Autumn Reads: Top Ten Tuesday

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about books that give off autumn vibes. My autumn reads are usually a little more wooly than most.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blogging prompt hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Gal. Last week was a Hallowe’en freebie, so I talked about pumpkins. It was Hallowe’en, so I had reason!

Some of my autumn reads are pretty old

ET always reminds me of autumn. I’m a child of the 80’s, and I remember watching this movie in the theatre. Somewhere along the way, I picked up the book.

Three Stephen King books. Obviously, they classify as autumn reads due to the horror content, but these ones always strike me as fall favourites, Arnie, main character of Christine, buys his car in the fall. Drew Barrymore’s 1970’s wardrobe in Fire Starter is right out of the Sears Back-to-School Catalogue. As for The Dark Half…well…look at that cover. That’s some mood.

In college, I had what I called ‘laundry day books’. Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco was one of them. Holy Blood and Holy Grail was another. Why? Because they bogged down in details. In the case of Name of the Rose, it added to the story. In Holy Grail, it…well, they tried to make a case. I guess it was good enough for Dan Brown, hm?

Anne Rice books always put me in an autumn mood. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the black covers, or the Goth overtones. Perhaps it’s just because it’s somewhere on the sliding scale of horror. Either way, I enjoy it.

A few new(er) books

Then there’s the perennial favourite, House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski. Because it’s horror, and autumn is the season for horror and falling leaves. There’s really nothing more complex to it.

Next, Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. There’s something about the cover that screams ‘Autumn’ to me. It’s probably the look of pre-dawn or twilight on old houses that does it for me.

JD Robb books usually come out twice a year. Once in February, and once in September. Give or take a month or two. Vendetta in Death is the most recent. Pictured here are the first three. If I don’t have them in Hardcover or Paperback, I usually have them in digital format. They’re a comfort read, perfect for a glass of wine and some sock knitting.

And now for something completely different

Do you maybe think I have enough books about socks? Actually, that’s not the whole kit & caboodle.

There. That’s better. Yes, there are well over ten books total. You may be asking why my list of autumn reads has such a surplus of sock-knitting books?

I knit a lot of socks at this time of year. At least four pairs, sometimes five. I originally made a pair of socks each for my parents and The Husbeast’s parents one year…and made the mistake of telling them that if they wanted more, they’d return the decorative cans I used to “wrap” their pair of socks in.

Dear Readers…they return those cans religiously.

So if I’m not looking for a good sturdy yarn to knit into socks, or a nice self-striping yarn to knit into socks, I’m looking for patterns to (you guessed it) knit into socks.

The upshot to all of this is that my family has really toasty feet. And now you know why there are often socks-in-progress pictured alongside my books and tea.

They’re just socks, right?

Looking at the pictures, you may be wondering just how there can be so many books about knitting socks. The truth is, socks are really fascinating. Yes, technically they’re just a tube with a bend at the heel and a closure at the toes, but it’s how you go about constructing those elements that matters.

Nancy Bush’s books draw heavily on extant historic garments, so are really useful from an historic fashion design standpoint. Cat Bordhi, on the other hand, details multiple modern construction techniques for fit and comfort. Many of the other books then draw on those base elements to create uniquely patterned socks that work with all kinds of yarns.

And if I can make a confession? This isn’t even the entirety of my sock knitting library. This is just what was immediately available without doing a lot of looking around. There are other books on sock knitting hidden around this house, not to mention individual pattern purchases on Ravelry.

I might have a small problem. 😀

Sock Knitting Books pictured: New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi, Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch, The Ultimate Sock Book by Vogue Knitting, Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush, Favourite Socks by Ann Budd, Socks from the Toe Up and Toe-Up Socks for Everybody by Wendy D. Johnson

Second picture: Folk Socks by Nancy Bush, Socktopus by Alice You, Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol Sulcoski, and Sock Innovation by Cookie A.

Autumn reads? Should have been Autumn views.

Truth be told, reading is such a year-round activity for me that I really don’t assign a season to my fiction. If anything gets me in an “autumn mood”, it’s movies. Somewhere around August, I start getting the urge to watch a certain set of movies that put me in a real autumn/Hallowe’en mood.

In no particular order:

WarGames: Moody, dark, and the uncomfortable reminder of living in Cold War-era 80’s. Stars a young Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy.
Teen Wolf: Michael J. Fox’s spin on the Teenage Werewolf
Donnie Darko: In 1987, a teenage boy has to save the world when a jet engine inexplicably crashes through the roof of his family home. Stars Jake Gyllenhaal.
Tremors: It’s like Jaws, but in a desert. With Kevin Bacon and the Dad from Family Ties. Seriously, watch this.
Sneakers: By the same guys who brought you War Games, an early penetration-testing team has to retrieve a sensitive code-cracking device before it falls into the wrong hands. For those of you into ShadowRun, it’s a hoot. All-star cast including Mary McDonnell, Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix and David Strathairn.
Ghostbusters: The original, yes. Possibly, like Highlander, the only one.

What are you reading and/or watching as we make our way toward winter? Personally, I may need to watch a few movies or put on an audiobook and get some more work done on this year’s Yule Socks…