Field Guide to Luck: How to Use and Interpret Charms, Signs, and Superstitions - Softcover

Book 3 of 13: Field Guide

Yablon, Alys R.

  • 3.33 out of 5 stars
    9 ratings by Goodreads
 
9781594742170: Field Guide to Luck: How to Use and Interpret Charms, Signs, and Superstitions
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1594742170 ISBN 13: 9781594742170
Publisher: Quirk Books, 2008

Synopsis

Take Control of Your Destiny!
 
From the good luck provided by shamrocks, rabbits’s feet, and horseshoes to the misfortune caused by broken mirrors, black cats, and umbrellas opened indoors, our lives are filled with signs and superstitions that guide our destiny and influence our fate.
 
Fortunately, Field Guide to Luck can help you recognize dozens of influential charms, dates, sayings, and symbols wherever you encounter them. Learn what objects are on your side, which practices are best avoided, and where these curious beliefs come from. This indispensable guide reveals their fascinating origins and offers tips for putting them into practice. With Lady Luck on your side and a lucky penny in your pocket, you’re sure to lead a charmed life!

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Alys R. Yablon is a freelance writer and editor who collaborated with Deepak Chopra on Ask the Kabala Oracle Cards.

Reviews

Adult/High School—A compact trim size, alphabetical organization, and short entries make this guide appealing and easy to use. Each of the 94 entries includes a general description, origins, variations, practice, and cultural context, as well as one to three related superstitions to send readers on a sort of choose-your-own-adventure experience. Topics range from the familiar (black cat, fortune cookie, wishbone) to the more exotic (evil eye, maneki neko, yantra), and each entry has examples drawn from movies, television, and music, most of which will be known to teens. Seventy of the entries are also illustrated in a center section of color plates; the lurid colors of the computer-generated collage images may appeal to some (or may end up snipped out of the book). Although there are 16 books and articles and 30 Web sites listed in the sources, there are no footnotes or endnotes, so Yablon's assertions are difficult to back up. However, as a starting point or as a bit of fun, casual readers should find this book enjoyable.—Jenny Gasset, Orange County Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Publisher
Quirk Books
Publication date
2008
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1594742170
ISBN 13 
9781594742170
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
248
Rating
  • 3.33 out of 5 stars
    9 ratings by Goodreads