Autumn Tag

As I love this season so much I thought I would do this Autumn Tag created by Jennily.

1. Hot Chocolate – what is your comfort book?

Um, I’m not too sure about this as most of the books I read aren’t exactly comforting! An obvious choice would be Harry Potter but I can’t really choose those books as I’m still making my way through the series for the first time. But I guess maybe something like Pride and Prejudice, who doesn’t love a good romance and a happy ending?

2. Pumpkin Carving – what is your favourite creative outlet?

I love writing and taking photos. I also kind of love and hate painting, it’s a strained relationship mainly because my skill is completely lacking. I’m like the artist in Disney’s Hercules

3. Falling Leaves – changes that appear bad but you secretly love?

I love the transience of life, so I am always welcoming changes and new beginnings. But perhaps the most recent change was moving to the countryside. I thought I was going to be bored and stuck in the middle of nowhere. I kinda am but because of COVID, I have come to appreciate how lucky I am with all this open space around me and how safe it is here!

4. Pumpkin Spiced Latte – something you love that others tend to judge

Art house films, most people I know think they are boring and super pretentious. And don’t get me started on non-English art house films. I just don’t get peoples aversion to subtitles!

 5. Bonfire Night – what makes you explode with joy?

Travelling, I feel so utterly and completely euphoric when I visit a new place or new country. There is just something so beautiful about it. I can’t wait to be able to start doing this again! Other things include watching an amazing film, reading a brilliant book or visiting galleries and museums.

6. Fright Night – favourite scary book or film

I’ve never read a horror book and I’m not a massive horror film fan. But, I have been trying to get into them recently and I must say that I have rather enjoyed Peter Strickland’s Berberian Sound Studio and In Fabric. But maybe the best horror film I’ve seen is Midsommar (what a ride!).

7. Halloween candy – favourite thing to eat

At the moment it’s all about Apples! Apple cake, apple pie, apple crumble, cinnamon apple porridge.

8. Scarves – your autumn ‘must-have’ accessory

Knitted Jumpers, tights, boots, blazers, scarves. And maybe a few great books, right now I’m looking forward to reading Under the Jaguar Sun a short story collection by Italo Calvino, The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and some Dostoevsky by way of Crime and Punishment. Oh, and of course all the books in my Autumn Reading List too.

9. Fire – a book or film that burns your soul

Could it be anything other than Portrait of a Lady on Fire? And maybe In the Mood for Love. I’m clearly into unfulfilled love affairs. What on earth does that say about me. In terms of books maybe Angela Carter’s writing, she is a magician with words and I love how flowery her prose is.

10. Toffee apples – a book or film that seems one thing but really has a different inside

Korean movies in general. Um, maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey, it could be seen as just a science fiction film but really it’s an epic story of human ambition. Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, it’s a clever and funny character study of a sex addict, but most people think it’s just gratuitous.

I tag everyone!

September Books

Full disclosure, I have been reading a little less recently because I have been watching too many films (although the Swedish master director Ingmar Bergman would disagree, the man was known to watch three films a day when he was alive!) but nevertheless I did manage to read four books in September.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

I really liked this novel and I feel like I am going to devour more of Flaubert’s prose ASAP as I really enjoyed his realism and wit. I also found Madame Bovary to be a bit alarming too as I found myself sympathising with Emma quite a bit even though she was ungrateful, adulterous and selfish. But I could understand her distaste for the banality of marriage and provincial life because of all the exciting and sweeping romantic novels she read in her youth.

Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

This is quite a naked novel, in the sense of rawness that is. However, a review on the blurb does claim it to be a ‘kinky, artsy’ novel which I didn’t really see myself, but perhaps that’s because I’ve watched far too many European films for me to consider something like this ‘kinky’. Mostly, I am intrigued by the fact that this novel (and its sequels) was published anonymously, I wonder what possessed the author to detach themselves from the work.

All in all, Diary of an Oxygen Thief is not spectacular writing but it’s an interesting portrait of humiliation and human fragility and that was enough for me.

Venus in Furs (Venus im Pelz) by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Yes, the surname of this author is why Masochism is called Masochism. And while you might think Venus in Furs must be a rather depraved book as a result, you must remember that this was published in 1870, so by modern standards, it’s pretty tame. Go read Bataille if your looking for something more transgressive. Overall, I found this book rather dull, in some places the writing was beautiful but for the most part, it was too repetitive and I found myself willing the story to end.

Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年) by Haruki Murakami

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve read Murakami, which was completely intentional as I want to slowly plod through his work as he is one of my favourite authors. However, I found Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki to be quite a mediocre entry into the author’s oeuvre, sure I read it all and enjoyed it but it didn’t hit me with anything new or particularly profound (not that all literature needs to do that) which I guess I was expecting. I don’t know, there was a great passage towards the end but, the novel as a whole…it was fine, I guess.

Mango Autumn Wishlist

Autumn is probably my favourite season for fashion, I love layering, knits, all those earthy tones that match the season and of course the return of most flattering shade black. Mango is such a cool brand and I am loving some of these pieces right now and I am most likely going to make a purchase or two (if I can control myself!). Full disclaimer these links are affiliate links so if you buy anything using them I make a small commission.