Things are tough out there, beloved patrons–tensions are high, emotions are volatile, and those of us with autumnal allergies are sniffly and miserable.  So, with that in mind, please enjoy these five things to make you smile before we get to the books:

1. This plush orange, who seems very content with life:

   

   2. The Giant Pumpkin from this year’s Topsfield Fair, which weighed in at  2,075.5 pounds, making it not only the largest pumpkin in Topsfield Fair History, but the largest pumpkin in North America!

3. A hedgehog dressed as Dracula (seemed timely, right?)

4. Apple Cider Donuts from Idylwile Farms in Acton:

5. And, of course….new books.  New books can make any day just a little bit better….let’s see what we’ve got for this week:

Hag-Seed: Though many know her because of her novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood has written over forty works of fiction, poetry, and essays, and this newest of her novels is one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year.  A retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, that also includes a staging of The Tempest, Atwood’s book focuses on Felix, the Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival–a man at the top of his game, and a man deeply troubled by memories and old grudges.  He finally gets a chance to right his wrongs, to have his revenge, during a staging of The Tempest in a prison theater program…but he never counted on the effect the work, and his own work, might have on him in return.  Even those familiar with Shakespeare’s work will find this new novel fresh, inventive, and wonderfully surprising, because Atwood so deftly weaves her own insight and characterization into a plot that never feels borrowed.  The Boston Globe agrees, writing that “What makes the book thrilling, and hugely pleasurable, is how closely Atwood hews to Shakespeare even as she casts her own potent charms, rap-composition included… Part Shakespeare, part Atwood, “Hag-Seed” is a most delicate monster — and that’s “delicate” in the 17th-century sense. It’s delightful.”

Eternal Frankenstein: Mary Shelley invented the modern horror novel with her 1818 Frankenstein.  It has never been out of print in its nearly-200-year existence.  It has inspired legions of authors, filmmakers, artists, and readers across years, countries, and generations.  And this volume, edited by Ross E. Lockhart, pays tribute to the greatness of Shelley’s creation, as well as to Shelley herself, in a new collection of sixteen short stories.  These are the perfect appetizer-length stories to get your All Hallows Read started right, and an impressive contribution to the Frankenstein cannon.  It’s also enormously gratifying to see Mary herself appear in these stories, and to have such a presence in this book, reminding us of the debt that we horror fans owe–for new comers, there are also appearances by Tesla and Stalin, among many other historic characters, and a wide array of time periods and narrators, as well.  Publisher’s Weekly was impressed enough to give this collection a starred review, hailing “This impressive compendium contains a rich array of short stories…All of the writing is high quality, all the stories are suspenseful, and would make an excellent college classroom companion to Frankenstein because of its relatable narratives interwoven with history and biography, as well as some vivid present-day tale…that address bullying, loneliness, and body image.”

A Gambler’s Anatomy: Jonathan Letham made his name by breaking all the rules of genre with ease and impressive skill, and its has ensured that this new release is also one of the most hotly anticipated books of the year.  The hero of Letham’s tale is Bruno Alexander, a stylish professional gambler who lives to squeeze enormous sums from hapless amateurs.  But when his luck runs out, and his health begins to fail, Bruno finds himself begin flown to California for an experimental surgery–and revisiting the course of the strange, fantastical life that has brought him to this point.  Facing an unsure fate, and grappling with powers he doesn’t quite understand, Bruno begins to wonder whether he has really been calling the shots in his life, or whether he is merely a pawn, at the whim of fate.  The result is a story that Lithub describes as “a spy story wrapped up in a farce wrapped up in a social justice quest narrative, with a dash of horror and the paranormal thrown in for good measure. A tragicomic gem.”

The Risen: Drenched in atmosphere and full of fully-realized characters, Ron Rash’s new book is a perfect piece of escapism for those looking for a new, suspenseful, and captivating thriller.  It all begins in the summer of 1969, when sixteen-year-old Eugene and his older brother, Bill, are swimming in a secluded creek in their remote Appalachian hometown.  There they met a stunning stranger named Ligeia, originally from Daytona Beach, who entrances them both–and also drives them irrevocably apart.   Decades later, Bill has become a respected surgeon, while Eugene has become the town’s resident failure.  But when their shared past returns to haunt them, Eugene is forced to delve into his memories and try desperately to recall which of them is true, before the past destroys any hope of Eugene’s or Bill’s future.  The Washington Post gave Rash’s novel rave reviews, calling it “Compelling… Rash, as always, has an absolutely sure sense of place… He is a riveting storyteller, ably heightening the tension between the story’s past and present… A story about control, evil and the nature of power — both to save and to kill.”

Homeward Bound: While there were a fair number of raised eyebrows and discussion over Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize last week, which is really exciting, because it means people are thinking about these things.  It also resulted in a lot of discussion about the power of song, and song lyrics, to shape people, affect their thinking, and provide a soundtrack to their lives.  And few people embody that power more than Paul Simon.  Simon has sold over 100 million records, won 15 Grammys, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame–twice.  And he has done it by constantly evolving, trying new forms of expression, and embracing all the wonderful foibles and details that make humans so nifty.  In this first major biography of the seventy-five-year old Simon, Peter Ames Carlin looks not only as his life and art, but at the people whose lives he has touched, from Carrie Fisher to Leonard Bernstein, from Nelson Mandela to the thousands of people who came to Central Park to see him reunite with Art Garfunkel.  The result is a powerful and fascinating work that Kirkus Reviews cheers as a “nuanced, fascinating portrait…Simon’s music career defies easy categorization―much as his relationship with Garfunkel does―but in Carlin’s portrayal, his legacy as an innovative songwriter and musician is undeniable. An absorbing and layered study of ‘one of the most influential voices in Western popular culture.’”

Until next week, beloved patrons–happy reading!