Fall Favorites: an only-partially-bookish compendium

I’m in the middle of several books right now (and just had a DNF, which was disheartening), so I don’t have a review for today, nor is it Tuesday, so I don’t have a list I’ve been preparing. The past couple weeks, it has finally started feeling like autumn outside here in Chicagoland, so I figured that, instead of a typical bookish post, I would give a quick rundown of some of my favorite things this fall so far. Some are bookish, some are totally random. Let’s go.

My Name is Michael Holbrook

After 4 years, MIKA finally has a new album out, and it is everything I hoped it would be. It has a satisfying blend of upbeat tunes and heartfelt slower songs, chronicling a scattered sense of identity and the tiny things that lend beauty to this crazy world we live in. My current favorite track is “Platform Ballerinas,” a sweet and highly danceable ode to the girls who don’t always act girly…and how that doesn’t matter or make them any less. Other favorites of mine include “Paloma,” a heartbreaking and beautiful song about an accident his sister had years ago (also in my favorite key signature, which is always a plus), and the infectious, introspective bop that is “Dear Jealousy.”