The Curator: welcome to the 8 Weeks of Spooky Season

happy friday the 13th witches 👻

Happy Friday the 13th to all who celebrate!

I hope your $13 flash tattoo is everything you hoped and dreamed.

I can’t even tell you how at home I’ve been feeling lately in anticipation of fall and winter. While I do love a nice tan and warm ocean water, my true calling is wandering the library of a restored haunted castle while wrapped in expensive cashmere. I had a transcendent moment watching Beetlejuice #2 this weekend that reminded me I am deeply committed to the fall season.

the romance. the leaves. the light in the trees. the moon. the consistently vague smell of burning wood. the sweet treats and hot drinks. the hoodies and sweaters to your knees with socks (and Uggs IDGAF).

and Halloween. spooks. ghosts. the thinning veil between the living and the dead. familiars and witchy behavior. ancient rituals and spells.

let me tell you something you might not know about me

I am Halloween. all. the. time.

I know I have the sunniest disposition and you weren’t expecting that, but it’s true. I burn pumpkin-scented candles all year round. My everyday plates are these from 100 years ago Williams Sonoma. I never stopped watching The Addams Family or Practical Magic. I own three tarot decks, including this cosmic masterpiece. I have a ghostie in a witch hat tattooed on my arm that will soon be getting a family.

And the change in season now gives me a reason to force you to be spooky too!

For the next few weeks, I will share my fall recs and reviews, some specifically spooky and others less so, with topics like haunted houses, the campus novel, and everyone’s favorite Uncle King. I have established my TBR accordingly. You will get medium-sized reviews of each with extensive movie and TV suggestions plus my favorite things of the season. And paying subscribers will receive extra thicc spooky book reviews (including what is possibly my new favorite classic novel of all time 👀).

If you aren’t into scary-adjacent stuff, I have plans to read some non-spooky lit fic this fall too, which I will share next week. I also plan to make this year the Winter of Classics, bringing you along as I read some titles which have always scared the shit out of me (Dostoyevski?).

so there is a lot to look forward to. I hope you will join me.

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since I’m bringing you another list this week, here is some wonderful spooky content from last year that almost nobody read to tide you over.

The Curator: comfort me with witchcraft

The Curator: let's get spooky 👻

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spooky season TBR 👻

to keep the TBR (and publishing calendar) realistic, I created spooky categories and picked a title for each, plus a handful of new fall releases for November. I won’t get into the details on these just yet, but if you want to read any of the blurbs, they are all listed here.

• HORROR: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

• WITCHY: Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

• CLASSIC: Beloved by Toni Morrison

• GOTHIC: The Keep by Jennifer Egan

• DARK ACADEMIA: Stoner by John Williams

• HISTORICAL/FANTASY: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

• STEPHEN KING: You Like It Darker by Stephen King

• HAUNTED HOUSE: Woodworm by Layla Martinez

• VAMPIRES: Carmilla by J. Sheridan La Fanu

and spooky-ish fall new releases I’ll probably tackle in November

• SHORT STORIES: A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez

• FANTASY: Bringer of Dust by J.M. Miro

and while I read

I will be burning this candle

and eating this pumpkin bread

laughing at these comics

and listening to this playlist. modern movie scores are the new classical music (Danny Elfman I love your work!¹).

Do you love spooky season? Or do you love fall sans the scarier elements? Let me know what’s on your fall TBR, spooky or not!

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reading 📖→

• I finished two creepy reads already (!) and started on a third. One is a surprise; the other is William by Mason Coile. It’s this weird little indie press book about a guy who creates an AI-powered robot in his attic and what happens when the robot gets its own ideas about the meaning of life. It was short, I enjoyed it, but I really wanted more layers, more depth and complexity. It said some things about the nature of humanity, but not enough. The ending was a banger, though.

• I started on Jennifer Egan’s The Keep, and it is very Egan, which I think is a good thing. She’s got this slightly edgy early 2000s vibe that is almost nostalgic but also borderline cringe that I die for.

consuming📽️🎧→

I saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice last weekend with 15 of my closest friends and I haven’t felt that much deep joy in a very long time. The movie was spectacular, we danced in our seats, and took up an entire theater row. Sure, there were some minor complaints (the ex-wife, the song at the end stretching our attention span), but what a satisfying, nostalgic experience. Bob and Wynona Ryder’s facial expressions stole the show. I highly recommend.

book news and restacks📰→

• If you cant get enough Beetlejuice: competing aesthetics in Beetlejuice (

  haley larsen, phd
  Substack)

• I love

  Laurel
  ‘s taste in books: 2024 Summer Book Report (Substack)

• READ THIS NOW: Buy Your Face: Self-Actualization, Guaranteed! (

  Bitch Sensei
  Substack)

• 27 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall (Vulture)

• 31 spooky (but not too scary) books for your fall reading list (Modern Mrs. Darcy)

• Abra McAndrew
  and I played a fun game where we tried to predict the National Book Award longlist and then hoped we got at least one right. Here is my ballot. By the time you read this, we will know how good my ESP is.

and cats 🐈‍⬛→

I have an entire Dropbox folder entitled “Cats”

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let’s chat 👻→

• What are you most excited to read this fall?

• Do you have a favorite start of fall ritual?

• What are you reading currently, and is it any good?

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in case you missed it 🖤

the Subverse fall book preview

The Curator: everything I read in August

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See you around the bookshelf!

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