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.
In our afternoon reading: new writing by Adrian Van Young, revisiting Saul Bellow, and more.
In our weekend reading: an interview with Ruyan Meng, nonfiction from Amber Sparks, and more.
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Julia Elliott’s new collection, Lincoln Michel on novels with bold structures, and more.
I’ve long admired the writings of Adrian Van Young, and I’m happy to report that his new collection Midnight Self continues his trademark blend of visceral imagery, contemplative plotting, and occasional forays deep into the uncanny. This is a collection in which historical figures encounter bizarre figures and where a thrift-store find becomes something both truly alien and truly alienating. I caught up with Van Young to learn more about the book’s origins and to get to the bottom of some of the nightmare fuel that emerged from these tales.
In our morning reading: new writing by Julián Herbert and Adrian Van Young, interviews with Molly McGhee and Idra Novey, and more.
In our morning reading: thoughts on new books by Adrian Van Young and Molly McGhee, SantaCon but for Fran Lebowitz, and more.
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Max Booth III’s collection, an interview with Thurston Moore, and more.