October’s Epilogue

Parentheses Books — UPDATE!

Parentheses Books

On the 25th of October, our very own independent bookshop, Parentheses Books opened. It’s a lovely, magical place, located within the Liberty Street Mercantile on the corner of Liberty and Gay Streets. The shelves are stocked with best sellers, classics and books by local authors — and they even have T-shirts!

Proprietor, Amanda Friss, brings enormous bookshop experience to the store through her years at Three Lives and Company in the West Village of New York City. Amanda is an absolute delight to engage in bookish conversation and is willing to order any book not found on her shelves.

A huge Congratulations to Amanda on her entrepreneurial endeavors and a hope for great things to come from Parentheses Books.

A Pair of October Reads

When October arrives, I thoroughly enjoy reading those classics of the macabre and darkness, Shelley’s monster, the Count of Castle Dracula and Poe’s lament to the lost Lenore, “nameless here forever more”. This year, I chose two older novels, two older novels that I had never read; and much like old black-and-white movies that never fail to entertain, these novels were perfect (for me) for the season of “ghosties and ghoulies”.

I am not a fan of the horror genre unless they are the classics; but I will read “darker” books and I do like a good psychological thriller — those books that just may send shivers down a spine. There are any number of good and better novels of that genre but there is one classic tale that crosses the boundaries of time to what may even be considered relevant for today’s culture which worships “self” above all else. It is a novel so terrifying in its assumptions that it was morally abhorrent to the average Victorian reader.

That novel is The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde and published in 1889. It is considered gothic fiction but could just as easily be psychological in nature, and was, indeed, a walk on the “Wilde” side.

The premise of the story (for anyone who is unfamiliar) is that a handsome young man is so taken with the beauty found within his own portrait that he makes a Faustian bargain (a bargain with the Devil) to sell his soul in exchange for external youth and the beauty that goes with it.

As the reader soon realizes, Dorian indulges in his desires, his every whim while remaining youthful in appearance. But even so, his portrait that has been hidden from view in an upper room of his house, begins to bear the evidence of that decadence and decay. The face in the portrait ages. The face depicts Dorian’s depravity to life; becomes abhorrent in appearance, bearing the weight of a soul that lives in darkness, shunning the light. Dorian Gray finally comes face to face with the reality of his own depraved soul in a horrifying conclusion.

This novel was so shocking in its suggestion of unspeakable sin, that it was later used as evidence against Wilde when he was tried for indecency (homosexuality) in 1895 and later found guilty and incarcerated.

If you have seen the movie by the same title, do yourself a favor and read the novel. Not only is the book better but paints a much broader portrait of Dorian Gray’s depravity.

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The second choice for the month was The Moving Toyshop, by Edmund Crispin, published in 1946, was as different from Wilde’s darkness as night is to the light of day.

The Moving Toyshop was a fun, British mystery with a locked room flavor taking place in and around Oxford. It was brimming with literary gags and quotes and over-the-top Keystone Cops type of antics. It is just brilliant for anyone who loves British mysteries with a dash of comedy. A page-turner that will keep the reader up late until finished.

A Day’s Journey into West Virginia

There is no secret in my family that October is my favorite month and autumn my favorite season. I love everything about it; the cooler evenings, the clear nights of star gazing, the shuffling and kicking of leaves, the pies, the pumpkins on my doorstep, wearing sweaters and watching the slow change of the season reflected in the colors of the leaves.

October gives its beholders new reasons to celebrate each and every day and marvel in the colors of nature. Because of this, and in every spare moment I can get, there will be a leaf-peeping adventure… over the mountain, through the wood, across a river and occasionally into our neighboring state, West Virginia.

Before the leaves could be torn from their branches by the autumn winds, we recently journeyed into those wild mountains and valleys of West Virginia. We traveled through the breathtaking German Valley, full of the mists of history and ghosts; we traveled past centuries-old and family owned farms, as well as deserted farm houses, barns and abandoned one-room churches — each one with decades, maybe centuries, of stories to tell.

It was a wonderful day, full of adventure and enchantment and blowing leaves. The colors were brilliant and around each bend in the highway, new breathtaking views were offered in colors of scarlet and gold. This was West Virginia as I had never seen it before.

We finally arrived at Seneca Rocks and the old Sites Homestead where there were plenty of photo opportunities, hiking and under-foot crunching of fallen leaves. My kind of autumn day.

After hiking at Seneca Rocks (but not to the top) and exploring the old Sites Homestead, we were in need of nourishment and headed to Yokum’s General Store and Grill, the only establishment in town. It’s a clean and welcoming local restaurant/grill and the general store has hundreds of West Virginia and Seneca Rocks souvenirs as well as supplies for campers.

But we were quite hungry from our trip and hiking adventures, so my son ordered from the grill something that I had never heard of — a West Virginia Hot Dog. This hot dog came with just about everything on it — chili, Cole slaw, yellow mustard and fresh onion. All kidding aside, it was delicious and this picky New York hot dog aficionado of spicy mustard and New York hot dog onions, loved it. Should you find yourself climbing the rocks at Seneca or hiking in the vicinity, order one of these hot dogs. You will not be disappointed.

With our bellies full and feeling quite satisfied, we needed to began our trip home — past Smoke Hole Recreation Area to the quaint town of Franklin. As the sun began to set, producing both brilliant light on the foliage and dark shadows across the ridges, we crossed over the George Washington mountains to home. It was a wonderful day with the family and in the discovery of our beautiful, neighboring state. However, I will say that one day was not enough time to explore all that we wanted to discover and it looks like another trip over the mountains will be in our future.