100 books like Victory to the Mother

By Kathleen M. Erndl,

Here are 100 books that Victory to the Mother fans have personally recommended if you like Victory to the Mother. 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 Is the Goddess a Feminist?: The Politics of South Asian Goddesses

Caleb Simmons Author Of Singing the Goddess into Place: Locality, Myth, and Social Change in Chamundi of the Hill, a Kannada Folk Ballad

From my list on goddesses in India.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been intrigued by the Hindu goddess traditions since I first read Is the Goddess a Feminist as an undergraduate student. After reading this book, I changed my course of study and life, writing my Ph.D. dissertation and my first few books on Indian goddess traditions. Now, I continue to share my passion for Indian goddesses as a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Arizona.

Caleb's book list on goddesses in India

Caleb Simmons Why did Caleb love this book?

This book served as my entry point to Indian goddess traditions. It examines a millennia-old tradition alongside the modern concept of feminism. What emerges is a nuanced and complicated set of essays that challenges my understanding of goddesses and their relation to women and men. At the end of the day, I walk away with a greater appreciation for both goddesses and feminism.

By Alf Hiltebeitel (editor), Kathleen M. Erndl (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Is the Goddess a Feminist? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In India, God can be female. The goddesses of Hinduism and Buddhism represent the largest extant collection of living goddesses anywhere on the planet. Feminists in the West often draw upon South Asian goddesses as theological resources in the contemporary rediscovery of the Goddess. Yet, these goddesses are products of a male supremacist society. What is the impact of powerful female deities--their images, projections, textuality, and history--on the social standing and psychological health of women? Do they empower women, or serve the interests of patriarchal culture? Is the Goddess a Feminist? looks at the goddesses of South Asia to address…


Book cover of Nine Nights of Power: Durga, Dolls, and Darbars

Caleb Simmons Author Of Singing the Goddess into Place: Locality, Myth, and Social Change in Chamundi of the Hill, a Kannada Folk Ballad

From my list on goddesses in India.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been intrigued by the Hindu goddess traditions since I first read Is the Goddess a Feminist as an undergraduate student. After reading this book, I changed my course of study and life, writing my Ph.D. dissertation and my first few books on Indian goddess traditions. Now, I continue to share my passion for Indian goddesses as a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Arizona.

Caleb's book list on goddesses in India

Caleb Simmons Why did Caleb love this book?

This book is a riveting exploration of the major goddess festival in India, Navaratri, and a follow-up volume of the popular Nine Nights of the Goddess.

I love this book because it dives into the regional diversity of the festival, taking me on a journey into the many ways that the goddess is celebrated throughout India and into the lives of her devotees. What I find so mesmerizing about Nine Nights of Power is the balance between breadth and depth that gives me a flavor of the diversity of the traditions with deep dives into the individual case studies. 

By Ute Husken (editor), Vasudha Narayanan (editor), Astrid Zotter (editor)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The autumnal Navaratri festival—also called Durga Puja, Dassehra, or Dasain—is the most important Hindu festival in South Asia and wherever Hindus settle. A nine-night-long celebration in honor of the goddess Durga, it ends on the tenth day with a celebration called "the victorious tenth" (vijayadasami). The rituals that take place in domestic, royal, and public spaces are closely connected with one's station in life and dependent on social status, economic class, caste, and gender issues. Exploring different aspects of the festival as celebrated in diverse regions of South Asia and in the South Asian diaspora, this book addresses the following…


Book cover of A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses: Tales of the Feminine Divine from India and Beyond

Caleb Simmons Author Of Singing the Goddess into Place: Locality, Myth, and Social Change in Chamundi of the Hill, a Kannada Folk Ballad

From my list on goddesses in India.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been intrigued by the Hindu goddess traditions since I first read Is the Goddess a Feminist as an undergraduate student. After reading this book, I changed my course of study and life, writing my Ph.D. dissertation and my first few books on Indian goddess traditions. Now, I continue to share my passion for Indian goddesses as a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Arizona.

Caleb's book list on goddesses in India

Caleb Simmons Why did Caleb love this book?

This book takes an interesting approach to regional goddesses in India by looking at the seeds of their cults and how they grow and flower into powerful traditions in lived and literary traditions. I particularly love this approach because it not only spans the different regions of India, but it also spans the scope of time connecting ancient and medieval traditions with pan-Indian and local understandings of the goddess. 

By Michael Slouber (editor),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Imagining the divine as female is rare-even controversial-in most religions. Hinduism, by contrast, preserves a rich and continuous tradition of goddess worship. A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses conveys the diversity of this tradition by bringing together a fresh array of captivating and largely overlooked Hindu goddess tales from different regions. As the first such anthology of goddess narratives in translation, this collection highlights a range of sources from ancient myths to modern lore. The goddesses featured here battle demons, perform miracles, and grant rare Tantric visions to their devotees. Each translation is paired with a short essay that explains the…


Book cover of Scattered Goddesses: Travels with the Yoginis

Caleb Simmons Author Of Singing the Goddess into Place: Locality, Myth, and Social Change in Chamundi of the Hill, a Kannada Folk Ballad

From my list on goddesses in India.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been intrigued by the Hindu goddess traditions since I first read Is the Goddess a Feminist as an undergraduate student. After reading this book, I changed my course of study and life, writing my Ph.D. dissertation and my first few books on Indian goddess traditions. Now, I continue to share my passion for Indian goddesses as a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Arizona.

Caleb's book list on goddesses in India

Caleb Simmons Why did Caleb love this book?

This book is not only a deep scholarly engagement with the world of art collection and Hindu goddesses, but it also reads like a mystery novel. Kaimal took me on a journey from India, the home of the images/works of art under discussion, through their disparate journeys in the shadowy world of international art collecting and sales. It made me understand how the modern museum is stocked with images taken from active sites of religious practice. 

By Padma Kaimal,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Scattered Goddesses: Travels with the Yoginis is a book about the lost home, the new homes, and the journeys in between of nineteen sculptures that now reside in at least twelve separate museums across North America, Western Europe, and South India. After piecing together what these goddesses and their former companions might have meant when they were together in tenth-century South India, Kaimal traces them into the hands of private collectors and public museums as these objects became more thoroughly separated from each other with each transaction. In the process of export and purchase, and in the hostile as well…


Book cover of Ib's Endless Search for Satisfaction

Anjum Hasan Author Of The Cosmopolitans

From my list on contemporary Indian novels you have never heard of.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started writing fiction and writing about fiction at about the same time. My novels and stories tend to be about solitary characters pulled into the maelstrom that is contemporary Indian urban life and trying to make sense of it. I’ve always believed that to be an effective observer of your society you need to stay in tune with what your peers are doing and the last two decades in which I’ve been writing and publishing have been some of the most exciting for Indian fiction in general.  

Anjum's book list on contemporary Indian novels you have never heard of

Anjum Hasan Why did Anjum love this book?

I am always looking out for talented young writers and this debut really struck me for its narrator’s very distinctive voice, both stylish and sad. An Indian Catcher in the Rye but with a protagonist more hampered by family and circumstances, capable of greater angst, and looking for authenticity in the strangest and loneliest of places. 

By Roshan Ali,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ib's Endless Search for Satisfaction as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"And then finally I felt sadness, aided perhaps by those futile notes, by the dust that keeps thickening, by the untouchable past, the inevitable future, and by everything else that pushes us around." 

Ib lives with his schizophrenic father and his "nice" mother negotiating life, not knowing what to do, steered by uncaring winds and pushy people. From his slimy, unmiraculous birth to the tragic death of a loved one, Ib wanders the city, from one thing to another, confused, lost, and alone, all the while reflecting on his predicament. He is searching for something - what he does not…


Book cover of Roles of the Northern Goddess

Asa Maria Bradley Author Of A Wolf's Hunger: A Sexy Fated Mates Paranormal Romance

From my list on the gods and world of Norse mythology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in Sweden surrounded by archaeology steeped in Viking history, which fueled my interest in Norse mythology. For example, Uppåkra, the largest and richest Iron Age settlement in Scandinavia, is only a few miles from my childhood home. When my seventh-grade history teacher noticed my fascination with the Viking myths, he started recommending me books. Ever since, I’ve read extensively about the Norse pantheon, and its stories inspire my own writing. I’ve also taken several research trips to historical Viking settlements in Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland.

Asa's book list on the gods and world of Norse mythology

Asa Maria Bradley Why did Asa love this book?

Dr. Davidson has written extensively about Norse mythology, both books and articles. Her scholarship is terrific, and I have three of her books in my research library. What makes this book so unique, though, is that she concentrates on the goddesses of the Norse pantheon and women’s roles in the Viking world in general, of which not much is written. Reading this book is like taking a master class in Norse women’s studies, and I had to replace my print copy because I’d scribbled so many notes in it that it became impossible to read.

By Hilda Ellis Davidson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Roles of the Northern Goddess as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

While much work has been done on goddesses of the ancient world and the male gods of pre-Christian Scandinavia, the northern goddesses have been largely neglected. Roles of the Northern Goddess presents a highly readable study of the worship of these goddesses by men and women. With its use of evidence from early literature, popular tradition, legend and archaeology, this book investigates the role of the early hunting goddess and the local goddesses who were involved in all aspects of the household and the farm. What emerges is that the goddess was both benevolent and destructive, a powerful figure closely…


Book cover of Goddesses in Older Women: Archetypes in Women Over Fifty

Lucille Ann Meltz Author Of The Elder Widow's Walk: A Personal Inner Journey and Guide for Bereaved Widows 65 and Beyond

From my list on aging wisdom, loss, and spiritual rebirthing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a spiritual seeker my entire life, drawn to the mysteries of life, the nature of the soul, the afterlife, intuitive knowing, higher consciousness, and psycho-spiritual transformation. Besides the numerous personal teachers who have enriched my path, personal/ spiritual growth books have been a powerful guide and inspiration. In my coaching practice “Touch The Soul”, I continually draw on my own 70 plus years of acquired elder wisdom as well as the wisdom of so many who have come before me, writers and wayshowers of expansive spirituality.I am grateful to share a few books which may enlighten and deepen your own spiritual journey.

Lucille's book list on aging wisdom, loss, and spiritual rebirthing

Lucille Ann Meltz Why did Lucille love this book?

What does it mean to become “a juicy crone”? Expanded mystical, intellectual, intuitive, and meditative wisdom as well as healing laughter, outrage, and compassion are all available to the elder woman in the goddess archetypes present in her psyche. I love the comprehensive and empowering recognition of the beautiful, priceless inner gifts possible in a woman's rebirthing after the age of 50.

By Jean Shinoda Bolen,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From the bestselling author of Goddesses in Everywoman comes a celebration of life past fifty.

At some point after fifty, every woman crosses a threshold into the third phase of her life. As she enters this uncharted territory she can choose to mourn what has gone before, or she can embrace the juicy-crone years.

In this celebration of Act Three, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Jungian analyst and bestselling author of Goddesses in Everywoman, names the powerful new energies and goddess archetypes of compassion, outrage, healing laughter, and new layers of wisdom that come into the psyche at this momentous time. Bolen…


Book cover of The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine

Margie Lukas Author Of The Broken Statue

From my list on heroines who inspire.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up watching my mother suffer under a strict patriarchal religion. She never felt she had a choice in her life, and yet she always remained a dreamer, collecting newspaper articles about events in history that interested her. They piled up in a box and I’ve no idea what she thought to do with them. She would thumb through them between bouts of standing over a ringer washer or hanging wet clothing outside in freezing weather. There were 15 of us, you can imagine the laundry. I never saw her cry…despite working like a mule. I admire her and women like her for getting through. 

Margie's book list on heroines who inspire

Margie Lukas Why did Margie love this book?

The book chronicles Kidd’s evolution from a patriarchal religion into a spirituality that honors her as a woman. She’d built her reputation and made her livelihood as a Christian writer and speaker, and she risked everything: career, marriage, family, and friends in leaving that behind. I was making a similar journey when I found the book, leaving behind the organized religion I’d grown up with and significantly, married into. Fighting broke out when I quit attending services, and I received a lot of condemnation for seeking to free myself from a religion thousands of years old. How dare I! I was letting my immediate, and not so immediate, family and community down. I was headed for damnation. Kidd’s book uplifted and supported my decision. It’s honest, too, in addressing one’s internal conflicts about change. The book gave me the courage to face my fears, my guilts, and keep following my…

By Sue Monk Kidd,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dance of the Dissident Daughter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A masterpiece of women’s wisdom."—Christiane Northrup, M.D.

"The journey to capture her feminine soul and live authentically . . . makes a fascinating, well-researched and well-written story."—Publishers Weekly

In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of its publication, a newly reissued edition of the bestselling author’s classic work of feminine spiritual discovery, with a new introduction by the author.

"I was amazed to find that I had no idea how to unfold my spiritual life in a feminine way. I was surprised, and, in fact, a little terrified, when I found myself in the middle of a feminist spiritual reawakening."—Sue Monk…


Book cover of Freethunk

Jass Richards Author Of The Blasphemy Tour

From my list on that dare to make fun of religion and/or gods.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was raised to be a Roman Catholic. I was not raised to think very deeply, but I did anyway. Eventually.  When I was around fifteen, I started asking questions that irritated my parents. They referred me to our priest. Who basically patted me on the head and showed me the door. When the Pope said 'no contraception,' the shit really hit the fan. I haven't looked back. And I'm quite vocal about it because, damn it, religious beliefs and religions do damage, not the least of which involves hurting and killing people. (As for being funny, that's just icing on the cake.)

Jass' book list on that dare to make fun of religion and/or gods

Jass Richards Why did Jass love this book?

This is a very daring collection of cartoons. (And Jeff actually sent me a signed copy of it!) It includes cartoons previously published in Freethunk! The Complete Edition: Cartoons from 2000-2007, but also includes cartoons from 2008 and 2009. Mention of anything specific will be a spoiler, but... 'Let there be light' involves God and a lightbulb...

By Jeff Swenson,

Why should I read it?

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


Book cover of The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life

Tina Muir Author Of Becoming a Sustainable Runner: A Guide to Running for Life, Community, and Planet

From my list on helping you process emotions around climate.

Why am I passionate about this?

FernGully was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and it made me really think about the natural world and how humans interact with it. Now, aged 35 with kids of my own (who also love FernGully), I consider myself a climate activist for the work I do in helping everyday people to believe they can be a part of the solution to climate change. As an author, podcast host, and community builder, I've connected with other humans with fascinating passions, perspectives, and values. I want to show my audience that we can all view the world differently, but there is one important thing we need to all believe, that we matter.

Tina's book list on helping you process emotions around climate

Tina Muir Why did Tina love this book?

While this is not written as a climate-related book, it was a powerful reminder that we all have goodness within us; we all have a role to play in moving the world into the place we believe it can be.

It addresses social and racial justice, which is part of the climate conversation, and gives us a framework to believe in our own journey and voice. I believe that every single one of us has an important role to play, and this book can help readers figure out what that could be for them.

By Simran Jeet Singh,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A National Bestseller

“I love this book… It is rich in wisdom, religious and personal, and it is absolutely charming.” —Anne Lamott, author of Dusk, Night, Dawn and Help, Thanks, Wow

An inspiring approach to a happier, more fulfilling life through Sikh teachings on love and service.

As a boy growing up in South Texas, Simran Jeet Singh and his brothers confronted racism daily: at school, in their neighborhood, playing sports, and later in college and beyond. Despite the prejudice and hate he faced, this self-described “turban-wearing, brown-skinned, beard-loving Sikh” refused to give in to negativity. Instead, Singh delved deep…


Book cover of Is the Goddess a Feminist?: The Politics of South Asian Goddesses
Book cover of Nine Nights of Power: Durga, Dolls, and Darbars
Book cover of A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses: Tales of the Feminine Divine from India and Beyond

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Interested in India, Hinduism, and goddess?

India 483 books
Hinduism 29 books
Goddess 26 books