lately with lila october 2026 | fall feelings

Hello again, dear friends, I hope all is well for you and if it’s not, then I hope brighter days head your way soon! Well, friends, here we are. We’ve reached the tail end of 2026—can you believe it?! I know I always seemed to be amazed by the passage of time, but it really does feel like January was just yesterday and now, all of a sudden, we’re quickly coming upon the end of the year! Fortunately, though, we do still have just a sliver of 2026 left, and I intend to make the most of it! And that started with having quite the October, so let’s check out what went down…

I just received an ALC through Libro.fm of An Edge Sharp Enough by Jesse Q. Sutanto, and, Y’ALL! This book seems like it will be so epic and incredible, so I’m definitely eager to at least begin listening to it this November! I also preordered an audiobook copy of You, Me, & The Conspiracy by Emma Barry, which just seems like such a fun read, so I’m also hoping to start it in November as well.

As a kid I loved The Cosby Show, so when I heard Netflix was making a spinoff of the spinoff of the original series, I was pretty excited! I ended up watching A Different World Episodes 1 – 7 (A Different World being the new 2026 Cosby Show spinoff series) and I have been really enjoying it! All of the characters are so endearing, even if it’s very clear that they are all very flawed. It’s also clear that Hillman College—the college within the series—is meant to be a facsimile of Howard University (which, funnily enough, is an HBCU that’s local to me), and it is really nice to see a series about the Black college experience at an HBCU, and how it can be a little different from that of a PWI (private White institution). All in all, I think A Different World Season 1 is a wonderful start to new series that I’m sure many folks (including myself) will love for hopefully a good while (knock on wood)!

Rating:

my october 2026 playlist

high notes

♫ “Black Water Lilies” by AURORA I’ve been slowly getting more into AURORA’s work in the last year, and “Black Water Lilies” instantly became a new favorite when I heard it recently. It’s super calming, yet also makes me feel peaceful in an energetic way, if that makes sense? The song really makes me feel like I’m floating down a river full of water lilies on lily pads, so I think AURORA achieved her goal with this one, haha!

♫ “DANCE…” by Slayyyter I knew of Slayyyter but never listened to any of their music before I heard this song in the background af a few TikToks, and, boy, am I glad I did! This song is just such a banger, with that intense edge that keeps you hooked!

♫ “All Night” by Beyonce This song has been a favorite of mine since it was first released on Lemonade, so it was bound to end up on my “High Notes” list at some point. I hadn’t listened to it for a while until this past month, but once I heard it again, it brought back all the feelings of when I first heard it (isn’t it lovely how music can do that so easily?).

♫ “Man I Need” by Olivia Dean This is another song I’ve enjoyed for a while, so again, it was bound to end up on this list eventually. Interestingly, since the moment I first heard this song, I knew it was a play on Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel,” and I recently came across an interview where Olivia confirmed that it actually is, so now I feel smart lol! Anyhoo, I wasn’t a big fan of this song when I first heard it, but it’s really grown on me since. It’s got that fun bounce that makes me feel like I’m in a romcom.

the harbingers

I also discovered a new audiodrama that I’ve become obsessed with called The Harbingers! It caught my eye because it’s about two rival anthropology grad students who gain the magical powers of an ancient civilization—how cool is that?! I’ve currently made it through the first few episodes of Season 1, and, so far, it’s really gripping and intriguing! Fortunately, the show is ongoing, and the creators say that they’d like it to run for several seasons, so hopefully there will be plenty more episodes to come once I catch up to where the show currently is.

for readers

• Debut Adult fantasy author Lynn D. Jung implored us to stop calling every book written by a woman “romantasy” (Video)
• The blogger at 24hryabookblog recommended 15+ YA books that shojo manga lovers have to read
• Sam and her friend Jamsu did the book bestie challenge
• Speaking of which, Jamsu also completed her side of the book bestie challenge
• Laura discussed the strange appeal of cowboy romance (Video)
• Caro shouted out spooky manga and graphic novels
• Rachel wondered if books are becoming the new fast fashion (Video)
• Briana asked “is everyone reading the same thing (and is that even new)?“
• Becky shined a light on bite sized fantasy reads to add to your TBR
• Amy showcased romance novels featuring fall festivals
• Solene talked about breaking free from a reading slump
• April recommended books to read after watching the adaptation of The Love Hypothesis
• Briana reviewed the new Adult American Girl novel about fan fave Samantha Parkington
• Shannen shared some autumn book recommendations
• Madeline highlighted YA reads for Asexual Awareness Week
• Eustacia explained how she learned to enjoy Jane Austen fanfiction
• Deanne showed off her reading journal essentials
• The blogger at Sequels and Scribbles spotlighted spooky books to haunt your TBR

for fun

• Jasmine discussed the roles Black women are cast in on screen and how those roles can affect how people perceive Black women in real life (Video)
• Lin shared a hilarious guide to her perfect day
• Hayley showcased journaling ideas

Friends, October was quite a whirlwind! My mental health was still on the fritz, but a lot of good things happened too, so let’s talk about those!

First off, I was invited by a local influencer (@kenzeecreates) and a business she partnered with (The Flowerette) to attend an autumnal floral arrangement workshop that they had put together to document it as an influencer! I was so excited (and, admittedly, a bit nervous too), because it was the first time I’ve ever been invited to anything as an influencer! And I ended up having so much fun and meeting great new friends who are also local influencers! The space was beautiful and really cute snacks were provided, and the workshop was very well-paced and clear while still allowing attendees to get creative and express ourselves how we wanted. All in all I had a wonderful time, and I’m so happy and honored and grateful that I was invited. If you’re interested, btw, you can watch my “mini vlog” of the event here on my TikTok or, alternately, on my Instagram, @hardcoverhaven!

Next up, I attended the October edition of Dare to Dear, which is the recurring snail mail event I mentioned attending last month as well. Basically, the gist of the event is that ahead of time, the host gives attendees a theme to write a letter about, then when we get to the event, we all put our letters in a box and discuss topics related to the theme, before randomly picking a stranger’s letter from the box at the end of the event. October’s theme was “guilty pleasures” and I had so much fun writing my letter about the theme, as well as discussing the topics related to the theme with everyone else! It was such a fun way to find new friends, and I can’t wait for the next event!

Then, I met up for coffee and a catch-up session with a good friend of mine who I haven’t seen for a few months. They are, fortunately, doing pretty well, although they have a medical procedure coming up that they’re a bit nervous for. All in all, it was a nice time chatting with them and spending some time together!

Finally, I rounded off the month by meeting up with my friend for another one of our semi-regular cafe journaling sessions, wherein I wore my fairy wings, since it was the day before Halloween. This time we went to Kaldi’s Social House in Arlington, which I guess isn’t strictly a cafe, but it is a casual kind of hangout space with many large tables, and they offer plenty of coffee and tea drinks there, so it worked out. I ended up ordering their White Chocolate Raspberry Mocha and was surprised at how delicious it was (I could actually taste the raspberry flavor, and it blended so well with the white chocolate and coffee flavors)! I made five journal spreads, two of which were centered around “Spooky Season,” and I’m really proud of how they all turned out! I also had a great catch-up with my friend—she and I always have plenty to gab about whenever we get together. All around, it was a really fun way to end the month!

Honestly, after the whirlwind of events that was October, November is looking pretty empty. My birthday is in November, and I’ll likely get together with some friends to celebrate, but that’s about it. I have to turn in some documentation to The Big University before I start classes, and I also need to register for classes there as well, which means I need to meet with my degree advisor…So it’s looking like November will be a month where I’m getting down to business with school-related admin.

How was your October 2026? Did you do anything fun or read anything memorable? Is there anything you’re looking forward to coming up in November 2026? What’s on your TBR for the month?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 31 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.