Blink and it’s October.
The paper bins filled with pumpkins awaiting their carved destinies and the abundance of pumpkin spice flavored foods prelude the busiest time of the year. And yet, this October begun with a freak heatwave averaging a blazing 100 degrees which had delayed most of the seasonally appropriate activities. It was followed by a few days of rain that brought in cooler weather and the reminder that Southern Californian drivers aren’t very good in the rain.
Inching in the horizon is the dreaded bulk of the holiday season and the even more dreaded new year. The holiday season is easy to handle, it’s all holiday aesthetics and planning for seasonal events. Like deciding on a live tree or bring out good ol’ Faithful, the color scheme of the tree, switching to hot coco when you’ve already reached the daily coffee intake, of being mindful and having more patience than usual. So while waiting for the holiday music to start blasting on the radio, I’m taking my time to savor October for all that it is—as a time to enjoy the autumnal goodies and some respite before the storm that is November and December.
Reading the Holiday During A Heatwave
At the top of the current to-be-read pile is The Twelve Loves of Christmas, an anthology by 12 authors, published by Atria Paperback. Last year, I had attempted to read an advent romance novel but after a few chapters I wasn’t as enthused to finish the book. Alas! I had talked my sister into doing a two-person book club read and was stuck with the read until we finished it, chapter by unexciting chapter. Even now when I see the advent book at the local bookshop’s holiday table display, I can’t help but throw a withering look at the cover and pity the poor sod that thinks “I like advent calendars and instead of a piece of chocolate or some cheap mass made sticker sheet, I can read a chapter—this is going to be a fun holiday read”.
So in order to prevent a similar situation from happening I’m reading a chapter before deciding to make the book into this year’s advent holiday read. There’s 12 short stories in the book, each offering a holiday take on different tropes, each written by different authors. My only worry is that because these are short stories, I might end up liking a story so much I’d be wanting more.
And then there are the two ARCs which I will be posting reviews on as soon as I finish them, both will be published in November—I will be posting them as soon as I finish.
Journaling Like The Dashwood Sisters
Movie collaborations are hardly a new thing, but the Paper Republic collaboration with Focus Features for the new movie adaptation of Sense and Sensibility was something that made sense and fit the cultural zeitgeist that I’m surprised that it wasn’t any more popular. It come in Paper Republic’s Grand Voyager XL style in the colors of dark green and maroon to represent the two Dashwood sisters. Each color featured a quote in gold embossing from each sister; with “Mistress of Myself” for Elinor Dashwood and “Such Spirit is All Too Rare” for Marianne Dashwood. It was only available in a bundle containing a plain notebook, a watercolour book, and a card and cash holder—all are available to buy individually in the shop. It was limited to 150 bundles per sister and with no plans to restock once it sold out—which it quickly did, much to no one’s surprise.
Hobonichi Planner Season Again
Last month, Hobonichi had released their 2027 product line to much fanfare online with many listings selling out within an hour of launching. It’s no surprise that the following day, my feed was filled with videos of glee from those who got their wish list and gloom from those whose internet speed just wasn’t fast enough. But which products sold out first?
Fortunately for the nosy people like me, the brand website keeps track of their most popular products and is updated every 24 hours. According to the ranking list at the moment, it’s no surprise that the Techo 2027 Japanese Original version and English Cousin are ranked first and third. Separating the two is the clear cover for the weeks planner, which isn’t a big surprise considering how popular weeks is and the amount of cover variations available. Following in fourth and fifth place is the stencils and the Ice Gray x Yellow pencil boards. In sixth place is this year’s exclusive White Cat House Techo cover. Not on the list but sold out nonetheless was the tanakadaisuke White Handkerchief Diary priced at $255 just for the cover. Now, I’m not going to buy it because I know I require something more sturdy for daily use, but it’s something pretty to look at from time to time.
As a seasoned Hobonichi drop enjoyer, the sold out listings didn’t give me much worry. There’s usually a restock around mid-October and like clockwork, several of my favorite stationery stores have recently restocked their Hobonichi products and it’s staying on the shelves for much longer than the initial drop. This is to say, next year if there’s a product or products that sell out within the first few minutes of the drop, just wait a few weeks and those planners or pencil boards should restock for a chiller shopping experience.
Read Me A Wickerman
During a visit to a bookstore I overheard two ladies talking about booking a screening room from one of the local movie theaters so that their book club could do a private screening of “Wicker”. And honestly? More power to them. Wicker is billed as an eccentric rom-com set in a medieval village, staring Olivia Coleman as the village’s lonely fisherwoman and her wicker husband played by Alexander Skarsgard. Wicker is also inspired by the short story “The Wicker Husband” by Ursula Willis-Jones. The story itself feels like some forgotten folk tale from days of yore, but in actuality it was published in 2008. And when I say short story, at 14-pages long, it really is a short story that anyone can quickly read in the car before heading to the theater to watch the movie.
The leaves haven’t turned that lovely mosaic of reds and yellows yet but the calendar says that it’s October, so it must be. There’s not much time left of this year and still so many things to do.
Until next time,
xo Mags
