I can’t remember the last time I did a Read, If You Like (I think it was for Gideon the Ninth? We may be seeing a theme emerge) and I have been reading some absolutely tip top non fiction lately. Quite a bit of it is about death. Rituals, evolving attitudes to human remains, death as preferable to immortality. I thought I would do a post about some of the books I’ve enjoyed. In time for Easter! This was not deliberate but if you would like to make a Jesus joke here, I will not stop you.
Read Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty (2020), if you like:
- Straightforward, but not unemphatic, conversations around the Western death industry and death rituals (each chapter answers a question asked to a mortician by a child)
- Thinking about what might happen if you die with a pet present. For the record, I am happy for my remains to feed any pets I may have at the time of my passing. If I’m not there to feed them, I may as well… be there to feed them
- A really good conversation starter of a book. ‘What are you reading at the moment?’ ‘A book called Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?‘ ‘Will my cat eat my eyeballs?’ ‘They’re more likely to go for a fleshy bit.’
I did not know that I needed to know you cannot make popcorn in a cremator, but I’m hopeful that such knowledge has pushed out something that was taking up space in my brain, like the names of the Kardashians’ children.
Read Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin, by Megan Rosenbloom (2020), if you like:
- An introduction to the world of anthropodermic bibliopegy, otherwise known as ‘books bound in human skin,’ and the evolving cultural conversations around storage and display of human remains. There is a chance you won’t know if you will like such a topic before you start. Possibly read the first ten pages and go from there
- Brief histories of people who made extremely bad decisions (Burke and Hare!)
- Brief histories of people we don’t hear nearly enough about (Phillis Wheatley!)
- Inflicting conversations about the above on your friends and relatives
Read From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, by Caitlin Doughty (2018), if you like:
- Learning about other cultures
- Travel inspiration (sort of. A few of the rituals are open to tourists, some just to anthropologists or journalists who ask nicely. This book reminded me of how many cool places I would love to visit, but I probably would not attempt to view most of the rituals that are open to tourists unless explicitly invited)
- Thinking about what you would like done with your earthly remains
- I don’t know how many people enjoy doing that
- But we probably all should
- (Green burial for me, please, assuming my pets didn’t get to all of me)
Because I read this sort of thing all the time, I can’t always tell what’s macabre or horrific the majority of people and what is potentially interesting depending on gore level. Or what is just a day in the office. I dunno. If you’ve read any of these, let me know your thoughts on them! As per, if any of the above catch your eye, you can find them on my Bookshop.org page. If Caitlin Doughty sounds familiar, she does Ask a Mortician on YouTube. Happy Easter and/or Bank Holiday weekend, whichever is the more spiritual for you.
Look after yourselves!
Francesca
Want to support this blog and/or enjoy exclusive access to my latest book, Rotting Trees, plus chatter from me? Join the No. 1 Reader’s Club on Patreon! Alternatively, you can use PayPal or Ko-fi for one-off support. If you’re into fairy tales and/or want a brief respite from reality, you can also buy my first book, The Princess and the Dragon and Other Stories About Unlikely Heroes, from most ebook retailers and as a paperback from Amazon. (That link’s an affiliate. Gotta scrape every penny from Bezos…) If you enjoy my book recommendations, you can find my Bookshop.org page here.
You can find me on social media (reluctantly), via Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook. I also have a montly-ish newsletter and you can find my work on GoodReads and StoryGraph.
Francesca's Thoughts 