Love Circle of Stones? Readers share 100 books like Circle of Stones...

By Judith Duerk,

Here are 100 books that Circle of Stones fans have personally recommended if you like Circle of Stones. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

Stacey Simmons Author Of The Queen's Path: A Revolutionary Guide to Women's Empowerment and Sovereignty

From my list on dangerous books for women to read.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have worked in and around entertainment for my whole career until a set of midlife disasters sent me on a new path to become a psychotherapist. I never dreamed I would make a discovery like this along the way. This book is the culmination of a decade of research into an analog to The Hero’s Journey that is NOT a heroine’s journey. Like The Hero’s Journey, my book was discovered quite by accident at first and then pursued with a passion. The model helps women transform their lives and helps anyone create better women-driven narratives (from screenplays to psychotherapy). 

Stacey's book list on dangerous books for women to read

Stacey Simmons Why did Stacey love this book?

This book fundamentally changed my life when I was in my 20s. It was one of the first non-fiction books that helped me see myself. I begged my mother to read it, but it didn’t meet her standards at all.

That difference set up how I made sense of my relationship with my mother for a long time after that. The book's insistence that there IS a wild woman out there for every woman to connect to resonates now more than ever.

By Clarissa Pinkola Estés,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Women Who Run with the Wolves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published three years before the print edition of Women Who Run With the Wolves made publishing history, this original audio edition quickly became an underground bestseller. For its insights into the inner life of women, it established Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes as one of the most important voices of our time in the fields of Jungian psychology, myth, and women's mysteries.

Drawing from her work as a psychoanalyst and cantadora ("keeper of the old stories"), Dr. Estes uses myths and folktales to illustrate how societies systematically strip away the feminine spirit. Through an exploration into the nature of the…


Book cover of Conscious Femininity

Anita Johnston Author Of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship with Food Through Myths, Metaphors, and Storytelling

From my list on the archetypal feminine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a clinical psychologist who has specialized in women’s issues and disordered eating for over thirty years. Born on the island of Guam, I was raised in a matriarchal and multicultural household where storytelling was a means of transmitting important concepts, traditions, and values, and was a way to experience meaningful and joyful connections with others. Because I was raised by strong women and my indigenous ancestors were Chamorro, a matrilineal culture that honored the motherline, I have always been interested in the archetypal feminine rooted in these stories, although I didn’t discover the term until I began to study psychology.

Anita's book list on the archetypal feminine

Anita Johnston Why did Anita love this book?

Marian Woodman has been my shero ever since I attended a workshop of hers. I recall sitting in the audience listening to her speak and blinking my eyes. How could it be that she could shape-shift from a coy flirtatious maiden, into a warm nurturing mother, and then moments later appear as a regal, confident, and sovereign queen and then a deeply wise crone? She clearly understood and embodied the full range of the conscious feminine in its various aspects.

Of her many books, this is the one I love the most because, in this collection of interviews with her, the passion of her speaking voice comes through the written word loud and clear. Her phrasing is so delicious, my tattered copy is underlined throughout.

By Marion Woodman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Conscious Femininity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

1993 INNER CITY BOOKS SOFTCOVER


Book cover of Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives

Anita Johnston Author Of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship with Food Through Myths, Metaphors, and Storytelling

From my list on the archetypal feminine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a clinical psychologist who has specialized in women’s issues and disordered eating for over thirty years. Born on the island of Guam, I was raised in a matriarchal and multicultural household where storytelling was a means of transmitting important concepts, traditions, and values, and was a way to experience meaningful and joyful connections with others. Because I was raised by strong women and my indigenous ancestors were Chamorro, a matrilineal culture that honored the motherline, I have always been interested in the archetypal feminine rooted in these stories, although I didn’t discover the term until I began to study psychology.

Anita's book list on the archetypal feminine

Anita Johnston Why did Anita love this book?

When I read this book, I felt much the way I did as a teenager when I discovered astrology and began to appreciate there were patterns of behavior found in humans that were reflected in the vastness of the cosmos -- and vice versa. Who would have thought that what I considered idiosyncratic tendencies within myself and others actually were a part of a much bigger pattern that had existed for millennia in the form of ancient goddesses? I was astounded to see the personalities of my sisters, friends, mother, aunties, as well as celebrities, accurately depicted by Greek goddesses. 

In this book, Shinoda-Bolen brings to life many dimensions of the archetypal feminine that get played out in our modern lives, our individual psyches, and in our relationships.

By Jean Shinoda Bolen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Goddesses in Everywoman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jean Shinoda Bolen's celebrated work of female psychology that uses seven archetypical goddesses to describing behavior patterns and personality traits, as relevant and timeless today as when it was first published thirty years ago. Myths are fascinating stories that become even more intriguing when we realize that they can reveal intimate truths about ourselves and others. Jean Shinoda Bolen brings the Greek pantheon to life as our inner archetypes and applies the power of myth to our personal lives. Once we understand the natural progression from myth to archetype to personal psychology, and realize that positive gifts and negative tendencies…


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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Book cover of Let Us Dance! The Stumble And Whirl With The Beloved

Anita Johnston Author Of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship with Food Through Myths, Metaphors, and Storytelling

From my list on the archetypal feminine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a clinical psychologist who has specialized in women’s issues and disordered eating for over thirty years. Born on the island of Guam, I was raised in a matriarchal and multicultural household where storytelling was a means of transmitting important concepts, traditions, and values, and was a way to experience meaningful and joyful connections with others. Because I was raised by strong women and my indigenous ancestors were Chamorro, a matrilineal culture that honored the motherline, I have always been interested in the archetypal feminine rooted in these stories, although I didn’t discover the term until I began to study psychology.

Anita's book list on the archetypal feminine

Anita Johnston Why did Anita love this book?

This young woman is profoundly wise beyond her years. In a style reminiscent of the poetry of the mystics Rumi and Hafiz from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Harkin gives voice to the deep feminine as she is emerging into modern consciousness. This is poetry to touch your heart and quicken your inner feminine. Full disclosure: I was honored to write the forward to this beautifully written book.

By Chelan Harkin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Let Us Dance! The Stumble And Whirl With The Beloved as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Let Us Dance! The Stumble And Whirl With The Beloved is here to inspire you to harness your beautiful, dynamic power and look the world directly in the eye. It emboldens the reader to let go of shames and shoulds with God and entices you to step up to the dance floor of your life and ask The Divine for a whirl. It has within it a potency that cracks open old ways that no longer serve us and brings us to life. Let Us Dance! is more than just poetry. It catalyzes and transfers to its reader living, inspired…


Book cover of Scotland's Hidden Sacred Past

L.S. Berthelsen Author Of The Haling and the Scottish Templars

From my list on navigating ancient wisdom traditions and the cosmos.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Templar history enthusiast with a penchant for spiritual surprises hiding in plain sight. I believe words are vessels of spirit and that writing opens a channel of communication for manifesting thoughts into reality. Traveling throughout Europe, Scotland, and England has deepened my confidence that there was so much more to the Middle Ages than crusades and feudalism. The Templars facilitated many societal transformations, including a flowering of mysticism under their guardianship. The mystery is… why have we not connected these dots before? And I suspect there’s much more to discover! My books gather research threads from seemingly isolated historic characters, places, and events into cohesive, inspired, and vibrant stories.

L.S.'s book list on navigating ancient wisdom traditions and the cosmos

L.S. Berthelsen Why did L.S. love this book?

Of all Silva’s books, I am most excited about this one, because of his groundbreaking discoveries. I admire his relentless tenacity for research, while sniffing out enigmatic information. My love of Scottish history often leaves me feeling lost regarding its ancient history. But I also am super careful to take many extrapolations on ancient history with a grain of salt. Silva’s writings are refreshing and his sense of humor is delightful. So, if you want to learn more about your Scottish roots from before Christianity arrived, then take a stroll through ancient circles aligned with the constellation Orion. Home may not be where you think it is!

By Freddy Silva,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Scotland's Hidden Sacred Past as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Around 6000 BC a revolution took place on Orkney and the Western Isles of Scotland. An outstanding collection of stone circles, standing stones, round towers and passage mounds appeared seemingly out of nowhere. And yet many such monuments were not indigenous to Britain, but to regions of the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean.
Their creators were equally mysterious. Traditions tell of the Papae and Peti, 'strangers from afar' who were physically different, dressed in white tunics and lived aside from the regular population. They were regarded as master astronomers with an uncanny ability to work with enormous stones. But where…


Book cover of Drums of Autumn

Jeanie Nicholson Author Of Gone to the Dogs

From my list on people who love dogs.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m passionate about dogs. Besides being a novelist, I write and blog about dogs for a living. Save a few grief-filled months here and there, there’s never been a time in my life when I didn’t have at least one dog, each one just as special and beloved as the last. My current special beloved is a German shepherd named Dixie, a big, goofy girl who loves belly rubs and tug-of-war almost as much as food and cuddles. Dogs also make the stakes feel higher when there’s an element of danger involved. Sure, go ahead, kill off the main character. Just don’t harm the dog and everything will be fine.

Jeanie's book list on people who love dogs

Jeanie Nicholson Why did Jeanie love this book?

The fourth book of the series that spawned the hit TV show Outlander is notable for a number of things, not the least of which is the debut of Rollo, a wolf/Irish wolfhound hybrid who’s won in a game of dice by the Frazers’ nephew, Ian Murray.

Quickly becoming Ian’s shadow, Rollo goes on to be a constant presence throughout the series, sometimes intimidating, sometimes exasperating, and often comforting to those under his watch.

Rollo is a very good dog and a definite highlight of this dramatic series that’s a wild mash-up of historical and science fiction.

By Diana Gabaldon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Drums of Autumn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE FOURTH NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING OUTLANDER SERIES.

How far will a woman travel to find a father, a lover a destiny? Across seas, across time - across the grave itself.

It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. Claire Randall was swept through time into the arms of James Fraser whose love for her became legend - a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Two decades later, Claire travelled back again to reunite with Jamie, this time in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in her…


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Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier,

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. Brené Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher,…

Book cover of Avebury: Biography of a Landscape

Brian Haughton Author Of Haunted Spaces, Sacred Places: A Field Guide to Stone Circles, Crop Circles, Ancient Tombs, and Supernatural Landscapes

From my list on folklore and traditions of ancient sacred places.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by ancient sacred sites since I first visited the ancient Rollright Stones on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border decades ago. I am interested in how the study of folklore and local traditions can be used in conjunction with archaeology to trace the origins and purposes of ancient monuments. I am an author and researcher who has had seven books published on the subjects of ancient civilizations, prehistoric monuments, and supernatural folklore. Born in Birmingham, England, I am a qualified archaeologist with a BA in European Archaeology from the University of Nottingham, and an MPhil in Greek Archaeology from Birmingham University.

Brian's book list on folklore and traditions of ancient sacred places

Brian Haughton Why did Brian love this book?

Dating back over 4,500 years, Avebury is the world's largest prehistoric stone circle. It stands inside a village in Wiltshire, southern England. This book is not just a biography of the ancient site itself but also of the fascinating and highly unusual ritual landscape surrounding it. The most detailed, interesting, and clearly expressed account of the origins of Avebury I have read. The context of this magnificent prehistoric site is finally revealed in all its mysterious glory.

By Joshua Pollard, Andrew Reynolds,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Avebury as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Designated a World Heritage Site, the landscape around Avebury in north Wiltshire contains a remarkable wealth of archaeological remains, including some of the most spectacular prehistoric monuments in Europe. Incorporating extensive research and fieldwork from the last ten years, this is the only book to explore the landscape context of Avebury over six millennia. There is of course a full description and interpretation of the impressive Neolithic monuments within the immediate area (including the Avebury henge itself), but the authors range far wider in both space and time. Extending from early prehistory, through the Roman occupation, to the Anglo-Saxon and…


Book cover of The Ancient Future: The Dark Age

D.P. Vaughan Author Of Ethereal Malignance

From my list on complex identities.

Why am I passionate about this?

From a young age, I've been engrossed by the complexities of identity, a theme I explore as an Australian speculative fiction writer. My own identity comes with its quirks—I hold a Bachelor of Music in Composition, spent a decade in admin roles, and the better part of another decade teaching English to adult migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. This eclectic background enriches my narratives, which blend supernatural elements with grounded realism and diverse representation. Whether it's exploring loneliness or delving into the lives of victims of bullying, my unique lens makes me well-suited to recommend books that tackle intricate themes of identity.

D.P.'s book list on complex identities

D.P. Vaughan Why did D.P. love this book?

The Ancient Future by Australian author Traci Harding is a flawed gem that takes readers on an enthralling journey through time and identity.

The protagonist, a young Australian woman (and black belt), is exploring the UK alone when she's abruptly hurled from the 1990s into 6th Century Wales. Guided by the High Merlin Taliesin, she undergoes a transformative experience that shatters her previous understanding of reality and self. As she navigates this ancient world, she's forced to confront and redefine her identity, constantly challenging her preconceived notions.

This book is a compelling read for anyone intrigued by characters who must adapt and evolve in the face of extraordinary, even supernatural, circumstances. It's a story that resonates with themes of identity, time, and the malleability of reality.

By Traci Harding,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ancient Future as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Late one evening, en route to visit a relative, an accident leaves tory - the attractive, twenty-something daughter of a prominent history professor - stranded near a ring of stones in Britain. tory resolves to spend the night at the stone circle and seek help in the morning . . .But across the vortex of time and space, she is taken back to the Dark Age.there she meets Prince Maelgwn of Gwynedd and his band of warriors. Initially her 'strange' appearance frightens them and they believe she is the notorious witch fabled to frequent the site.But she overcomes their fear…


Book cover of The Origins and History of Consciousness

Thomas T. Lawson Author Of Carl Jung, Darwin of the Mind

From my list on C.J. Jung and the evolution of culture.

Why am I passionate about this?

A certain idea kept cropping up in my reading, triggered perhaps by Richard Dawkins's conception in The Selfish Gene, of the “meme.” It seemed that the meme had a life of its own. Then I came across Richerson’s and Boyd’s Not by Genes Alone, and they laid it out: cultures evolve. And they evolve independently of the genes—free of genetic constraints in an idea or thought to contribute to its own survival. That is up to the multitude of people who happen to come across it. I now have a new book readying for publication: How Cognition, Language, Myth, and Culture Came Together To Make Us What We Are.

Thomas' book list on C.J. Jung and the evolution of culture

Thomas T. Lawson Why did Thomas love this book?

Of seminal importance to an understanding of the world is the conception of a collective unconscious grounded in inheritable archetypes. These evolve: how could it be otherwise—everything in nature evolves. And that means that our consciousness, too, evolves. Its evolution is, in a sense, teleological: from the less conscious to the more consciousness. This is to say that the evolution of the archetypes permits the increasing distillation of consciousness from the vastness of the collective unconscious. I believe that language, which is indivisible from consciousness, did not begin to materialize until about 10,000 BC. I may have been virtually alone in this view, but computerized models of evolutionary linguists today suggest that the key to language capability may have been enfolded in our make-up from our earliest beginnings.

By Erich Neumann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Origins and History of Consciousness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Origins and History of Consciousness draws on a full range of world mythology to show how individual consciousness undergoes the same archetypal stages of development as human consciousness as a whole. Erich Neumann was one of C. G. Jung's most creative students and a renowned practitioner of analytical psychology in his own right. In this influential book, Neumann shows how the stages begin and end with the symbol of the Uroboros, the tail-eating serpent. The intermediate stages are projected in the universal myths of the World Creation, Great Mother, Separation of the World Parents, Birth of the Hero, Slaying…


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Book cover of Coma and Near-Death Experience: The Beautiful, Disturbing, and Dangerous World of the Unconscious

Coma and Near-Death Experience by Alan Pearce,

What happens when a person is placed into a medically-induced coma?

The brain might be flatlining, but the mind is far from inactive: experiencing alternate lives rich in every detail that spans decades, visiting realms of stunning and majestic beauty, or plummeting to the very depths of Hell while defying…

Book cover of The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

Antonio Zadra Author Of When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep

From my list on the science of dreams.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I had many intriguing dreams during my childhood, including fantastic flying dreams, the idea of becoming a sleep scientist never crossed my mind. All that changed during my first year in college. It was then that I experienced an exceptionally long and vivid lucid dream that changed my life; it was because of this dream that I decided to become a dream researcher. Today, I’m a professor of psychology at the University of Montreal, director of the department’s Dream Research Laboratory, and have published over 100 scientific articles and book chapters on sleep and dreams. I don’t have as many flying dreams as I once did, but I do have a really cool job while awake. 

Antonio's book list on the science of dreams

Antonio Zadra Why did Antonio love this book?

Jung proposed many fascinating ideas about the inner workings of the mind. His concept of the archetypes and of the collective unconscious are two of his best-known contributions, and both are intimately tied to his conceptualization of dreams. The idea that dreams not only emanate from our personal unconscious, but also from our collective unconscious (a deep stratum of the unconscious common to all humankind) and contain universal patterns, images, and dispositions, has helped countless people develop a deeper understanding of their dreams.

What’s more, this book exposes Jung’s view of dreaming as a wholesome, natural process that can give rise to creative—even transcendent—experiences featuring personal challenges, unmapped potentials, and elements of one’s personality. Not always the easiest of reads, but highly rewarding. 

By C.G. Jung, Gerhard Adler (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Essays which state the fundamentals of Jung's psychological system: "On the Psychology of the Unconscious" and "The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious," with their original versions in an appendix.


Book cover of Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
Book cover of Conscious Femininity
Book cover of Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives

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Interested in archetypes, the patriarchy, and femininity?

Archetypes 33 books
The Patriarchy 85 books
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