Hi friends! Recently I was thinking about things I like to do during this time of year — what books I like to reread, movies/shows to rewatch, my favorite albums to listen to at this time, favorite seasonal activities, things like that and thought it would be a fun blog post! It works as a way to share my favorite things (hence the title, also I hope you all started singing The Sound of Music) for the current season and it’s kind of like a recs post.
So, if you’d like to hear about some of my favorite things for the Fall and want some recs, cozy up with your favorite beverage, snack or something else and let’s chat!
Obviously, we had to start with books! There are lots of books that give off fall vibes and are fun to read in the fall, but there are 3 that I always read in the fall, and I don’t think you’ll be surprised by any of them.
Truly none of you are shocked about this. Who would I be if I didn’t mention If We Were Villains at every opportunity? But really, this book has the fall vibes on lock. This is the perfect book to read (anytime) when it’s gloomy outside while curled up in your bed with a heartwarming cup of tea. I’m already itching to do my reread and know that, as always, once I start it, I won’t be able to put it down.
And none of you are shocked by this one either! There are some Shakespeare plays I reread annually/during specific times of the year, and I always read Macbeth around Halloween. The atmosphere of Macbeth lends itself so well to a dark and dreary fall evening. Mood lighting, a fall candle, cup of tea, and a cozy blanket, literally the perfect way to read Macbeth! I don’t have to go into the office on Halloween, so I’m actually thinking that this year is a year where I read it on Halloween.
This is also not shocking! Fall is the perfect time to read mystery/thrillers, so of course, I love reading my favorite mystery series, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in the fall. I recently did a reread and annotation of the first book, and I’m hoping to get a reread and annotation of Good Girl, Bad Blood to happen this month. Personally, I think the best of the three to read during this time of year is the last, As Good As Dead, but the whole series is great for this time of year.
I feel like the fall is when I watch the most movies and tv shows — is this actually true? I have no idea, but it feels like it mostly because I’m not watching baseball every night. I have some staples that I watch every year.
Y’all knew Gilmore Girls would be the first thing on the list! Now, I am a “rewatch Gilmore Girls multiple times a year every year” kind of girl, but of course I start a brand new rewatch in the fall. This show is so special to me. I vividly remember watching the series premiere with my sister in her room when I was 7, and then my mom, sister and I watched every episode together until the show ended. Lorelai Gilmore helped raise me, okay. This show is just my ultimate comfort show and I always put it on whenever I need to feel better and it really does help. I just feel so safe with this show, and when the nights get dark earlier and earlier as the fall starts, the Gilmores help me from getting too down.
My other comfort show 💙🔎this show means so much to me and helped me through some really tough times, so it always brings me comfort. That being said, it is a paranormal show, so watching it in the fall/around Halloween is the perfect time to do so. I started a full series rewatch the other night and oh boy, I’m having just the best time. I love the journey that all of these characters go on throughout the series as individuals and as a group. I just love the Drew Crew so much. If you haven’t watched it yet, I’m begging you, please do so, it’s absolutely wonderful and perfect for this time of year.
Mike Flanagan really went off with this one and oh boy am I thankful that he did. I LOVE The Haunting of Hill House and always look forward to watching it every October. I usually watch this one closer to Halloween, and I tend to just marathon the entire thing in a day or two because no matter how many times I watch it, once I start I can’t stop. The horror in this show is so well done, and I still can’t watch certain moments late at night otherwise I won’t sleep (which isn’t unusual, but I don’t need to be terrified while I struggle to sleep) and episode 4…y’all…episode 4, that is all. I’m so excited to do my rewatch.
I like to joke that 1993 was a great year for two reasons. I was born, and Hocus Pocus was released 🤣 honestly, Disney movies in the 90s went off and Hocus Pocus is one of the best there is. I watch it every Halloween, but I personally think Hocus Pocus is an all year film.
As a kid I was OBSESSED with Halloweentown, and it’s still one of my favorites (and probably favorite Halloween movie) to this day. I wanted to live in Halloweentown and I wanted to be Marnie Cromwell. I love the whole film franchise (still think it’s funny that they replaced Kimberly J. Brown with Sarah Paxton, no offense to Sarah, but Kimberly will always be Marnie), and watch it every Halloween.
I think more so than books, movies or tv, music is something that is super seasonal for me. Not necessarily in the sense that I only listen to certain things during specific times of the year, but I definitely associate certain albums/songs with seasons depending on my memories attached to the music.
Niall Horan’s debut album, Flicker, came out on October 20th, 2017, so OBVIOUSLY she is a fall girlie and this is her time to shine. This album is filled with so many beautiful and emotional tracks that bring so much comfort to me — so many songs on this album are ones I turn to when I need to feel better after a hard day. I went to list my favorite songs on the album and then realized I would just be listing every song because the entire album is perfection from start to finish. Flicker feels like a warm hug from your favorite person, and I will (continue to) have it on rotation all season long.
It’s two Carrie Underwood albums for the price of one here. Her debut album Some Hearts and her 5th studio album Storyteller are such fall albums to me. Some Hearts is like the end of summer transition into early fall vibes (especially the album photoshoot) with songs like The Night Before Life Goes On, Don’t Forget to Remember Me and Lessons Learned. Storyteller has my favorite Carrie song, Church Bells (truly iconic), Heartbeat gives cool fall evening vibes, and Like I’ll Never Love You Again has such a sense of longing and nostalgia that I think a lot of us can experience in the fall months. Both albums are absolutely iconic parts of her incredible discography
We all know Red is a fall album, so none of you are shocked that it’s here. It’s also my favorite Taylor album and has been since the original release. Every time the leaves start to fall, my brain automatically goes “autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place”. Both versions of this album came out during really difficult times of my life and it was there to comfort and support me, so this one will always be really special to me, and I never listen to the album as a whole more than I do during the fall.
If there’s ever a perfect time to listen to Sweeney Todd, it’s October. The most recent revival starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett is without a doubt my favorite version of the show and I listen to the cast recording obsessively. I was lucky enough to see the show twice (once with Josh and Annaleigh and then once with Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster) and I honestly think about this production constantly. The cast recording is fantastic, and I’m hoping to get a copy of the vinyl soon! Murder, madness, mayhem…what more could you want in a musical?
Little Shop of Horrors is another perfect fall/October musical. Who doesn’t like to listen to a musical about a man eating plant during Halloween? I love that Audrey II’s have become synonymous with Halloween, and I always get so excited when I see one out and about. While I absolutely love the Off-Broadway revival and have seen it twice (Joy Woods and Jeremy Jordan best Audrey and Seymour combo, just saying) I would recommend listening to the 2003 recording with Hunter Foster as Seymour and Kerry Butler as Audrey because it’s my favorite (and no one should have to listen to Tammy Blanchard as Audrey, sorry not sorry).
There are so many fun activities during the fall! My favorite activities are probably going to a pumpkin patch and picking out pumpkins (even when it’s around 90 degrees outside) and then painting them! For a few years now I’ve been painting pumpkins; 2 years ago I did theatre masks and then last year it was an & Juliet themed pumpkin. I might go simple this year and just do some pastel ghosts since I’m very into the pastel ghosts at the moment.
I’ve also gone apple picking two years in a row, which was really fun. Especially since one year I was doing it on the east coast and the other on the west coast. Curling up and watching scary movies and shows is definitely my favorite evening fall activity in October, and in the rest of fall it’s usually Gilmore Girls that I’ve got playing. My sister and I are planning to do some scary movie nights (or just Halloween themed movies, she’s not into scary movies like I am) that I’m looking forward to.
I love baking in the fall, and since my mom’s birthday is in October, I usually bake her some sort of treat. I’d love to do more fall themed baking this year, but we’ll see! October is a very busy month for me, so most of my fall baking will probably have to wait until November.
I hope you enjoyed reading about some of my favorite fall related things. I’d love to know what your favorite things to read/watch/listen do/do in the fall are!
Until next time 💜
