Autumn Tag: I don’t know what sweater weather is

This tag was originally created by Jenn @ Jenniely. I got tagged by Lisa at Way Too Fantasy and thought it was amusing because…sweater weather? The high today is supposed to be 29°C/84°F and even hotter the rest of the week. Traditionally, Halloween has always been the first ‘day’ I’ve worn a sweater outside here (inside is a different matter), and that’s only because I was outside at night, and it gets chill in the desert at night even in summer.

HOT CHOCOLATE – WHAT IS YOUR COMFORT BOOK?

Comfort books to me always the books that make me cry (just like hot chocolate does since I never seem to be able to wait long enough for it to cool). I haven’t read much for comfort this year, but it was super comfortable to sink into Grigori Legacy by Lydia M. Hawke when I reread it earlier this year. It was just nice to know that everything was going to go to hell over the course of the series, it was never going to get better, and that I had already experienced all the pain before.

PUMPKIN CARVING – WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CREATIVE OUTLET?

I bounce around between creative hobbies, in part because I’m bad at a lot of them, but also I’m just not very good at sticking to things. I’ve played random instruments: piano, guitar, flute, and violin. I’ve done a few diamond paintings. I’m working on two cross-stitch projects which I update on Twitter when I actually work on them. I don’t have a favourite, I just bounce around.

FALLING LEAVES – CHANGES THAT APPEAR BAD BUT YOU SECRETLY LOVE?

I’m struggling to come up with an answer to this because in general I don’t like changes I just get used to them.

PUMPKIN SPICED LATTE – SOMETHING YOU LOVE THAT OTHERS TEND TO JUDGE

I’ve spent most of my time reading books being judged for what I read. Urban Fantasy for years wasn’t liked by a general fantasy audience. It hasn’t been until really recently that I found a group of people that don’t judge me for what weird shit I read. Well, they judge, but in a loving way.

Also, last year I reread and loved reading both Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, and you know what people think of those.

BONFIRE NIGHT – WHAT MAKES YOU EXPLODE WITH JOY?

… When I finally get something right in Excel that I have been trying to figure out for months.

FRIGHT NIGHT – FAVORITE SCARY BOOK OR FILM

Confession: I don’t really read many scary things (and I rarely watch any movies at all). I don’t find many things scary when they’re meant to be scary. I worry for characters in certain stories, but I don’t feel like that is the same thing as being scared. I think the last scary thing I liked for being scary was The Ring.

HALLOWEEN CANDY – FAVORITE THING TO EAT

Carne Asada Fries. AKA (at least) 1800 heavenly, almost erotic calories in a styrofoam box. I only cry right now because I don’t currently have a box in front of me.

SCARVES – YOUR AUTUMN ‘MUST HAVE’ ACCESSORY

I guess a sweater? Because sometimes it gets a bit cold? I sometimes get jealous of people in cooler climates getting to wear other things based on climate but then I remember I’m a lizard and enjoy the heat.

FIRE – A BOOK OR FILM THAT BURNS YOUR SOUL

This really just goes back to the first question for me. Any book that makes me feel utterly devastated inside burns me for ages. Most recently it has been Robin Hobb‘s Realm of the Elderlings. However, Theirs Not to Reason Why by Jean Johnson speaks to my soul in a way that I have yet to even come close to replicating in two years of trying. Oh and also I lose my mind crying every single time I have read it.

TOFFEE APPLES – A BOOK OR FILM THAT SEEMS ONE THING BUT REALLY HAS A DIFFERENT INSIDE

The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes, for certain. On the surface it is this novel with a PI investigating a murder that just happens to be a stuffed triceratops named Tippy. Inside is one of the most amazing, wholesome, devastating stories that deals with mental health and belonging and it is just so heartbreakingly adorably heartbreaking.