It’s October, a chill is in the air, and Halloween decor is springing up all over the place. As is our wont, we have a few reading recommendations for you this month — including a few books that match up very neatly with the season. (And a few that don’t.) Read on for some autumnal suggestions.
Matthew Bookin, New Dark
(Oct. 1, Shabby Doll House)
Earlier this month, we heard Matthew Bookin read from the collection New Dark at a Brooklyn event, and we were hooked. Think moody, surreal fiction and you’ll have an idea of what to expect within; turns out it’s called Near Dark for a reason.
Adam Wilson, Fail Sons
(Oct. 6, Soho Press)
As longtime readers of Adam Wilson’s work, we’re happy to see that this month brings a new book from him. The fact that this one involves a cryogenically-preserved body piqued our interest, and a recent interview with Wilson on the subject of road novels did so even more.
Kristen Millares Young, Desire Lines
(Oct. 6, Red Hen Press)
We’re always up for a book that memorably combines form and content, and this memoir fits that bill impeccably. In a recent review for Hippocampus, Audrey Shipp praised Young’s approach here, noting that “[f]rom the brokenness of family and the ruptured female body, she forges literary structure.”
Mallory Smart, Book of David
(Oct. 7, House of Vlad)
Last month, we published an interview with Mallory Smart in which she discussed her new collection and her increasing interest in writing horror. Book of David is one of the works discussed there, and it’s an unsettling and enticing collection of uncanny stories set in the Midwest. We’re very much on board.
Adrian Van Young, Rough Beast
(Oct. 13, Black Lawrence Press)
Also in the “longtime faves returning this month” camp, we have Adrian Van Young, whose new book Rough Beast is a haunting tale set in the world of heavy metal. Throw in an evocative setting in New Orleans and you have a memorable combination of writer, setting, and subject.
Na Zhong, Three
(Oct. 13, Joyland Editions)
“With this book in particular, I really wanted to manipulate time.” So said Na Zhong in an interview published by Michigan Quarterly Review earlier this month. This short novel chronicles a writer’s reunion with her family a continent away, taking a thoughtful and measured approach to complex themes.
Brian Evenson, Phantom Limb
(Oct. 27, Coffee House)
Were you expecting Brian Evenson’s Last Days — an unsettling tale about a cult dedicated to mutilation — to have a sequel? We were not, but upon reading Phantom Limb, we’re pleased to report that Evenson has penned an excellent follow-up that somehow takes things in an even weirder direction. Do you like your body horror interwoven with crime fiction? Look no further, then.
Diego Gerard Morrison, Upflow
(Oct. 27, Split/Lip Press)
Earlier this year, Electric Literature debuted the cover for Diego Gerard Morrison’s new book Upflow. “Scarcity, pollution, corruption and even amplified earthquakes rise through the ghostly lakebed of Mexico City’s past to manifest in the present,” the description stated — and we’re interested in finding out more about the spaces where the landscape can turn ghostly.
Jane Schoenbrun, Public Access Afterworld
(Oct. 27, Hogarth)
Jane Schoenbrun has, thus far, written and directed three excellent films. Now, they’re publishing their debut novel, exploring the beguiling aspects of screens — and the violence they can unleash. Perfect Halloween reading, if you ask us.
Note: all release dates and cover art are subject to change.