My favorite season is forever tied between fall and spring.
But the arrival of fall this year felt like a true rescue from the relentless heat, so she’s got an extra point—at least until April.
Here are some favorites from September and October.
Podcasts.
One thing about me, I’m a sucker for World War II content. And the History Channel’s deep dive podcast, World War II with Tom Hanks, was everything I hoped it would be. I felt like they really took their time to give as much information as possible, but in a very palatable way.
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Books
I’m wholly hooked on Curtis Sittenfeld’s short stories, so You Think It, I’ll Say It was a delight! It’s so rare for me to connect with the plots and characters that I only know for a short while, but she makes them all memorable, I’ll never miss one of her collections.
I also finally got around to reading The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave so I can read the sequel that came out earlier this year. It was a fun, twisty story, and the last line of the book unexpectedly made me cry.
And in the audiobook world I listened to The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff, which is an oral history of 9/11. It’s a hard day in America’s history, and it can be tough to hear the firsthand accounts of those that were both on the ground and in the air, but I think it’s an important listen.
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TV Shows
I watched the first season of Adults while cleaning last year and didn’t think much of it. But I rewatched it in anticipation of season two this year and LOVED IT. It is so unique and hilarious, and I foresee myself watching it again and again, I hope there are many more seasons! (find it on Hulu)
I also watched East of Eden, which I went into completely blind because I haven’t read the book (yet!). While at first I was little put off by the opening scene—fair warning, it’s very gory!—I was absolutely hooked as the rest of the story progressed. And seeing how everything came together in the end made me want to read the book. (find it on Netflix)
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Documentaries
If there’s anything that instantly gets under my skin, it’s lying. Especially people lying for no reason and hurting people…for no reason!! I’m late to The Tinder Swindler but man did it make me MAD. (find it on Netflix)
By contrast, Girls State made my heart swell. It follows a high school camp in Missouri where girls learn about how the government works. Not only was it heartwarming to see teenage girls express their opinions to each other—something very hard to do at any age, let alone 16—it was inspiring to see future leaders finding their feet. (find it on AppleTV)
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Movies
In tandem with my World War II with Tom Hanks listen, I watched Operation Mincemeat, which tells the story of a British intelligence operation at the same time. It is an outlandish, hard to believe story, described in the trailer as “a trick played on Hitler”, but it was so fun to learn about. (find it on Netflix)
I didn’t read The Love Hypothesis so I went into the movie adaptation blind. As a result, I thought I was able to enjoy it more than some of the online commentary was suggesting. It was a cute romcom set in the world of STEM, and it made me laugh, so I’m not complaining! (find it on Prime Video)
And finally, Finding Emily. The first word I would use to describe this movie is British (complimentary), the second is charming. It follows Owen as he tries to track down a girl he connected with after he finds out the phone number she gave him was missing a digit. (find it on Peacock)
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Music
Angel by Lizzy McAlpine
Here I Am by Franni Cash
Naturally by Nectar Woode
Outsing the Angels by Cory Asbury
Mud by Remi Wolf
I’ve also been loving Hope Winter! She doesn’t have an album out yet but I’ve been listening to this playlist on Spotify and loving it.
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Artists/Social Media
Terrence Hayes (@terrencebakes): a baker who makes weekly snacking cakes that always look delicious.
Geoff Chen (@geoff.garlic): a chef who is cooking one meal from every country in the world.
Tim Laielli (@barefoodtim): a chef who meal preps for his family every Sunday. (I also love his Substack, which I’ve linked below.)
Thomas Dambo (@thomasdambo): an artist who is known for his trolls made of recycled material.
Lyla Biggs (@lylabiggs_): a creator who posts her daily outfits and always makes me laugh.
Weekday Picnic (@weekday_picnic): a painter who pulls three random words out of a hat each week and creates a painting.
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Food Links & Cookbooks
I have been in a big cooking phase lately and trying out as many new recipes as I can, so in case you’re in need of some inspiration:
Pass the Plate by Carolina Gelen (find it here or at your local library)
Dinner Tonight by Alex Snodgrass (find it here or at your local library)
Make it Fast by Caroline Chambers (find it here or at your local library)
The Bare Minimum Substack by @barefoodtim (find it here)
And for individual recipes, I really loved this butternut squash pizza, this breakfast pie, these chicken pesto sandwiches, and these cookie butter rice Krispie treats.
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Some Games!
I’ve also been big into daily games that warm up my brain and/or just give me something to do other than scroll 🙂
The Loop (find it here) – a circular puzzle that makes you find connections between pictures.
Clues by Sam (find it here) – a logic puzzle that gets harder throughout the week.
Beeswax Spelling Game (find it here) – a deceivingly hard spelling game.
See my previous favorites post here.
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