For the record, I like fall—in theory. I like cozy foods, crackling fires, changing leaves. I love Halloween and hot chocolate and staying in because it’s dark and cold out. And don’t even get me started on fall frontlist! (Or maybe do, since we’re here to talk about books.) But I don’t like winter: holidays are stressful and exhausting when you work retail (especially far from home) and the cold, wet, dark can really weigh you down after about a week.
And what comes after fall? This year it already seems we went straight from sunshine and late light to cold, wet, dark. And yes, I understand that life, the universe, and everything is cyclical and that’s good and if it were always spring I’d get bored. Whatever. We all complain about things we know are good for us.
So ok, what’s my point? This year I have a fantasy of spending October reading very fall books. I say fantasy because I know what will actually happen is I’ll get caught up in frontlist and/or reading for the store’s newsletter. But it’s October 1st damn it; I have the whole month to prove myself wrong.
The Road Through the Wall by Shirley Jackson
A co-worker and I recently had a conversation about whether or not all of Jackson should be shelved in our Horror section. The Haunting of Hill House—one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read, and not just because I generally avoid horror—is of course at home in the section. But I argued that all her fiction belongs in Horror, for one because I hate to spread an author around the store, and for two because her books are eerie and unsettling to say the least. Except…
I haven’t read her other novels.
What?! I know, it’s crazy. I’ve read The Lottery and both her memoirs—though not her book about being a new mother that I literally just heard of and now must obtain!—and Ruth Franklins’s recent biography—it was so good! But yes, the only novel I’ve read is The Haunting of Hill House so how should I know where the others ought to be shelved? (Not that not reading a book has stopped me from choosing its section before; if it did, I’d never get any work done.)
So anyway, I’ve decided to read all of Jackson’s adult books (at least those that I can get my hands on), in order of publication. And what better time to begin than October? It may have nothing to do with fall or ghosts, but I don’t doubt it will be a perfect under-the-blankets, air-smells-like-smoke-and-decay read.
The Witches by Stacy Schiff
I have been fascinated with witchcraft—real, imagined, accused—since, well at least the age of six (that’s about as far back as my memory generally reaches). And I have been excited about this book since I first heard about it—at BEA in 2015. I begged my rep for a galley and then held on to it… for a while. Honestly for so long that I was like fuck it, better to just buy the paperback. So I did. Last year.
What’s my excuse? Well… it’s quite long? I don’t know, man, there are too many books! But I loved Schiff’s Cleopatra (whom I’ve been obsessed with since I bought The Royal Diaries: Cleopatra VII at the Scholastic Book Fair in second grade) so I’m already convinced that this book will fascinate me.
October is a time for ghosts, ghouls, and witches and the Salem Witch Trials are not really about witches, and neither is The Witches. But October feels like a fine time to delve deep into some history, especially one that covers “early American anxieties… In an era of religious provocations, crowdsourcing, and invisible enemies.” Sounds oddly relevant in October 2019…
Riddance by Shelley Jackson
I first heard of Shelley Jackson because Powell’s had a copy of The Melancholy of Anatomy, her first short story collection, shelved next to Shirley Jackson. It sounded delightfully dark and right up my weird-short-story alley. (No, I haven’t read it yet. Yes, I bought it a few years ago.) So of course when a galley of Riddance showed up and two co-workers read and loved it, I knew I had to read it. Eventually. (They also happen to read this newsletter—hi! yeah, I know, I should have read this one by now.)
It’s one of those books with documents and photos alongside the text—illuminated novels, according to the jacket copy—which I am constantly collecting and, apparently, never reading (e.g. Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski). It is about children channeling dead spirits and is “set in the overlapping worlds of the living and the dead.” So, of the three, it’s really the most classically October-Halloween-season book and probably I should start there.
But instead I’m:
Currently Reading
A Scheme of Heaven by Alexander Boxer
I have been looking for an accessible history of astrology for a couple years now. I am fascinated by it—read my monthly horoscope, subscribe to a weekly astrology podcast, etc.—but also extremely skeptical. So when I found out Norton is publishing a history of astrology by a data scientist I got extremely excited and immediately texted my partner and emailed my rep. I started it last weekend and have not been disappointed. It was maybe made specifically for me?
…the questions astrology asks—questions about the patterns of the universe and our place within them—are about as deep and captivating as they come. If there really is a way to tap into the hidden rhythms of the cosmos, wouldn’t you want to know about it? But even more intriguing, at least from where I stand, is how astrology uses mathematics and data to investigate these questions
Astrology is SO MATH-Y and I am Here. For. That.
You may worry that a data scientist would be kind of snotty and condescending about astrology, but Boxer is pretty into it—he is open, engaged and exploring. I mean, I guess you have to be to write an entire book about it, but as far as I’m aware no scientist until now has!
It’s also just full of other fun and fascinating pieces of history, language, science, etc. For example, did you know “anthology” is a Greek word that means “a collection of flowers”? Neither did I.
Anyway, if you’re into astrology and math, pre-order this book (out in January). And also, if you’re curious, I religiously read the monthly horoscopes on Nylon, written by Gala Mukomolova; they are usually on point and always beautifully written.
Other Ways to Find Me On the Internets
I host a podcast called Drunk Booksellers where my best friend and I interview a fellow bookseller while drinking. I sometimes tweet about books and politics. I sometimes post pictures of books I’m reading, or cats I’m hanging out with on Instagram.
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