It’s Saturday, and that means it’s time for Weekend Reading 35! For the thirty-fifth weekend in a row, The Beat team is huddled inside and avoiding COVID-19 (which is still spreading unmitigated in the United States as we head into winter – nothing ominous there).

Fortunately, we have a stack of books to occupy us as the world is inevitably forced to lock down once again. What are you going to be reading this autumn weekend? We hope our readers will stay safe and share their reading plans with us in the comment section!

Weekend Reading 35
Weekend Reading 35: The Living Blood

AVERY KAPLAN: This weekend, I’ll be checking out Moonstruck Volume One: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle, Caitlin Quirk, Clayton Cowles, and Laurenn McCubbin. Then, after seeing her work recommended in the afterword of the superb The Gilda Stories (which I read for 31 Weekend Readings Later), my prose reading plans include The Living Blood by Tananarive Due.

Weekend Reading 35
Weekend Reading 35: Décroissance Sexuelle

PHILIPPE LEBLANC: This weekend, I’ll take time to read and really absorb Décroissance sexuelle, the new poetry and art book from Julie Delporte. It’s about trauma, coping and living with the festering wounds it causes. Her work is always insightful and poignant. 

Weekend Reading 35
Weekend Reading 35: The Mothman Prophecies

DEANNA DESTITO: I recently started reading The Mothman Prophecies and plan on getting a good chunk of the book done this weekend. Written by John Keel, it explores the legend of the Mothman and how the creature tends to appear right before a catastrophe. In this book, it’s the Silver Bridge collapse that killed 46 people in the ‘60s. As someone who loves myths and legends (and of course horror), I loved the creepiness of the 2002 movie based on Keel’s work. Finally, I’m getting around to the source material. 

Weekend Reading 35
Weekend Reading 35: Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot

TAIMUR DAR: I recently randomly rewatched some episodes of the cartoon Pelswick. When I first watched the show when it aired on Nickelodeon nearly two decades ago, I was completely unaware of its creator, cartoonist John Callahan. Currently gripped learning more about his life and career by reading his memoir Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot

Weekend Reading 35
Weekend Reading 35: Please Don’t Step on my JNCO Jeans

AJ FROST: It’s been weeks of agony, but my copy of Please Don’t Step on My JNCO Jeans by Noah Van Sciver finally came in from Fantagraphics! Hallelujah! The book is designed to resemble one of the budget-friendly cartoon compilations books that are so plentiful in used book stores (red page trim and all). 

Weekend Reading 35
Weekend Reading 35: The Pull

GREGORY PAUL SILBER: I’m reading The Pull by writer Steve Orlando, artist Ricardo López Ortiz, colorist Triona Farrell, and letterer Thomas Mauer. A futuristic sci-fi story starring a protagonist with just “six days to live,” it looks like the kind of bombastic-yet-emotionally-charged adventure that’s right up my alley. Apparently I’m a sucker for genre fiction about dying heroes. Orlando is one of the most exciting writers to emerge in the past several years, and I loved López Ortiz’ work on the underrated Black Panther vs Deadpool miniseries written by Daniel Kibblesmith, so my expectations are high. Look out for my review later this week.