I fucking devoured this in two sittings. The only reason I did not finish it in one was cause a bitch has to sleep. I wanted a wintry read to live vicariously through and this book delivered. Set in winter on the icy coast of South Korea where the temperature can drop to minus 27, a young local French Korean woman meets a traveling French graphic novelist staying at the inn where she works. They develop a tense, ambiguous relationship as she agrees to help him navigate the area for his latest book, effecting each other more than they expect. It's yearning, kinda sexy and an atmospheric exploration of identity and transient relationships
read this tiny, magical ode to our coldest season and find yourself wondering "what seasonal depression?"
I adore Cassandra Edwards. She is one of the most entertaining unreliable narrators I have read. She's brilliant, queer, dealing with her mental health in the only way she knows how and is absolutely hell bent on stopping her twin sister Judith from getting married. It is a beautifully written, dialogue driven tragicomic, at turns heart-breaking, frustrating and very funny. Carson McCullers said she stayed up all night to read this novel which is very high praise if you ask me. Trigger warning: suicide
Residents of an idyllic countryside village in Warwicksire, England have started losing their minds and killing themselves and no one knows why or who will be affected by the madness next. An absolutely bonkers book written by Barbara Comyns who is my new favorite and I think an underrated genius.
A beautiful nightmare dungeon crawl through spooky windswept graveyards, catacombs and tombs, and dank dark chambers. Everywhere you go is brimming with horrific monsters, each more dreadful than the last. Beware of the Rat King and Crazy Bones! The Phantom Parade and the Goblin Knight! And there is a sequel! I am obsessed!
Zaha Sanko's bones can grant wishes, and everyone in the universe wants him dead so they can get what they want. There's talking skeletons! Intergalactic blood and guts! Meatball Spaghetti!! This manga is disgusting and so fucking good.
Happy Solstice! #HAGS!
Three generations of women, two tall and one not so tall, deal with beauty standards and the harsh realities of life in an idyllic mountain village in Germany. The illustrations are exaggerated and hilarious. Worth it for chapter 10 alone! RIP Lollo!
Aidan Koch's Spiral & Other Stories is a collection from NYRC of four gourgeous comics that explore human connection and humankind's relationship to the natural world. My favorite of the stories is "A New Year" about a tree that holds the souls of the recently deceased who lived in the surrounding village. The illustrations, line drawings with water color (and the occasional collage), are so lovely.
I fucking love this book. It is Junji Ito meets Last Year at Marienbad and it is absolutely batshit. This is a perfect gift for those people in your life who love horror, comics, and genuinely creepy stuff.
Shiva lives on the outside with a cursed inhuman protector who she can never touch for she will be cursed as well if she does—or will she? A sweet, mysterious manga you will definitely want to finish in one sitting. Perfect for those in your life who love spooky stories, plus there are eleven volumes!
Possibly out of print. Email or call to check availability and price.
A beautiful deep dive into the “unhinged” woman trope in horror and exploitation films, interwoven with personal narratives from the author. This is the tenth anniversary edition, complete with 100 new movies and stills. A gift perfect for lovers of the horror genre and a great resource for what to watch next!
A pioneering poet and advocate, Fariha Roisin’s poems are fierce and beautiful, dealing with many topics such as genocide, generational trauma, and what it means to live in a body in a world bent on destroying it. I am forever in awe of how effortlessly she articulates herself.
Most of Merricat's family is dead and all the people in town are convinced her sister, Constance, did it. The mystery of what happened the night they died unfurls gradually, one sinister scene after the other leading to a truly bonkers ending, as Merricat, one of the most feral and unreliable narrators I have read, describes their daily life after the tragedy. Horribly macabre and perfect for spooky season, Shirley Jackson does unhinged like no other.
Irasshaimasé! Happy Women in Translation Month!
Avast, ye landlubbers! Beware the black spot and sea-faring men with only one leg! Read this at the beach this summer and dream of high seas adventures. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
A brutal little book about being alive when you'd rather not be, told by an unapologetically honest and queer narrator as she navigates her life, her suicidal tendencies and her various relationships. Trigger warning: suicide
A brutally honest, unflinching and sometimes extremely uncomfortable look at the jealousy that can follow the end of a relationship. Read during a break-up at your own risk.
When a muskrat tells the Moomin family that a comet is passing Earth, Moomin and his two best friends set out to visit astronomers in the Lonely Mountains, only to find out the comet is headed straight for Moomin Valley! This is one of the most imaginative children’s novels I’ve read, and the world building is delightful. Tove Jansson rules!
What Pete Ate follows Pete, a very good dog, but sometimes not so good, as he alphabetically eats his way through a bunch of items he definitely should not be eating. A truly lovely way to learn your alphabet. Maira Kalman is my absolute favorite illustrator, and her line and gouache drawings are whimsical and extremely charming.
Chirri and Chirra are riding their bikes when they come to a cave that transports them under the sea! There’s an underwater restaurant where fish drink elaborate drinks while lounging on shell chairs and an underwater theater where sharks play guitars. Honestly, I want to live in this world. Check out the rest of the series for equally sweet adventures.
Something about fall makes me feel like reading fiction set in New York City. Maybe so I can live vicariously through the cold weather. This collection focuses mainly on the Jewish community of New York City in the 1960's and is worth it for the first story alone. The women are amazing and the dialogue incredilbly funny. Johanna Kaplan is my new favorite.
Silvie’s dad is obsessed with ancient England, so for his holiday he signs Silvie, her mom and himself up for an anthropology course where they will reenact the lives of the ancient Britons in the Iron Age. As time passes, we learn just how abusive and controlling her father can be and just how fascinated he is with living authentically as an ancient Briton, including their tendency to commit human sacrifices. When he suggests they stage a fake human sacrifice of their own with his daughter as an offering, reality begins to blur. Surely, they won’t go through with, right?
Honda-san is a skeleton and bookseller who works in the manga section with her coworkers who wear various masks such as a jack o' lantern and a plague mask. The author wrote this book while working in a bookstore and hilariously illustrates daily life as a bookseller, from over-the-top customer service training to hectic new release days. If you are new to manga you will learn a lot (there is a glossary of terms in the back of the book) and if you are not you will see some old favorite titles as Honda-san handles a large array of customer requests. It is a fun tribute to books, bookstores and booklovers.
Cécile is 17 and living a languorous existence with her womanizing father, Raymond on the French Riviera for the summer. They spend their time sleeping on the beach, attending parties, and gambling at the nearby casinos. But when Raymond decides to marry a woman who doesn't share their enthusiasm for their hedonistic lifestyle, Cécile fears that the life she has grown accustomed to is over and will do anything she can do to prevent changes, with tragic consequences. At one point after a night of drinking and dancing Cécile exclaims, "What a debauch!" and I think that perfectly sums up the entire novel. It's a really good time with characters who you will love/hate and a setting that makes this book perfect for summer reading.
Tove Jansson, the creator of the Moomintroll characters, writes 22 tiny vignettes about six-year-old Sophie and her salt of the earth, cigarette-sneaking grandma as they spend a summer on a remote Finnish island following a death in the family. As they explore the island and swim in the ocean, they discuss and argue about topics such as death, earth worms and God. This book is a nice reminder to live slower and enjoy small everyday surprises like wild roses and taking naps in the forest. The stories are so lovely and delightfully illustrated with Jansson's characteristic black line drawings. Recommended for fans of magical forests, island living and very cool grandmas.