Maythen21 wrote:How about a few authors?
Starhawk. In my current collection I have at least four of her books. I highly reccomend reading Spiral Dance even if you aren't interested in her politics or feminism. For some advanced work check out The Pagan Book of Living and Dying, particularly if you work with the dead/dying or are a healer.
Buckland. Uncle Buck is a bit of a perv, but if you ignore some of his personal predilictions the material is sound. Start with Buckland's Complete Guide to Witchcraft. If you like his style check out his other work, particularly his guide to communicating with spirits, and books on candle magic.
Scott Cunningham. Pretty much it's all good. His guides for the solitary practitioner are indespensible. His guides for herbs, stones, and household magic should be in every library.
All three of these authors communicate in a fairly modern and easy to understand fashion. The material is presented in an approachable manner, and it is practical.
My advice is not to skip around. Most 101 books are written in the order presented for a reason. Skills learned early are built upon in later lessons. Diligence in study and dedication to the material are essential for deeper understanding. Feel free to dip in at random when using reference materials (like Cunningham's Guide to Herbs) but othewise view it as a workbook, or the text of a class.
I have reservations about some of her work, but Silver Raven Wolfs book Mindlight is a really fine primer on energy work when you've gotten past the 101 stage but aren't ready for advanced high magic text, or want to stick with "low" magic.
great books maythen i found all to be invaluable and all are in my personal library can i also throw anything by Dion fortune in to the suggestion pile