...That may be the most nonsensical post title I've written to date.
Anyway, it's been a while. The hellish season of extreme heat has had to crawl back under its rock. I honestly don't know why I used to be a huge fan of summer, but now I can assure you I've seen the light and gladly welcome the season of apples, pumpkin spice, crisp sunlight and haunted houses with open arms.
That's right. It's finally autumn!
Rejoice, rejoice, and drag out all your sweaters. But don't wear them all at one time.
Okay. So. New season means a seasonal wishlist, which means stuff that I want to do because it feels like the thing to do this season but probably will forget about until November 29th and fling myself forward into a mad dash before the Christmas carols and peppermint everything distracts me entirely.
Without further ado...
Feeling Fall:
The Wishlist
Books
This feels like a futile exercise, thinking about it, because my reading list changes at the drop of a hat. For the sake of actually updating this blog, though, I dug deep and tried hard, and settled on six titles I'd like to be caught reading in a puddle of warm sunlight on the lawn of my alma mater with an apple cider in hand:
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
i've never read it.it's spooky.it's halloweeny.it just...makes sense.
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
shirley jackson. 'nuff said.
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
i shouldn't have done these little italicized remarks under these titles because it gives expectations of genius. which i cannot provide. this has history, romance and a beautiful cover that has a very fall-ish aesthetic to it. so there you have it. comfort yourself with the fact that you are not paying me for these revelations.
Possession by A.S. Byatt
in spite of it not being a classic, this title always seems to stare me in the eyes and deem me an unworthy english major when i cannot meet its gaze.
let's see if i can make this happen.
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
this sounds terribly Gothic and i am here for it.
The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French
i don't think you can probably say it's fall without a book by tana french. also, i may be sinning by skipping from book one to book six, but all the others in between don't sound like my particular cup of murder so deal with it.
Honorable mentions: That detective series by Louise Penny I'm too lazy right now to look up the name of, The Shining, any good Japanese novel in translation by a female author (Dendera is very high up there) and whatever romances are lurking in my Libby wishlist.
I feel the need for an addendum: this is currently a very white list. It is, for the most part, a list of women authors - which is satisfying in some ways - but still...very white. I'm going to dig up some other titles by marginalized voices that make me feel that fall sort of way, and may update this blog post accordingly if I am in the mood and not tensing my shoulders over another round of Cook Serve Delicious.
Dramas and TV
Korea is really bringing the spooky this year, and Japan never ceases to provide detective procedurals, and as always I'm way behind on US media of all sorts, so this was - again - an exercise in streamlining. This time, I went with top five:
The Guest
Korea, 2018
I watched a bit of this with my mom the other day and ended up cringing into my turtleneck. So. Much. Blood. And. Possession. I do love the ragtag team of ghost fighters - a stoic priest, a brash police woman and a cheery taxi driver who was meant to be a shaman - so I'm going to try and stick it through, but this is definitely one of those "watch in the daylight with a bunch of people around you" shows.
Cold Case
Japan, 2017
This is Japan's amazing take on the US Cold Cases series. I've cheated in a way and watched the first episode, which was a total emotional roller coaster. I can't wait for the rest, and there's a second season on the way.
Ghost Detective
Korea, 2018
Like I said, Korea's really bringing it with the ghosts this fall. I love the lead actress in this one, so let's see how it goes.
Twin Peaks
US (do I need to put the year for this)
I finished season one and fell off the wagon for season two because gosh, did Cooper get a personality change or WHAT. The entire atmosphere did a 180 and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to hang in there but I need to try.
Charmed
US, even if it feels like Canada (nope, I don't need to put the years for these because everyone and their grandma has seen them before me)
Very soapy and melodramatic in all the best ways.
Honorable mentions: Most of the shows on my Netflix queue, let's be real. (And Marple on Hulu.) In terms of dramas, I mean to get around to Who Are You, Love Me If You Dare, and Blood, among others.
Movies
I'll spare you all the gory details and let you know right off the bat that autumn is my season for either a cozy BBC murder mystery or horror. This works out about as well as you think it would for my sanity and my sleep.
(Last year, I watched A Nightmare on Elm Street on a Sunday night and had to take my students past a doorway strewn with dead leaves and ominously half-open on their way to their gym class. They wondered why I rushed them past, and I half-expected a leather glove on my shoulder at any moment. This would be where a normal person says, "NEVER AGAIN.")
The Wailing
Korea
Friday the 13th
US
Murder on the Orient Express
US
The Shining
US
I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House
US
Death Comes to Pemberley
UK
Honorable mentions: Hush, Get Out, It Follows, and other ghastly things that make my mother shake her head when I get up in the morning and have wide, bloodshot eyes.
Do not try this at home, folks.
Alright, then, I think that's pretty much it. I would do a category for Music, but I mostly do two main categories nowadays: lo-fi or instrumentals for study or writing, and bouncy K-Pop when I'm not doing either of those activities.
I would promise to do a check-in post where I discuss how I did with this wishlist and how I crossed off most of it like a good girl, but we all know I won't do that.
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