Llewellyn's Tarot Reader 2008

Astraea Aurora

Hi AT folks,

I know you guys know a lot ;) - so one question to you: Why does the 2008 Tarot Reader from Llewellyn NOT feature both the Wheel / Almanac section and the World / Spreads section?

I think it is very sad they didn't include it in next year's Tarot Reader. Especially the World / Spreads section was truely inspiring for me. And what about an annual book without a calendar? What's the use of it then?

The articles are very good, as always. But these exclusions make it a book, not an almanac in my eyes! Where is the point of it all? (And if it has it's reasons, why charge the same price without giving the same content as in the last years?)

Hope someone can enlight me about that because I find it really annoying!

Astraea Aurora :grin:
 

Scion

My understanding is that this is the last Tarot Reader from Llewellyn. So it maybe that they cut down the page count to cut printing costs (?).

Several folksa here have articles in the Readers so maybe someone knows the full skinny, but I know Lisa Finander left rather suddenly last spring, and perhaps ther replacement wasn't interested in trying to market the Reader.
 

tabi

Not sure why they didn't have it but is it me or does this one doesn't seem as good as last years?
 

Astraea Aurora

tabi said:
this one doesn't seem as good as last years?

@tabi:
Me thinks so also. Very sad, I really enjoyed the last year's issues. But hey, we have to get what we can get.

@Scion:
Cutting down printing costs ... yeah ... poor excuse imho. What about their reputation?


I must admit I'm somewhat disappointed by Llewellyn. They always seemed to be a publisher of good quality and now this ... I know you guys aren't to blame for it ... I just have to air my opinion. Thanks for listening :D!

Astraea Aurora :grin:
 

Scion

Astraea Aurora said:
What about their reputation?
Well, now... That's the thing. Llewellyn haven't had a good reputation for a long time... They're famous for not proofing, copyediting or fact-checking. Most of their material (with a few notable exceptions) is kind of ridiculed by people in the serious esoteric" community. Try googling the words "Llewellyn" and "fluffbunny."

Although Llewellyn used to be known for publishing a well-meaning mix of tripe and the truly useful, it used to lean towards the latter because of the Carl Weschcke's passion for the occult and membership in the Aurum Solis. The balance tipped a few years back in the Silver Ravenwolf direction. Take a look at their active list and you'll notice that they target beginners, especially young people, becaus ethat's where the money is. No crime; they are a business... but then part of being a business is seeing beyond the short term.

Admittedly Llewellyn did just pick up Stephen Skinner's Complete Magicians Tables (fantastic book) to distribute it more widely than he could have out of his own Golden Hoard Press. There are some gems in the drivel. And (bless them for this) they are the distributors for Scarabeo in the US. But Llewellyn's books are all about mall shoppers and big chains. Beginner's books sell best (because there are more of them, right... law of averages) so they just keep grinding out these beginner books ad nauseum.

With literacy on the wane, and America's attention span being whittled away by television, publishing is a cutthroat business looking down the barrel of a sawed off shotgun. In a way I'm amazed Llwellyn manages to publish anything that isn't a scratch-and-sniff athame sticker set. The internet is starting to change publishing forever and the process will pick up speed. The new Tarot Magazine will be a place to look for good articles. ANd frankly a lot of the best material never sees print because people get it straight from the source online. No printing=more trees=lower costs. The waning and disappearance of the Reader is just a change in the flow... there are movements under the great waters. :thumbsup:

Scion
 

Astraea Aurora

Hi Scion,

well, thanks for your info. You don't get to know Llewellyn's business when living in the old world. I realised over the last year to see more beginner's books on their virtual shelves, but the same goes in Germany with Königsfurt, Urania and agmüller ... almost all books, decks and sets (deck and book) are for beginners, you have to dig deep to find something profound - so I thought this might be the new trend.

I will take a closer look at the Tarot Magazine you mentioned. Thanks for the tip.

Astraea Aurora :grin: