Books to Bury Me With: Danielle Chelosky

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

Nausea by Sartre. It’s a book that made me feel more at peace about death, so it should come with me.

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

First? Probably some book in middle school about the dust bowl or something. 

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

Aliens & Anorexia by Chris Kraus.

The book that shook my world like a goddamn hurricane:

Paresis by Isabelle Nicou. 

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

Boulder by Eva Baltasar.

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

Annihilation by Houellebecq.

The book that nearly drove me to madness:

Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux. Or Written On The Body by Jeanette Winterson.

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

I Love Dick by Chris Kraus.

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

I would never pretend to be highbrow. But I’m a big Catcher In The Rye defender.

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

Ponyboy by Eliot Duncan. Pain…

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

Tove Ditlevsen.

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

Bell Jar knuckle tats.

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

Biography of X by Catherine Lacey. 10:04 by Ben Lerner. The Map And The Territory by Houellebecq.

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

I don’t loan any of my books. I’d rather buy someone a copy than give mine away…

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

Houellebecq is always there for me.

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

I would never do that. But probably my massive hardcover copy of Being And Nothingness by Sartre because that can do damage.

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

Every book.

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

Acts Of Desperation by Megan Nolan. The Ancestry Of Objects by Tatiana Ryckman. Stricture by Isabelle Nicou. Weird Fucks by Lynne Tillman. What Purpose Did I Serve In Your Life by Marie Calloway. Juliet The Manic by Juliet Escoria. The Lover by Marguerite Duras. Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys. Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel. And a lot more but I’ll shut up now.

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

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin.

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

Agua Viva by Clarice Lispector.