“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” - Haruki Murakami

[Disclaimer: I will not be addressing the debate in today's email; I'm sure you've had enough emails and social media about it at this point in your day.]

The thing about Shelf Stable is you often get whatever is going through our heads on a given day. --->

Obviously, it was hard to pick something today, so I ended up going with the date. Tomorrow is the first day of October, and I'm gearing up to start a new project: carving one stamp a day for the entire month. Honestly, I may not do one everyday. Life, after all, is insane. But I'm going to try. I'm doing this for a modified Inktober, as I want to set myself a reasonable task (scroll down to hear a bit about Inktoaber and goals). I've therefore devoted this issue of Shelf Stable to drawing.

The “Need Some Inspiration” column of Shelf Stable has been a comfortable place for me. I am a maker professionally, and in how I've always lived my life. Because making things is integral to my identity, I sometimes forget how amazingly hard it can be. This is not to say I don't struggle with it: I haven't written fiction since March. Some days, I just continue working on my laptop while listening to romance audiobooks after dinner. Making certain things is hard, but in being unable to make some things, I've made space for others. I spent March-May knitting more. I've been carving stamps. My partner and I have fermented so much that we've begun bartering with our creations.

This making isn't work, it's play. And that's good. Playing is, after all, the most important part of living/learning: the knowledge that you should let yourself have fun, muck about, and make mistakes in the quest to understand the world. Play is a trial, error, repeat approach to solving problems, it gives you the space to experiment and enjoy. It often contributes more to work than any “work” does and, if you're trying to “encourage creativity,” vigorous play is the best way. You can play with ideas, pushing and challenging them, and with materials.

If you've never drawn before, or haven't drawn in ages, I invite you to read today's drawing posts thinking about play. Then, pick up a mark-making utensil (a stick in the dirt, a brush, a pencil, the charcoal from your grill, a fork through your mashed potatoes) and play with drawing. You don't have to follow rules, you don't have to have a goal; just approach it with a sense of curiosity and humor. Make mistakes, try again, and be kind to yourself.

Curbside Pick Up: Daily, 3PM-7PM

Virtual: Andrea Hairston with Daniel José Older, Master of Poisons

Porter Square Books is pleased to present a virtual talk with Andrea Hairston, author of Master of Poisons, in conversation with Daniel José Older! Award-winning author Andrea Hairston weaves together African folktales and postcolonial literature into unforgettable fantasy in Master of Poisons. This event is hosted on Crowdcast, and is free and open to all!

The world is changing. Poison desert eats good farmland. Once-sweet water turns foul. The wind blows sand and sadness across the Empire. To get caught in a storm is death. To live and do nothing is death. There is magic in the world, but good conjure is hard to find.

Djola, righthand man and spymaster of the lord of the Arkhysian Empire, is desperately trying to save his adopted homeland, even in exile.

Awa, a young woman training to be a powerful griot, tests the limits of her knowledge and comes into her own in a world of sorcery, floating cities, kindly beasts, and uncertain men.

Awash in the rhythms of folklore and storytelling and rich with Hairston's characteristic lush prose, Master of Poisons is epic fantasy that will bleed your mind with its turns of phrase and leave you aching for the world it burns into being.

Tomorrow is October 1, which means around the world, people will be picking up pens and brushes to start the first day of Inktober. To participate in Inktober, all you need to do is draw as many days as possible during the month of October. The goal is to draw everyday; it doesn't need to be much- even a one-minute sketch works. This may mean you do October 1^st and then skip two weeks, anything is a start!

You've probably read my encouragements to draw before, or, back when we were open, had me excitedly thrust Lynda Barry's Making Comics into your hands. Among the many things I do, I'm an educator and adjunct professor of art and literature. For many people, drawing is hard because it's scary. At some point, someone may have said to you, “you can't draw,” and that was it, you stopped. (For many people this was probably around grade 4.) But, like anything else, drawing can be learned. Actually, you probably don't need to learn, you just need to do.

Unless memoir comics are your profession, it's important to separate therapeutic drawing from traditional, structured drawing. For those who don't draw much, learning techniques is a great way to scare one off drawing. Instead, try making drawing something you enjoy. Pour yourself a glass of something nice, put on some music, and just let yourself play. Make marks, even if they don't resemble anything. Draw spirals. Draw weird accessories on magazine photos.

If you have more training, or work in the arts, use the month as a structure for a project. For example, last year, I used the prompts to create an entire oracle deck, The Wonderer's Traveling Oracle Deck (available for purchase in-store at Porter Square Books). My current roommate used the prompts to create a zine, doing a page of it a day.

(We are not doing anything nearly as crazy this year because, well, the world.)

There are lists of prompts online, from the official Inktober prompts to thematic lists. If this is your first year, or you like structure, I recommend using one of the lists as having direction can be helpful. If you need even more direction, pick a size for your drawings (a post-it pad with a page per day, or a rectangle drawn in a sketchbook), and a theme for each prompt. For example, in 2018, I made square, one-panel comics about food using the prompts. You may also find it helpful to designate a time everyday to do the drawing. For example, set an alarm for 12:50-1pm and spend ten minutes drawing. Ten minutes may not seem like much, but when you have a prompt and direction, it's longer than you think!

Happy drawing!

Books to get you started drawing, for everyone from the beginner to the professional.

Inktober All Year Long by Jake Parker

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

Syllabus by Lynda Barry

Making Comics by Lynda Barry

A Year in Small Drawings by Matilda Tristram

Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith

Our bookseller bundles have expanded again! Hannah has joined the fun with her new horror bundle! Having trouble getting into spirit this unusual Halloween? Hannah will hand pick you three spine-chilling paperback novels that will make you double check your locks and hide beneath the covers. Let’s embark on a journey of short story compilations, female horror writers, horror poetry, Halloween books for youth, and classic horror together. Now light that pumpkin spice candle and let’s take a ride to Halloween Town.

You can re-watch all of our virtual events on Crowdcast. Check out our event with Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green for Becoming a Good Creature from Tuesday.

Last chance for the September 2020 Staff Picks!

And don't forget to subscribe to our Events Newsletter for the full line up of events coming up, and to our Kids Newsletter for all the latest on events, new books, reviews, and more for young and young-at-heart readers.