I was born into a Baptist home but I"ve always had a fascination - maybe a calling? - to the dark. I've fed much of that yearning through books. Over the years, my reading has included stuff like The Satanic Bible, The Devil's Notebook, Magick in Theory & Practice, the Simon Necronomicon, Cthulhu Cult, Liber A:O, and others.
What would you recommend? (Yes, I've read a ton of Lovecraft also. 👍👍)
I found the Pseudonomicon by Phil Hine to be a useful source for channeling the great old ones in a shamanistic sense and has an interesting take on meditation, Konstantinos' works such as Nocturnal Witchcraft and Gothic Grimoire are great tools for night magic and he has several other titles of interest as well (Summoning Spirits, Contact the other Side, etc). I enjoyed Crowleys works. Michele Belanger's Psychic Vampire Codex has some solid energy manipulation techniques even if you arent one also.
Robert M. Price is a fantastic author, and this series, despite being from a gaming company, is outstanding. Glrr'plugl'li!!
Excellent! I've always wondered about Clark Ashton Smith. I've read several by Cunningham. I have stuff to track down now....
Much depends on what particular subject for the books to recommend.
I recommend for fictional works the writings of Clark Ashton Smith, as he influenced much of the Mythos and was a fantastic author.
I recommend Jean Dubuis and Adam McLean for the study of Alchemy.
I recommend Robert Powell for Astrological Study.
I enjoy much of the works of John Michael Greer, Frater Barrabbas, Frater UD, John Coughlin, Francis King, Austin Osman Spare, Andrew Chumbley, Phil Hine, Peter Carroll and many others.
The three authors who helped me on the way were Scott Cunningham, Donald Michael Kraig and Israel Regardie.