What are your hopes and dreams for the fall? Mine are to: a) eat all the Reese’s 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’s a juicy list of fun stuff to read, watch, cook and wear (and I’d love to hear your recs!)…

Movies: Left-Handed Girl 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’t wait to watch.

British actor Josh O’Connor’s 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 (October 17th). The movie follows J.B. Mooney, a schlumpy unemployed dad in the ’70s, who decides his new job should be…art thief. What could possibly go wrong?

TV: My current guilty pleasure is watching Love Is Blind from different countries and observing the cultural differences. It’s called anthropology, 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 tended to be more blunt — like when one woman asked her fiancé, “Did you tell your mom about me on the phone?” and he calmly answered, “No.” I don’t know if these norms are true widely, or just with the people who appear on reality TV, but it’s fun to watch nonetheless. Special thank you to Freddie for being a generous listener while I talked about this non-stop during dinner last Friday.

I’m always excited for a good psychological thriller — think: The Talented Mr. Ripley, Parasite — so the premise of The Girlfriend jumped right out. When gallery owner Laura (Robin Wright) meets her son’s new girlfriend (Olivia Cooke), she fears she’s a manipulative social climber, but is she just being paranoid? Who can we trust? Elle says it’s a “must-watch” and the Guardian calls it a “sexy oedipal thriller” and “brilliantly slippery beast of a drama.” (Watch the trailer here, if you’d like.)

Books: Gabrielle Hamilton’s first memoir — Blood, Bones & Butter – was described by Anthony Bourdain as “simply the best memoir by a chef ever.” Somehow I missed that one, but her second memoir, Next of Kin (October 14th), brought me to my knees this month. While taking care of her ill mother, from whom she’d been estranged for decades, Gabrielle looks back at the family she grew up in — her charismatic father, demanding mother, and four brothers and sisters. Like a family, the memoir is, at turns, hilarious, electric, unflinching, and devastating. A few lines I flagged: “He gets into hot water all over town but gets himself right out because, as one of the grownups says, He can charm the rates off a cheesecake.” “The way my mother loved to introduce herself at dinner parties…was to quip, ‘If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me!’” “I’d 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’t even open all the way.”

Also, every single fall book list I’ve read so far features The Wilderness 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 “the wilderness,” that life stage where the demands of adulthood become real and you have to figure out your tangled path. Can anyone relate?

A few more upcoming books: Heart the Lover by Lily King, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, and Wreck by our beloved Catherine Newman.

Food: My boys are finally at the age where they’ll eat soup! I don’t know what they had against it until now, but as long as a crusty baguette is on the table, they’re game for whatever’s in the bowl. Samin Nosrat’s corn soup is delicious, plus our old favorite zucchini soup recipe and my friend’s tortilla soup with toppings. Separately, any pumpkin-y recipes you swear by? All ears.

Beauty: At age 46, I finally figured out my hair, which meant packing away my blow dryer and straightener, and instead simply air drying with a few excellent products. RŌZ milk hair serum is my newest find — 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: RŌZ is offering 15% off everything (except bundles) with code COJ15, good until September 30th.

Style: Finally, do you have pieces you’ve worn so many times they feel like part of your life? I’ve worn my J.Crew cashmere sweater a thousand times over the years; it’s super soft and works with jeans, pants, skirts, everything, year round. This relaxed one is also effortlessly beautiful — chic as a sweater, easy as a sweatshirt — and I’d love to wear it all the time, too, maybe with a hair tuck. And, of course, the biggest trend right now: red flats, like these and these.

What would you add? What are you watching, reading, wearing, and eating? And Shana Tova to those who celebrate!

P.S. Funny dos and don’ts, and what are your top three books?

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