currently reading: The Living Goddesses - Marija Gimbutas

started 21 april 2026 -

Matriarchal Societies of the Past and the Rise of Patriarchy in West Asia and Europe - Heide Goettner-Abendroth (in italian)

started 21 april 2026 - finished 10 may 2026

notes: This is a massive book and when I picked it up I thought I'd take forever to finish it, but it was so interesting that I devoured it, and it actually got me back into reading everyday! Woohoo!! It's extremely broad in scope and very compelling, but my main complaint about it is that, in many cases, it seems to be more about disproving claims about prehistoric patriarchal social structures than proving the existence of prehistoric matriarchal social structures. Sentences like "There is no evidence to support the existence of a hierarchical social structure in [insert prehistoric civilization]" are repeated a lot of times throughout the book, and this is certainly a valuable information, but I was expecting for a bit more actual proof of the contrary to be provided as well. In the passages where it is provided, though, this book is great!

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life - Ed Yong (in italian)

started 30 march 2026 - finished 19 april 2026

notes: (n/a)

Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life - David R. Montgomery

started 6 march 2026 - finished 30 march 2026

notes:This was interesting, as it is the first book I've read which is entirely about the actual, large-scale application of the principles of restoration agriculture. In my opinion it would've been better if even more examples of this sort were provided: there would've been the space to do so if the author had cut down on his useless annoying fucking off-topic blabbering, I'm sorry but I disliked his writing style so much. I don't care that it started raining slightly while he was speaking oh my god...

(I can't say this because it would dox me lol it's a book about ethnobotany in my region)

started 13 february 2026 - finished 4 march 2026

notes:This really opened up my eyes to the importance of gardening with native plants. I used to disregard it, because I thought it would be kinda impratical and ugly, but recently I've become aware of the importance of native pollinators aside from the usual honeybees, and, now that I know about so many useful native plants, I think it would be great to grow some of them this spring! I have some seeds already on their way...

Mindfulness in Plain English - Bhante Gunaratana

started 20 january 2026 - finished 13 february 2026

notes:This was IMPORTANT to me. Honestly I really needed to grasp the fact that mindfulness is NOT, like I half-expected it to be months ago, a way to latch onto good moments. What comes up comes up, the end. On the other hand I think that the author's urgency and vehemence kind of contradict with the points he makes sometimes, and I honestly just found them kind of annoying sorry. Overall I prefer Kabat-Zinn's more relaxed approach.

Da Circe A Morgana: Scritti di Momolina Marconi - Momolina Marconi, Anna De Nardis

started 6 january 2026 - finished 20 january 2026

notes:eh... I honestly expected better, I was very hyped for a study on the specific characteristics of the Goddess in the Mediterranean, but Momolina's writing actually put me off a bit. Don't get me wrong I'm not illiterate, but what the fuck is this? "L’Androgine perpetua un incontro felice e quindi ignora il divenire della generazione; invece l’autonomia feconda non sa il valore del germe, e quindi il presupposto d’ogni pregnanza. Le quali due concezioni riflettono forse lo stesso stato culturale e, su per giù, si possono anche considerar coeve, sempre nell’espressione più pura del mito." Sorry but... but I just don't understand. I find the style to be... hatefully academic, but after all, that was to be expected. I actually liked the style of the curator, Anna De Nardis, more.

Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her - Susan Griffin

started 28 december 2025 - finished 5 january 2026

notes: chills. Overall, chills.

Gyn/Ecology - Mary Daly

Mary Daly's a saint. I found this book when I was just beginning to get informed about feminism and I didn't expect to be completely blown away by it, this book BREATHED SPIRIT into me. Daly has such rhetorical power and she can cut through myths and reversals and set alight women's minds like no one else.

Woman And Nature: The Roaring Inside Her - Susan Griffin

Above all I love women who speak inspired, vehement, with the same passion and authority as a preacher, and so I love this work in which Susan pours forth sacred words from her mouth. I adore the songs of languid love towards this world and I adore the calls to unapologeticness, to uncompromisingness, to unwavering self-allegiance, to rage, to animality, to do like the Lion in the Den of the Prophets: "She does not understand this language. She devours them."

The Great Cosmic Mother - Monica Sjöö, Barbara Mor

This is the best thing that came out of last century's Goddess movement. It's definitely got outdated research in some points but, I think it's clear by now, I can't resist far-reaching, genre-blurring books. I can't begin to describe the amount of genius found in this book. What I love most about it, and what sets it apart from other works in its same category, is that it always keeps its universal, general, primordial character even when once it's moved on from the sections dedicated to prehistory.