The Himrich Library, Week of 9/8/24
Hello!
On Monday the 9th of September, as I write this, it is apparently International Sudoku Day. Most novelty holidays seem to have more or less random dates, but this one is actually kind of clever: 9/9 is a reference to the traditional 9x9 Sudoku grid and the number of digits you must use to solve each puzzle. Though I'm obviously more of a word games person than a number games person, I do enjoy an occasional game of Sudoku (by which I mean I can finish a really easy one if I have 20-30 minutes to kill). If you'd like your novelty holidays to be more weird and unsettling, however, September 9th has a most unusual pairing for you: International Box Wine Day and International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day. Yes, really.
What I'm Reading
My trek through Hill House continues, and I find it impossible not to love how Shirley Jackson writes about malevolent architecture. But I've also been digging into The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies, a collection of stories and poems by the pulp writer Clark Ashton Smith. Smith was a contemporary of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard (though he outlived them both), and while his work isn't that well-known today, it easily measures up to the work of his more famous peers. My favorite story from the collection so far is The Last Incantation, a short yet poignant tale which answers the question of "What does the evil wizard do after he's conquered the realm and has no agenda besides brooding in his tower?"
What I'm Writing
In a few days, you're going to see the first (for this website, at least) installment of a favorite project I've done in the past. I call it Today on Project Gutenberg, and its premise is simple: I choose a random public domain text from Project Gutenberg and summarize/analyze it for your entertainment. In the upcoming article, I'll be discussing the origins and interpretations of a certain morbid French fairy tale about locked rooms, curious wives and lots of decapitations. Doesn't that sound fun?
I'll see you back here soon. For now, goodbye and happy reading!
—Dana
