uncannywhimsy

Hi all, I'm Jo, a children's bookseller, blogger, and witch from London, UK.

I adore writing letters to my pen pals, and it's the letter that is most important to me. While I'm quite creative, I like to be brilliant at things straight away, and lose motivation if I can't complete something quickly. Writing is my creative outlet of choice, but I also quite like small cross stitch projects. I'm also into collaging, and I've started trying to create pretty envelopes, but I'm new to it. Happy Mail isn't going to be quite for me, though; it takes too long, and I end up losing interest.

I'm an avid reader and love YA and fantasy. Right now, I'm really loving beautifully written, atmospheric magic realism, like Moira Fowley-Doyle's books. I'm a massive fan of Laini Taylor, Heidi Heilig, Robin Hobb, and David Eddings, and I also love retellings, especially fairy tale retellings. I'm also especially loving non-fic on witchcraft and the occult. Send me book receommendations, I love them!

FOR THE TPC: SPELL JAR SWAP 2

I would love a spell jar for one of the following:

• Creativity / Inspiration
• Self-confidence
• Boosting intuition
• Peaceful sleep

I would prefer to be surprised by my spell jar when it arrives. Thank you!

• I collect stamps and keyrings
• I adore musical theatre
• I love fairy tales and mythology - The Little Mermaid is my favourite fairy tale
• I love whimsy
• Daises are my favourite flowers, but I also love roses
• My favourite colours are purple, silver, teal, and pastels
• I love pre-raphaelite art, and art inspired by mythology
• I love silver, but not gold.
• I’m allergic to jewellery that isn’t 925 sterling silver.
• Ring size M.

• I loathe the colour orange with a passion
• I dont really like things that are quite dark, or gruesome
• I'm not into modern art, cubism, surrealism, etc.
• I have fragrance sensitivity, so no strongly scented items, please. So no scented candles, no incense, no essential oils or other oils, no strongly fragrances herbs, no toiletries or beauty products, please.
• I'm also incredibly fussy when it comes to food and drink, so it's best to stear clear of anything like tea, sweets, etc.

Likes:

• Letter writing stationary, washi tape, stickers, die cuts - images to be used in collages
• Letter Writing Stationary: where there’s a choice, I prefer lined paper, with the illustrations are in the corners, rather than covering the whole page (but I do have some stationary on my craft supplies list that is unlined or has larger illustrations)
• I love occult and witchcraft imagery
• Subjects and themes: Nature, flowers, beach, water/sea, woodland animals (but not dogs or cats), beauty, the Moon, the Universe, not objects unless witchy related
• Pastels, especially pinks and purples and blues
• Illustrations

Dislikes:

• Every shade of orange. Not a huge fan of bright yellow or dark green, either, but their pastel shades aren’t bad
• Anything overly cutesy or cartoon-y, e.g. kawaii, anime
• I’m not into k-pop
• Photographic stickers (but die cuts are ok)
• Religious imagery

When it comes to witchcraft, I'm exploring sea/water witchcraft, word craft (magic as writing), and whimsy (using everyday objects in magic through a whimsical lens, and finding inspiration in fairy tales and nursery rhymes).

I'm new to Goddess worship, and learning all a can, with a specific focus on love goddesses, particularly Aphrodite.

I'm in love with anything to do with the Moon, aesthetically and magically speaking. But not so much with goal setting for each cycle. I'm not a goal oriented person.

See my altar on Instagram

Things I like around...

Crystals:

• Rose Quartz
• Rose Aura Quartz
• Amethyst
• Aquamarine (birthstone)
• Aqua Aura Quartz
• Fluorite
• Moonstone
• Any crystals related the sea, water, or love
• Crystal chips of any kind for spell jars
• I love hearts and spheres, as well as tumbles and rough forms

Tarot & Oracle Decks:

• Illustrated over photographic
• I love pastel coloured decks, with ethereal imagery
• I love decks related to witch, mythology, or fairy tale themes.
• I'd love a Goddess oracle deck, but I've yet to find one that resonates with me
• My favourite decks i own are the Crystal Visions Tarot Deck and Believe In Your Own Magic Oracle Deck

For the TPC: Book Swap - Fantasy

• When it comes to fantasy, I love high fantasy, urban fantasy, magic realism, and retellings (especially fairy tale retellings), adult or YA.
• With high fantasy, I do tend to prefer adult to YA, but I do still read YA.
• I am not a fan of paranormal romance, dystopians, or stories featuring the fae.
• I prefer series over stand-alones, and I love long books.
• I like either first or third person narratives, with no more than three narators.
• I prefer paperback books.
• I enjoy fast paced, action packed stories; stories full of political intrigue; plot and character driven stories; feminist stories
• I love stories with a focus on magic/sorcery, and stories with mythical/monstrous creatures - especially if there's a twist on the creature, like in Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy with zombies as the Forged Ones.
• If they're done well, I like the Chosen One trope; the good vs evil tropes; the quests featuring a varied band of characters trope; prophecy tropes.
• I adore stories with beautiful writing, like those by Erin Morgenstern, Katherine Arden, and Laini Taylor.

Some of my favourites are as follows.

High Fantasy:

• The Belgariad and Elenium Series by David Eddings
• All series in Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series (The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, The Rainwild Chronicles, and The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy)
• The Strange the Dreamer Duology by Laini Taylor
• Girls of Paper and Fire Trilogy
• An Ember in the Ashes Quartet by Sabaa Tahir
• The Daevabad Trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty
• The Empirium Trilogy by Claire Legrand
• The Book of the Ancestors by Mark Lawrence
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
• Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin.

I didn't like Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, or Priory of the Orange Tree.

Urban Fantasy

• The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost
• The Cassandra Palmer and Dorina Basarab Series by Karen Chance
• The Shifters and Soul Screamers Series by Rachel Vincent
• The Morganville Vampires Series by Rachel Caine
• The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor.

I didn't like Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin, Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson, The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge, The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton, and A Room Away From the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma.

Magic Realism:

• Books by Erin Morgenstern
• Books by Anna-Marie McLemore
• Books by Moira Fowley-Doyle
• Books by Robert Dinsdale.

I didn't like A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland.

Fairy Tale Retellings:

My favourite fairy tale is The Little Mermaid.

• Drown by Esther Dalseno
• The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
• Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
• Tangleweed & Brine by Deirdre Sullivan
• A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer.

I didn't like In the Vanishers' Palace by Aliette de Bodard, The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Criag, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao, Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly, The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill, The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross