Member Reviews

This is such an interesting book. I really enjoyed the stories of the various things they found over the years and I loved seeing the photos. It was a fun read.

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A macabre memoir that was interesting. I was hoping for more pictures, but this was a different read. I like to try out something new, and this sure fit the make. Thank you to the authors, Chronicle Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book.

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An interesting memoir and quick glimpse into the world and behaviors of oddity collectors.
I've been following the Oddities Flea Market on IG for years and 6 realize that RMC and RMR are the curators when I requested this arc. A fun surprise, as I hope to make it to one of the Markets.
The Witch's door was an easy and quick read with an intro into a niche business/career, how they aquire items and certain people in the business. Im hoping there will be a follow-up book that delves more into the actual oddities and why they're sought after.
I haven't seen the finished copy but I imagine it will be beautiful, filled with pictures of various curiosities.

Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books | Chronicle Prism for the eARC!

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This was a really cool book to flip through and look at! I really enjoyed it! I liked how there was many different Knick knacks and stories

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One of my top reads! If you are a fan of antiques and history this book is for you. It’s very entertaining and informative.
Oddities collectors must have!

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The Witch’s Door is a gripping and atmospheric supernatural thriller that combines horror with rich storytelling. Written by Ryan Matthew Cohn and Regina M. Rossi, the novel follows a young woman who stumbles upon an ancient and mysterious door that holds dark secrets. As she uncovers the truth behind the door’s eerie power, she must confront both her past and the sinister forces that lurk beyond it.

The Witch’s Door is perfect for fans of supernatural thrillers with a psychological edge, offering a blend of mystery, horror, and heart.

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The Witch's Door made me want to run away into the forest and set up my own apothecary. The stories behind the objects in this book are so fun and enlightening, and it made me want to know everything there was to know and then some!

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The Witch's Door reads more like a memoir than I originally anticipated. I expected some history of oddities collections and sideshow attractions written by experts in the field. It was much more personal than I expected - which I think is a great thing! I was unfamiliar with the show and Ryan before reading, but I was pleasantly surprised by the inside look at the oddities markets and the show production. I feel like I got to know both of the authors and their frequent customers/connections. The photographs were great additions. The passion that Ryan and Regina have for their collection bleeds through on the page. This book is informative and enjoyable - a great cozy read for a fall or winter evening.

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I absolutely love oddities and curiosities, especially their history, authenticity. I went into this book having never watched the show. The Witch’s Door overall felt like the authors ARE the main attraction.
When I read books about oddities and curiosities that’s exactly what I want to read and see with beautiful photography. Compared to others, this book is more focused on memoirs of the authors, which was slightly boring and off putting. That’s cool that you think you’re so cool, but what about the cool stuff?
I know I would have loved this book if it focused more on esoterics of the objects rather than the authors.

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I just lost interest everytime I tried to pick this up. Perhaps it works for other oddity lovers, and I just wasn’t as interested in the topic as I thought I was.

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I tried to read this book several times to no result. I couldn't connect, and no matter how interesting the topics seemed to be, I lost interest after a bit. I think there is something about the writing style that didn't work for me, but I ended up losing track of what I was reading,

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I requested to read this book based on title and cover alone -- I actually didn't know who Ryan or Regina were, and I had never seen Oddities.
Well, now I can saw I've watched almost every season.

The Witch's Door is part memoir and part interesting facts about interesting objects. I love weird and unusual antiques so I also loved reading Ryan and Regina's stories. I found the personal, autobiographical chapters to be insightful and entertaining.

Plus, there are pictures. I love when these type of books include pictures. Honestly, I could have used even more.


Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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I really wanted to love this book. I liked it, certainly, and there were a number of interesting stories, but it was less creepy than I expected, and much, much more of a personal memoir than I thought it would be. It is not that the authors aren’t interesting, but I have to say… I don’t know if I fully get the hype around collecting and they didn’t really change my mind!

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I was excited to read this book, because oddities, curiosities, and the like are some of my favorite things and a whole book about them promised to be fun and interesting. I unfortunately didn't get that. This is more of a memoir than a book version of a cabinet of curiosities, and coupled with the fact that I didn't realized I am already acquainted with the one author from a favorite show, Oddities, and I really disliked him then, for me this book was set up for disappointment. A lot of the reason I didn't like this book is the same as why I didn't like Ryan when he was on the show - he has a general air of condescension and superiority that drives me up a wall and the whole book is written in that tone. Coupled with the fact that I just generally didn't find his life as fascinating as he does, I could barely make it through this book. Just not for me.

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Going into The Witch's Door I wanted to love it as a lover of all oddities and all that is esoteric, it could have been a guide into the history of oddities and the esoteric items the authors had come across and brought into their collection. Instead, we received a memoir that came across as dismissive of the history of the items, and of the real lives they are tied to in the past and focused instead on the lives of the authors and how 'interesting' they are.

I want to tell you that I enjoyed this book, but I did not, it was deeply uninformative, did not hold my attention, and read like the memoir of those who are disconnected from their own privilege and wealth and instead see themselves as upstart oddities 'collectors' while not providing the context on the items the entire book is meant to be about. Picking this up I wanted to learn more about the weird and strange items they had handled in their lives, not about their personal lives and romance, or how they dated famous individuals.

I cannot recommend this book despite the editing and writing being well done as it does not contain the contact that both the blurb, cover, description, and advertising are promising. If you want a memoir this may be a book you would enjoy, but if you want to learn more about oddities and the history behind them this isn't the book you should be picking up.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great collection of stories surrounding the authors and their collections of oddities. The book was overall interesting, and a easy read.

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This was an interesting memoir that incorporated photographs nicely. As someone who doesn’t have an oddities flea market near where they live, it was nice to step into this world via the author’s first hand experience.

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A collection of oddities and the stories behind them, more of the collectors' memoirs than expected. I thought this would be more of a visual catalogue of the collection. I love unique collections and wunderkammern, but this book is mostly black and white images and relating memoirs about the authors' lives and the hunt for various objects. The small section of larger-scale color images of some key anatomy objects were the strength of book, but only a few objects were given this level of visual treatment. Even the carvings and symbols on the witch's door are only shown in black-and-white--I assume this was a decision about printing costs more so than design. But I did like the other design elements aim to evoke antique book illustrations.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

I really wanted this to be more about the oddities themselves, but I also was pleased with how easy to read the memoir was. I didn't know this author or the show going in to this book, but I still enjoyed the stories about a life made around oddities and curiosities. I still wanted this book to be mostly about the artifacts and whatnot themselves, but there was just enough of what I wanted to still make this a fun and entertaining (and interesting) read.

Although, some of it is creepy. Like, the dolls? and also now that I know how shrunken heads are made?

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This book wasn't quite what I'd been expecting, but I did still enjoy it for the most part. I absolutely loved all the information about different kinds of oddities and the collectors and their collections. I love archeology and found the difference pieces with some culture reference to easily be the best part. My biggest complaint was that this wasn't the largest part of the book.

What I wasn't expecting was how much this just felt like "look how cool, unique and rich we are" from the authors. I really liked understanding the how and why Ryan got into collecting, but it also felt like at every turn we were being reminded about their awesome connections and access to money. They didn't just buy a beautiful house in Connecticut, they bought a HUGE house in an EXTREMELY high end expensive neighborhood... Just so unnecessary and shouldn't have been such a large focus of the book.

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