The Autumn Archive, part 2

I notice Autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Welcome to the second installment of The Seasonal Archive, where I’ll be sharing my favorite movies, TV shows, books and all things seasonal. Finally, October has arrived! I know this special month is a favorite of so many people, so I wanted to add two new sections: podcasts and art. But I’ll talk more about that later. Feel free to leave a comment if you’re familiar with my recommendations; I love sharing and exchanging thoughts with you. As always, thank you for reading.

— Ella.

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listening — october podcasts

A few years ago, I used to listen to podcasts often, then all of a sudden, for no reason, I stopped. Lately I rediscovered my love for listening to people talk about the same books I’ve read (and loved). I chose these two particular book podcasts because it’s October, and they seemed very fitting for the season!

Shirley Jackson in North Bennington, Vermont. Award-winning biographer Ruth Franklin visits the small village of North Bennington, where Jackson lived for twenty years. We stand in the square where Jackson imagined 'The Lottery' and conjure the ghost of Merricat Blackwood as she collects her sinister groceries in Jackson's last and greatest novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Maggie O'Farrell's "Hamnet," one of last year's most widely acclaimed novels, imagines the life of William Shakespeare, his wife, Anne (or Agnes) Hathaway, and the couple's son Hamnet, who died at 11 years old in 1596. On this week's podcast, O'Farrell says she always planned for the novel to have the ensemble cast it does, but that her deepest motivation was the desire to capture a sense of the young boy at its center.

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wearing — october fragrances

I get headaches so easily with sweet perfumes, luckily not with this one. This fragrance is one of my favorites, it reminds me of the ideal day: a nice bowl of oatmeal in the morning — a tea date in the afternoon — an evening spent under the biggest blanket watching a cozy movie. Sometimes I even spray it on my pillow before bed because it’s such a warm scent. I love the vanilla, which is not too overwhelming here. It also reminds me of a huge teddy bear that makes you happy just by looking at it. It’s almost nostalgic to me and it gives me a very childhood feeling.

Tumeric Latte by Lush

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reading — october books

This time, I decided to share some art too (personally I don’t think there’s enough of it on the internet), and since I actually took a couple of years of art school, I wanted to pair a painting with each recommended book. These paintings may remind me of a specific scene described in the novel, or the characters maybe, or simply the general feel of the story.