Moby Dick Book Club: October

This time of year, the sun sits lower in the sky. The morning light projects through southern windows onto furry sleeping geometers for the first time since last spring. The midday breeze carries a whisper that this evening may be cooler than the last. Dusk steadily marches toward the end of my work day. Day by day, there are only subtle indications of autumn; nature doesn’t change as suddenly as the turn of a calendar page. Nevertheless, October is upon us, and I need something apart from nature’s gradual pace to truly feel the season.

Thanks for indulging my little creative writing exercise. Now, I’ve selected the following collection of poetry, short stories, novellas and novels, some subset of which I will read this month. Can you tell the common theme among them? If you’re looking for something seasonal to read, maybe something on this list will suit your needs as well. I finished reading Frankenstein last month and would recommend it. I read The Metamorphosis in high school (one of the few assigned books I actually did read). I’m sure I read some of the Poe works in school, but I don’t remember them well. I’d be reading the rest of these works for the first time.

If you do choose to read any of the following, I would love to share thoughts about them! I’ve provided links for the works in the public domain. If you need help getting access to the others, just let me know. This is Moby Dick Book Club: October!

Poems

Short Stories

Novellas and Novels

  • The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat (1315 SH)
  • The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959)
  • The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915) [Project Gutenberg]
  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818) [Project Gutenberg]