AWAD: I recently read an advance copy of Heather McGowan’s forthcoming novel, “Friends of the Museum.” It’s very funny and a beautifully told story of 24 hours at a museum from the perspectives of the staff members. I reread Samanta Schweblin’s “Fever Dream” because I taught it in my horror literature class. It’s one of my favorite contemporary horror novels because it has an understanding of tension that is really potent. She’s got three different narrative timelines, which are told in the present tense and are all scary.
BOOKS: When did you first start reading horror?
AWAD: I got into scary stuff through my interest in the fantastic, which I had at a very young age with fairytales, which have these creepy elements. Then I was a child of the ‘80s, when slasher movies were a big deal. I think that definitely planted a seed. In my early teens, I loved Lois Duncan and Stephen King. Edgar Allen Poe was one of my first loves. My mother bought me an illustrated volume of “The Raven” when I had pneumonia. I read it over and over and found it strangely comforting.
BOOKS: What is your favorite Stephen King novel?
AWAD: That’s probably “Carrie.” I love an outsider story. One of the reasons I’m drawn to horror is that the protagonist is usually an outsider who is lonely and vulnerable. It’s a magnification of an experience I think we all have at some point. I also love that horror makes heroes out of outsiders.
BOOKS: Do you have a favorite outsider hero?
AWAD: I love Eleanor from Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House.” She’s the ultimate outsider. She’s so weird and vulnerable and because of that the house gets inside of her soul. That novel is an incredible exploration of what horror can do.
BOOKS: Has a book ever been too scary for you?
AWAD: Clive Barker’s books have really disturbed me, to the point where I don’t know if I can keep going. I won’t read William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist.” Possession is one of my biggest fears.
BOOKS: What other kind of books do you read?
AWAD: I love children’s literature. I recently reread Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind in the Willows,” one of my favorite children’s books. It’s just so whimsical, strange and, actually, a little dark. I always forget how children’s literature can hold hands with fairy tales and horror.
BOOKS: How would you describe your taste in literary fiction?
AWAD: I love voice-driven fiction because I love characters that feel alive. I love all of David Mitchell’s books, Bret Easton Ellis’s books, Kazuo Ishiguro’s “The Remains of the Day,” which is one of my favorites of all times. It’s a slow burn. It always reminds me to be patient when reading a book.
BOOKS: Did working in bookstores influence you as a reader?
AWAD: My first job was in Toronto at The World’s Biggest Bookstore. It was hideous. Neon lights. It looked like a casino. But inside it was this maze of books. We were often quite slow and I would go through the shelves. I would cold buy anything that appealed to me. That is how I discovered so many writers, such as Mary Gaitskill, Rebecca Godfrey, and Margaret Atwood.
BOOKS: Do you still shop in bookstores?
AWAD: Yes. All the best book recommendations come from the staff because they read widely and idiosyncratically. That’s how I discovered Jeannette Winterson, who was so important to me in my teens. If you have a relationship with a customer who has read a few of your recommendations and liked them, they begin to trust you. That is a special thing that only bookstores can offer. I would hate to see that go away.
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter @GlobeBiblio. Amy Sutherland is the author, most recently, of “Rescuing Penny Jane” and she can be reached at amysutherland@mac.com.
