Rachel Slade talks books, magic hands in the library and the sinking of 'El Faro'

Nightstand

Rachel Slade

In her new book, Into the Raging Sea, Slade gives an in-depth account of the tragic sinking of the El Faro, a Jacksonville-based cargo ship that plummeted to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Joaquin. While doing research for the book, Slade interviewed families of the more than 30 crew members who died and reviewed the ship's data recorder. While learning the ins and outs of the maritime industry, she made a hazardous jump between a tiny pilot boat and a giant ship as they powered through open water. "That's one of the scariest things I've ever done,'' she said during our phone interview. "The water is rushing below you, and there is nothing to protect you. It would all be over very quickly if you miss the landing.'' Slade, who lives in Boston, received a bachelor's degree in history from Barnard College and a master's in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

What's on your nightstand?

I'm the kind of person who still goes to the library, and I'm really a believer in fate. I believe libraries and bookstores are magical places and there is an invisible hand in them that guides you. I usually read nonfiction. I don't have patience for fiction right now. I'm reading Samantha Irby's We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, a book of essays that are in your face. We've never met, but she makes me laugh and I was so grateful to find it. People who are genuinely funny rank high with me.

So, how did you come across it?

It was the invisible hand. I saw the great yellow cover of the book, and I picked it up, and it's no risk when you go to the library. I checked it out because it made me laugh.

I'm also reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I know the movie wasn't very good, but the book is novel in form and approach. I love the writing.

It's fun to think of how you spent time in Jacksonville and this book is set close by in Savannah.

I'm not a Southerner, obviously. ... Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was written by a New Yorker. He was an outsider, which is another reason I love it. I'm also reading Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll. It's pretty anticapitalist and a huge eye-opener for me.

When you read it, did you file something away in your head for a potential work project?

At the moment, no, but the theme developing here is outsiders going into very tribal territory and providing insight. I hope I did that (with Into the Raging Sea), and I would like to do it again. I'm looking for models for that. I also just recently finished a book I bought used for $1, H Is for Hawk (by Helen Macdonald). I loved this book. I thought it was fantastic. I thought it was an incredible meditation on man and nature and dealing with grief. I was so moved. It was pure pleasure reading and I'm in awe of someone who has such command of language.

Contact Piper Castillo at pcastillo@tampabay.com. Follow @Florida_PBJC.