nyx_knight's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
wanderaven's review against another edition
3.0
Strange enough, even though I enjoyed the first third of this book, I simply didn't have the motivation to finish it.
offbalance80's review against another edition
1.0
I could barely get into this. Two rules for would-be nonfiction writers:
1. Don't say your book is about a topic when it's really about you.
2. Don't write a memoir unless you have a unique experience to write about.
1. Don't say your book is about a topic when it's really about you.
2. Don't write a memoir unless you have a unique experience to write about.
swan_books's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
valentinaburbank's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I read this book for the Storygraph genre challenge. I have never read a travel memoir and to be honest, I was not really interested in them. So, when I found this one it seemed perfect for me since I AM interested in Celtic folklore. I wasn’t wrong - I loved this book. It engaged me from start to finish. The author is funny and honest. She is a skeptic but also wants to believe (I relate). She questions everything even as she is open to everything. Her descriptions of the places she sees are beautiful and moving. I felt as if I was there with her.
I enjoyed how she was open to trying everything - from making friends with a group of bikers to meditating about gnomes in a commune. She gives ner readers a sense of place and space, as well as painting in magical details that feel authentic and possible at every turn.
As she travels, she is also dealing with the loss of her father , which she talks about with such grief and honesty that anyone experiencing a similar loss will feel seen.
This book will make you want to dust off your passports - both the one for real world travel and the imaginary one you used to use often as a child that has been hidden away in a corner somewhere waiting for you to return.
I enjoyed how she was open to trying everything - from making friends with a group of bikers to meditating about gnomes in a commune. She gives ner readers a sense of place and space, as well as painting in magical details that feel authentic and possible at every turn.
As she travels, she is also dealing with the loss of her father , which she talks about with such grief and honesty that anyone experiencing a similar loss will feel seen.
This book will make you want to dust off your passports - both the one for real world travel and the imaginary one you used to use often as a child that has been hidden away in a corner somewhere waiting for you to return.
lnpinavl's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
amkago2008's review
4.0
The premise of someone going around the world looking for fairies really intrigued me. I loved how the author showed that fairie lore exists in all kinds of places. She really seemed to dig into the history and I loved how she wove in her own life story. Everyone always thinks of Ireland and Europe when they think of fairies so my favorite part was when she talked about finding stories in Mexico. I wish she could have gone to other less obvious parts of the world such as Russia, China, Austrailia, etc. to see if there was any interesting lore or fairy sightings. While I appreciated how much technical history she put into the telling of the story, it did make the book drag a few times. The author also seemed a little too skeptical for this kind of journey and ignored pretty much every sign and was afraid of the very thing she was looking for which was a bit annoying. Overall though, I enjoyed this book immensly and would recommend it to others interested in learning a little more about the fairies.
pnw_michelle's review
4.0
sweet and wonderful
I loved the genuine tone of the author's writing. She undertook her journey even though part of her often felt skeptical about what she was experiencing, something I can definitely relate to. Delightful, funny, and touching all at once.
I loved the genuine tone of the author's writing. She undertook her journey even though part of her often felt skeptical about what she was experiencing, something I can definitely relate to. Delightful, funny, and touching all at once.
lissalibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book! If you likes faeries and believe in a little fantasy in the world, this is the book for you. This woman quite literally goes on a search for faeries and names all the places she goes to.
stitchandwitch's review against another edition
4.0
If there is even a small part of you that still believes in faeries, a part that still claps when Tinkerbell says to clap, Signe Pike will touch that part of you.
Her first book, Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World, dubbed "Eat Pray Love with Faeries" by Inciting a Riot, is a journey through grief, faeries, and the UK.
As a long time fan of faeries and faery lore I was completely entranced by this book. I want to read it again and I can't wait to explore the books she references throughout it. (I added many of them to my wish list before I began this review.) Pike helped me remember things I'd forgotten from my childhood, like groves of trees my sisters and I played in and a tiny doll I believed was a faery. She made me reconsider my love for the word Imagine.
After the death of her father and an odd experience in Mexico, Pike quits her Manhattan job (as a book editor) and goes to Europe in search of faeries, faery lore, and enchantment.
Peppered with beautiful facts, myths and lore, alongside amazing descriptions that make the reader feel like they're traveling with Pike, this book is well worth a read. And a second read. Pike threads the modern into the historic quite well, with references to Yoda and Highlander intertwined through her narrative as the explores ancient forts and sacred pools of water.
There were a few places where Pike's language could have been a little tighter, or her story pulled out a bit further. If she were in a writer's workshop with me I might have moved some of the story around, and I definitely would have edited out a few typos (though I hear that was changed with later printings) but really, it's all minor in the grand scheme of the wonderful book.
A few reviews I've read said this book was specifically aimed at a Pagan audience, but I'm going to disagree with that. Pike has written something that I think much of the world can learn from. Beneath the fantastical examination of what some may consider "supernatural" she is talking about a need to get back to nature. A universal urge to explore the spiritual and to welcome life with a childlike view of it all. Pike has written a faery tale story (with absolutely no princes on white horses, thank you very much!) for everyone.
Even if you don't believe in faeries.
http://imaginekatrina.blogspot.com/2014/12/faerie-tale-by-signe-pike-book-review.html
Her first book, Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World, dubbed "Eat Pray Love with Faeries" by Inciting a Riot, is a journey through grief, faeries, and the UK.
As a long time fan of faeries and faery lore I was completely entranced by this book. I want to read it again and I can't wait to explore the books she references throughout it. (I added many of them to my wish list before I began this review.) Pike helped me remember things I'd forgotten from my childhood, like groves of trees my sisters and I played in and a tiny doll I believed was a faery. She made me reconsider my love for the word Imagine.
After the death of her father and an odd experience in Mexico, Pike quits her Manhattan job (as a book editor) and goes to Europe in search of faeries, faery lore, and enchantment.
Peppered with beautiful facts, myths and lore, alongside amazing descriptions that make the reader feel like they're traveling with Pike, this book is well worth a read. And a second read. Pike threads the modern into the historic quite well, with references to Yoda and Highlander intertwined through her narrative as the explores ancient forts and sacred pools of water.
There were a few places where Pike's language could have been a little tighter, or her story pulled out a bit further. If she were in a writer's workshop with me I might have moved some of the story around, and I definitely would have edited out a few typos (though I hear that was changed with later printings) but really, it's all minor in the grand scheme of the wonderful book.
A few reviews I've read said this book was specifically aimed at a Pagan audience, but I'm going to disagree with that. Pike has written something that I think much of the world can learn from. Beneath the fantastical examination of what some may consider "supernatural" she is talking about a need to get back to nature. A universal urge to explore the spiritual and to welcome life with a childlike view of it all. Pike has written a faery tale story (with absolutely no princes on white horses, thank you very much!) for everyone.
Even if you don't believe in faeries.
http://imaginekatrina.blogspot.com/2014/12/faerie-tale-by-signe-pike-book-review.html