Kitchen Table Tarot: Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let's Talk Tarot
Kitchen Table Tarot: Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let's Talk Tarot book cover

Kitchen Table Tarot: Pull Up a Chair, Shuffle the Cards, and Let's Talk Tarot

Paperback – April 8, 2017

by
Price
$15.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
288
Publisher
Llewellyn Publications
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0738750774
Dimensions
5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
Weight
13.6 ounces

Description

"If you're looking for an intuitive overview of how tarot might work for you and a pragmatic guide to learning the cards' core meanings, this book is the one. It's a warm, fast read with plenty of swearing, and I wish it could be bundled with every one of my tarot decks...It's that good. Buy one for you and one for your best friend, and go through it together. A+"―Maggie Stiefvater, #1 New York Times bestselling author and creator of The Raven's Prophecy Tarot "Cynova's debut book struts forward to lead the pack with its authentic voice, candid and nimble teaching approach, and ability to pare down the principles and experience of reading tarot to its essentials...Exemplary. Eminent. Authoritative. A veritable gem." ―Benebell Wen, author of Holistic Tarot "A punch-in-the-gut teaching guide to the tarot...illustrating how much the tarot encourages each of us to find our own unique language and meanings when we begin this journey."―Terry Iacuzzo, author of Small Mediums at Large "Melissa Cynova has written one of the most accessible, relatable tarot books ever. Pull up a chair, pop a cold one, and get ready for some straight-talking tarot lessons that will have you slinging the cards like a tarot badass in no time at all!"―Theresa Reed, author of The Tarot Coloring Book "I've read many books about tarot readings, but this one is my favorite book so far."― Library Noire "This book is a major asset to anyone curious about tarot...Reading Kitchen Table Tarot genuinely feels like sitting down with her and getting a whole workshop series delivered one-on-one."―Amber Unmasked "Kitchen Table Tarot is for the beginner who wants to dip their toes in the tarot world for fun and personal study."― Spiral Nature Winner of a 2018 IPPY Award for Best First Book Melissa Cynova (she/her) has been slinging tarot cards for thirty years. Her first book, Kitchen Table Tarot, won the Independent Publishing Award for Best First Book and COVR Visionary awards. Her second book, Tarot Elements: Five Readings to Reset Your Life, was released in 2019.

Features & Highlights

  • Learn to read with your own voice and get the answers to all of your questions.
  • For years, Melissa Cynova has been sitting down with friends and neighbors who are curious about the tarot. She's heard all the questions and misconceptions that can confuse newcomers (and sometimes more experienced readers, too).
  • Kitchen Table Tarot
  • was written as a guide for anyone looking for no-nonsense lessons with a warm, friendly, and knowledgeable teacher.
  • Join Melissa as she shares straightforward guidance on decks, spreads, card meanings, and symbols. Filled with real-life examples and personal explanations of what it's like to read the cards, this book tells it like it is and provides the information you need to read with confidence.
  • Praise:
  • "If you're looking for an intuitive overview of how tarot might work for you and a pragmatic guide to learning the cards' core meanings, this book is the one. It's a warm, fast read with plenty of swearing, and I wish it could be bundled with every one of my tarot decks...It's that good. Buy one for you and one for your best friend, and go through it together. A+"―Maggie Stiefvater, #1
  • New York Times
  • bestselling author and creator of
  • The Raven's Prophecy Tarot
  • "Cynova's debut book struts forward to lead the pack with its authentic voice, candid and nimble teaching approach, and ability to pare down the principles and experience of reading tarot to its essentials...Exemplary. Eminent. Authoritative. A veritable gem." ―Benebell Wen, author of
  • Holistic Tarot
  • "A punch-in-the-gut teaching guide to the tarot...illustrating how much the tarot encourages each of us to find our own unique language and meanings when we begin this journey."―Terry Iacuzzo, author of
  • Small Mediums at Large
  • "Melissa Cynova has written one of the most accessible, relatable tarot books ever. Pull up a chair, pop a cold one, and get ready for some straight-talking tarot lessons that will have you slinging the cards like a tarot badass in no time at all!"―Theresa Reed, author of
  • The Tarot Coloring Book
  • "I've read many books about tarot readings, but this one is my favorite book so far."―
  • Library Noire
  • "This book is a major asset to anyone curious about tarot...Reading
  • Kitchen Table Tarot
  • genuinely feels like sitting down with her and getting a whole workshop series delivered one-on-one."―Amber Unmasked
  • "Kitchen Table Tarot
  • is for the beginner who wants to dip their toes in the tarot world for fun and personal study."―
  • Spiral Nature
  • Winner of a 2018 IPPY Award for Best First Book

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(1.1K)
★★★★
25%
(438)
★★★
15%
(263)
★★
7%
(123)
★
-7%
(-123)

Most Helpful Reviews

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My “go-to.”

There isn’t much to say about this book that hasn’t already been addressed in the other reviews; It’s a great book. The only thing I’d like to reiterate is that she offers reversal meanings in a very handy way. She formatted the book in a way that makes this an easy reference during a reading — you can quickly flip to the page and pull out the answer without having to scour full paragraphs. Very well done and I appreciate the conversational style writing joined with the reference style lay-out.
27 people found this helpful
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Comprehensive and fun

I've decided to finally learn Tarot in-depth and bought this as an additional companion guide to a tarot set. Melissa Cynova is an engaging author, hilarious and a very informative teacher. This book held my attention and was finished in a few sittings, which is rare for me these days. She lays down the no-bs ethics and guidelines for tarot reading as a business, and provides a thorough guide to every card, featuring detailed photos of Llewellyn's Classic tarot deck. Suits and court cards are clearly organized. The section about the minor arcana is organized by the meaning of card numbers, which makes it easy to remember what they represent. The experience of being a tarot reader is told in an honest voice, with very sharp wit and humor. The profession can have serious and strange moments, but there's a significant impact on the lives of others. She is very gifted, and I'm glad she's sharing her knowledge with newbies and experienced readers alike. Get it! It's enjoyable and informative.
14 people found this helpful
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If all you want to do is play with your cards this might work

Returned this... I have been reading tarot for over 25 years but I also like to always expand my knowledge. This book offered me nothing and I even questioned some of the content after reading successfully and being an intuitive. There are some really great books on tarot but this is not one of them unless all you intend to do is play with your cards.
12 people found this helpful
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Good introduction for the Tarot beginner

I'm no longer a beginner, but a lot of the Tarot books I have read felt very academic and dry. I was looking for something a little different and decided to finally take this one off the shelf. On the one hand, it has a light, grounded, modern, and conversational tone to it - which was just what I was looking for. On the other, it feels a bit rushed and lacks the depth I have come to appreciate in other Tarot books. I will say, if you like a book that gets straight to the point and lacks a lot of the "woo" of other Tarot books, you will probably enjoy this one! The down to earth style of this book is a breath of fresh air.

As a more intermediate/advanced Tarot student I'm honestly not really sure if I learned much. At times Melissa's observations resonated with me and I thought, "why hadn't I thought of that before?" At other times, though, I felt like her meanings were completely off-base for me. But that's the fun thing about Tarot, it's incredibly subjective. I do wish the same level of attention were paid to the cards more equally, sometimes there was a whole story to go with a card and sometimes just a couple of keywords, in that regard it didn't feel entirely consistent.

Overall, I do think this book would make a great introduction for someone brand new to Tarot. It doesn't feel as overwhelming or dry as a lot of other Tarot books, even ones that are designed for beginners. It would be a light and easy introduction to a topic that has so much depth. I probably would not as likely recommend it for anyone who already has some knowledge of Tarot, it just doesn't have the depth that a lot of other Tarot books do.
9 people found this helpful
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Not helpful.

I was disappointed with this book as soon as I received it. It isn't particularly well written and the card interpretations are just one woman's interpretations of the cards. Spend your money on another tarot book, there are plenty out there that are much more helpful than this one.
8 people found this helpful
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Could've Been a Decent Guide

My older sister visited us a few days ago. She wanted to me read this. So, I took her up on her offer, despite little interest. I just wanted something to tide me over because, I was almost finished with the last novel I reviewed. That and I was still waiting for the main branch to acquire a book for me.

That aside, I just read the introduction to start thinking it would become an avenue for complaining. Oh boy, was I right! The author complained throughout this and even came off as preachy at times. It ended up getting to the point I decided to not list reading about the minor arcana as a positive. (Yes, I wanted to because, since I have little tarot knowledge, I know more about the major arcana.)

On the other hand, it wasn't all bad. I didn't mind the stories because, you'd think somebody who's been practicing for years would have stories. For instance, there's a short section for people she won't read for. One item was pragmatists because, this guy went in smug. He left ashamed because, she was able to guess that he was a chemist just with the cards.

.
6 people found this helpful
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Perfect

This is an excellent book for beginners and advanced readers alike. Full of kindness and humor, some of a readers hardest lessons are tackled here.
6 people found this helpful
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Why the hype?

I have no idea why this book has so many people who LOVE it...it is less than a companion book that comes with most LLEWELLYN decks...
It has about one page with info on each card, if that. Good info, but not nearly enough for the price. Half of the book is half empty/ half written in pages...

I say skip this one and get one of the MANY other books out there on tarot.
4 people found this helpful
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Very Excellent, Deserves More Stars

I love this book. I had it from the library first and had to buy it. Bought a reading from her after I read it that was spot on. If you enjoy tarot anything, buy this!
4 people found this helpful
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This is a great book with caveats!

I think the style of the book is great, but it does have some weaknesses.

1) I think you should read 78 Degrees of Wisdom first. It's got more of a high-level understanding that helps you absorb the information quickly if you think hierarchically as I do. I think if you want to get the most out of this title you should read the other book and follow up with this one.

2) The spread interpretation/learning how to read it is just not here. This makes me dock a point off the review. There are a couple of mentioned spreads in the book and a very short section showing them, but it's basically not here and it needs at least full in-depth chapter.

3) The information about the cards is great and massively expands the frame of reference in relation to the tarot. It's far away from the academic or esoteric view of the cards, and more like you'd need to have in your back pocket when doing a reading for the average person. The explanations of the cards focus on the mundane everyday world, and since that's the hardest information to find in relation to the tarot I find it refreshing.

The conversational style of the book is nice and makes it an easy read, but you will not be able to use this book by itself to actually complete a reading unless you've read something else with the information on spreads. I'd say this is an OK first book, but a fabulous second. Once you know how to read a little bit the expanded understandings of the cards are great for extending your knowledge.
3 people found this helpful

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