Books to Bury Me With: Anita Dalton

The book I’d want to take with me to the grave:

I'm not sure, but my husband will probably put my urn on one of our bookshelves so I won't have to make that sort of decision.

The first book that hit me like a ton of bricks:

The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor

The book that’s seen more of my tears, coffee stains, and cigarette burns:

Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz. It was my introduction into the art, music, and fashion scenes in 1980s New York.

The book that shook my world like a goddamn hurricane:

Tool or Ingratitude by Peter Sotos

The book I wish I’d discovered when my liver was still intact:

Everything Patricia Highsmith has written.

The book I’d shove into everyone’s hands if I were king of the world:

The Moon Down to Earth by James Nulick

The book that nearly drove me to madness:

We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric Larocca triggered my largely managed OCD to the point that I almost stopped reading.

The book I can’t keep my hands off of, no matter how many times I’ve read it:

The Night Country by Stewart O'Nan. It's set on Halloween, so I read it every other fall. I am so much older than I was when I first read it and it's interesting to see how my feelings about the book change each passing decade.

The book I’d hide in the back of my closet, pretending I’m too highbrow for it:

I'm far too lowbrow even to worry about such things.

The book that left a scar I wish I could forget:

Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr. I was still in grade school when I read it and I think we can all agree that Tralala's final act is, well, you need to at least be able to drive legally before reading.

The author who made me think, "Now that’s a soul in torment":

Shivitti: A Vision by Yehiel De-Nur/"Ka-Tsetnik 135633." The man responsible for House of Dolls, and who collapsed during his testimony against Adolf Eichmann, writes about using psychedelics to try to heal his mind.

The book I’d get a tattoo of if I had the nerve:

The Obscene Madame D by Hilda Hilst.

The book that made me question everything I thought I knew:

Apocalypse Culture edited by Adam Parfrey

The book that’s so damn good I’d never loan it out:

The Plight House by Jason Hrivnak

The book that’s been my companion through the darkest nights:

Also The Plight House by Jason Hrivnak

The book I’d throw in someone’s face during a heated argument:

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder because it would leave a helluva bruise.

The book that reminds me of a lost love or regret:

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

The book I wish I could have written, but know I never could:

Tears of a Komsomol Girl by Audrey Szasz. I was too afraid when I was younger to write in the manner I wanted and now that I am older and braver, I find the flame that ignites that sort of writing burns out if not tended.

The book that makes me want to drink myself into oblivion:

Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh. This was also a close runner up in the "book that nearly drove me to madness" category.

The book that’s been my refuge from the world’s cruelty:

Naïve, Super by Erlend Loe