By Fiona Stevenson — Columnist
Are you having a Strega Nona fall? This is an internet thing, where Tomie dePaola’s immortal little witch flourishes as a symbol of all things autumnal and cozy to the TikTok set.
I’ll take any reason for a children’s book to break out, so it’s a wonderful excuse to read dePaola’s cheerful folk tale to yourself or to any child who hasn’t made Strega Nona’s acquaintance.
DePaola was a lovely man who visited the Concord Free Public Library to give the Leslie Riedel Memorial Lecture in 2014 and left art in his glorious wake. Visit the Main Library archives and ask to see some of it.
October begins with such a flourish of sun and color, with the leaves changing and the perfect temperatures welcoming us outside to take another walk. Then there’s a snap of cold, and suddenly, we’re wearing fleeces and digging out long socks that cover our ankles.
As the month progresses and the days get shorter and darker, we start to feel the onset of winter, but not before we’re inundated with pumpkins, skeletons, black cats and spices. That’s the perfect time for some seasonally appropriate reading. With Halloween upon us, that means something that thrills and upsets our equilibrium a little, just like the change of seasons.
I resisted the horror genre for a long time, whether book or screen. But now I understand that dipping into any of these can also relieve a little pressure from the real-life horrors of the news or even life’s daily challenges.
Why does so much good supernatural fiction come from South America? “A Sunny Place for Shady People” by Mariana Enriquez translated by Megan McDowell (Hogarth Press) answers that, with a collection of short stories from the Buenos Aires author who specializes in gothic and gripping themes about women, politics, and nature going mad.
“Bury Your Gays” by Chuck Tingle (Tor Nightfire) is a funny, scary, bitter, and spot-on critique of Hollywood, AI, homophobia, and unreasonable beauty standards that takes on how our current entertainment tastes lead to all sorts of horrors, real and supernatural. Tingle is an up-and-comer who’s writing like no one else.
I have a date with my daughters to see the horror film “The Substance” when it opens, as it appears to take on some of these issues, but I think I may chicken out. “Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know about the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch” by Emily C. Hughes (Penguin Random) is perfect for those of us who love movies and love talking about movies but who don’t want to be too disturbed. Still, if it’s late and you’re tired and only feel like screen time, this might help you choose something that’s not too scary but justifies a big hot chocolate (or toddy) for comfort.
“The Bog Wife” by Kay Chronister (Counterpoint) is an Appalachian gothic tale set around a cranberry bog that brings out the worst in one family. It’s a bit like Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” with an old house, warring siblings, and a suspicious community surrounding them, but in West Virginia.
I usually don’t choose my reads according to whatever celebrity sticker is on the cover, but Reese Witherspoon’s club has made some amazing picks.
“Looking for Smoke” by K.A. Cobell (HarperCollins) is one of them. This first novel tells of a group of young Native Americans investigating the murder of a fellow Blackfeet member, a girl who they all had complicated relationships with. It’s a thriller, a mystery and a brutally honest examination of life on and off the reservation in contemporary America.
If all this contemporary horror leaves you shivering, why not go back to Jane Austen’s “Northanger Abbey” and explore how the overactive imagination of one book-mad teenager leads to all sorts of trouble — and possibly, a happy ending? Watch one of the many PBS adaptations with a younger reader, or get them the audiobook to listen along in the car. This is one of Austen’s shorter books, so it’s a doable goal.
I avoided “Night Watching” by Tracy Sierra, despite the excellent word-of-mouth reviews, because stories about home invasions are scarier than any horror book. But I finally did pick it up and, reader, it’s clever. How will a woman keep herself and her children safe when the intruder may want something she can’t give him?
I recently stumbled on a real treat on the BBC — a radio adaptation of the first Commissario Brunetti book, “Death at La Fenice,” by Donna Leon. It’s a two-parter starring Julian Rhind Tutt (no, I did NOT make up that name), and though it’s currently not available, check this link (bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021q58) for when it comes back. Though I may not eat or appreciate opera like Brunetti, I can still dream of Venice, especially moody this time of year in the chill mist of autumn. And, of course, the Brunetti series is a wonderful winter reading project.
Halloween provides a perfect opportunity to read with a younger set of children and there are always new classics coming out. “Griselda’s Snook’s Spectacular Books” by Barry Timms, illustrated by Laura Borio (Tiger Tales, ages 3-7) tells the story of a boy named Henry who shies away from books but discovers a love of reading when he helps out at a Halloween-themed bookstore.
“¡Vamos! Let’s Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos: A Halloween and Day of the Dead Celebration” by Raul the Third (Versify, ages 4-8) is another entry in the World of ¡Vamos! graphic fun.
“Nancy Spector, Monster Detective 1: The Case of the Missing Spot” by Stephen W. Martin, illustrated by Linh Pham (Algonquin, ages 7-11) follows a ghostly spook as she searches for an invisible dog.
“Feeling Boo” by Alex Boniello and April Lavalle, illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller (Abrams) is a book for year-round as one friend tries to support a sad friend in this funny picture book.
While there’s still time for a walk without snow or ice, why not try the Battle Road Trail between Lexington and Concord? It’s been spruced up for the 250th next year and is so flat and accessible that you can walk for miles. If you’re lucky, you might spot a militiaman or British redcoat in the woods, but it’s not ghosts; reenactors are practicing for next April’s big events, so enjoy this glimpse of the past in comparable peace while you can: nps.gov/mima/index.htm.
