Today was Mountain Day at Smith College. As a student, I loved this tradition so much. The bell would ring at 7 a.m. signaling the cancellation of classes. We’d sleep in then find something to do outside in this glorious fall scene:
Meanwhile today in Tucson, the high was 105 degrees. My 11-year-old did not let this stop her from embracing her October 1st ritual of dressing for spooky season. She wore her “Let’s Go Ghouls” sweatshirt (!) and fuzzy pumpkin earrings anyway.
I love the enthusiasm for the eerie season I’m seeing in all the Fall reading lists. But in this weather I am just not feeling it.
Welcome to my alternative list for October: Reading about Environmental Activism. There are so many books out now with themes related to the environment and climate, I thought it would be interesting to read them in conversation with some enduring 20th century novels that share this focus.
In reverse order of publication, here are some to choose from if you’d like to join me in this themed read:
The Mighty Red
Louise Erdrich
October 1, 2024
Harper
According to the promotional copy, this finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction is about “Human time, deep time, Red River time, the half-life of herbicides and pesticides, and the elegance of time represented in fracking core samples from unimaginable depths… set against the speed of climate change, the depletion of natural resources, and the sudden economic meltdown of 2008-2009.” A romance, a suspense story and a coming-of-age all in one— plus keeping up with my Louise Erdrich completionist goal. Say no more.
Creation Lake
Rachel Kushner
Sept 3, 2024
Scribner Book Company
I’ve been excited to read Creation Lake since I read The Flamethrowers for my August: Reading the 1970s theme. Intrigued by the anthropological twist and the Louise Erdrich blurb describing it as “all stylish and cool, but then somehow the book struck a blow to my heart,” I bought a copy on pub day.
Between the award nominations (longlisted for National Book Awards and finalist for Booker), the prestige media profiles, and Brandon Taylor’s harsh take down in London Review of Books, this tale about an American woman sent to infiltrate a French anarchist back-to-the-land commune has been played up in the book world discourse all September.
Sometimes I find myself resisting buzzy books. When I also noticed it on some of the It Girls featuring it as a bookstagram reading selection and even a stylist trying to book club it among her followers I thought Enough already! I was going to take it off the list this month. But when my husband Doug also brought home a copy the deal was sealed. We’re going to do this right now— two copies collecting dust is bad book karma.
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Kevin Fedarko
May 28, 2024
Scribner Book Company
Two men embark on an end-to-end journey of the Grand Canyon, deemed the toughest hike in the world. At least one of these men has no idea what he has gotten himself into. During almost a year of traversing crumbling ledges and 1,000 foot cliffs without a trail, what could possibly go wrong? They live to tell about it and emerge with greater knowledge of the impact of tourism on the land and the canyon’s eleven Native American tribes.
I hiked to the bottom of the canyon and back as a teenager and it was the best experience in nature I’ve ever had. Will this book inspire or deter another trek? If you’ve ever thought about making the journey, join me in reading this book.
Birnam Wood
Eleanor Catton
March 7, 2023
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Another month, another book from New Zealand. Also known as another attempt to lower my cortisol in a U.S. election year— a saner country is possible.
Birnam Wood is the name of an undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal guerrilla gardening collective. An environmental disaster presents an opportunity for the group— and it brings them into an encounter with an American billionaire. With enemies in common, can Birnam Wood trust him even though their politics don’t align? It’s a psychological thriller described as Shakespearean in its drama and Austenian in its wit, named best book of the year by a ton of great publications and on Obama’s summer reading list last year. If you missed it too, now’s a good time to pick it up.
The Parable of the Sower
Octavia Butler
Originally published 1993
Re-released April 30, 2019 by Grand Central Publishing
Set in the early 2020s, global climate change and economic crises have led to social chaos. Amidst the dangers, a fifteen-year-old girl makes her voice heard to protect her loved ones from the coming disasters the community would prefer to ignore. A lot of people have been writing about this book this year, but I’ve never read it. After reading Kindred in August, I want to try another Octavia Butler.
The Monkey Wrench Gang
Edward Abbey
Originally published 1975.
Re-released by Harper Perennial June 13, 2016.
Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975) is a comedic and chaotic tale of a motley crew of four individualists who will go to extremes to dismantle progress and resist the destruction of the American West via dams, bridges and concrete. It’s a carryforward from my Everything I Didn’t Read in August list. I’m coming back for you, Miz Abbzug. If you’re in the mood for an American classic, join me for this one.
Let me know
Which of these might you be in the mood to add to your reading this month?
Which books are you surprised I left off this themed list? It was so hard to narrow it down!
The Booktender has a Hangover
This is a pretty ambitious list, considering that I’m only about halfway done with two additional books I started on a whim in response to the theme for September: Reading about Artists.
First, I picked up a library hold I had forgotten to add to my list: Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jameson. This one is for those readers I have who like historical fiction about women— it’s an enjoyable reimagining of the life of heiress and art collector Peggy Guggenheim with a touching story behind it, as Jameson finished the book for her friend Godfrey after her death from breast cancer.
And I’ve also been reading an advance copy of Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik, Vanity Fair reporter and host of the gossipy Once Upon a Time podcast I’m sure all you Donna Tartt fans have listened to. This book’s about artist and “dowager groupie” Eve Babitz’s relationship with Joan Didion and whoa— it is so salty. I’m thinking about what to do about it. It’s out November 12— let me know if I should dedicate some space in this month’s posts to dish about it even though it’s off theme.
And if there are any books from last month’s list that you were really hoping I’d clutter your email about, let’s discuss in the comments! I do have things to say about Get the Picture and The Bone People.
The Booktender Paid Subscribers are Awesome
Thanks to you all, in addition to the $430 we donated to the American Library Association and librarian Suzette Baker last March I was able to donate another $1,000 to EveryLibrary last weekend. All 2024 proceeds go to organizations fighting back against book bans, and I look forward to making one more donation to someone deserving before the calendar year is up— but it’s up to you people!
Receipts:
In case you missed it
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Yes! Nothing is scary than climate change to me (just ask my therapist 😅). I, too, want to read some of Octavia Butler's books. I also added Margaret Attwood's The Year of the Flood to my list this year as well as Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (another from an Obama reading list). I'm very curious about the rest of these and Creation Lake.
I've got three on my list! (Creation Lake, Birnam Wood, Parable of the Sower). Creation Lake is one of the only new buzzy books I really want to read because ive heard mixed reviews which makes me even MORE curious