimes I was a seamstress and could make her an original dress. :-( She wore the Rapunzel dress to school today. She looked so cute.

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  14. Nevermind! I got it. It's Hermione's dress from the Yule Ball. (I only know that because I just watched it, that's why it looked so familiar!)

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    1. Nicole - Yes, that's it exactly. :-) My sister-in-law bought it for her last year and it finally fits. She's really hoping to wear it trick-or-treating tonight. I got her a pink boa to wear with it, if she wants. to add to the sparkle in her name. Haha

      Thanks for stopping by, Nicole!

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  15. Those dresses are so cute! Great list, there's a couple I'll have to add to my TBR.
    My Halloween TTT

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    1. Louise - Thank you! She's really excited about both dresses. I don't think she could make up her mind which to wear so they both will be worn today. Haha

      Thanks for visiting!

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    1. Nina - Thank you! I really like them too. I just wish they were in my size. Although, I don't think I'd look as cute in them as my daughter. :-) Thanks for stopping by!

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  17. We're going trick or treating tonight. Last night the Tornado's school did a trunk or treat which was so much fun! Plus I'm all for another chance to wear his costume again. He's a Death Trooper this year so no sparkles for us! Is the dress on the left from Harry Potter? It looks a little like the dress a friend of Emma's wore for prom a few years ago and that was a copy of a dress Hermione wore. Either choice she can't lose! I forgot about that series by Madelyn Alt! It was so much fun. I need to catch up. Uprooted is on my TBR though I haven't gotten to it yet. I need to add it to my list for 2018 is the something a little different category. Great choices!

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    1. Katherine - I keep hoping we can try a trunk or treat, but we always seem to miss them--either the dance studio's or Girl Scouts. One of these days, maybe. Mouse's Fall Festival is this Friday and we are planning to attend that. I bet Tornado's costume is awesome!

      Yes! It's Hermione's dress. It was a gift from my sister-in-law last year and it finally fits. Mouse is really looking forward to wearing it tonight. She's wearing the Rapunzel dress to school today. :-)

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  18. Hope Mouse has a wonderful time trick or treating! I love Halloween but it's raining here so we are going to keep the lights off as I doubt many trick or treaters would come by anyway. Hopefully next year. Great dress choices & books. I've read a couple of those!

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    1. Iliana - I am hoping it doesn't rain tonight here, but it kind of looks like it might. Hopefully it will hold off until tomorrow or after everyone's safe at home tonight. We went from 100 degree temperatures last week to cool stormy weather this week. We can't win.

      Thank you for visiting!

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  19. Woo! My kind of list. I love seeing Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell included on this! One of my favourite books ever. I am such a sucker for magical themed books so I'm basically swooning all over the place over this post.

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    1. Jessica - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is a great book. I really enjoyed it too. I need to find a way to see the mini series . . . Thank you for visiting!

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  20. I hope Mouse enjoys herself tonight. She will be the perfect Ninja Princess Sparkle :) Great list! I love Harry Dresden and The Hallows series. I see a few more books on my tbr list. Happy Halloween, Wendy!

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    1. Carole - She had a wonderful time. She was skipping after each house. :-) I can't resist Harry. I'm behind on the series though and need to play catch up. I have only read the first book in the Hallows series, which seems wrong somehow. I loved the first book. Thanks for visiting, Carole! I hope you had a Happy Halloween too.

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  21. I haven't read Jim Butcher in quite a few years. I have read Wicked, but that was enough McGuire for me. And I have Discovery of Witches in my TBR pile.

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    1. Book Sage - It's been a couple years since I last read one of Butcher's books too. I do love the Dresden Files though and really need to get caught up. I loved Wicked, but haven't read anything else by Maguire. I haven't really wanted to, if I'm honest. I hope you enjoy A Discover of Witches. I know not everyone liked it, but I thought it was good. Thanks for stopping by!

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  22. I haven’t read many witchy books. I love Harry Potter, though. Great list!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. A.J. - I have a soft spot for witch stories. I can't resist them. :-) Thanks for visiting!

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  23. I helped a neighbor run her haunted porch tonight and it was so much fun!

    I was thinking I haven't read many books with witches and then I saw the Harry Potter books on your list.

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    1. Kathy - I bet that was a lot of fun! I wish we could have visited. :-) Thanks for visiting!

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  24. Happy Halloween!I hope Mouse had a great day.

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  25. Great list! I really enjoyed the All Souls Trilogy, Practical Magic (and The Rules of Magic), and of course the Harry Potter series.

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    1. Suzanne - Thank you! I enjoyed The All Souls Trilogy too--and Practical Magic. Hopefully soon I will get to read The Rules of Magic. Harry Potter is a household favorite around here. :-) Thanks for visiting!

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