Books I Return To Every Fall
I didn't do a Halloween book list because it would take me approximately 1,000 years to narrow down and then expand on my favorite horror classics. So, I decided to focus on the ambience of autumn.
(A quick note about me… when I “review” a book, I tend to stay away from plot. It’s more about the feel, the textures, the tone. The vibes, if you will.)
The Topeka School by Ben Lerner
For whatever reason, I return to this book every year when the first chill hits the air. I believe I’m going on my 4th reread of it. At first its rhythm can feel disorienting, but once you’ve found your pace within it, it’s masterful. His use of subtle repetition creates haunting, atmospheric echoes that reverberate through the story in unexpected ways. It is technically a part of a trilogy (though the order you read them in doesn’t matter) and the others are great, but this is hands down my favorite of the three. Something about this book has always conjured an image of liquid mercury for me, metallic and ever shifting in the light.
The Novels and Stories of Shirley Jackson
No fall reading list is complete without her. I remember reading We Have Always Lived In The Castle at thirteen and being forever changed. Her work represents the beginning of so much for me. My addiction to short stories, my attraction to horror. Her work is sinister, immediate, internal. Lushly gothic.
The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest To Transform The Grisly World Of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris
I devoured this book and then immediately thrust into the hands of everyone I knew. Friends of mine who thought they’d be disgusted or bored by medical history couldn’t put it down. It’s fascinating, perfectly paced, and will teach you so much. Absolutely wild the way the medical establishment fought against the concept of simply washing your hands in a hospital.
The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath
Usually, I’m not one for published journals. Sure, there are gems in there, but it often takes a lot of dull reading to find them. This book has so many beautiful passages, deeply introspective musings, and such lyrical beauty. My copy of this has been highlighted beyond repair. I love to read a few entries every morning to start the day.
Having And Being Had by Eula Biss
Eula Biss is one of my favorite essayists and in this collection she interrogates her class, her privilege, and her work of being a writer. She blends personal experiences with research while asking about how we value our time, our labor, our money, our pleasure, and what that all means under capitalism. It sounds like a downer, but she writes with a comforting hand. The core of the book is about home ownership: what it feels like to arrive in that circumstance for the first time, what it feels like to be lucky enough to be in that position and the guilt that can go with that when so many don’t have that opportunity, and what all that means under the sway of consumerism.
Well, that’s it from me for now. I hope you found your next read to curl up with.