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What are your hopes and dreams for the fall? Mine are to: a) eat all the Reese\u2019s pumpkins, bats, and ghosts I can get my hands on, and b) consume the great movies, books, etc. that come out in the fall. If you feel the same, here\u2019s a juicy list of fun stuff to read, watch, cook and wear (and I\u2019d love to hear your recs!)\u2026<\/p>\n
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Movies:<\/strong> Left-Handed Girl<\/a> was shot on a 4K iPhone camera (!), and that kind of grit reflects the film itself. The story follows a Chinese woman and her two daughters who relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall, struggling to make ends meet and squeezing into a tiny flat. Among stunning scenes of city life, the movie portrays the tender, complex relationships between mothers and daughters. Can\u2019t wait to watch.<\/p>\n British actor Josh O\u2019Connor\u2019s<\/a> face somehow manages to show 100 expressions at the same time, and I love his bashful sexiness. So, I was thrilled to see that he plays the lead in The Mastermind<\/a> (October 17th). The movie follows J.B. Mooney, a schlumpy unemployed dad in the \u201970s, who decides his new job should be\u2026art thief. What could possibly go wrong?<\/p>\n TV:<\/strong> My current guilty pleasure is watching Love Is Blind<\/a> from various countries and observing the cultural differences. It\u2019s called anthropology<\/em>, guys. For example, when the American couples see each other for the first time, the women usually run to the men and giddily spin around; whereas in France, they typically lock eyes, slooooooooowly approach one another, and wordlessly begin to kiss. In the Swedish version, people tend to be more blunt \u2014 like when one woman asked her fianc\u00e9, \u201cDid you tell your mom about me on the phone?\u201d and he calmly answered, \u201cNo.\u201d I don\u2019t know if these norms are true widely, or just with the people who appear on reality TV, but it\u2019s fun to watch nonetheless. Special thank you to Freddie<\/a> for being a generous listener while I talked about this non-stop during dinner last Friday.<\/p>\n I\u2019m always excited for a good psychological thriller \u2014\u00a0think: The Talented Mr. Ripley<\/a>, Parasite<\/a> \u2014\u00a0so the premise of The Girlfriend<\/a> jumped right out. When gallery owner Laura (Robin Wright) meets her son\u2019s new girlfriend (Olivia Cooke), she fears she\u2019s a manipulative social climber, but is she just being paranoid? Who can we trust? Elle<\/a> says it\u2019s a \u201cmust-watch\u201d and the Guardian<\/a> calls it a \u201csexy oedipal thriller\u201d and \u201cbrilliantly slippery beast of a drama.\u201d (Watch the trailer here<\/a>, if you\u2019d like.)<\/p>\n Books:<\/strong> Gabrielle Hamilton\u2019s first memoir \u2014\u00a0Blood, Bones & Butter<\/a> \u2013\u00a0was described by Anthony Bourdain as \u201csimply the best memoir by a chef ever.\u201d Somehow I missed that one, but her second memoir, Next of Kin<\/a> (October 14th), brought me to my knees this month. While taking care of her ill mother, from whom she\u2019d been estranged for decades, Gabrielle looks back at the family she grew up in \u2014 her charismatic dad, demanding mom, and four brothers and sisters. Like a family, the memoir is, by turns, hilarious, electric, unflinching, and devastating. A few lines I flagged: \u201cHe gets into hot water all over town but gets himself right out because, as one of the grownups says, He can charm the rats off a cheesecake<\/em>.\u201d \u201cThe way my mother loved to introduce herself at dinner parties\u2026was to quip, \u2018If you haven\u2019t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me!’\u201d \u201cI\u2019d been living with all of my questions like a hoarder who lives with stacked newspapers and bags of kitty litter. So crowded is my own mind with loose questions stacked on top of other questions that certain doors can\u2019t even open all the way.\u201d <\/p>\n Also, every single fall book list I\u2019ve read so far features The Wilderness<\/a> by Angela Flournoy, a novel that follows five female friends over two decades. From their 20s to their 40s, they navigate careers, marriages, motherhood, and city life, aka \u201cthe wilderness,\u201d that life stage where the demands of adulthood become real and you have to figure out your tangled path. Can anyone relate?<\/p>\n A few more upcoming books: Heart the Lover<\/a> by Lily King, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny<\/a> by Kiran Desai, and Wreck<\/a> by our beloved Catherine Newman.<\/p>\n Food:<\/strong> My boys<\/a> are finally at the age where they\u2019ll eat soup! I don\u2019t know what they had against it until now, but as long as a crusty baguette is on the table, they\u2019re game for whatever\u2019s in the bowl. Samin Nosrat\u2019s corn soup<\/a> is delicious, plus our old favorite zucchini soup recipe<\/a> and my friend\u2019s tortilla soup<\/a> with toppings. Separately, any pumpkin-y recipes you swear by? All ears.<\/p>\n Beauty:<\/strong> At age 46, I finally figured out my hair<\/a>, which meant packing away my blow dryer and straightener, and instead simply air drying with a few excellent products. R\u014cZ milk hair serum<\/a> is my newest find \u2014 you just smooth on a little bit, and it makes your hair smooth and silky and sleek, even on humid or rainy days. Your hair also smells clean and fresh all day, like you just got out of the shower. I keep raving about it, and now a bunch of my friends are hooked, too. Bonus for all readers: R\u014cZ is offering 15% off everything (except bundles) with code COJ15, good until September 30th.<\/p>\n Style:<\/strong> Finally, do you have pieces you\u2019ve worn so many times they feel like part of your life? I\u2019ve worn my J.Crew cashmere sweater<\/a> a thousand times over the years; it\u2019s super soft and works with jeans, pants, skirts, everything, year round. This relaxed one<\/a> is also effortlessly beautiful \u2014\u00a0chic as a sweater, easy as a sweatshirt \u2014 and I\u2019d love to wear it all the time, too, maybe with a hair tuck<\/a>. And, of course, the biggest trend right now: red flats, like these<\/a> and these<\/a>.<\/p>\n What would you add? What are you watching, reading, wearing, and eating? And Shana Tova to those who celebrate!<\/strong><\/p>\n P.S. Funny dos and don\u2019ts<\/a>, and what are your top three books<\/a>?<\/p>\n (Illustration of Wilderness by Gigi Rose Gray \/ New York Times<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Note: If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission, at no cost to you. We recommend only products we genuinely like. Thank you so much.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"love](\"https:\/\/cupofjo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/love-is-blind-france.jpg\")
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