I love fall. I know it’s become the most basic thing you can say, but I stand behind it.
Here are 12 reasons why fall is my favorite time of the year:

1) It’s birthday season, including my own (And this year it’s a biggie)!

2) The best holiday– Halloween is the undisputed champion of candy-related holidays. My favorite candy? Brach’s pumpkin cremes. I treat myself to one bag of these sugar bombs a year.

3) The best colors – red, orange, yellow, black, brown. You can take the girl out of the 70’s but you can’t take the 70’s out of my wardrobe.

4) Best reading weather – if you’re in the south, its rainy season. If you’re north, its getting cold and dark. Either way, chances are it’s crummy outside, so you might as well read. No more of that ‘It’s gorgeous-why don’t you go outside’ guilt!

5) Best clothes – or what my BFF has dubbed “mystery clothing” as in clothing so modest there’s no concern about what your body is doing under those clothes. Skipped a day shaving? Nasty bruise from running into the counter? It’s a mystery.

6) Best foods – chili, soup, crock pot meals, cocoa, pumpkin, apple, cinnamon (Spoiler alert: my October NL will feature a recipe for the best Sweet Potato Muffins you’ll ever have).

7) Best office supply shopping – Who among us (especially writers) can resist the siren song of shelves and shelves of fun new notebooks, planners, post-its, the packages of 50 pre-sharpened pencils, the multi packs of pens?

8) Best entertainment – spooky movies come out to play! TV marathons, new releases at the movies, themed film festivals… this is an autumnophile’s best episode life! (Need examples? Mini-binge the 5 “Halloween Heist” episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine).

9) Best motivation – After the lazy days of summer (or conversely, the jam-packed reactionary days), my need for daily structure comes racing back with the cooler weather. Fall is a time of new calendars, habits, a renewed interest in meal planning, and stretches of quiet time perfect for knocking items off languishing to-do lists.

10) Best outdoor workout weather. Yes, spring is a close second, but running through crispy leaves or that first morning where you have to layer, is extra-exhilarating. Also, fall pairs great with a walk plus audiobook, such as Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

11) Best smells – Alas, there is no more leaf burning like there was in the Midwest 80s but breathe in the smell of firepits, a crisp morning breeze, game day barbecues, simmering crockpots, and cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger everything.

12) And the twelfth reason is for me: my book takes place in fall! Corinne’s reunion invitiation comes late August, the reunion is September 15 (my husband’s bday), and wraps up on Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the dissonance of placing a story of fractures and discordance against a backdrop of the (in my opinion) coziest season.

Did I make an autumnophile out of you yet? Drop me a line with your favorite season and why.