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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

I wasn’t familiar with the authors but the book title and description caught my eye. If you like oddities, you will enjoy this book. There is a lot of information about the authors as well as the oddities. The dolls creeped me out!

Thank you to the authors, Chronicle Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This book introduces you to the world of oddities that has been curated by Regina and Ryan Cohn, creators of the Oddities Flea Market. This is a look at their life collecting and some of the items that have been a part of their collection.

I will admit, I didn’t really know a lot about either Ryan or Regina. I only recently started following Ryan after seeing someone share one of his posts, so I had no knowledge about the show Oddities, which he stars in, or that they were the creators of the Oddities Flea Market. I know of the Oddities Flea Market because there is one somewhat close to where I live, but I haven't been yet. I do find oddities fascinating though so when I saw Ryan advertise his new book I knew I wanted to read it.

This talks about multiple big collections that they purchased and what happened before, during, and after. The stories were very interesting and I learned a lot about curiosities and the trading of them. I also really enjoyed learning about all the different kinds of curiosities that are in people’s collections.

I think my only real complaint is that in some of the stories they expect you to be familiar with their lives and will sometimes refer to collections or things, that I assume were on Oddities or on their instagram, but since I am new to this couple I wasn’t getting the full context but I understood enough that it didn’t impede me enjoying the story.

Overall, this was a fascinating look at oddities and the collecting of them. I learned a lot and it makes me not feel as bad about being drawn to weird items that some people just don’t understand.

A great book for anyone who loves spooky stuff. The two authors share stories about how they ended up with some interesting artifacts. I wish there were more photos or stories about particularly pieces from their collection vs a traditional memoir.

In this spellbinding and entertaining memoir, Regina and Ryan Cohn, founders of Oddities Flea Market, take us on a fascinating and specially curated tour of their most macabre and mysterious objects, art, and artifacts, sharing their incredible history and stories.

Thank you Chronicle Prism for making this book available to read now on Netgalley! I enjoyed reading this book. I didn’t know anything about oddities before reading this book. I’m not going to start collecting oddities myself because it’s not something I’m interested in but I still thought it was interesting to read about.

An incredible book for the lover of the strange and the unusual. Not only is it filled with great stories - but also photographs of incredible oddities and curiosities!

Enter the world of the macabre …
Honestly, I had a lot of fun reading this book . Perfect for horror enthusiasts and also for the upcoming season, this is definitely a must read for any fan who loves the oddities flea market. The book is filled with anecdotes and personal experiences,and it made me love the Oddities Flea market all the more as I got a behind the scenes look at their buying process as well as the stories behind some of their most interesting finds. They even share their love story,which was such a personable touch.
Regina and Ryan have this electric dynamic that makes them just bounce off one another in a titillating tete-a-tete. They are a great team and they showcase that in the book.
As they travel around the world from Peru to Alabama to the catacombs and beyond, they take us on a tour of all the different things people have collected,and believe me,nothing is too weird.
From skulls wrapped in underwear ,to haunted objects and 19th century gynecological intstruments ,and even shrunken heads.
This book is a delight and a must read for anyone curious about weird objects in history or superfans of The oddities flea market

“The Witch’s door,” by Ryan Matthew Cohn and Regina M. Rossi

The book was cool, but it had a lot more long history parts than I was expecting. 2 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

An engrossing and quirky deep dive into the world of oddities that most people don't see or even know exists. Photos are gorgeous and I enjoyed getting to know Ryan and Regina as they collected their wares.

The Witch's Door: Oddities and Tales from the Esoteric to the Extreme is part behind-the-scenes look at the Oddities Flea Market/oddities collecting business and part memoir.

Based on the description for this book, I thought this would be more focused on the business side of the Oddities Flea Market and the objects themselves, and less of a personal memoir focused on the personalities behind the shop/television series. I think it leans pretty heavily toward being about the personal histories of the authors. I was unfamiliar with the TV show and shop, so I didn’t go in with previous interest/being part of a fandom, and so I don’t know if I was the intended audience for this, and that may be part of why it didn’t land well with me. I will say, if you are a fan of them, I do think you will find this interesting, and I thought that their sections were cohesive even though they were written by two authors.

I enjoyed some of the informational aspects of the book, specifically around the histories of certain objects or types of artifacts, how the authors authenticate pieces, finessing reluctant sellers, ethical issues in the trade, et cetera. I would have liked to see the entire book structured more heavily around core issues in collecting and selling. You will also find some interesting images. But, I will say, there were a few issues covered that I think could have been addressed with more care and consideration. Some topics were just handled in ways that felt off-putting.

I also found the writing style to be a bit simplistic. It felt like a casual conversation with a friend, especially when the authors were relaying stories and conversations they had. Overall, I think this book might have tried to be too many things at once. I feel like the authors could have made distinct works that covered the inside workings of the collecting and selling, and then also a separate memoir, and then maybe also a coffee table book with visual interest pieces. This work just felt a bit unfocused to me, and I don’t know that it delivered on what the description promised.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

While I have never seen an episode of Ryan’s
Show ‘Oddities’, I do follow him and Regina on Instagram, so I was excited to see they had written a book.

If you have ever been fascinated by the strange and odd in a museum or flea market, this book is for you. If you have thought about buying such items, then this book is for you. The book goes into depth about how certain items in their collections came into their possession. It also tells about their background and how they connected.

A delightful look behind the curtain and one of the most fascinating collecting couple out there.

Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the digital copy in exchange for my review.

This book was amazing. I loved the stories behind each item. You can tell a lot of time and research has been put into each item that has been added to the collection. The book also gives you a lot of back story of the lives of the collectors themselves.

I rate non-fiction/biographies differently than I do fiction. It is not up to me to rate other people’s actual life experiences. This book was charming, intriguing and different than my usual reads. When rating true story experiences I judge more on the ability to write and use correct grammar versus the storyline. This was a good read but not something I was able to read in one sitting. I found myself picking it up and putting it back down.

This is a highly entertaining account of the lives and careers of Ryan Matthew Cohn and Regina M. Rossi, the authors and experts in all things odd and macabre. I'd have liked more writing from Rossi, who is overshadowed by Cohn throughout the book, and some terms could have been better explained--or explained at all. That said, if you've ever poked around at the stranger finds in antique shops, watched the Oddities TV show, or been fascinated with medical specimens, this is the book for you.

This is a collection of anecdotes from the authors about their weird collections and weird lives. They're both collectors of oddities and antiques, a lot of which are human artifacts. Some of the history of these unique cultural practices was interesting. A lot of this just felt like the authors bragging about how super cool their lives are. Those bits were boring.