Sometimes it’s nice to escape reality. Listening to reggae and drinking ice-cold mojitos during winter or singing Christmas carols in June might give you a little break from the season of that time, but it’s important to be able to enjoy the present as well.
Here are some suggestions on how to make the most of long dark autumn nights.
Read:
Moominvalley in November (1971)
Tove Jansson’s last Moomin novel captures the beautiful melancholy of autumn dusk:
“The quiet transition from autumn to winter is not a bad time at all. It’s a time for protecting and securing things and for making sure you’ve got in as many supplies as you can. It’s nice to gather together everything you possess as close to you as possible, to store up your warmth and your thoughts and burrow yourself into a deep hole inside, a core of safety where you can defend what is important and precious and your very own. Then the cold and the storms and the darkness can do their worst. They can grope their way up the walls looking for a way in, but they won’t find one, everything is shut, and you sit inside, laughing in your warmth and your solitude, for you have had foresight.”
Moominvalley in November is a somber fairytale for grown-ups. Jansson’s characteristic humour and philosophical ponderings make it an enjoyable read. The book is best served with a cup of hot blackcurrant juice and a comfy blanket.
Watch:
Twin Peaks (1990)
I only have one autumn tradition: Twin Peaks marathon. There’s no better time for this classic mystery drama than the misty and crispy days of fall. One time I had caught a cold and spent a week in bed watching Twin Peaks, and the fever delirium took the already disturbing series to a whole new level!
Ill or not, the atmosphere of the show has ”autumn” written all over it. So, when the leaves start falling from the trees, grab a slice of cherry pie and remind yourself who was it that killed Laura Palmer.
Listen:
Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity (2012)By Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch
This is the perfect album to have playing on the background when you sit on the windowsill watching a rainstorm and sip red wine. It makes everything seem unreal.
Dutch composer/lutenist Jozef Van Wissem and American film director/guitarist Jim Jarmusch have put together a compelling, deep and odd soundscape. They have worked together two times since, their latest collaboration being in Jarmusch’s film Only Lovers Left Alive, which brought Van Wissem the Best Soundtrack Award in 2013 Cannes Film Festival.