“You know, they have battery-operated flameless candles,” says Pete Piringer, the D.C. fire department spokesman. “It’s a great effect,” he says hopefully. Then he sighs.
“That’s probably not what these people are looking for.”
A calm in the storm: Reading by candlelight
The Washington Post's Anqoinette Crosby learns what you should have on hand to prepare your family for a hurricane from Cheryl Kravitz, Director of Communications for the American Red Cross.
The Washington Post's Shyamantha Asokan reports from Elizabeth City, N.C. where Hurricane Irene has made landfall. (Aug. 27)
Your graffiti art photos
No, Mr. Piringer. No, it is not. But thank you.
What we are looking for is a flickering light, a Kindle with fresh downloads, a stack of paperbacks with the spines broken in — and exactly the right genre to sink our brains into.
“I think there’s something really nice about books where people are isolated and have no option to leave,” says Ozma, the author. “During the last snowstorm, I was reading ‘Ten Little Indians’ by Agatha Christie. There’s a storm, and they can’t get off the island, and I just thought, ‘THIS IS AWESOME.’ ”
“Yes, a cozy mystery,” Heather Petsche, a librarian in Takoma Park, says knowingly. “Agatha Christie or Mary Higgins Clark. Not too graphic. The kind where there’s a murder, but it’s kind of behind the scenes, and it’s set in a vicarage.”
She has it all planned. “I would snuggle up and get my cup of tea, and read and read about old British ladies.”
Bring on the rain.
We contacted local librarians, booksellers, our own critics and other bookish souls for suggestions for what to read on a dark and stormy night.
To read for chills
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
“It was written after a long spell of rain and stormy weather . . . which followed the eruption of a volcano in Indonesia, floods and a string of unusual and freaky earthquakes along the East Coast of the United States.” — Marie Arana, former editor of The Washington Post’s Book World
“The Passage” by Justin Cronin
“It’s a very well written post-apocalyptic thriller. [Several booksellers] read it at the same time, and none of us could come up for air. It’s definitely not one to read if you’re going to be home alone.” — Sarah Baline, bookseller, Politics and Prose
“Winterdance” by Gary Paulsen
“It’s about training for and racing the Iditarod — so much more intense than what’s likely to hit us this weekend. And he’s a great writer. It’s thrilling and scary, and will make you feel like you’re keeping a team of dogs alive as you cross the permafrost.” — Adrien-Alice Hansel, dramaturg, Studio Theatre
To read for escape
“Message in a Bottle” by Nicholas Sparks
“It’s just a quintessential love story, and a woman withstands a hurricane, caught between two loves. When I read it, I’m totally gone.” — April King, manager, Palisades Neighborhood Library in the District
“An Atlas of Impossible Longing” by Anuradha Roy
“It opens with the power of overflowing riverbeds and changing courses through a multigenerational tale based in and around Calcutta, from early 20th century through days of Partition.” — Elissa Miller, associate director, collections, D.C. Public Library
To read with children
“Noah’s Ark” by Peter Spier
“It’s a wordless book, but there’s so much going on in the illustrations as the rain starts coming down. It’s almost like a graphic novel. There’s manure piling up, and it’s smelly, and you really get to feel bad for Noah and his wife.” — Wendy Lukehart, youth collections coordinator, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in the District
The “I Spy” series, by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick
“My 4-year-old is obsessed with these books, and just two pages can eat up a half an hour. They’re the perfect books to look at with a flashlight.” — Tony Ross, librarian, Mount Pleasant Library in the District
“Winnie-the-Pooh” by A.A. Milne
“A reminder as we stock up on provisions at Costco and the Giant that all you really need in a flood is a jar of honey and an inverted umbrella.” — Frances Stead Sellers, The Post’s Style editor.
To read aloud
“The Weir,” a play by Conor McPherson
“It’s a spooky play set in an Irish bar. Several people gather at this neighborhood pub, and they all tell ghost stories. And they’ve all come in from the rain.” — Shirley Serotsky, director of literary and public programs, Theater J.
“Our Town,” by Thornton Wilder
“Last time we lost power, the whole family was lying on air mattresses in the family room, listening to the radio in the dark, when a production of “Our Town” came on, and everyone, kids included, listened with rapt attention. It was a moment for all time.” — Steven Levingston, The Post’s nonfiction editor.
To read for irony
“Storm” by George R. Stewart, and “The Hurricane,” by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
“A perverse case can be made for reading a novel about precisely what you are going through.” — Dennis Drabelle, The Post’s Book World.
What do you like to read when it’s soggy outside? Add your suggestions in the comments section.
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